nbklost Nickollie D'livier

Nicolas had a perfect life, the perfect wife, and is at the top of his career, but everything slips away when Hanna decides to end their marriage after discovering he's having an affair. Bewildered, he will find himself in a dispute for his ex-wife's heart, beginning a race against time to get back together with the woman he loves. He will discover that sometimes not all the effort in the world is enough, and not everything is what it seems. Will Nicolas Scrudell be able to win his wife back?


Romance Contemporain Interdit aux moins de 18 ans.
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2.8mille VUES
En cours - Nouveau chapitre Tous les mercredis
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Mistrust hurts

"An unfaithful individual is as dangerous as a liar. Both are weak, ungrateful, and build castles without foundations."


She stared into the mirror of her dressing table that morning while having a velvet box in front of her, the kind in which people kept jewelry. Hanna Scrudell was not one of those extremely vain women whose life and meaning revolved only around the nuances of beauty, the expensive and the possessing, even though she had and could boast such a life and a closet of expensive clothes, shoes, bags, and accessories. She could act like a spoiled woman, be an assiduous client to clinics and salons, like one of those socialites on magazine covers. However, she was not like that. She was a very simplistic woman in her daily life and relied on other things to satisfy herself. Her good taste and delicacy were undeniable, as well as her femininity and strong presence wherever she was – and she was always in many places because her life demanded it. Her image was always well cared for because, to the world, she did not represent just herself. Hanna Scrudell was not just a woman. She was the face of her family and legacy and so much more.

She halted for just a moment, staring at herself and sighing heavily, stopping in the middle of putting on the earrings she had been holding. Her thoughts were tormented at that moment. Her restless mind was racing, and she raised her left hand. There they were, side by side, her wedding and engagement ring. She always carried them with so much pride because they represented something important and special to her. She moved her hand to her chest and clutched the silk shirt close to her heart, crumpling it unintentionally. Maybe her anguish was quite noticeable. Before she could get up and change the now wrinkled and sloppy shirt, her eyes, which were an incredible violet hue, met her husband's light blue ones through the reflection of her mirror. He had showered and dressed, and she barely noticed the noise of his presence there. Stuck in her seat, she watched him smiling and walking towards her. The man bent down, kissing the top of her head affectionately, and she forced herself to smile.

Yes, she forced it... They looked like such a beautiful couple, so...perfect.

"Can you help me? You know how bad I am with those things," he asked, standing straight and showing his wife two ties he had previously selected. He obviously trusted Hanna's good taste, as well as how she could perfectly adjust the tie knot. In other words, he was spoiled by her care in all aspects of their life, especially with himself.

She stood up. Her height wasn't even close to her husband's, a six-foot blond man with quite attractive physique. Being a five-foot-three woman, she relied on 5-inch heels to balance things. Her violet eyes stared at both ties for a moment, but it didn't take long for her to decide on the navy blue silk one, with stripes and textures in an interesting pattern. Taking it from her husband's hand, she lifted his collar and held the item, wrapping his neck with the tie. She began to tie the knot gently, noticing his eyes would not leave her for even an instant. She felt her face blush slightly. It was impressive how he still affected her that way after more than ten years together. Even more impressive was how, while the intensity of his gaze made her feel so loved and wanted, his actions pushed them to the brink of an abyss. She was so confused.

"What's on your mind, Hanna?" he asked, breaking the silence as he basked for a few moments in the scent of her perfume. His was focusing on her shoulders and neck, so sharply defined and her skin so pale, made even more evident by the fitted shirt she had chosen. Hanna was always flawless and perfect.

"Nothing," she tightened the knot and looked at him with a soft smile. "Well, nothing important." Her hands slid on his broad shoulders when she straightened everything.

He pressed his finger against her forehead as he spoke, "If you keep doing this, so tense, there's going to be a wrinkle right here." He smiled genuinely, and she had to admit his smile was very beautiful and warm. It was the kind of smile that would dazzle any girl, especially herself, who may have fallen in love with that smile even before falling for him. Her husband was a very handsome and charming man, always had been, from the day she first laid eyes on him.

"Would you still love with wrinkles?" she asked suddenly, with intensity, grabbing his suit jacket from both sides and turning her face up to look at him. His heart raced.

"What a silly question. I love you anyway. You may be all scruffy... wear a bonnet... grow old... it doesn't matter."

Her heartbeat grew stronger, but that was not as good as she wished it would be. Nevertheless, she reached up and kissed him on his lips. Then, she pulled out and straightened his collar with his tie in its place.

Flawless.

"You really look like a very important man," she said, and he smiled, turning to the mirror. Then she wondered, when did he become so vain and self-centered?

