Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 31 - Chapitre 40

CELESTE MAGNUS POV The first thing I became aware of was the sound. A faint, steady beeping somewhere to my left, slow and rhythmic, like it was trying to remind me that I was still alive even when everything inside me felt like it had already stopped. My body felt heavy, painfully heavy, like every part of me had been weighed down, and for a long moment I didn’t open my eyes because I already knew that once I did, something irreversible would be waiting for me on the other side of it. But the world didn’t pause for me. It never did. So eventually, my eyes opened. The ceiling above me was unfamiliar, sterile, too white, and the smell of antiseptic filled my lungs the moment I took a slow breath in, confirming what my body had already sensed. Hospital. My throat felt dry as I swallowed, my gaze shifting slightly until it landed on the figure standing beside the bed, and for a second I didn’t fully recognize him because everything felt distant, like I was looking through a thin

ADRIEN ORION POV So I turned and walked away, ignoring the way the atmosphere shifted behind me. Ignoring the faint sound of Hazel’s soft laughter that followed like she found something amusing in all of this. By the time I reached my room, I pushed the door open and stepped inside without slowing, closing it behind me with a quiet click that sounded louder than it should have in the stillness. For a moment, I just stood there. The silence inside my room felt different from the one outside. It wasn’t just empty, it was suffocating, pressing in from all sides as if it had been waiting for me, as if it knew exactly what I was trying not to think about. I exhaled slowly, dragging a hand through my hair as I forced my thoughts into order. This was unnecessary. Everything that needed to be done had already been done. She left, it was her decision. The test had already proven everything, and no matter how many times her voice echoed in my head, no matter how many times I remembere

Michael followed without a word. The walk to my room felt longer than I remembered. It felt like every step was pulling something out of me, and the moment the door closed behind us, the silence hit differently, not controlled, not restrained, just empty. How could he expect me to go back to that hell? That house held a lot of hurtful memories I don't wish to recall, and me going back there, would be over my dead body! Not after all they had done to me, all the stress and emotional instability that caused the life of my child. I will never forgive Adrien for this. Not in this life or the next to come. I took two steps forward, and then I broke. “My child—” A broken sound left my lips before I could stop it. My body folding as the tears came all at once, uncontrollable, painful, like everything I had been holding back finally tore through me. “Celeste—” Michael caught me instantly, his arms wrapping around me as I clung to him without thinking. “I miss my child…” I cried, my vo

ADRIEN ORION POV. I stood there dumbfounded, yet the anger boiling inside my veins was overwhelming. I just found it hard to believe Celeste was now a changed person. She was no longer the woman who was so persistent, hovering around me without shame, trying to steal my attention. I guess the past changes people, just like her lies had hurt me for years, and I couldn’t bring myself to let go. And here she was, walking side by side with the father of her late child, rubbing it in my face. She should have been explaining herself to me, still trying to prove me wrong. But no—she let me believe whatever I wanted. Let the gossip of the people keep spreading. I should be the one angry. I should be the one acting cold. She had no right to act that way, not when she hurt me more. Even when I had called her, I ended up being blocked on all sides. Her audacity… like I should be the one doing that, not her? She cheated on me and had another man’s child while claiming that she loved me.

CELESTE MAGNUS POV It was already late, and I didn’t go home. Not because I couldn’t, but because I refused to. The moment the foundation gates closed behind the chaos, I stayed inside the main office. My staff had also refused to leave me behind as they all agreed that we should work together. Suddenly the whispers died down, but I knew they were patiently waiting for the proof. The quiet building was enough for my thoughts to stop being drowned out by other people’s voices. Quiet didn’t bring peace though, It only made my brain activated. Every accusation replayed in my head like it had taken a permanent place there. Abuse, neglect, and cruelty didn’t make sense at all, because nothing like that is happening in my foundation. I stood in front of the desk, staring at the scattered files, the reports, the daily logs, and for a long moment I didn’t move at all. My fingers hovered slightly above the papers, not because I didn’t know what to do, but because I knew exactly what I h