Semua Bab You Lost Me, Desmond Vaughn : Bab 1 - Bab 5

Genevieve Vaughn never meant to overhear the conversation that would shatter the last remnants of her marriage. She had been carrying a tray of afternoon tea toward Desmond’s study when the voices stopped her cold just outside the half-open door. Desmond’s low, confident tone cut through the air. “…Olive is a month pregnant. The timing works perfectly for the announcement tomorrow. Dad and Mom fully support it. Mother even suggested we frame this as a modern family expansion. Genevieve has served her purpose. She’s been… convenient.” A second voice—his brother—laughed. “She won’t make a fuss. She never does. Just keep her out of sight at the party. Olive will be a much stronger public match now that she’s carrying your child.” The porcelain teacup trembled violently in Genevieve’s hand. Pregnant. Olive, the mistress she had suspected for weeks, was carrying Desmond’s child. While her own arms had remained empty year after year. Shock made her grip tighten. The entire tray slippe

Genevieve stood in the middle of the spacious guest room in Alain’s house. She was so grateful to have a friend like him. A real one.“Thank you, Alain,” she whispered to the empty room, her voice thick. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”Her fingers tightened slightly on her suitcase as she added, almost to herself, “I don’t even have anywhere else to go.”Tears came then, unbidden and unstoppable. She began unpacking her small suitcase, folding clothes into the drawers while sobbing quietly.Didn’t notice Alain standing quietly at the doorway, his tall frame leaning against the wood, watching her with quiet concern. His jaw tightened as her shoulders shook. He lingered a moment longer, then stepped inside.“You shouldn’t do this to yourself,” he said gently. “It’s hard enough already. You don’t need to make it worse by breaking down over a man who never understood your worth.”She startled, wiping her face quickly with the back of her hand. “Alain—I didn’t hear you coming.”He

“Genevieve. Finally. What the hell do you think you’re doing?”The raw fury in Desmond’s voice leaked through the speaker, but underneath the anger, there was a desperate, panicked edge.Genevieve didn’t flinch. She kept her eyes fixed on the city sprawling beneath her window, her fingertips resting lightly against the cold glass. Her face was absolutely calm. To her, this wasn’t an argument; she had already moved past the life he was frantically trying to salvage.“I believe the divorce papers made that very clear,” she replied. Her tone was smooth and completely unbothered by his rage.A tense silence stretched over the line. She could hear his breathing—heavy, and tightly strained.“Clear?” Desmond snapped, his control splintering. “You go online and blast the end of our marriage like some cheap gossip, and now you’re throwing lawyers at me? After everything we built? This isn’t you, Genevieve.”A faint, humorless smile touched her lips, though her eyes remained detached.“No, Desm