Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 41 - Chapitre 50

The past two days had been hard on Fatima. After that scandal, she couldn’t even walk in public. Even when she went to spy on Nic in hopes of seeing her kids, after Mrs. Wilson informed her they were still at the house, she had to put on a disguise.Madelyn had her main cellphone, but she had a backup phone. She had done that after what happened with her previous phone, and clearly she was still a hot topic; people were still calling her all sorts of names.“I have no choice,” Fatima said to herself, now looking in the mirror as she fixed her bun. “She’s my only hope.” She was trying so hard to make sense of this, even though she was making a deal with the she-devil.Just yesterday, while scrolling through comments after another failed attempt to see her kids, she received a call from Leslie. At first, she didn’t want to pick up, but she did, and Leslie offered help.Leslie knew she had been trying to reach Nicholas the past few days, that Nicholas had ignored her, but Leslie said she

Madelyn struggled to breathe, her whole body trembling. She had to sit down, so she walked to the couch and threw herself onto it, her hands running through her hair as she tried to steady her breathing.“It’s unfair to Fatima,” Ian’s voice lowered. He saw that Madelyn was about to break and knew where to draw the line. “It’s not fair that you’ve been keeping this from her.”“I’m a monster,” Madelyn said more to herself. “I’ve been rooting deep down for my sister’s marriage to fail.”“Okay, that is dark, even for me.”“And you think I don’t know that?” Madelyn snapped. “I do, but I just can’t help it, okay? I’ve tried everything, but I can’t stop.”“Then try harder, if you still want a sister.”“I thought this was all I needed for the guilt to go away,” Madelyn said, almost talking to herself. “That as long as Fatima and Nicholas broke up, I’d be fine, but…” She stopped, her thoughts catching up with her. “The truth is, all I needed for the guilt to go away was the truth.” She suddenl

Ian was honored. He didn’t fully understand what was happening, or why he wanted Fatima this badly, but he had always gotten what he wanted, and that wasn’t about to change.“Yes,” he said, the word leaving his mouth before he had time to overthink it, feeling as though Fatima had just proposed to him.“It’s set then,” she replied, her gaze fixed out the window.Ian didn’t know what he had been expecting, a smile, maybe a laugh, something, but he reminded himself this wasn’t a normal proposal. So he swallowed the small sting of disappointment and focused back on the road.For several minutes, silence filled the car. Not the awkward kind, just the steady hum of tires against the road as they drove down a narrow road lined with tall trees. No music, no talking. The kind of quiet that felt deliberate. When they merged onto the main road, Fatima finally spoke, asking about Madelyn and Nicholas, how they met.“You know, when I introduced her to him, she choked on her saliva,” Fatima said w

Fatima didn’t know what to say or do. The woman’s words from that day flashed in her mind, and now she remembered that Ian, the man she had just asked to marry her yesterday, was supposedly engaged to this woman.“Speak, bitch.” The woman stepped closer, her voice sharp. Fatima froze, unsure whether to run or defend herself. Luckily, before she had to make a choice, the door opened and Ian stepped in. Never had she been so relieved to see him.“Ian, who’s this?” the woman asked, eyes locking on him the moment he entered.“What are you doing in my room, Ashley?” Ian asked, his gaze quickly flicking to Fatima, still rooted in place.“I came to let you know breakfast is ready.” She smiled, too wide, too rehearsed, throwing Fatima off. “Now tell me, who’s she?” she asked again, feigning sweetness.“She’s none of your business. Now can you leave my room?” Ian’s voice was firm, a slight edge to it. Ashley didn’t let the irritation register; her smile stayed in place. She nodded, then moved

Ian and Fatima were seated on a bench by the river, silently watching the water ripple past. The air was calm, heavy with peace, and somehow comforting. Fatima eventually closed her eyes, it was simply too peaceful not to.After a while, once they had both soaked in the quiet, they began talking about things completely unrelated to their current situation. They debated random topics, shared light laughter, and by the time they stopped, they had both forgotten, if only briefly, about their problems.“So… Ashley,” Fatima finally said. “How complicated is it really? And whose baby is she carrying?”“I didn’t even know about the baby,” Ian answered honestly. “But it’s not mine.”“Then why did you feel obligated to marry her?”“Protection and legacy,” he explained. “When my dad died, he left everything to me. Julia thought that if I married her niece, she’d be protected. She got herself into some trouble.”“Because you’re mafia?” Fatima asked quietly.Ian hesitated, then nodded. “I promise