Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 10

Chapter 1

Jocelyn's POVSomeone from the crowd teased, "Shawn, it's like heaven's smiling on you two, letting you and Alyssa be a couple for the day to make up for the lost time."Another chimed in, "Exactly. Shawn has everything going for him, yet we haven't heard a word about his love life in years. It really makes you wonder if he's been hung up on someone this whole time."The crowd's eyes darted back and forth between my secret boyfriend, Shawn Lowell, and his childhood sweetheart, Alyssa Sutton, their expressions heavy with implication.Alyssa's ears flushed pink under everyone's gaze. She gave Shawn a playful shove, but he just stood there with a faint smile on his lips, neither confirming nor denying anything.He played it off. "That's enough, guys. It's all in the past."Then, as if to justify himself, he added, "I couldn't really catch anyone else's scent. I chose Alyssa because of her jasmine scent. It's the same one she wore back in school. Besides, if I'd grabbed the wrong wom

Chapter 2

Jocelyn's POV"Whoa, Jocelyn! You've been holding out on us, haven't you? If you're getting engaged, what are you even doing at a bachelorette party?" someone called out.Kristine leaned in, eyes bright with curiosity. "Who's the lucky guy? Since when is this a thing, Josie? We haven't heard a single whisper.""Just now," I replied casually.The phone in my pocket started to buzz, each pulse angrier than the last.Shawn's texts came through one after another."Jocelyn, what are you pulling?""Look, I know I shouldn't have hugged Alyssa, but I couldn't just walk away from the game. Kristine's getting married in two days. I couldn't blow her off and make things awkward.""Be reasonable. I told you I'd marry you. I meant it."After reading them all, I flipped the phone face-down on the table without typing a word back.I just watched Shawn from across the room. As if to prove a point, he tightened his grip, pulling Alyssa even closer against him."Since you're the couple of the

Chapter 3

Jocelyn's POV"What? He's right here? Who's been keeping such a good secret? Come on, man, stand up and show yourself!" someone called out, head swiveling around the room.The room erupted into a buzz of speculation as everyone started eyeing each other, the noise reaching a fever pitch.At this, Shawn let out a subtle sigh of relief.But the very next comment made his chest tighten all over again."You know… Jocelyn and Shawn are actually a lot alike. They both have a knack for dropping bombshells out of nowhere.""If it hadn't been for Shawn's legendary bender after Alyssa left, none of us would have ever known he'd been carrying a torch for her for three whole years."The atmosphere turned awkward for a split second.Shawn broke the silence to explain, his voice clearer and louder than it had been all evening."That's ancient history. Stop hyping it up."His eyes cut through the crowd and landed on me. He looked unusually tense.But I suddenly didn't want to dwell on how

Chapter 4

Jocelyn's POVWhen Shawn heard my question, a look of genuine confusion crossed his face."What day?" he blurted out.It seemed I was the only fool who'd actually kept track—the only one holding onto the dream of us getting married, the only one who remembered that, from the moment that basketball came hurtling toward me, I'd wanted to spend forever with him.Watching his blank expression, I felt the knot of resentment in my chest suddenly unravel."It's nothing," I said quietly.Alyssa's footsteps were drawing closer.Shawn straightened his cuffs and walked away without looking back."We'll talk when we get home later," he tossed over his shoulder. "I'm going back out. Don't let Alyssa see you.""There you are, Shawn! I've been looking everywhere," Alyssa chirped as she rounded the corner.Shawn shifted half a step sideways, his tall frame deliberately shrouding me in the shadows of the hallway.She tugged at his sleeve, her voice dropping into a practiced, pouty whine. "Sh

Chapter 5

Jocelyn's POVShawn's eyes immediately locked onto the man standing beside me, helping with my suitcase."Jocelyn, I already told you I'm only looking after Alyssa because my mom asked me to," he snapped. "Do you really have to find some guy just to spite me?"He stormed toward us, and my heart tightened instinctively.But as I turned, I saw Nelson Fletcher, the man my family had arranged for me to marry, quickly slip on a face mask and a pair of white gloves.He bowed with exaggerated politeness, stepping seamlessly into character."Mr. Lowell, you've got the wrong idea. I'm Ms. Clarke's private butler and chauffeur.""What kind of chauffeur is too afraid to show his face yet bold enough to touch his employer's hand?"Shawn clearly wasn't buying the act. He let out a cold laugh, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'd love to know exactly which agency employs a chauffeur who doesn't know his place."He lunged forward, reaching to rip the mask off Nelson's face.Afraid he was a

