Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 41 - Chapitre 50

The morning after the engagement announcement felt strangely quiet. Lucien Carter stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of his penthouse, watching the city slowly come alive beneath him. New York never truly slept, but mornings always carried a different kind of energy. Traffic built gradually, lights disappeared from office buildings, and the sky shifted from deep blue to pale gray. Normally, Lucien found the routine calming. Today it did nothing. His phone buzzed again on the kitchen counter. Another notification. Another news article. Another congratulatory message. He ignored it. Behind him, Selene stepped out of the bedroom. She was still wearing one of his shirts from the night before, the fabric loose around her frame. Her hair fell freely over her shoulders as she walked toward the kitchen. “You’re awake early,” she said. Lucien didn’t turn. “I haven’t slept much.” Selene leaned against the counter and picked up his phone. The screen

The apartment was silent. Too silent. Selene sat alone in the living room of Lucien’s penthouse, her legs crossed elegantly as the city lights shimmered through the massive glass windows behind her. Lucien had left nearly an hour ago for a late meeting. Which meant she had the entire place to herself. Normally she enjoyed the quiet luxury of the apartment. Tonight it felt different. Her phone rested in her hand, the screen glowing faintly in the darkened room. She had been scrolling for nearly twenty minutes. Every article looked the same. Lucien Carter Announces Engagement The Carter and Laurent Families Unite The Most Powerful Couple in Finance Selene should have felt satisfied. This was everything she had wanted. Everything she had worked toward. She had waited years for this moment. Watched patiently while Lucien remained married to another woman. Watched as that woman disappeared. And now she finally stood where she belonged. At Lucien’s

Selene had never considered herself an insecure woman. In fact, most people described her as the opposite—confident, elegant, and always in control of a situation. She had grown up surrounded by wealth and influence. Nothing in her life had ever been truly out of reach. Except Lucien. Even now, with his ring on her finger and the world believing they were the perfect couple, Selene still felt something she hated admitting to herself. Uncertainty. It wasn’t obvious. Lucien still attended events with her. He still stood beside her during interviews and photographs. To the outside world, everything appeared exactly the way it should. But Selene had begun noticing the small things. The quiet moments when his mind seemed somewhere else. The way he sometimes stared at nothing for too long. The slight tension in his expression whenever certain topics came up. And earlier today, when she had walked into his office, the look on his face had been unmistakable. He had b

Lucien had never been someone who struggled with decisions. Business negotiations, company strategies, high-risk investments—those things came naturally to him. He knew how to analyze situations quickly and move forward without hesitation. But lately, his mind had become a battlefield he could no longer control. The quiet apartment felt unusually heavy that morning. Lucien stood by the large window in his office, staring down at the busy street far below. Cars moved in orderly streams, people rushed to work, the city lived its usual fast-paced rhythm. Everything looked normal. Yet he felt strangely disconnected from it all. Behind him, Selene’s voice broke the silence. “You’ve been standing there for ten minutes.” Lucien turned slightly. Selene leaned against the doorway of the office, dressed in a soft cream sweater that made her look almost fragile. One hand rested gently over her stomach. The sight immediately triggered a familiar sense of responsibility in

California had always carried memories for Selene. Some sweet. Most dangerous. As her car moved slowly along the quiet street, she couldn’t help remembering the first time she had been here years ago. That night had changed everything. The city had been glowing with warm lights and ocean air when Lucien first crossed the line with her. A careless evening, too much tension between them, and a mistake that had eventually shattered his marriage. Selene had never regretted it. Not even once. Because that night had proven something important to her. Lucien Carter could be tempted. And if he could be tempted once, he could be controlled again. But as Selene watched the small apartment building across the street now, a strange feeling settled in her chest. It wasn’t jealousy. Not exactly. It was something darker. Something closer to… irritation. Aira Bennett stepped outside the building with a small boy beside her. Selene had already spent two days observi