Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 41 - Chapitre 50

Zane was finally catching up.The anonymous emails had stopped after the third one—just enough information to point him in the right direction, then silence. He didn't know who had sent them, but he had his suspicions.Nerissa.It had to be. Jovi didn't know the first thing about Norwegian building codes. Vance would never help him. Liam was too young and too focused on impressing his grandfather.Only Nerissa knew the contract inside out. Only Nerissa had access to the original documents. Only Nerissa would care enough to help him secretly, without wanting credit, without even wanting him to know.He stared at his laptop, the latest submission uploaded and confirmed. He'd made the deadline. He'd actually made it.She saved me, he thought. After everything I did, she saved me.The weight of that settled on his chest. Not guilt—he'd been carrying guilt for months. This was something else. This was the terrible, humbling knowledge that someone had seen him at his worst and chosen to help

"You have your reasons," he said. "I have mine. Yours might be more... emotional. Mine are practical. But the result is the same. Two marriages that should be over. Two people who haven't ended them."She found her voice. "You're comparing yourself to me?""I'm pointing out that you don't get to stand there and judge me for staying in a marriage when you're doing the exact same thing. For different reasons, maybe. But the outcome is identical."She had no answer.He turned back to the window. His shoulder rigid."We leave tomorrow. When we're back, we'll present the merger as planned. We'll be professional. We'll do our jobs." A pause. "That's all that's left now."She looked at his back—straight, unmoving, a wall she couldn't see through."You're right," she said quietly. "I haven't filed. I don't know why. Maybe because some part of me still hopes..." She stopped. Shook her head. "I don't know what I hope."He didn't respond.She walked to the door."Ms. Sullivan."She stopped. Took

The silence stretched.Zane looked at her. The girl he'd loved since high school. The woman who'd left him, come back, broken his marriage, and was now standing in the snow, pregnant with his child."I don't know what to do," he said. "I don't know how to be what you need.""Just stay." She gripped his hand. "Just don't leave me alone in that."He didn't answer.But he didn't pull away.--------Liam sat in his cabin, phone to his ear."They're all weird, Grandfather."Alistair Harrington's voice crackled. "Define weird.""The architect and his wife don't sleep in the same cabin. Jovi hangs on the architect's arm. Blackwood barely looks at anyone. The VP is in the middle of it."A pause."Does the work get done?" Alistair asked."Yeah. The architect's submissions have been solid.""Then leave it alone. There's always personal stuff. If it affects the project, tell me. If not, stay out.""Okay.""And Liam. Keep watching. People show you who they are when they think no one's paying atten

---The penthouse was exactly as she'd left it. Clean. Expensive. Cold. Jovi stood in the living room, looking at the furniture she'd chosen, the art on the walls, the view of the city she'd once loved. It all felt like someone else's life.Vance had gone straight to his study. Door closed. Light on. The usual. She walked to the door and stood outside it. For a long moment, she just... stood there. Hand raised. Ready to knock. She thought about their conversation in Norway. She lowered her hand. Didn't knock.What was there to say? What was there to ask? He'd told her everything already. She just hadn't wanted to hear it. She walked to the bedroom—their bedroom, though they hadn't shared it in months—and sat on the edge of the bed. Her hand drifted to her stomach. The baby was still there. Still growing. Too early to feel, but she pressed anyway, as if she could hold onto the only real thing she had left. Zane's baby. Zane, who was in an apartment with his wife, probably not thinking a

Neither moved.The hum of his laptop filled the silence. Her pulse was loud in her ears. His hand was still wrapped around hers, warm, solid. His thumb rested against her wrist, where her heartbeat raced.His eyes held hers. Unblinking. The mask was gone. She saw exhaustion there, yes. But something else too. Something she couldn't name.She should speak. Should explain why she was here, what she was doing. The words came out before she could stop them."I was just... a document slipped. I didn't mean to—"He didn't respond. Just looked at her.She tried again. "You should go home. Rest. You've been pushing yourself all day."Still nothing. His eyes didn't leave her face.Then, quietly: "You've been watching me."It wasn't a question. He knew.Her breath caught. "You've barely spoken to me since Norway.""I've been aware of you.""That's not the same thing."He was quiet for a moment. His thumb still resting against her wrist."You want me to say it?" His voice was low. "Fine. Every ti