Fallen For Best Friend’s Daddy のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 21 - チャプター 30

Rachael’s POVThe door opened.And for a second, none of us reacted.Because our brains needed a moment to catch up to what our eyes were seeing.“Daddy?”My voice came out before I could stop it.And then everything broke.Bella gasped so loudly she nearly dropped the spoon in her hand.Capri actually laughed, a real, stunned laugh.“Mr Virgo?!”He stepped fully inside, arms slightly open like he hadn’t just walked out of the most tightly wound room in the city.“What?” he said lightly. “You all look like you’ve seen a ghost.”“This is shocking!” Bella blurted.“That was the plan.”My mother’s door flew open down the hall.“What is all that noise…”She froze.And then she ran.Actually ran.She reached him first, hands on his face, breath unsteady.“You didn’t call.”“I wanted to see your faces,” he replied calmly.Capri shook his head, smiling.“This is insane.”Bella was already talking over herself. “We thought… we were told… how are you here?”“Paperwork moves when it needs to,

Rachael’s POVI stayed seated long after Clinton left.The plates were still on the table. The water in my glass barely disturbed.People came and went around me.Laughter.Cutlery.Soft music.Life continuing.I should have stood up.I should have gone home.Instead, I stared at the empty chair across from me.It was strange how a chair could still feel occupied.Clinton had been calm, Jessica had been comfortable and I had been… aligned.That word again.Aligned.My phone buzzed lightly.A message from Clinton.‘Text when you get home.’Not are you okay? Or did you eat?Just instruction.I locked my phone without replying.For once, I didn’t want to move on schedule.The waiter passed by slowly.“Would you like me to clear this out?”“In a minute,” I said.He nodded politely.I leaned back in my chair and let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.The city looked different from this angle.Less sharp.Less demanding.“Is this seat taken?”The voice wasn’t loud.It wasn’t smooth e

Rachael’s POVI had just placed the velvet box back inside the larger one when my door opened.“Rach, do you have your charger? Mine’s acting stupid.”Bella walked in without waiting for an answer.Her words stopped mid air.Her eyes landed on the open box.Then the smaller case.Then my hand.She blinked.“Is that…”I didn’t move fast enough.Bella stepped closer. “No way.”“Bella,” I warned quietly.Too late.She picked up the box.“Aunty!”I closed my eyes briefly.Of course she would announce it.By the time I walked into the living room, everyone had turned.Mom.Dad.Jonathan.Capri.Bella stood in the center holding the box like breaking news.“Why didn’t you tell me?!” she gasped.My mother stood immediately.“Oh my God.”Dad remained seated, composed as always.Jonathan’s eyes went straight to my hand.He didn’t speak.Capri noticed that.I saw it.“Is that from Clinton?” Mom asked, already reaching for my fingers.“Yes,” I replied evenly.“When did this happen?”“It was deli

Rachael’s POVBella talked about freedom like it was a door.Like all you had to do was turn the handle and step through.I’d spent most of my life learning how to stay in the room.“You’re not even listening to me,” she said, snapping her fingers lightly in front of my face.“I am.”“You’re deflecting.”I leaned back against the headboard, folding my arms. “You’re dramatizing.”Bella stared at me like she was trying to peel something back. “You had one night where you weren’t someone’s daughter or someone’s fiancée. And now you’re pretending it didn’t matter.”“It didn’t.”The lie tasted dry.She shook her head slowly. “You described him like he wasn’t just some mistake.”I forced a laugh. “Bella, it was France. Everyone romanticizes France.”“I’m serious.”“So am I.”Silence stretched between us.Bella moved from the foot of my bed and sat beside me again. Closer this time. Softer.“I don’t care about Clinton,” she said quietly. “And I don’t care about business alliances. I just don

Rachael’s POVBella was taking too long.I tried not to look at the clock again, but my eyes kept drifting back to it anyway.Two hours.Bella didn’t disappear for two hours without a word unless she was doing something she knew I wouldn’t approve of.Or something she knew I’d try to stop.I sat on the edge of the sofa in the living room, my fingers loosely wrapped around a cup of tea that had gone cold nearly an hour ago.Bella only goes quiet when she’s planning something loud.The sound of the penthouse door unlocking made my head snap up.A second later, Bella walked in.And there it was.That grin.Not wide. Not dramatic.Just… satisfied.My stomach tightened.“You’re back,” I said carefully.Bella tossed her handbag onto the chair and slipped off her heels like she had just returned from the most ordinary outing in the world.“Clearly.”I studied her.“Where did you go?”“Coffee.”I blinked.“For two hours?”Bella shrugged, strolling toward the kitchen counter. “I was thinking.