Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 5

LENA'S POV"Stop shaking, Lena. You’re ruining the line of the silk."My mother’s hand snapped out, pinning my shoulder against the dressing room mirror. She didn’t look at my face; she was too busy obsessing over the lace sleeves."I think I’m going to be sick," I said. My voice sounded thin, like it belonged to someone else.Margaret finally looked at me. Her eyes weren't kind. They were calculating. "You’re not getting sick. You’re getting married. Do you have any idea what happens if you walk out there and make a scene? Edmund didn't pay two million dollars to your father’s estate for a girl who 'feels sick.'""He bought me," I whispered. "That’s what this is. A sale."Margaret slapped me.The sound echoed in the small room. My cheek stung, the heat blooming across my skin."He saved us," Margaret hissed, leaning in close. I could smell her expensive perfume, it smelled like a trap. "You should be thanking God that a man like Edmund Hale even looked at a useless girl like you. Now

Lena's povThe lock clicked open and I was on my feet before the door fully swung in.Ghost walked through first. Then Axel. Then Doc.All three of them breathing hard, dirt on their hands, something dark on Ghost's knuckles that I didn't look at too long. But standing. Unharmed. Alive.I don't know what came over me.Relief I think. The kind that starts in your chest and takes over everything else before you can stop it."You're okay," I said. My voice came out smaller than I wanted it to."We're fine," Axel said. He was still buzzing with adrenaline, eyes bright, chest rising and falling fast. "You should've seen Ghost out there. Sent those suits running so fast they left one of their SUVs at the gate.""Edmund's men won't be back tonight," Ghost said. He was looking at me in that steady way he had. Like he was checking something off a list. "You're safe."Safe.I had not heard that word directed at me in so long it almost didn't sound real."Thank you," I said. I looked at all thre

Lena's povThe results took five days.Five days of Axel bringing me food I didn't ask for and sitting beside me while I ate it like he was scared I'd disappear if he looked away. Five days of Rook showing up in whatever room I was in without explanation, quiet and steady like a wall nobody had asked him to build but everyone was grateful for. Five days of Ghost watching everything from a distance with those grey green eyes that gave nothing away but missed absolutely nothing.Five days of me pressing my hand flat against my stomach in the dark and trying not to think about things I wasn't ready to think about.The envelope arrived Friday morning.Ghost took it from the courier himself. Carried it to the kitchen where the rest of us were already gathered like we'd all felt it coming without anyone saying a word. He set it on the table and nobody reached for it.Axel broke first. "Just open it Ghost.""Give me a second.""You've had five days.""Axel." Rook's voice. One word. Axel clos