Page 30 of The Billionaire’s Betrayal (Billionaires of Paris #2)

TRISTAN

Unfortunately, her migraine persisted, and she was unable to attend Christmas lunch at my parents' house.

"Go, Tristan. Don't worry about me, I'm just going to sleep for a while," she insisted, her voice soft but firm. Yet the idea of leaving her alone tore me apart. I eventually left, but my heart stayed with her, in that bedroom.

When I crossed the threshold of the family home, the warmth and laughter of my brothers and their partners greeted me.

The smell of the holiday meal, the sparkling decorations, the festive atmosphere—everything was there, and yet I felt incomplete, as if part of myself was missing without Eva by my side.

"Tristan!"

Lily's cry of joy broke through my gloomy thoughts. She threw herself into my arms with that spontaneity that was uniquely hers. I held her close, grateful for this simple and unreserved affection.

"I'm so happy to see you! Isn't Eva feeling any better today?"

Her genuine concern touched me. Lily had always cared about Eva, considering her a sister.

"She'll be better tomorrow, don't worry," I whispered, hoping with all my heart that these words would become reality.

The meal took place in an unusually festive atmosphere, my parents having set aside their quarrels for the occasion. But my mind constantly wandered back to Eva, alone at our home.

Later, I gave Lily the bracelet I had carefully chosen for her during my trip to Oslo.

Her face lit up with genuine wonder, her eyes shining with joy as she discovered the details of the jewelry.

This expression instantly reminded me of Eva, of the unique way she had of getting excited about small gestures of kindness.

I pictured her face lighting up at the simple but meaningful gifts I had brought her from the Christmas market.

She had that rare gift of appreciating not the value of things, but the intention behind them, the thought behind the gesture.

When it was time to leave, my mother walked me to the door.

"Thank you for coming, Tristan. It was so nice to have you all here, even if you're leaving a bit early."

"It was a beautiful celebration, but I missed Eva's presence."

She looked at me with that half-smile she reserved for difficult conversations.

"You know, Tristan, when you truly love someone, you don't hesitate to give them a complete place in your life."

She paused, weighing her words. I wondered where she was going with this.

"Maybe if you haven't done that until now, it's because you don't really want to."

The barely veiled suggestion irritated me.

"How we live our relationship is our business," I replied, my voice tense with effort. "It doesn't in any way diminish the depth of our feelings."

"You think I haven't seen the tensions between you lately?" she said, letting a silence charged with implications hang in the air. "Don't make the same mistake I did. Don't cling to a relationship that's becoming toxic."

I clenched my jaw before admitting, my throat tight:

"It's true there have been tensions, but we'll overcome them. Together. You can be sure of that."

Eva was sleeping deeply when I returned home. Her regular breathing filled the room with a soothing calm that contrasted with the tumult of my thoughts. In the protective dimness of our bedroom, my mother's words played on a loop in my mind, each word raising new questions.

Had I deliberately chosen not to fully integrate Eva into my life?

The thought chilled me.

Was that why I had never thought about asking her to marry me?

Did I, somewhere deep inside, doubt what Eva meant to me?

No.

The answer came to me with sudden clarity.

True, my fascination with Audrey had caused damage. Wounds that we were just beginning to heal. But looking at Eva sleeping peacefully despite everything we had been through, I was certain that we would overcome this trial together, and our relationship would emerge stronger.

Eva woke up around six in the evening. She seemed better, her features more relaxed, her migraine dissipated by rest. I took the opportunity to hand her the gift I had brought from Oslo, my heart beating with hope.

"Merry Christmas, Eva."

She slowly unwrapped the small package, and her eyes widened as she discovered the pendant in the shape of a leaping reindeer.

"It's beautiful, Tristan," she breathed, moved.

She gently touched the jewel with her fingertips, but a shadow briefly crossed her gaze.

I didn't need words to understand what she was thinking.

This reindeer, of indecent value, was worth a hundred times the gift given to Audrey, but it wasn't a question of price.

Gently, I took her face in my hands and placed a kiss on her lips.

"I'm sorry, Eva. I didn't measure the impact of my gesture. If I could go back, I would correct my mistakes, but I can't. So, I promise to give you so many jewels that they will erase this painful memory."

"I don't need jewelry. The fact that you agreed to part ways with Audrey and find another assistant means much more than all the gifts in the world."

She nestled against me, her warm body curled against mine, like a silent forgiveness.

Then she handed me her own gift: a turtleneck sweater in ecru cashmere, of exquisite softness. Delighted, I removed my jacket and shirt to try it on, feeling Eva's gaze briefly graze my bare skin. A silence charged with desire stretched between us, filled with all that we didn't yet dare to say.

I leaned toward her and kissed her. She responded with infinite gentleness, surrendering without reservation. That night, we lost ourselves in each other, as if each caress could close a wound, each kiss rebuild what had been broken.

***

Eva and I hadn't planned to take vacation between Christmas and New Year's.

With all the work difficulties, I didn't really have my mind on it, and Eva wasn't particularly keen either.

Besides, she had gone to Florence for two days on a business trip and wasn't due back until tomorrow.

Without her, I had no reason to rush home.

Work, for lack of anything better, filled my evenings and kept me from thinking too much about my mistakes.

Despite our Christmas reconciliation, something remained unresolved between us.

The tensions hadn't completely disappeared, like a poorly healed wound that would continue to make us suffer until we properly cleaned it.

I knew it was necessary to talk, to lance the boil, to clean up in order to rebuild on a healthy foundation, but neither of us really knew how to go about it.

It was as if we were waiting for the right moment, without knowing when it would come.

Or maybe I was avoiding this conversation out of cowardice, out of fear of what it might reveal about my own weaknesses.

Focused on the next round of funding, I jumped when Stella violently opened my office door without knocking. Her face was ashen, her hands trembling.

