Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 10

“Emma, remove the pregnancy announcement from the schedule and send me the revised version before you leave.”Chloe placed the wedding timeline in front of me and crossed out one of the sections.“The magazine editor is here to see the wedding design. No one wants to hear how many months along you are.”I picked up my pen.“Fine.”She still didn't seem satisfied. A moment later, she pushed another document toward me.“Make sure you remove your name from the original design, too. Nathan said this is my first major public project. We can't have people thinking you're the lead designer.”“Got it.”Satisfied, she walked away.My coworkers watched in awkward silence. No one said a word.Everyone knew this was my wedding.Everyone knew I had spent three months designing it from start to finish.Nathan and I had run a wedding-planning company together for five years. We had planned weddings for countless couples. Six months ago, we had finally begun planning our own.Three months ago, after I

I ended the video call with Rachel and set my phone down.Nathan was about to question me again when his phone chimed.Chloe had sent him a photo.She was holding my bridal bouquet in front of the full-length mirror at our wedding venue.Do you think this bouquet suits me for tomorrow’s promotional shoot?Nathan looked down and typed back.It’s beautiful.A second later, Chloe called him on video.“Nathan, the florist said this bouquet was designed to match Emma’s wedding dress. She won’t mind if I use it for the shoot, will she?”Nathan turned the camera toward me.“Tell her you don’t mind.”“Go ahead.”Chloe smiled and thanked me.Nathan turned the phone back toward her and began helping her choose jewelry.He never asked what I had meant when I said I had lost the baby.When he finally got ready to leave, he noticed that I was still sitting at the desk. His brows drew together.“Didn't I tell you to go to bed earlier? You're pregnant. Do I really have to remind you every day?”“I st

I knocked on the door.Chloe immediately sat up from Nathan’s lap and smoothed down her skirt.“Emma, what are you doing here?”Nathan glanced toward the doorway.“How long have you been standing there?”“The operations manager said you wanted to see me.”Chloe pressed a hand to her forehead and explained softly, “I felt dizzy, so Nathan let me lie down for a while. Don’t get the wrong idea.”“She’s been standing in heels all morning,” Nathan added. “You walk in here looking like that, and who exactly are you trying to intimidate?”I ignored him.“What did you want to see me about?”Chloe reached for his hand.“Don’t scold her yet. The florist asked me how the centerpieces should be arranged today, and I didn’t know how to answer. Emma had to handle it in the end. Everyone probably thinks I’m only a creative director in name.”She had been taking photos at the time. She had handed me the tablet and told me not to bother her with minor details.Nathan looked at me.“Didn't I tell you to

I had barely reached the end of the hallway when I heard footsteps behind me.“Emma, wait.”Chloe hurried toward me, still holding the bouquet from the photo shoot. Nathan followed a few steps behind her, his expression tense.She looked between us as though she had just realized something terrible had happened.“Nathan told me about the baby.” Her eyes widened with practiced concern. “I had no idea. If I had known, I never would have asked you to keep working on the wedding.”I looked at her without answering.She lowered her eyes and tightened her fingers around my bouquet.“And if you're leaving because of me, then I'll leave instead. I never wanted to come between you two.”Before I could respond, Nathan cut in.“Stop. This isn't your fault.”Chloe looked up at him. “But Emma lost her baby, canceled the wedding, and quit the company. Everyone is going to think I pushed her out.”“You didn't push anyone out.”His answer came so quickly that I almost smiled.Even after learning that

“I know you're still angry with me,” Nathan said. “But I finally understand what I did wrong. I'll deal with the company, sell my share if I have to, and move here. We can forget everything that happened and start over.”He sounded so certain that I almost smiled.“Are you really giving up the company for me, Nathan?”He hesitated.“Or is the company already falling apart?”The confidence disappeared from his face.I hadn't been following the company since I left, but I was still in touch with several former coworkers. Over the past month, they had told me enough to understand what was happening.The first major project Chloe took over after my departure had been a disaster.It was a three-day wedding at a private vineyard, one of the largest contracts the company had signed that year. Chloe changed several parts of my original production schedule because she thought they were unnecessarily complicated.She moved the floral installation back by six hours.She replaced one of my longtim