Chasing The Wife He Discarded のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 11 - チャプター 20

Nerissa's POVThe whole wedding thing was put together in just eleven days, but the actual ceremony was over in eleven minutes - it was pretty fitting, really, since our marriage was more about signing papers than it was about love or any real emotional connection.We had the ceremony in the solarium, the same place where Lucien first asked me to marry him - it felt like a business deal at the time. My grandfather was seated in the front row, in a wheelchair that he still refused to admit he needed, with a blanket covering his knees even though the sun was shining brightly through the windows. The whole thing only took fifteen minutes, but Priya cried the entire time, and what really caught her off guard was that she was crying at all.The minister said, "You can kiss the bride now." Lucien bent down and gave me a quick, polite kiss on the cheek. It was the kind of kiss you'd give to a friend, not a romantic partner. And yet, it was being captured by photographers from all around the

Nerissa's POV"You've been looking all over for me," I said, my voice hanging in the air like a challenge. Lysander's eyes narrowed, his gaze piercing as he took a step closer. "You're not being very subtle," I added, a hint of amusement creeping into my tone. "I mean, I did give the concierge my real name when I checked in. I'm not trying to hide from you, so what's with the big search effort?"His jaw tightened. Up close, five years had carved lines into his face that hadn't been there before, not distinguished, just tired, the kind of tired that came from losing. " That's not what I meant.""Come on, be more specific. As someone in a leadership position, like a CEO, don't you think attention to detail is crucial in your field?"A muscle jumped in his cheek. Around us, the ballroom hadn't stopped, champagne still flowed, a string quartet still played somewhere near the terrace doors but I could feel the attention gathering at the edges of my vision, the particular hush of powerful p

Nerissa's POVOur lips touched for just a few seconds, no more than four, and then we both pulled away at the same time, like we had planned it that way.Lucien's hand brushed against my jaw, his touch soft and cautious, just like everything he did. My fingers had instinctively curled around the lapel of his jacket, holding on tight. For a moment, we just froze, neither of us daring to move or break the spell. Then, his eyes flickered open, and I saw a flash of surprise, followed by a quiet unease that seemed to echo the turmoil rising up inside me.He spoke my name, "Nerissa", with a gentle care, as if he was handling something delicate, and placing it back in its rightful place."I know." I stepped back, putting the width of the desk between us, my hand pressed flat against my collarbone as if I could slow my own pulse down by force. " I know, Lucien."He set his teacup down without drinking from it, the porcelain clicking against the saucer louder than it should have in the quiet s

Lysander's POVFifty-five seconds.I was standing in the fancy lobby of Vane Holdings, my phone jammed against my ear, and all I could think about was how I'd wasted five whole years not paying attention to a woman who could now sum me up in just a few seconds."Nerissa," I said, my voice a little harsher than I intended. "Thanks for picking up.""Fifty seconds, Mr. Blackwood."Mr. Blackwood. Like I was a stranger asking for a loan.I sat there with my eyes shut, trying to recall the speech I had practiced on the way. But somehow, between the time we took off and landed, it had all slipped my mind, like it had never been there at all."I'm not expecting you to give me a lot of your time," I told her. "I know I don't have the right to ask for that. But I have to make you understand, Nerissa, I've been searching for you for a really long time - we're talking five whole years, not just since what happened last night. It's been five years of looking, and I finally found you."There was th

Lysander's POV"She's been pretending not to be that rich all these years," Talia said again, shaking her head like she still couldn't wrap her mind around it. "Do you understand how insane that is? She let us treat her like a charity case.""We didn't treat her like a charity case, Talia. We treated her like garbage.""Same thing.""It's not the same thing." I dragged a hand down my face. I was too tired for this, too raw from Geneva, and Talia standing in my doorway at four in the morning wasn't helping."Whatever." She leaned against the frame, arms still crossed. "Point is, she's some kind of heiress now. Married. Probably has an army of lawyers who'd love nothing more than to bury this family.""She always did."Talia's face twisted. "What's that supposed to mean?""It means she was never the one who needed us, Talia. We needed her. We just never bothered to notice."She didn't have a comeback for that, which was rare enough that I almost laughed. Almost.Neither of us heard the