"I am an important man," he said without giving it much thought, as if it was just another one of their trivial conversations. "I am the CEO of the Botanic Group, which...look at that, was founded by me," he smiled.

How could she forget such a fact?

Little did he know that he only achieved so much success and wealth with the influence of her father. Hector Sanches, whom he hated so much, was a very influential man, had important contacts, and made the necessary investments happen. It was somewhat difficult for Hanna to ignore her pride and ask her father for something. They did not have a bad relationship, the problem was her father himself, the kind of man who did not do any favors, just business. And the point was that he really hated his son-in-law... Hector never thought he was good enough for his daughter. The affection between them was mutual. Luckily for Hanna, her husband Nicolas never knew about her father's influence in his business. She would take that secret to her grave.

"A respected CEO, I assume..." she whispered with a hint of acidity, but he was too focused on buttoning his jacket to notice.

He turned to her, grabbed his bag, and held her head afterward, kissing the top.

"Do you want a ride?"

She blinked a few times as if waking from a long reverie.

"Oh, no. I still need to finish getting ready. I'll take my car, don't worry about me."

"I always worry, Hanna Scrudell."

Not as much as you should, she thought but did not say anything. Instead, she smiled smoothly. He wrapped her by her waist and pulled her to him, kissing her mouth a little longer as he felt the softness and tenderness that just her lips had. Yes, nobody else had that velvety touch, so perfect no matter what the occasion. He shuddered at the comparison. It was stupid, after all, Hanna was his wife. His beautiful, well-educated, highborn, stunning, and amazingly perfect wife. His, forever and ever.

He released her and turned to leave, but she bit her lips softly and called his attention again.

"I talked to Alana yesterday and asked her to prepare a special roast. Your favorite."

He smiled.

"Hmm, that sounds nice!"

"Yes... The Uckermanns sent some wine, a Château Pichon Baron. Susan brought it back from their last trip to France."

" Great!" he still looked at her with that same glint in his deep blue eyes. For a moment, it seemed to her it was even wicked. Maybe it was guilt or something like it, "I won't be late."

"Thank you," she said, watching him leave their bedroom.

She walked back to her closet, taking off her blazer and unbuttoning her vintage pink shirt. Going through the hangers in front of her, she picked a peach-colored one and put it on, straight and spotless. She put on her blazer again and returned to the front of the dressing table, putting her earrings and bracelets on. Still facing her reflection, she opened her drawer and took a payment receipt out. Something silly and worthless, an old, yellowed, and wrinkled piece of paper she only found by chance since she was not the one dealing with laundry. She didn't have enough time to be a good and dedicated housewife, and due to this lack of time, they had agreed they would not have children yet. Well, that was their agreement for their first five years of marriage. Then they started to make excuses, sometimes him, others her, and five more years passed. Now she wasn't so sure that their decision had been a bad idea, even though they had been discussing the possibility of finally having their dream baby for almost two years now, and Mrs. Scrudell had been visiting her doctor regularly and had started taking the vitamins and whatever else that was necessary to prepare her for a possible pregnancy.

With her hands still trembling, the black-haired woman held the paper closer to her eyes, reading it once more – a love hotel payment receipt. Maybe it was by a twist of fate that she found that small piece of paper on the floor of his closet while collecting the clothes that were almost underneath the cabinet. She realized that she was not going crazy, that her husband's increasingly frequent delays and occasionally cold and evasive behavior were connected to this...

She ran her right hand through her hair in frustration. She wondered if that could be true. Maybe, just maybe, it was just an unhappy coincidence. She refused to believe that the man she had given not only her love but also her dedication and comprehension, whom she had supported and dedicated her life to, was nothing more than a damned cheater.

She really needed some air. She grabbed her purse and her keys, and as soon as she left their bedroom, she bumped into Nataly, her housekeeper, responsible for cleaning and doing laundry.

"Good morning, Mrs. Scrudell."

"Good morning, Nataly," she greeted with her usual politeness and cordiality. She never took her frustrations out on any of her employees. However, she had to admit the situation she found herself in was humiliating, to say the least. After finding that receipt, she asked the housekeeper to put aside anything she would find on her husband's clothes and hand it to her, out of his sight.

Hanna left her house that morning with a broken and anguished heart, feeling this was killing her. She had lost another two pounds, and that was terrible. Where was all her self-confidence now? She was sincerely trying to find it again because nothing hurt more than uncertainty and insecurity. Doubts hurt so cruelly.

In her car, she put on some music while trying to keep her attention on the traffic. She then drove to the University of Estermond, where she taught History of Art and was one of the institute's most influential and sought-after specialists in restoration.

9 Mars 2023 13:55 0 Rapport Incorporer Suivre l’histoire
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