Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 41 - Chapitre 50

“I have work.” She did not look at him. Her voice came out too carefully controlled. “The Chen annotations need a final pass before the nine o’clock call. Hartley’s team made two more soft approaches overnight. I want the responses ready.”Derrick crossed the kitchen, poured his own coffee, and leaned against the counter opposite her. The distance between them felt deliberate and fragile. She could feel the weight of his gaze like a physical touch.“You’re still avoiding me.”“I’m working.”“You’re putting walls up in my own kitchen.”Rica finally lifted her eyes. The winter calm was back in place on his face, but the tension in his shoulders betrayed him. Her own hands tightened around the mug until the heat burned.“I told you I needed space during the day,” she said, voice even, though it cost her. “This is me taking it. We can share the bed at

The tear disappeared into the pillow before Derrick could see it.Rica was grateful for that small mercy.She lay perfectly still, facing the glittering city beyond the glass, while Derrick's arm rested across her waist. His breathing warmed the back of her neck, steady and untroubled—or at least steady enough to convince her that he had already put their conversation behind him.She envied him.How did he do it?How could he say things that reached into her chest and rearranged everything inside her, then lie beside her as though the damage were merely an unfortunate consequence of business?You already gave me your heart.He had said it as though he were stating a fact from a contract.As though her feelings were another asset he had acquired without needing to negotiate its price.Rica closed her eyes.She wanted to turn around and ask him the question that had been tormenting her since breakfast.If you know I love you, why do you keep making it harder for me to leave?But she alr

"Of course he is.""Stay close.""I know the assignment."His gaze shifted to her."This isn't an assignment."She almost laughed."Then what is it?"He didn't answer.Instead, he offered her his arm.Rica accepted it.And together, they walked into the gallery.Hartley was standing beside a sculpture made of twisted steel, holding a glass of champagne and looking entirely too pleased with himself.He spotted them immediately.His smile widened."Derrick. Rica.""Hartley."Derrick's voice could have frozen the champagne.Hartley ignored the warning."Rica, you look magnificent.""Thank you.""Blue suits you. Though I confess I was expecting green."Her stomach tightened.Derrick's hand settled more firmly over hers."You're remarkably interested in my wife's wardrobe.""Only because I appreciate art.""Then perhaps you should spend more time looking at it."

"An honest answer."She laughed softly."You keep asking me for honesty as though you haven't already decided what you're willing to hear."His gaze sharpened."Then tell me something I don't want to hear."Rica stared at him.The words rose before she could stop them."I wish I had never met you."The car seemed to stop moving.Derrick went completely still.Rica felt the immediate, sickening urge to take the words back.But she didn't.She had promised herself she would stop protecting men from the consequences of hurting her.So she continued."I wish I'd never walked into your office. I wish I'd never signed that contract. I wish I'd never learned how you take your coffee or what your voice sounds like when you're half-asleep."Her throat tightened."I wish I didn't know that you prefer silence when you're angry, that you rub your thumb against your watch when you're worried, or that you always look

Morning arrived without mercy.Rica woke to an empty space beside her and the faint scent of Derrick's cologne lingering in the sheets. For a few seconds, she remained perfectly still, staring at the pillow where he had slept.She remembered the conversation from the night before.When the contract ends, let me go.And his answer.I don't make decisions about the end of something while we're still in the middle of it.Rica closed her eyes.One hundred and eighty-one days.She could survive that.She had survived worse.Her phone vibrated on the bedside table.An unfamiliar number flashed across the screen.Unknown: Good morning, Rica. I heard you're having a difficult time.Her eyebrows drew together.Another message appeared.Unknown: Coffee? There's something about Derrick White you deserve to know.Rica sat up.She knew that style of manipulation. The vague promise of a secret. The suggestion that everyone around her knew something she didn't.Before she could block the number, a t