Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 11 - Chapitre 20

Stacey's POV;It was right around 3:52 pm when the makeup artists arrived at my gate. They came in with a full entourage of facial artistes, one would think I was being prepared for a Miss World pageant.Usually, I would have trusted Aliya with my make-up but seeing as Richard almost had a psychotic breakdown when I brought it up again, I let him have his way. For the next two hours my face turned to a work ground, and I was beginning to get a little cranky at how long it was taking them. In the end, a look in the mirror made the long hours of sitting on a spot worth it. I couldn’t find myself in the mirror but another person staring right at me. The person in the mirror was GORGEOUS. They did my wavy hazelnut hair up into very nice curls and left a few to fall round my face. The slight eye-shadow added to my face accentuated the light brown of my eyes, making them glow a little brighter. Even my lips looked fuller and plush. Aliya was good but these guys were magicians.It was arou

Stacey's POV:The party drew further as the night grew darker, but the hall was still brimming with the same energy it started on. Mr. Donovan had taken me down to his cellar where he kept all of his wine. It was the largest amount of wine collection I'd ever seen in my life. He had instructed the servers to take some back up to the party, and for the next few hours we had been tasting different wines. “What about this?” Mr. Donovan poured me my thirteenth glass of wine that night. He wanted my opinion after every sip; we had opened a ton of bottles only just to take a sip from each of them. I grabbed the wine glass and gave it a gentle shake before bringing it to my nose to guess the ingredients just from the smell. “Black currant…dark cherry and,” I took a sip from the glass. “Tastes a little like wet earth.” Mr. Donovan took a sip from his glass, and his eyes shot up in astonishment. “Goodness, your taste buds are incredible,” he gushed excitedly. “You guessed all that from jus

Richard’s POV;The moment Stacey agreed to the dance, an unexpected excitement surged through me but I immediately suppressed it and led her to the dance floor acting unfazed. As we glided toward the center of the floor, I tried to focus my mind on anything else that wasn’t Stacey Smith. I turned my attention to the rhythm of the melody but that didn’t help so I focused on the reactions from the audience that surrounded us but as soon as I felt Stacey’s body press against mine, my thoughts fogged. Twirling Stacey gently, I pulled her closer, savoring the closeness as if it could somehow ward off the impending storm of chaos that filled our mind. The gentle sway of our bodies became a shared language; every step weaving a narrative—to prove that our love was real, as the world around us melted away.It was as if there were a spotlight just for us, illuminating every graceful move she made. Watching her, I felt like an artist, mesmerized by a masterpiece: she moved like a swan, her ev

Stacey's POV;As I pulled up to the sprawling estate, my heart raced in a dizzying mix of excitement and apprehension. The sleek black car that Richard had gifted me felt like a chariot fit for a queen, but instead of feeling regal, I felt more like an impostor in the elegant surroundings I was now in. The entrance was grand—tall wrought-iron gates framed by meticulously manicured hedges. It took a moment before we finally reached the enormous mansion, and as I stepped out, I found myself staring at the exquisite architecture. The façade was a blend of classical and modern design, with tall columns supporting a wide balcony that overlooked the perfectly landscaped grounds. Beautifully arranged flowerbeds exploded with color, and a fountain trickled merrily nearby, its sound barely breaking the spell of silence that seemed to envelop the estate.I couldn’t believe this was Richard’s world. I had imagined something upscale but nothing could have prepared me for this opulence. Every d

Stacey’s POV;Lunch had brought with it the biggest news of the day, and I could barely swallow any of the food I had taken. Vivian had announced that she was pregnant with Richard's child. Questions swirled in my mind like a storm trapped in a brewing pot. How would this change the already complicated arrangement Richard and I had? Would everything I thought I understood about us come crashing down around me? I had trusted him when he said he and Vivian weren’t serious, but perhaps trusting a notorious playboy like Richard Desmond was naive.I tried to convince myself that my concerns were solely based on the contract we had: a fake relationship that provided me with much-needed cash for my mother's hospital bills. I had planned my budget around the payments I was due over the next four months, fooling myself into believing that I could keep my head above water without exhausting myself with extra work hours. But now, all those well-laid plans felt precarious. I needed to see Richar