LOGINHELENEAfter hanging up the call, I remained standing by the window for a long while, watching the evening gradually settle over the quiet neighborhood before finally letting out a soft sigh.From Grandma's sudden declaration that she and Grandpa were returning to Solstice, to their arrival and the relentless questioning that followed, I had barely found a moment to gather my thoughts.Only after speaking with Lucien did something occur to me.Even though I had known from the moment Grandma announced they were coming that I wouldn't be returning to Monarch Park that night, it hadn't even crossed my mind to let him know beforehand.That was entirely my oversight.Whether our marriage was real or not had nothing to do with it. It was simply basic courtesy to let the person I was living with know I wouldn't be coming home for the night.Instead, he had been the one to call and ask where I was.The thought left me feeling even more apologetic than before.When I returned, I'd have to apol
LUCIENAfter a busy, albeit rather uneventful day at work, I decided to leave right on time, much to Adrian's visible envy.As the car pulled away from Blackthorne Group, my thoughts drifted home almost immediately.More specifically, they drifted toward Helene.Over the past several days, although we hadn't spent every waking moment together, each of us keeping mostly to our own rooms or the study, there had always been the quiet comfort of knowing the other person was somewhere within the house.Habit truly was a frightening thing.Somewhere along the way, I had unconsciously grown accustomed to her presence. Throughout the workday, I found myself wondering what she might be doing.Had she spent the afternoon tending to her plants?Or perhaps she was in the kitchen experimenting with another smoothie recipe.The thought drew an involuntary smile from my lips.Perhaps she had noticed my absence today as well.After all, until this morning, there had always been the two of us beneath
HELENE"Sweetheart."Grandma's familiar voice came through the speaker, warm and reassuring as always."You haven't called for days. Is everything alright over there?""Everything's fine," I replied as I walked over to the sofa and sat down. "I've just been a little busy these past few days."The excuse sounded weak even to my own ears."I'm sorry. You must have been worried.""No need to apologize," Grandma said, though the relief in her voice was impossible to miss. "As long as you're alright."The guilt that hit me was almost overwhelming.Calling Grandma and Grandpa had always been part of my routine. No matter how busy I got, I checked in at least once every few days. Going nearly a week without contacting them was unusual enough that they had undoubtedly noticed.In fact, they had probably realized something was wrong long before now.Yet neither of them had called repeatedly demanding answers.Neither had pressured me.Looking back, they were likely giving me space because they
LUCIENAdrian's expression immediately turned serious."No."He shook his head."From everything I found, he's an ordinary employee. No suspicious financial activity. No personal connections to your uncle or cousin. No evidence they've ever crossed paths."The answer didn't surprise me.If Marcus and Julian truly had a connection with the Morgans, then they would never need direct contact with the journalist in the first place.All it would take was a word from his employer."Should I look into the Morgans?" Adrian asked. "See what they've been doing recently?"I was about to agree, then paused.A thought surfaced unexpectedly.Ever since the accident, one detail had continued to bother me.When I first began investigating Marcus and Julian, I had discovered a thread leading toward them.Nothing concrete or sufficient, but just enough to make me suspicious.What never made sense, however, was the execution itself.For all their ambition, neither Marcus nor Julian possessed the ability
LUCIENThe meeting itself was little more than a welcome-back event disguised as a briefing.After a short discussion regarding several ongoing projects, it quickly came to an end.I left first, with Adrian following a step behind me as we headed out beneath a variety of gazes.Not long after we returned to my office, a secretary knocked on the door and stepped inside."Mr. Blackthorne," he said. "Mr. Marcus Blackthorne is here to see you."I paused briefly before exchanging a glance with Adrian.How impatient."Let him in."A minute later, Marcus entered the office while Adrian excused himself temporarily.I gestured toward the chair opposite my desk."Please, sit."After he settled himself, I leaned back slightly and offered him a polite smile."I'm afraid my office still isn't quite in order after my absence, so I can't offer you anything at the moment."With the coffee machine sitting less than ten feet away, the statement was an outright lie, and both of us knew it.If Marcus had
HELENEI didn't learn about the article until dinner.Lucien brought it up himself.He told me not to worry and assured me that he wouldn't allow my name to be dragged into the mess.Ironically, that was the least of my concerns.What he would never know was that when I read the article, the first person I worried about wasn't myself.It was him.The thought of strangers publicly dissecting his decisions, questioning his competence, and scrutinizing every aspect of his life left me considerably more unsettled than any mention of my own name could have.And yet throughout the entire conversation, he maintained that same calm, unhurried demeanor.As though the whole thing was a minor inconvenience rather than a coordinated attack on his position.The sight irritated me more than it should have.Why did he insist on acting like everything was fine?Then, as though that weren't enough, he mentioned almost in passing that he would be returning to work the following morning.I still couldn'
LUCIEN“I still can’t believe you’re married,” Adrian said after returning from seeing the registrar out. He dropped onto the sofa beside me, disbelief clear in his tone. “It feels surreal.”My gaze fell on the marriage certificate resting on the table. The emotions in my eyes remained unreadable.
HELENESitting across from Lucien once again, I felt far more at ease than I had yesterday.Neither of us was particularly interested in exchanging meaningless pleasantries, so when he pushed a document across the table, I picked it up without a word.“Go through the terms,” he said. “See if there’
LUCIEN For the first time in my life, I felt as though I wasn’t intelligent enough. From everything Helene had said so far, it was obvious she found the idea of replacing Noemie and marrying me just as ridiculous as I did. She had even clearly foreseen the consequences it could bring—especially fo
LUCIENI read through the document in front of me meticulously, and only signed my name at the bottom after confirming there were no issues.The entire time, I could feel my trusted assistant—Adrian Hale’s—hesitant gaze lingering on me from across the study table. He had been like that for the pas







