Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 11 - Chapitre 20

Chapter Eleven Adrien's POV The gala had been a mistake from the start. I'd only attended because my mother had insisted. After all, it was an event where Paris's elite gathered to write checks and feel virtuous about it. I hated these things. The false smiles, the networking that felt more like circling sharks, the women who saw my bank account before they saw my face. My mother wanted me to get married, but I didn't want to be with any woman in life. However, my mother didn't let me breathe. I suffered through an hour of champagne and empty conversations, and left early. The rain had started but I didn't care. I wanted to leave this place! I'd been adjusting my cufflinks when I saw her. A woman in a red dress, standing alone on the terrace. She was so weak-looking like something abandoned. At first, I'd thought she was waiting for some ride that was running late. But as I watched, couples passed her, some whispered and even laughed. And she just stood there. Somethin

Chapter Thirteen Camille's POV Theo stood at the stove, somehow looking perfectly at home in my kitchen, stirring something in a pan. The dining table had been set for two. On the table were candles, wine glasses and cloth napkins arranged like this was a romantic dinner instead of whatever this was. He looked up and smiled. "Perfect timing! I hope you like coq au vin. I found everything I needed in your pantry." "Theo, you didn't have to..." "I wanted to." He gestured to the table. "You need to eat, and I'm a decent cook. Consider it my contribution to keeping you company." Every instinct screamed at me to refuse. Every instinct screamed to say I wasn't hungry. But Julien's voice echoed in my head: Theo is like family. Y If I refused Theo's dinner, he'd tell Julien. And Julien would be angry and he would accuse me of being ungrateful, difficult and paranoid and he would find some way to punish me for the disrespect and I wasn't ready for that. "That's very thoughtful,"

Chapter Fifteen Camille's POVThe movie played on. Some scenes with witty banter and romantic tension that I would have normally enjoyed. But I found it hard to focus on the dialogue. The words seemed to blur together, bleeding into each other like watercolors left in the rain.I took another sip of the jasmine tea. It really was perfect, with a slight sweetness that lingered on my tongue. Theo had gone to so much trouble to find it for me. The thought made warmth bloom in my chest.Or was that the tea itself making me feel warm?I shifted on the couch, suddenly aware of how heavy my limbs felt. Like someone had filled them with sand while I wasn't paying attention."You okay?" Theo's voice seemed to come from very far away, even though he was sitting just across from me."Mm-hmm." I nodded, but the motion made the room tilt slightly. "Just tired, I think. It's been a long week.""Of course. You should rest more."I took another sip of tea, trying to clear the fog that was settling o

Chapter Seventeen Camille's POVJulien's text had come two days ago: ‘Business extended. Staying another three weeks. Behave yourself.’Another three weeks. With Véronique, undoubtedly. Another three weeks of freedom I couldn't enjoy because every moment alone in this house was a reminder of what Theo had done.What I was pretending hadn't happened.I'd avoided him since that night. Ignored his calls, his texts asking if I was okay, his attempts to check in like he was actually concerned. Like he hadn't drugged me. Like he hadn't touched what wasn't his! The audacity!The nausea that started two weeks ago. The exhaustion that no amount of sleep could fix. The tenderness in my breasts made wearing a bra painful. The missed period I'd tried to convince myself was just stress…they all befell on me.Come on Camille. It's just stress and trauma. It's just my body shutting down from everything it had endured.Not this.Please, God, not this.But the pregnancy test balanced on the edge of t

Chapter Nineteen.Two weeks later, I heard the car pull into the driveway at three in the afternoon on a Thursday, so he left me for five weeks.Five weeks that felt like five years.I was in the kitchen pretending to care about the grocery list I'd been staring at for the past hour, my hand unconsciously resting on my still-flat stomach. The baby was barely there, just cells dividing and growing, but it felt like the only real thing in my entire existence.The front door opened and closed. I heard footsteps in the foyer."Camille?"Julien's voice. I'd almost forgotten what it sounded like.I took a breath, steadied myself, and walked out to meet him.He looked good. He looked relaxed, like five weeks with his mistress had been exactly the vacation he needed. His suit was perfectly pressed despite the travel, his hair artfully tousled, his smile easy and satisfied.The smile of a man who'd been well-fed and well-fucked by someone who wasn't his wife."There you are." He set down his b