Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 11 - Chapitre 20

Chapter 11The penthouse was too quiet.I watched Riven from across the room as he stood at the window, back to me, arms crossed like he was holding himself together. The city lights painted his silhouette in cold blues and golds. He hadn’t said much since we left the office. Neither had I. Words felt dangerous now — too close to admissions we couldn’t take back.I crossed the room slowly. My hand found his shoulder. He didn’t pull away. That was almost worse.“You’re thinking about running again,” I said quietly.Riven let out a short, bitter sound. Not quite a laugh. “Would it matter? You’d just drag me back.”I turned him to face me. His eyes were dark, conflicted, but there was no real fight left in them tonight. Only exhaustion and that same ugly hunger I felt mirrored in my own chest.“I shouldn’t want this,” he said, voice low. “I should be planning how to end you. Instead I’m standing here letting you touch me like it’s normal.”My thumb brushed his jaw. “Nothing about this is

Chapter 13:The penthouse was too quiet.I watched Riven from across the room as he stood at the window, back to me, arms crossed like he was holding himself together. The city lights painted his silhouette in cold blues and golds. He hadn’t said much since we left the office. Neither had I. Words felt dangerous now — too close to admissions we couldn’t take back.I crossed the room slowly. My hand found his shoulder. He didn’t pull away. That was almost worse.“You’re thinking about running again,” I said quietly.Riven let out a short, bitter sound. Not quite a laugh. “Would it matter? You’d just drag me back.”I turned him to face me. His eyes were dark, conflicted, but there was no real fight left in them tonight. Only exhaustion and the same ugly hunger reflected in my own chest.“I shouldn’t want this,” he said, voice low. “I should be planning how to end you. Instead I’m standing here letting you touch me like it’s normal.”My thumb brushed his jaw. “Nothing about this is norma

Chapter 15 The message from my head of security burned in my mind even after I deleted it.Marcus Kane knew Riven’s name.I held Riven tighter against me on the couch, his head on my chest, our skin still warm from what we’d just done. His breathing had evened out, but I knew he wasn’t asleep. Neither of us could afford that luxury tonight.I should have told him the full truth. Instead I kept stroking his back, letting the silence stretch. Every touch felt like both comfort and countdown.Riven shifted slightly. “You’re thinking about Marcus.”It wasn’t a question. He was getting too good at reading me.“Yes,” I admitted. My voice came out low. “He’s moving faster than I expected. If he connects you to the breach…”Riven lifted his head. His eyes were dark, exhausted, but steady. “Then Lila becomes leverage. He’ll threaten her treatment to force me to turn on you.”The words landed like a blade. I hated how calmly he said them. Like he’d already accepted the possibility.I pulled hi

Chapter 17The penthouse felt colder without him.I stood at the window for what felt like hours, arms crossed tight across my chest, watching the city wake up below. The lights were fading into morning gray, but nothing felt gray inside me. Everything felt sharp. Exposed. Like the walls had finally thinned enough for the outside world to see us.My phone vibrated again on the table. Another message from Lila’s doctor. Her condition was declining faster than expected. The next treatment window was closing in days. If it passed, the experimental protocol would lose effectiveness. Permanently.I stared at the screen until it went dark. The guilt I’d been carrying for weeks had grown teeth. Every choice I made now had her face attached to it. And every choice kept leading me back to Damien.I wasn’t trapped by the contract anymore.I was trapped by wanting to stay.The realization settled in my chest like cold stone. Revenge felt like a memory from another life. Hate felt like a language

Chapter 19The penthouse felt colder without him.I stood at the window for what felt like hours, arms crossed tight across my chest, watching the city wake up below. The lights were fading into morning gray, but nothing felt gray inside me. Everything felt sharp. Stripped open. Like the walls had finally thinned enough for the outside world to see us.My phone vibrated again on the table. Another message from Lila’s doctor. Her condition was declining faster than expected. The next treatment window was closing in days. If it passed, the experimental protocol would lose effectiveness. Permanently.I stared at the screen until it went dark. The guilt I’d been carrying for weeks had grown teeth. Every choice I made now had her face attached to it. And every choice kept leading me back to Damien.I wasn’t trapped by the contract anymore.I was trapped by wanting to stay.The realization settled in my chest like cold stone. Revenge felt like a memory from another life. Hate felt like a la