"Tristan, I swear I didn't know," she said, panicked. "I thought it came from you. I thought it was the report you wanted me to finalize. My God, what have I done?"

I immediately stood up, walked around my desk, and gently guided her to a seat. She seemed on the verge of an anxiety attack. I handed her a bottle of water, which she brought to her lips, her hands still shaking.

"When you feel better, tell me what's happening."

"I thought it was you who left the USB drive."

Those three words froze my blood. In our hyperconnected world, a USB drive "forgotten" near a company was one of the favorite techniques of cyber attackers. A simple connection could infect not only the computer but the entire internal network.

"There's a virus on the drive," Stella confirmed, her voice breaking. "It locked my entire system and there's a ransom demand."

I immediately called Satoshi, who answered quickly.

"Come to the floor right away, we have a problem."

When he arrived, his face hardened as soon as I explained the situation.

"I'll handle it," he said before crouching in front of Stella, who was silently crying. "It's going to be okay. You're not connected to the main network of the floor, and all your files have been backed up. At worst, you'll lose a day's work."

Stella stared at him, hesitant, then threw herself into his arms. They separated a moment later, blushing at their closeness. I would have smiled if the situation wasn't so serious.

Satoshi returned fifteen minutes later, after isolating and replacing Stella's computer.

"I'm going to analyze the malware with our White Hat to see what we can learn from it."

Once Stella had left for two days of rest, with instructions to keep the incident confidential, Satoshi fixed me with his piercing gaze:

"Someone is clearly trying to destabilize us."

"Aron Capital?"

"It's possible," he confirmed. "I found them particularly quiet following the first series of cyber attacks."

"In any case, well done," I congratulated him. "Your caution probably saved us today."

"I admit I'm glad my excess of precaution finally served a purpose."

"I'll check if the surveillance videos show anything."

At the surveillance center, I quickly spotted a delivery person passing by Stella's office during the lunch break.

Unfortunately, he seemed to know perfectly well the location of the cameras, always positioning himself to conceal his face.

Frustration took hold of me. Our adversary was meticulous and definitely left nothing to chance.

Standing in front of the large window in my office, I didn't see time pass.

It was after six when Audrey knocked on my door to say goodbye.

I had seen very little of her lately, and that was for the best. I preferred to avoid temptation as much as possible.

My guilt towards Eva allowed me to keep my attraction to Audrey under control, even if the attraction was still there.

But tonight, instead of leaving immediately, she entered and closed the door behind her.

"Tristan, could I talk to you for a moment?" she asked in a low voice.

"Yes, of course," I replied, intrigued.

She moved toward me, and my eyes fell, despite myself, on her plunging neckline.

My body reacted instantly, betraying me.

She smiled and came closer, erasing the space between us.

Her perfume enveloped me, disturbing me further.

She was close, too close. I could feel the warmth of her body, the softness of her skin just inches from me. Her eyes expressed hope and desire.

"What can I do for you?" I asked softly, trying to maintain a professional tone despite the excitement I felt rising within me. I hated this weakness, this inability to remain in control of my emotions and desires in her presence.

"Tristan... I know you wanted us to keep a professional distance, but it's becoming difficult," she whispered.

"I feel so attracted to you that I have trouble thinking when you're near me.

I think of you even when I shouldn't. You obsess me day and night.

I've tried to fight against my feelings, but I can't anymore. I... I'm in love with you."

My heart stopped beating for a moment before restarting in a disorderly fashion.

Despite everything that had happened between us, I would never have imagined that she could have such feelings for me.

Until now, I thought it was just fantasy and desire, but this was very different.

Audrey was confessing her love for me! She loved me!

It was intoxicating to have such a sublime woman laying her heart at my feet.

She paused, breathless, as if unable to control her emotion, before timidly placing her hand on my heart. This contact burned me like a hot iron, and I remained paralyzed, unable to push her away.

"I know I can't feel something so strong, so intoxicating if you didn't feel the same way about me."

My breathing accelerated despite myself. I was aware of the danger, of the slippery slope I was on, but part of me refused to back down. My gaze was lost for a moment on her parted lips, and I had to gather all my self-control not to give in. My mind was boiling, desire twisting my loins.

Audrey's love offered me the possibility of a future I didn't know existed.

What if...?

I dared not finish that thought, horrified by my own weakness.

Eva's face danced before my eyes, reminding me of everything we had built together, everything I risked destroying in an instant.

Our sunny mornings, our future plans, our shared secrets.

I called upon all the love I had for Eva to resist temptation.

No. I would not give in.

I stepped back, my back hitting the window. My fists clenched. I had to pull myself together.

"I'm sorry, Audrey. I regret if I gave you false hope. It's true, you're a very desirable woman, but there's another woman in my life."

She stared at me for a long time, her gaze shining with a mixture of sadness and defiance.

"Why do you persist? Don't you see your story is over? Without that, how do you explain the attraction that drives us toward each other?"

"I won't go back on my decision."

She approached slightly, lowering her voice, her tone becoming softer, almost tempting.

"And you didn't need to choose," she whispered. "No one will know... It would be our secret."

I stiffened.

"I'm not that kind of man, Audrey," I replied in a harsher tone.

An enigmatic smile formed on her lips as she held my gaze.

With deliberate slowness, her fingers found the sleeves of her dress, slid them down her arms with feline grace.

The silky fabric slid along her body like a caress, and the next moment, her dress lay at her feet, leaving her completely naked before me.

The evening light revealed her heavy, shapely breasts, her slim waist, her wide hips, her completely shaved sex.

My erection pushed against my zipper, and my heart was beating so hard that I was sure she could hear it.

My principles, my love for Eva, everything fought against the raw desire that threatened to overwhelm me.