Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 10

Rain fell in relentless sheets against the towering windows of the Blackwood estate, smearing the manicured gardens into a blur of gray and green. Inside the bridal suite, Lydia stood in front of the full-length mirror, her reflection pale in the soft light. The gown she wore was exquisite—ivory lace hugging her figure, delicate embroidery tracing her collarbones—but it felt like armor, a costume in a play she had never chosen to be part of.Today, she was marrying Ethan Blackwood.The thought twisted in her chest. Ethan—cold, untouchable, and devastatingly handsome—was a man who had made it abundantly clear he did not want her. Their engagement was not about love. It was a transaction, orchestrated by his grandfather, Harrison Blackwood, who insisted on securing the family’s legacy before his health failed. To Harrison, Lydia was perfect: quiet, refined, and respectable. To Ethan, she was a stranger thrust into a life he had no desire to lead.A soft knock on the door pulled her from

The morning after the wedding, the Blackwood estate felt even colder than the night before. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, glinting off the marble floors, but it did nothing to soften the edges of the mansion or the weight in Lydia’s chest.She had hoped sleep would bring some relief, a brief pause from the reality of her new life. Instead, she woke to silence—and the knowledge that Ethan Blackwood, her husband, still considered her a stranger, an inconvenience, a name on a contract.Breakfast was a tense affair. Lydia sat across from him at the long dining table, plates of untouched food before them. Ethan barely looked at her, scrolling through his phone, occasionally sipping his coffee. His expression remained impassive, but there was a subtle tension in his jaw, a sharpness in the way his fingers tapped against the table.“I’ve arranged for your personal assistant to help you settle in,” he said without looking up. “She’ll handle your schedule, your wardrobe… everythi

The mansion was quiet that night, but the silence was thick—heavy with unspoken words, hidden histories, and the kind of tension that made Lydia’s pulse quicken. She had spent the day in the library, organizing her papers and exploring the estate’s hidden corners. That was when she stumbled upon it—a small drawer in Ethan’s private desk, concealed behind a false panel.Curiosity tugged at her. She knew she shouldn’t, but something about the secrecy called to her. She slid the drawer open, revealing a stack of letters, photographs, and legal documents.Lydia’s fingers trembled as she flipped through them.There were letters from a woman—a beautiful, confident woman who signed herself Isabella. The letters were intimate, passionate, and unrelenting in their claim on Ethan’s heart. The woman had been a part of his life long before Lydia ever arrived. Each letter whispered of love, betrayal, and promises broken.Her stomach twisted. Ethan had not been exaggerating when he said there was s

The storm outside the Blackwood estate had passed, leaving the air crisp and heavy with the scent of wet earth. Inside, the mansion still felt like a labyrinth of secrets and shadows, but tonight, everything had shifted. The confrontation with the mysterious man—the one who had revealed hidden debts, dangerous alliances, and betrayals from Ethan’s past—had left Lydia and Ethan both shaken.Ethan’s usually composed demeanor was gone, replaced by a tension Lydia had never seen. His sharp, controlled movements were jagged, as if the perfect mask he always wore had finally fractured. And for the first time, she realized just how much weight he carried, how deeply he had buried himself beneath walls of control, wealth, and indifference.Lydia had watched him from the library doorway, silent but alert. She had listened as he confronted the man—whose name she still did not know—about mistakes, threats, and obligations that stretched back years. She had glimpsed the man behind the myth, the m

The Blackwood estate felt alive with tension that night, far more intense than the usual quiet grandeur. Lydia had learned that Ethan’s carefully controlled life was riddled with secrets—alliances he had forged in the past, enemies he had made, and debts that could ruin him if exposed. But she had also learned that beneath the impenetrable walls, he was vulnerable, and for the first time, she understood that she could not simply wait for him to change; she had to act.Ethan’s study was dimly lit, the soft glow of the desk lamp casting long shadows across the papers strewn across the surface. His jaw was tight, his hands trembling slightly as he reviewed financial documents and letters. The man who had walked through the front doors earlier—an associate turned traitor—had threatened to expose Ethan’s dealings, and he had left a lingering sense of menace in the mansion.Lydia stepped quietly into the study, aware of the weight of the moment. “Ethan,” she said softly.He looked up, dark