Chapter 6

Shawn's POVThe moment I stepped through the door, an unnatural stillness hung over the entryway. It felt wrong. The pink fuzzy slippers Jocelyn always left by the door were gone.In the living room, the windowsill that had once been crowded with her thriving succulents was completely bare.The familiar blend of oud and fresh laundry had vanished from the air. I could barely catch a trace of it anymore.I shoved the bedroom door open like a man losing his mind, only to find Jocelyn's side of the closet picked clean."How… how is it empty?" I murmured, my fingers starting to tremble.Alyssa followed me in, her voice light and innocent. "Wow, Shawn! I can't believe you keep this place so spotless even when you live alone. You really are quite the catch."A catch?The words felt like a serrated blade stabbing into my chest.I remembered the countless nights I'd been swamped with work, not dragging myself home until the early hours of the morning.It was Jocelyn who always left a

Chapter 7

Shawn's POVI let Alyssa's question hang in the air, my white-knuckled grip on the ring and the defensive look in my eyes saying everything I wouldn't."You really chose her."Her voice was barely a whisper, thick with a bitter mix of scorn and disbelief."Everyone claims you and Jocelyn are at each other's throats, but at that party, you couldn't take your eyes off her."She reached out to catch my hand. "Shawn, I know I was wrong to leave. I should have stayed by your side when things got rough for your family. But my dad forced my hand! If I hadn't agreed to go abroad, he would have sold me off into some arranged marriage.""I spent every single day abroad waiting for you, but you never came for me," she choked out.Her eyes rimmed with red as her voice finally splintered. "I kept making excuses, telling myself you were just swamped. I thought what we had meant something more. Were all those years just a lie?"I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. When I finally found my

Chapter 8

Jocelyn's POV"Who gave you permission to touch her? Get your hands off her!" Shawn snarled.His eyes, streaked with red, burned with murderous rage as he glared at Nelson's hand on my arm.He lunged toward us, reaching out to yank me back into his arms."Shawn, what are you doing?"My brows knitted together as I raised a hand, pressing it firmly against his chest and shoving him back a pace.It was an effortless move, yet it hit him like a physical blow, freezing him in his tracks.Because there, on the hand pushing him back, a diamond ring caught the crystalline light of the ballroom."What… what is this?"Shawn's gaze anchored on my ring finger, the final shards of his composure crumbling away."Josie, what is that ring doing on your finger?""I already told you I'm getting engaged," I said, meeting his eyes with level calm.I let the next words twist like a knife. "But once I got home, I realized waiting until the weekend was far too long, so yesterday, with both our fa

Chapter 9

Jocelyn's POV"Wait—is that the Fletcher heir, the one who's been expanding their business overseas? Since when did he come back to the country?" a guest gasped."Jocelyn pulled off a marriage alliance with the Fletchers? Without a word to anyone?" another voice cut in."Nelson Fletcher…"Shawn went rigid as a wave of paralyzing panic crashed over him."That's impossible. You've only known him a few days!"He whirled toward the crowd, his voice cracking into a hysterical shout."Jocelyn, we've been together for five years—five goddamn years! How can you just turn around and marry another man?"As the revelation hung in the air, every set of eyes in the ballroom widened, fixing on us in stunned disbelief."What? Those two rivals have been together this whole time?""Oh my god! If they've been together for five years, then at the party the other night…"Kristine's face was drained of color. She clamped a hand over her mouth, her eyes flooding with guilt."Oh, Josie… at that p

Chapter 10

Jocelyn's POVShawn froze. The threat of losing everything he owned, coupled with the countless probing stares from the room, left him pinned to the spot, unable to move an inch.I didn't spare him another glance. I slipped my arm through Nelson's and walked toward the head table.…Halfway through the reception, I excused myself to use the restroom.Nelson grabbed my wrist, a flash of worry in his eyes. "I'm coming with you. That lunatic isn't in his right mind, and I don't feel comfortable letting you go alone.""Are you getting a little too comfortable in the bodyguard role?" I teased.I couldn't help but chuckle, thinking back to his seamless performance as my chauffeur the other night.I gave his hand a reassuring pat. "Don't worry. This is Kristine's wedding. Shawn cares too much about his reputation to cause a scene here."I patted the back of his hand once more, coaxing him back into his seat, then walked out of the banquet hall alone.But just as I rounded the corner

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