Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 31 - Chapitre 40

Roy had finally regained his strength fully. The color had returned to his cheeks, the heaviness behind his eyes had faded, and even the lingering fatigue that made his steps drag now felt like a distant memory. For the first time since the collapse, he felt normal — no, better than normal. He felt alive.And the biggest reason was Dianne.Ever since that night… the night she stayed… the night she wore his shirt, cooked for him, nursed him, curled up beside him and let him hold her like he’d been starving for years — everything had shifted. They weren’t dancing around the tension anymore. They weren’t pretending to be “just employer and employee.” They weren’t doing that painful distance thing where their hearts screamed for each other but their mouths stayed silent.Now it was official.And everyone at work could see it.Tessa was the first person to notice when Roy walked into the office Monday morning. He looked lighter, younger, like something had melted off his shoulders. And he

The first thing Roy remembered was light — too bright, gilded and smeared like oil in water. It wasn’t the cut crystal of the Sinclair chandeliers so much as a golden smear, everything soft-edged and unreal. Sound came after light: the thrum of the band from two floors below, a distant cheer, someone laughing just beyond comprehension. It was as if he was watching the world from the bottom of a well.Beneath the stupor, a thread of warmth curled through him and he thought, for a second so perfect it felt like a prayer, that he was wrapped in Dianne’s arms. The softness at his cheek, the faint taste on his lips, the slower cadence of breath—there was a memory that belonged to a thousand better mornings, when the world had been quieter and she had been nearer. It felt truer than anything; he reached for it, the movement long and syrupy.“Roy…”The voice that answered was not hers. It was honeyed, confident, too pleased with itself. He could not see the speaker clearly, only a halo of ha

Karen’s apartment was unusually quiet—too quiet for her restless heart. She paced around the living room, phone in hand, biting her nails as tears blurred her vision. Her hands trembled as she dialed the number she’d been calling all morning.He finally answered.“Baby… why are you doing this to me?” Karen whispered, her voice already breaking.There was a short pause, then a deep, cold voice came through the speaker.“Karen, you know this whole thing can’t work,” Mike said firmly, almost sounding irritated that she had called at all. “My parents don’t want you. I don’t want you. From the beginning, this was supposed to be a fling—nothing more.”His words sliced through her like knives.“But babe, I— I’m…” her breath hitched, and the words clawed their way out of her throat, “I’m pregnant.”Silence.For a long, suffocating moment, nothing. She almost thought the call had disconnected.Then—“What?” Mike barked. “Karen… why would you allow yourself to get pregnant?”Her knees weakened.

The room was quiet in that warm way that made silence feel like a blanket—soft, close, waiting. Outside, the distant hum of the ocean floated through the half-closed curtains, and the lights from the balcony painted faint gold stripes on the floor. The entire resort seemed to have gone to sleep, leaving the night for just the two of them.Roy closed the door gently behind them, his hand lingering on the handle as he exhaled—slow, steady, almost shaky. The kind of breath a man releases only when he’s trying hard to stay in control. Dianne could feel it: the shift in the air, the electricity that had been building since dinner, since the way he couldn’t keep his eyes off her, since the way she couldn’t stop leaning closer to him.She set her small bag on the table, her fingers brushing the wood, trying to appear calm though her heart was beating harder than she wished. She could feel his gaze on her, warm and heavy, burning into her skin with everything he wasn’t saying yet.“You’re qui

The days at the resort slipped away faster than Dianne expected. Sun-warm mornings, poolside laughter, Roy’s arms always finding their way around her waist—everything felt like a dream she wasn’t ready to wake up from. But reality didn’t care about perfect moments. Work emails began flooding in, Roy had meetings stacking up, and the real world finally dragged them back home.By the time Dianne unlocked her apartment door, she expected silence. Instead, she heard footsteps from the kitchen.“Maya?” she called, confused.Maya poked her head out, grinning like she was physically trying to hold a secret in.“Welcome back, Mrs. Enjoyment,” Maya teased. “You didn’t even call me when you got home. Someone has forgotten her sister.”Dianne dropped her bag and hugged her. “You didn’t tell me you were coming. I thought you’d still be at work.”Maya stepped back, eyes shining with mischief. “I had to be here. I’ve been dying to tell you something.”“What?” Dianne asked, already smiling. “What ha