Todos os capítulos de The Billionaire's French Kiss : Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

Lena The first lie of the evening was that I was happy. I told myself that as I stood there. That if I smiled enough, fixed my hair enough, and stopped staring at the parts of myself I didn't like, eventually I'd believe it. I stood in front of the mirror, smoothing my emerald-green dress over my curves for the third time. The bedroom was warm, filled with the soft yellow glow of the bedside lamps. Everything looked exactly as it usually did, yet somehow it felt different tonight. Maybe because I had spent the entire afternoon preparing for a moment I desperately wanted to go well. Maybe because I knew, deep down, that I was trying too hard. ‎ ‎“Too much?” I asked my reflection. ‎ ‎The woman staring back at me smiled uncertainly. ‎ ‎The dress hugged my waist before falling softly over my hips. The neckline was modest, but it showed just enough of my cleavage to make me feel feminine without making me feel exposed. ‎ ‎I turned sideways. ‎ ‎My stomach was still there.

Lena I didn't remember driving home. I remembered the rain. I remembered the traffic lights changing from red to green. I remembered gripping the steering wheel so tightly that my fingers hurt. But I couldn't remember the road. My mind was still trapped inside Daniel's apartment. His voice. Sophie's tears. The silver watch. And those words. You've gained weight. I pulled into the parking space outside my apartment and remained inside the car. The engine was still running. I stared through the windshield. People walked past. A woman carried groceries. A man hurried beneath an umbrella. Someone laughed somewhere across the street. The world was continuing. How could it? How could everyone be moving normally when my entire life had just fallen apart? My phone buzzed. I looked at it. Maya: I'm coming over. I didn't remember telling her where I lived. I didn't remember agreeing to see her. I didn't reply. Instead, I switched off the engine and stepped out of the

Lena ‎Back in my apartment, still crouched down on the sofa, I just couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing. ‎The room looked exactly the same as it had that morning. ‎The same cushions. ‎The same coffee table. ‎The same blanket twisted around my legs. ‎Nothing had changed. ‎And yet everything had. ‎A few days ago, this apartment had felt like home. ‎Now it felt like a place where my memories were waiting for me. ‎I could still remember Daniel sitting in that armchair. ‎I could remember him laughing. ‎I could remember the evenings we'd spent here, ordering food and watching movies, arguing over what to watch and pretending we weren't both tired. ‎I could remember how safe I'd once felt. ‎That was the cruelest part. ‎The memories hadn't become ugly just because he had. ‎They were still beautiful. ‎And that made losing them hurt even more. ‎I stared at the phone in Maya's hand. ‎ ‎Then at Maya. ‎ ‎Then back at the phone. ‎ ‎My mind struggled to catch up with wh

Lena ‎ ‎Paris smelled nothing like home. ‎ ‎I noticed that before I noticed anything else. ‎ ‎The air carried the scent of rain, freshly baked bread, coffee, and something floral I couldn't quite identify. Cars moved along unfamiliar streets. People hurried past us speaking French, their words flowing together in a language I understood only in fragments. ‎ ‎I stood outside the airport with one hand wrapped around the handle of my suitcase and stared at the city beyond the glass doors. ‎ ‎The automatic doors opened behind me, releasing another wave of warm airport air before closing again. I could feel the suitcase pulling slightly against my wrist. My fingers tightened around the handle. For days, Paris had existed only as an idea. A booking confirmation on Maya's phone.

Lena The event was being held at a private mansion on one of the most beautiful streets I'd ever seen. The car moved slowly along the narrow street, and I found myself pressing closer to the window. Paris had looked beautiful everywhere we went, but this part of the city felt different. Quieter. More polished. More expensive. Even the buildings seemed to know they were beautiful. Tall iron gates surrounded enormous properties. Warm golden light spilled from windows. Elegant trees lined the pavement, their leaves shifting gently in the evening breeze. I adjusted the skirt of my dress over my knees. My fingers wouldn't stop moving. I'd spent nearly an hour getting ready. Maya had insisted on doing my hair. I'd put on earrings I'd almost decided not to wear. I'd stood in front of the mirror three separate times and wondered whether the blue dress had been a terrible idea. Now, sitting in the back of a car headed toward a mansion filled with people I had never met, I was be