Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 11 - Chapitre 20

AVAI changed my mind.It happened so quickly that even I barely understood it.One minute I was standing in the middle of the room, staring at the packed bag on my bed, telling myself I could wait until morning.The next, I was opening my bag again .i pulled out my jeans and the black hoodie i had packed .Tomorrow suddenly felt too far away.I didn't want to wake up here.I didn't want another breakfast where I had to sit across from Alexander and pretend I wasn't affected by him.I didn't want to watch my mother smile at him.And most of all, I didn't want to spend another night in a house where every room seemed to remind me of something I shouldn't want.I zipped the bag shut.That was it.I was leaving tonight.I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and typed a message to my mother.I'm leaving tonight. I'm going back to campus.I stared at it for a few seconds before sending it.There was no long explanation.No apology.No request for permission.I wasn't a child.A few se

AvaFor a few minutes, I just sat there.My leg throbbed with every heartbeat.I tried moving it again.Bad idea.A sharp pain shot through my ankle and I immediately stopped."Great."I leaned my head against the wall and closed my eyes.This was exactly what I needed.A broken body, never ending debts and a mother who had apparently decided that refusing to help me was easier than asking why I needed help in the first place.I reached for my phone.My mother's conversation was still open.I stared at the last message.I almost called her again.Almost.Then I remembered her voice.Fine.No.I wasn't doing that.I wasn't going to beg.I looked toward my room.Then it hit me.I had money.Not in my bank account.Not from my mother.But I had a way of making it.My account.My lips parted slightly.How had I forgotten?I didn't need to wait for anyone to rescue me.I had built something of my own.Something that had started as a way to survive.Something that had grown far beyond what

AvaI couldn't move.I couldn't even think.His words kept repeating inside my head.I know who your biological father is.My father.The man I had spent twenty-three years not knowing.The man my mother had erased so completely from my life that I'd eventually stopped asking questions.And Alexander knew him.Somehow, Alexander knew him."You're lying."It was the only thing I could say.Alexander didn't react.He simply watched me.Calm.Controlled.Infuriatingly calm."Why would I lie about something like this?""Because you want something from me."His expression changed slightly."Of course I want something from you."My stomach twisted."There it is.""But that doesn't make what I said untrue."I shook my head."You expect me to believe that you just happened to know who my father is?""No.""Then explain it.""Not here."I laughed bitterly."Of course."He stepped closer.I immediately stepped back.He stopped.Good.At least he understood that much."Tell me his name."His eye

AVAThe city disappeared behind us long before Alexander finally stopped driving.I had stopped asking where we were going because every answer I could imagine frightened me more than silence.Outside the window, there were no familiar buildings anymore. No traffic. No glowing shop signs. No pedestrians wandering along the roadside.Only darkness.Trees crowded both sides of the road, their branches twisting over the asphalt like skeletal fingers.I stared through the glass.“How far are we?”Alexander didn't answer.I looked at him.His hands were steady on the wheel.He drove as though this were an ordinary night.As though he hadn't taken me from my room.As though I hadn't fought him.As though he hadn't ignored every refusal I had given him.“You're really doing this.”His eyes remained on the road.“You left me no choice.”A bitter laugh escaped me.“I left you no choice?”“Yes.”I turned toward him.“You're the one who decided my life belonged to you.”His jaw tightened.“You'r

AVAThe wedding was happening.That was the first thing I understood when they opened the bedroom door that morning.Not someday.Not eventually.Today.A woman I had never met stood outside with a garment bag hanging from her arm.“Mr. Black wants you ready by ten.”I stared at her.“For what?”She looked almost uncomfortable.“The wedding.”The word hollowed me out.I stepped backward.“No.”She didn't answer.“No.”I pushed past her.Two men were standing at the end of the corridor.Security.Of course.One of them immediately moved into my path.“I'm not going.”“I'm afraid you are.”I looked at him.“Tell Alexander I'm not going.”“He already knows.”That was when I understood.This wasn't an invitation.It was an order.I turned back toward the bedroom.The garment bag was still hanging from the woman's hand.She unzipped it.A dress.Beautiful.Elegant.Expensive.The kind of dress my mother would have chosen for me if she'd ever cared enough to wonder what I liked.I stared at