No Longer The Ones Who Lose のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 11 - チャプター 20

“Honey, are you okay?” Silas sat beside the hospital bed, looking at me as if I had single-handedly saved the world. In his eyes, I had just protected the only child he had ever truly wanted. I forced myself to sit up, ignoring the dull pull along my side. “I’m fine. You heard the doctor yesterday. It’s just bruises. I’ll live.” He pulled me into a careful hug. “You really scared me.” I stared at the wall over his shoulder. Scared that I might die… or briefly hopeful that I might finally be out of the way? I no longer knew how to separate the two possibilities. The only clear memory was the one that mattered: I had reached Leo in time. We had fallen hard onto the roadside, my body curled around his. He hadn’t gotten a single scratch. The door opened. Nova came in with Leo. The moment she saw me, her face arranged itself into warm gratitude. “Valarie, you really are my best friend,” she said. “Saving my child like that… I’m so grateful. And everyone’s talking about it. Someone po

Just as I finished cleaning the last traces of the mess upstairs and made my way down, the front door opened. Silas stepped inside. I let out a quiet breath. Even the sight of him was starting to irritate me. Still, I arranged my face into the perfect-wife smile and walked over, sliding my arms around him in a warm hug. “Honey,” he said, pulling back just enough to look at me. “Today you look brighter. It’s like you’re in a very good mood.” Of course I was. I had received something he had never been capable of giving me. Out loud I only said, “I’m feeling better. And I’ve been thinking… I want to go back to work.” His eyebrows rose. “Really? That soon? You’re still weak. How would it look to everyone if I let you start working again right away? Honestly, it would just make me look like a bad husband.” I tilted my head, studying him. “Is that all? Or is there another reason?” “What other reason could there be?” He gave a short laugh and headed for the couch. I followed, keeping my

“So,” Tristan said, still standing close enough that I could feel the heat coming off him. “Are you down for the offer or what?”I exhaled slowly. He had already explained it in that calm, matter-of-fact way of his. He was friends with the owner. The Executive Financial Manager position at Rashford was vacant. All I had to do was say yes and it would be mine.“Or maybe,” he added, voice dropping, “a little kiss would give you time to think. Don’t you think?”I bit my lower lip without meaning to. He really did know how to choose the exact words that made it harder to think straight. I looked away. He caught my chin and turned my face back toward him. I turned it away again. He turned it back, firmer this time — not rough, but not gentle either. The control in the gesture sent a slow pulse of heat low in my stomach.He slid two fingers against my lips.“Last time I tasted you,” he murmured. “Now you just have to suck on these. You don’t have to taste me yet… unless you want to. The que

Valerie “Honey?” I kept my voice soft and polite as I set his plate in front of him. “If you didn’t want them to know I was your wife… why were you following me?”I wanted the embarrassment to settle deeper. Getting angry would have made it an even fight. I preferred the score to stay exactly where it was: Silas zero, Valarie one hundred.He sighed and pushed his fork into the food without looking up. “No, honey. I was just passing by and thought I could check on you for a bit.”I smiled. “Oh. Is that so?”He nodded, the guilt plain on his face. He still hadn’t recovered from the scene outside Rashford, and I had no intention of letting him forget it quickly.“But wait,” I continued, keeping my tone light, almost amused, “did you seriously think I was flirting with that man?”He opened his mouth. I cut him off before he could dig the hole any deeper.“No. Don’t ever think like that. The only man I can flirt with is you. You’re all I have, honestly. And I’m almost done getting the inf

I sat on the small wooden stool in front of him, hands folded tightly in my lap. He paused and looked at me over the top of the book he had been reading. He was young — almost Silas’s age — with the kind of calm, observant eyes that made it hard to tell how much he actually knew. Guilt settled over me like a weight. I was almost certain I had been caught. “What would you do,” he began slowly, “if someone hurt you deeply… but luckily you found someone else who healed that hurt and made you forget the betrayal… only to realize they were worse? And that they were hiding something important from you?” My heart skipped. The story sounded far too similar to my own. For a second I wondered if he was speaking in riddles on purpose. He closed the book and turned it so I could see the cover. “It’s a novel I’ve been reading. It’s caught my attention. I haven’t finished it yet, so I just wanted to involve you in the thought.” He gave a small, polite smile. “You don’t have to have an answer.