Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 61 - Chapitre 70

It was exactly 8:15 and Olive had barely slept.Even though the medication had eased most of the pain in her abdomen, there was still a dull ache beneath her stomach whenever she moved too quickly. She had learned to ignore it. She had to.No one could know.She sat at the edge of the bed while the sunlight slipped through the curtains, watching Desmond prepare for the day. He was still in the bathroom taking his bath when his phone lit up from a message notification. She stood up to check it when she saw it was a message from Genevieve. She had only seen a glimpse of the message; about meeting him on a Friday night before the bathroom door had opened.Few minutes later, Desmond had his back toward her as he adjusted the cuffs of his shirt. His phone rested on the bedside table behind him.Olive's eyes remained on him.She was thinking about the previous night.She had heard him answer the phone call. She had heard him call Genevieve's name. Olive's stomach had twisted the moment she

Olive's face became still, her breath uneven.“What... are you even talking about?”“The woman from months ago.”Ethan looked directly at her.“The woman I paid to sleep with at the club.”Olive's breath caught.He knew?He knew all along and had never said anything to her?She felt completely exposed.Ethan watched the change in her expression.“It was you. You must have remembered me from the first day I stepped into the house because you were the one wearing a mask that night, and you saw my face.”“I don't know what you're talking about.”Her answer came too quickly.Ethan shook his head.“Don't do that. You knew the moment I walked into this house. I didn't recognize you at first, but that locket around your neck and the birthmark on your neck are things I couldn't forget the night I saved you.”Olive's fingers curled against her palms.“It doesn't change anything, Ethan. I'm already carrying your brother's child.”“Does Desmond even know where you worked? What you used to do to

“Alain… is this how far your feelings for me have gone? Are you willing to do anything because of the feelings you have for me?”For several seconds, Alain said nothing.He simply looked at her across the table, his expression slowly changing as he realized that she was no longer talking about the food, the restaurant, or the strange feeling that had followed her since they arrived. There was something behind her question, something she was trying to understand without saying it directly.“What do you mean by that?” he finally asked, his voice quieter than before. “You have been looking at me like you are trying to figure something out since we got here, and now you're asking me how far my feelings have gone. Tell me what you're really thinking, Genevieve.”Genevieve lowered her eyes to the table.“Nothing. It's just…” She paused, trying to find the right words. “This doesn't feel like dinner between two friends, Alain. The restaurant, the private room, the way everything seems planne

Isabella's fingers slowly released Olive's locket.Olive immediately touched her neck, her breathing still uneven as she watched Isabella step away.“Forget about the two weeks,” Isabella said coldly. “You will not try to make Desmond sign those papers anymore. Do nothing. Stay in this house, keep your mouth shut, and do not create another problem for me.”Olive stared at her in disbelief.“But you were the one who gave me those two weeks. You told me to make him sign the papers before Genevieve could come back into his life.”“I said forget it.”Isabella's voice became sharper.“For now, I don't want you mentioning the divorce to Desmond, and I don't want you making any move without my permission. Do you understand?”Olive's fingers curled against her dress.“And what am I supposed to do?”“Nothing.”The answer made Olive fall silent.Isabella returned to her desk and sat down, her expression hard as she reached for a file in front of her.“You have already complicated things enough.

He immediately stilled. The loss of his mouth left her lips tingling.Genevieve sat upright, her cheeks burning as she tried to steady her breathing. Her body still hummed with the heat of his kiss, of his hand against her face, of the quiet way he had breathed her name.Desmond stared at her, looking almost confused by the distance she had suddenly created. His eyes were dark, heavy-lidded, still fixed on her mouth as if he hadn’t quite accepted that the kiss had ended.“You’re drunk,” she said softly, brushing her fingers over her lips. The lingering warmth of him was still there. “Its not like when you’re sober tomorrow, you might not even remember any of this.”Desmond’s eyes remained on her.“I’ll remember.”His voice was quieter now—almost intimate in its certainty.“I love you, Genevieve.”She went completely still. For several seconds, she could only stare at him. Those three words were ones she had spent years wishing to hear. And now they were coming from a man who could b