Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 21 - Chapitre 30

Simone's POV The moment Arlene opened the painting, I held my breath. I had no idea what I expected her to do. Perhaps she would stare at it for a few seconds, realise that I had painted her without her permission, and become angry. Maybe she would question why I had painted her in the first place.Instead, her eyes widened, then she squealed."Oh my God!"I flinched slightly at the sudden noise. She held the painting with both hands, staring at it as though I had just handed her some priceless treasure."Is this me?"I didn't answer immediately, wondering what she'd do next. She turned towards me, her eyes shining with excitement."Simone! You drew a painting of me?""I…"I didn't even get the chance to finish before she turned her attention back to the painting."Look at this! Oh my God, this is beautiful! You made my eyes look so pretty.”Her almond-shaped hazel eyes were actually beautiful. Whenever our eyes met, I found myself looking into them.She moved closer to the lamp, exa

Arlene's POV I woke up to the sound of the door opening. At first, I was too sleepy to understand what was happening. I shifted slightly, expecting to find myself alone on my side of the bed, but instead, I felt something warm around my waist.My eyes opened immediately and I froze when realization set in.An arm was wrapped around me. I slowly turned my head and found myself staring directly at Simone.For a moment, I couldn't move. His face was close to mine, and his arm was securely around my waist, holding me against him. One of my hands was resting against his chest, while my head was lying comfortably against his shoulder.How did we end up like this? I blinked trying to remember the details of last night and then everything came rushing back to me.The thunderstorm had started and I was scared. I remembered Simone holding me and I had fallen asleep in his arms. But I hadn't expected to wake up in them. I was still trying to figure out how to move without waking him when I hear

Arlene's POV I looked around the room again, wondering if I had somehow missed something obvious. The candles, the decorations, the carefully arranged table...none of this felt like something Simone would normally do.He raised an eyebrow then finally spoke, "What's going on is that we're having dinner.""Yes, I can see that. But why? Is it your birthday today?”He leaned back slightly in his wheelchair. "Can't a husband have dinner with his wife peacefully?"I rolled my eyes at him. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips, “When is your birthday?”"November 4th.”“Great. Now, let's eat before the food gets cold.”We started eating, and for a while, neither of us said much. When we were almost done, Simone reached towards the side of the table and picked up a small box."What's that?"He placed it in front of me, "That's for you."I stared at him in surprise, "For me?" I hesitated before reaching for it.The box was beautifully wrapped, and I couldn't imagine what could possib

Simone's POV It had been five days since the night I kissed Arlene, and I had barely seen her since.At first, I didn't think much of it afterall She had always been unpredictable. One day, she would spend hours in my room, talking endlessly about things I didn't care about, and the next, she would disappear into the garden and leave me to my solitude. I had grown accustomed to her strange habits.But this time was different.I hadn't seen her in the garden. I hadn't heard her voice drifting through the corridors or caught sight of her wandering around the mansion. Even when I looked out of my window, hoping to see her somewhere in the compound, there was never any sign of her. I found myself doing it more often than I cared to admit.Sometimes, I would wheel myself towards the window without even thinking about it, only to stare at the empty garden for a few minutes before turning away. I had no reason to be looking for her. If anything, I should have been relieved that she wasn't

Arlene's POV The next morning, I woke up earlier than usual, long before the mansion had come alive with the sounds of servants moving around and preparing for the day. I remained in bed for a while, staring at the ceiling as the early morning sunlight slowly filtered through the curtains.For some reason, I suddenly found myself thinking about the day I had first arrived at the Gillingham estate.It was three months ago, it was strange how quickly time could pass when you weren't paying attention to it. I had been here for three whole months. I sat up slowly, letting the realization sink in.Three months ago, I had been convinced that I wouldn't survive a week in this place. I had arrived here angry, confused and determined to keep my distance from everyone. I had been certain that the last thing I wanted was to become attached to anyone, especially the strange, moody man I had been forced to marry.Simone Gillingham had made that very easy at first. He had been rude, cold and compl