WHEN THE SNOW STOPPED FALLING のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 5

CHAPTER 1 The Bitter Truth Elena's POV “Mrs. Hayes? You need to come get your husband right now.”The music in the background was too loud, to the point I couldn't help but wonder what Damon was doing in such a place. There was also laughter mostly from men, glasses clinking, and someone shouting about closing a deal. I guess it's more of a celebration. “I’m sorry?” I pressed the phone harder to my ear, trying to figure out why I'm needed in such a noisy place. “Damon’s terribly drunk. He won’t listen to any of us here. He keeps saying your name, so we checked you out. You should come get him home.”Immediately, my heart did something foolish, something a good wife would have done without thinking. For him to mention my name in such a state, means he has me in mind.“Send me the address immediately,” I said quickly, already reaching for my coat and car keys.“Private lounge, at Grand Meridian Hotel, the top floor.”The call ended like it never happened. I didn’t think twice. Not

CHAPTER 3The Snow Lie Elena's POV I stayed awake beside him, still in deep shock as he slept soundly like a baby. He turned his head slightly, showing how much he was enjoying his sleep. I had a lot of questions in my head. Too many that I didn't know where to begin with. “Damon…” I finally whispered his name, testing my ability to still hold a conversation. My voice was low, and very tentative, almost a whisper. “Do you… do you even care... about what you just said?”There was no answer from him. I clenched my fists, my teeth pressing very hard into my lower lip. Of course not, why would he when I let myself down?Unable to bear the suffocating silence between us, I decided to do something, anything to keep my mind active and sane, so I grabbed my laptop from the nightstand. My fingers shook slightly as I opened it. It was exactly 2 a.m., the time the world outside was still, and very silent...but somehow, I managed to be among the restless who were still up, that's if there were

Chapter 5Elena's POV “Don’t let emotion complicate this strategy at this point.”I wasn’t meant to hear that, I wasn’t even meant to be on this floor, but somehow, I found myself there. I was actually standing outside the slightly open boardroom door, ensuring my pulse was even when I noticed the voices were a bit hushed Edward Hayes’ voice, Damon's grandfather, was the loudest, which he never meant to do, but anger made him flare up. “The Laurent merger would secure Europe. We only needed her until expansion stabilized, that's all.”I knew at that point that he was talking about me.Her? Not Elena, not even your wife? Just her.My fingers became so cold that I feared I might freeze any moment. Inside, there was a brief pause, and I wondered what they were doing. I strained to hear Damon’s voice...waiting for denial, for outrage, for something that might encourage me to still stay.Nothing came immediately, only the silence of agreement.Edward continued, sharp and controlled. “