Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 11 - Chapitre 13

THERONI pulled through the gates half a minute behind my father's car.By the time my boots hit the gravel he was halfway to the steps, heavy and unhurried, shrugging his coat into one of the help's hands without breaking stride.The collar of my service dress had been a hand at my throat since noon, and the shirt under it was damp with frustration.Every rating who'd saluted me during the logistics briefings had felt like a sneer; every pair of eyes in the wing, a silent question.Did you hear? Admiral Cavendish's car. His jacket. Your wife. Covered in it."Dad." I caught up to his shoulder. "We have an issue with Delphine. She caused a scene at the gate yesterday, and this morning—""Not on the driveway!" Dad checked his watch and kept walking.I swallowed the rest of it the way I'd been swallowing it all day, with my teeth pressed together until my jaw ached.The chandelier burned above us in the foyer, throwing our shadows long across the marble, and it felt like walking through

DELLATheron wrapped his arms around my small, thin frame, burying his face into the crook of my neck."Della," he murmured against my skin, his voice muffled and thick. "My sweet girl. Come home. Please."My arms hung limp at my sides for several seconds, my forehead pressed at the hard brass buttons of his service tunic.The scent of him flooded my senses, overwhelming my defenses with sheer familiarity.Slowly, my hands rose, curling into the fabric of his shoulders.I let out a long, shuddering sob against his chest, my knees threatening to buckle as the exhaustion finally claimed me.Theron held me up, his grip firm around my waist, just as he had in the hospital.He smoothed a hand over the back of my head, stroking my dark hair, whispering quiet reassurances into the drafty dark of the foyer.Over my shoulder, I couldn't see his eyes, but I felt the shift in his posture—the subtle straightening of his spine, the loosening of tension in his shoulders.Theron's arms stayed wrappe