Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 11 - Chapitre 20

Adrian I was having difficulties with sleeping. I tried but sleep didn’t come, it's not that I expected it to. The city stretched beneath the floor-to-ceiling windows of my penthouse, glittering with life that felt distant and irrelevant, for the first time in years, I couldn’t control what was in front of me. Lily and Liam. My children. The world felt unreal, my stepmother pushed me into divorcing Scarlett and marrying my ex, Avery all because she couldn't bear an heir, and now she has twins that looks so much like the both of us. Twins that felt like my entire existence. They were five and bubbling. Too cute for anything. My jaw tightened as I stared out into the night. Did Scarlett steal them from me? No? She didn't. She would have broke the news to me If haven't failed as a husband. If I had known my duties and responsibilities well. The woman who once stood in my house, looking at me like I was her entire world, now looked at me like I was nothing. A faint sco

Adrian Routine. That was the key to all of this. Not force, nor pressure. Not showing up at Scarlett’s house demanding access to children who didn’t even know the truth yet. If I pushed too hard, she would shut every door in my face before I even had the chance to step through them properly. No. This required patience, consistency. Most importantly, routine. Because children trusted what became familiar to them. Scarlett expected war. She expected me to come crashing into her life the same way I used to handle everything years ago, with power, control, and demands. But I wasn’t making that mistake again. By the third day, I found myself back outside her house. Not inside the gates this time. Not standing at her front door. Just watching quietly from the car parked across the street while the morning sun slowly stretched across the neighborhood. The property stood tall and elegant behind black iron gates, every detail carefully maintained and protected. Just l

Scarlett I didn’t know how long I stood there staring at them, especially at Adrian, the way Lily and Liam pressed so naturally against him like they had known him far longer than a few brief encounters. Like something invisible had already started connecting them before any of us were ready for it. The sight unsettled me in ways I couldn’t explain. Because it looked right. It terrified me more than anger ever could. Liam still held tightly onto Adrian’s hand while Lily stood close enough that her shoulder brushed lightly against his arm every few seconds. Neither of them seemed uncomfortable. Neither of them seemed afraid. If anything, they looked safe beside him. That realization twisted painfully inside my chest. "Mrs. Roberts?" the school administrator’s careful voice finally broke through the haze clouding my thoughts. I blinked slowly and turned toward her.. She looked uncomfortable and nervous, like she was trying very hard not to involve herself in somet

Adrian Something felt wrong the moment I turned into Scarlett’s driveway. The house was still lit up even though it was far too late for anyone to still be awake. Light spilled softly through the windows, cutting through the darkness surrounding the property, and an uneasy feeling settled immediately in my chest. Scarlett was careful, disciplined, and well structured. She wasn’t the type to stay up carelessly in the middle of the night unless something was bothering her. And for some reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was. I had been halfway home when the instinct hit me, strong enough that I took the next turn without thinking and drove straight here instead. Maybe it was irrational. Maybe it was none of my business. But after everything that happened today, after Avery’s appearance at the school and the way Scarlett looked afterward, drained, tense, overwhelmed. I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Or the children. Especially the children. I ste

Adrian I didn’t sleep that night, not even for a second. The moment I walked back into my penthouse, I loosened my tie, poured myself a drink, and stood in front of the windows overlooking the city skyline while the same thoughts repeated endlessly in my head. Ethan touching her. Scarlett kissing him. The way she looked standing in his arms like she belonged there. Like she had found comfort somewhere that wasn’t me. My grip tightened around the untouched glass in my hand until the ice shifted sharply inside it. Five years. Five entire years apart, and somehow the thought of another man being close to her still felt unbearable in a way I couldn’t explain. It was irrational, possessive. Pathetic, honestly. I knew that, but awareness didn’t erase the feeling clawing through my chest, because the truth was simple and ugly at the same time. Scarlett had once been mine in every way that mattered, and seeing another man look at her like she was his world nearly destroy