Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 10

Amelia's pov. “ I refused to give my prime to some old looking man” I said to myself as I stood in my father's study with a straight face. The way I had learned to do it over the years. But inside me, everything was shaking. I tried to hide the anger inside of me but I couldn't. My heart pounded so loud in my chest and I was sure they could hear it. Lawson Clark's name still echoed in my head like a bad joke that refused to be funny, no matter what. It refused to make sense no matter how many times it was said. My father wanted me to marry his friend. Not just any friend, but a man old enough to be my grandfather. A man whose hair was already grey when I was learning how to write my name. A man who had watched me grow up and now wanted to own me. That thought alone made me feel disgusted. And for the man I call my father. How could a father look at his daughter and decide she was something to be traded? Like a bag of rice. Like a contract. Like a price tag that could save a fail

Amelia POV What?. Lawson's words settled in my head like a death sentence. And in that moment, I knew my nightmare had only just begun.I didn't even hear the rest of what he said after he finished speaking. Because for a terrifying second, I was sure I was going to throw up right there on his expensive marble floor. “I…..I don't understand. What do you mean by that?” I asked, my voice barely sounding like it belonged to me.Lawson stepped away from me slowly, as if he was giving me space to breathe but his eyes did the opposite. His eyes were cold and calculating eyes, he didn't look like a man asking for help. He looked like a man passing judgement.“My son hates me,” he said calmly, and the bluntness of his words shocked me the most.“He’s been waiting for the right moment to take everything I built. The company. My name and my power. And one day he will.” he added.My heart began to pound harder in my chest when he divulged all those words to me.“He doesn't respect me. He does

Amelia's POV I had been sitting in the restaurant for so long and to me I felt at peace. The peace I hadn't had since I got married to Lawson.The restaurant was just like the kind of place people came to forget their problems for an hour. To laugh too loudly and pretend that life was simple.I was seated beside my adopted mother and I tried not to flinch every time everyone walked too closely to our table. My adopted mother was stirring her drink slowly, the ice clinking against the glass. She always looked calm and that made me trust her without thinking twice.“You've been so quiet. Is everything alright?” she asked, lifting up her eyes to me. I forced myself to smile at her but everything felt stiff on my face.“I'm fine,” I said, even though my cheek still ached beneath my makeup.She didn't believe my words and I saw it in her eyes, the way her gaze lingered on my face. On the side I had been careful to cover up and her eyes softened at me.“Amelia,” she called my name softly.

Amelia's POV.“Stupid,” I muttered under my breath, pressing my fingers against my forehead. “That was so stupid of you, Amelia.”I wasn't supposed to say anything to him. That had been the plan from the onset. I was to stay calm and quiet.I was to stay strategic but instead, I had opened my mouth and stepped right into another confrontation with Jayden like I had some kind of death wish.I breathed out slowly, frustration crawling under my skin. I thought I could handle it. I thought I could endure his insults, his arrogance, his constant judgement without reacting.Jayden pushed buttons I didn't even know I had. And every single time, I reacted. I couldn't afford mistakes, not now and not when my freedom depended on everything going exactly the way I planned.I needed him. And that was the most irritating part. I needed his trust, his attention, and cooperation. Whether he knew it or not, which means fighting him was the worst possible strategy.Calm down, Amelia. Don't start a war

Amelia's POV.The first morning I walked into the company's building as an employee instead of Lawson's wife”. I couldn't help but feel so ecstatic. It had been one of my long life dreams but it just couldn't be fulfilled earlier. And seeing my dreams come to pass in front of me made my heart ache in my chest, but in a good way though.I had always wanted this. For years, I had begged my adopted father to let me work. To let me try and to let me prove that I wasn't just someone who he felt had no abilities and skills. But there had always been a reason for him to say no.“You are not good in that field of work.”“It would be better if you focus on yourself and the house.”“After all, you are not really needed because your sister already handles the business matters and she will always bring better than you.”It had always been my sister and never me. standing in the company now, holding my ID card, and seeing my name printed under a new job title made everything felt so unreal to me.