Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 7

Jasmine's POV "Boarding pass declined. Please contact the administrator." I stared at the screen, my mind refusing to process the words. That couldn't be right. With less than two hours before departure, my mind raced through every possibility. Nothing could go wrong—not now, not when I was so close to stepping onto that plane and starting what was supposed to be the best chapter of my life. I hurried toward the International Military Training Campaign representative. My stomach twisted into knots and my hands trembled, but I forced myself to stay calm. I could fix whatever needed fixing. Colonel Curtis was standing near the administrative counter. "Excuse me, Colonel Curtis? There's something wrong with my boarding pass." He turned toward me, his expression instantly hardening. "Miss Hayes, I'm surprised you had the nerve to show up after your research was flagged for plagiarism. It's only because of Lieutenant Hayes's involvement that we haven't pursued further disciplina

I stared at Noah Sterling. Remember him? I searched my memory, trying to place his face anywhere other than a television screen or a billboard. Nothing. "I'm sorry," I said flatly. "I don't." A low, easy chuckle escaped him. He explained softly that we had been friends back at the orphanage before the Sterlings adopted him. I studied his face, trying to picture him in the dusty courtyard, but my mind remained a complete blank. "Don't worry," he added, his dark eyes softening. "We were just kids." "Perhaps we could discuss your childhood another time," Cesar interrupted, settling into an armchair. "We're here to discuss marriage, aren't we?" "A potential betrothal," I corrected coldly. "Same difference," Cesar smirked. "Why not skip the engagement and simply get married right away?" We had known each other for approximately five minutes, and he was already making my skin crawl. He was a definite no—not even for a purely transactional engagement, much less a marriage. Cesar p

My phone buzzed in my hand just as I stepped into the marble vestibule outside the ballroom. Seeing Nathan’s caller ID, I answered before the second ring."Is something wrong with Brandon?" I asked, my voice dropping into a tight, quiet register."No, he's stable," Nathan assured me, his tone noticeably lighter than it had been all week. "He's resting. But Jasmine... did you see the military program's official release?""I saw it," I said, pausing under the high archway. "Vivienne was dropped for intellectual theft, and Ethan was barred for his attitude.""He tried to cheat during physical trials," Nathan revealed, a dry chuckle vibrating over the speaker. "The idiot literally hid in the storage facility to avoid the five-mile run. Thermal sensors picked him up in ten minutes. He set a speed record for getting thrown out."I shook my head, a disbelieving laugh escaping my throat."Just hurry home when you can," Nathan said, his voice softening. "We’re holding down the fort.""I'm on m

The drive back to our compound was an exercise in pure, tactical focus. The moment Victor pulled the SUV into the garage, Nathan met us at the threshold, sterile gloves already pulled tight over his hands and his jaw set in a hard line. "We have to move fast," Nathan said, taking the bio-transport container directly from my grip without missing a beat. Inside the basement lab, time completely lost its meaning. Nathan and I fell back into our military-honed extraction protocols, operating in seamless, wordless synergy as the world outside ceased to exist. We calibrated the cold centrifuge, ran multi-stage purity assays, and carefully separated the active enzymes from the silver-veined plant matrix. When Victor finally slipped into the lab to set down fresh bottles of water and a tray of sandwiches, I rubbed my bloodshot eyes, feeling the brutal ache behind my temples. "How long have we been down here?" I asked, my voice dry. "You've been locked in here for almost two days," Victo