Chasing the Pride of Alessi 의 모든 챕터: 챕터 1 - 챕터 5

| •Marin• |"Mrs. Vane, did you know your husband has a bastard?"The question hit before I'd even fully stepped out of the car.Reporters closed in from every direction, shoving microphones toward my face. Camera flashes burst one after another, turning the covered driveway entrance of the Vane Luxury Hotel into a wall of white light.I swallowed hard, forcing my composure back into place."Is the child really Mr. Vane's?""Have you known about him all along?""No," I said, smoothing down my tailored dress as I stepped onto the pavement, keeping my voice perfectly steady. "Those rumors are completely untrue."No one lowered their cameras.I was used to it. Scandals had always followed Weston. There were secret affairs, whispers of hidden mistresses, and fake heirs. Every few months, another rumor resurfaced, trying to drag him down. But this story would fall apart like all the rest, because there was no bastard child in the shadows.Only the child I was carrying.Barely an hour earli

| •Marin• |Weston didn't stop me when I walked out of the private suite.Security had moved the cars to the underground garage once the story broke. I took the private elevator down alone. Somewhere around the fourth floor my knees stopped agreeing to hold me up. I put my hand on the wall and stayed there until the doors opened.The garage was empty. My footsteps sounded too loud against the concrete. I still had the folder's words running behind my eyes, over and over, like they'd rewritten themselves into the part of my brain that plays things back.My driver was already waiting.I got in, closed the door, and let myself stop pretending I was holding it together. My hands hadn't stopped shaking since the folder. I pressed them flat against my knees."My parents," I said.He pulled away without a word. I hadn't planned to go there. My mouth had said it before the rest of me caught up, some old instinct reaching for the one place that had felt safe before it got complicated.Did he e

| •Marin• |I remained where I was. A few minutes later, he came back alone.He stopped when he saw me. I didn't move. My hand was still resting against my stomach. His eyes instantly dropped, tracking the defensive posture, his gaze missing my abdomen by inches before I lowered my hand and let it fall to my side.I had learned to read the smallest changes in his face. Now, I couldn't tell what he was thinking.Alfred's cane sounded against the marble. He came toward us, glanced from Weston to me, then sighed."Come back inside. Both of you."We followed him into the sitting room beside the hall. The fire had burned low, leaving the room warm and dim. Alfred took his usual chair and motioned for us to sit. I chose the sofa. Weston sat in the armchair opposite me.Alfred's attention moved between us.“There is something the two of you need to settle before tomorrow.”Weston leaned back. "I'll handle it."“That is precisely why I want you to settle it today.” Alfred turned to me. "I won