Chapter 2 Chapitre 2

Chapter 2

She had seen him enter without making any noise. His gaze, which was searching in the shadows of the guests, briefly crossed with his. He was there, at a neighboring table, surrounded by these businessmen who lived there and ignored him at the same time. Nathan. The adopted brother, the one she used to tell herself was the only person capable of understanding her. But that night, he was more than just a brother. He was the man she had learned to fear and desire simultaneously.

When he turned his head towards her, for a moment, the distance between them seemed to shrink. His face, impassive as always, hid a palpable tension. He did not approach her, did not greet her with a polite smile like the other guests. Nothing. Just a pressure of air, an imperceptible pressure in the air, like a promise, a threat, or an alert that she was the last to receive.

This dinner was no longer his. It was no longer a game of appearance or a simple formality for Alexandre. It had become something else. A scene without respite where looks were weapons, where sentences were played on tight threads, where it was not enough to smile. We had to fight. To be seen, to be respected. So as not to disappear into the great void that everyone, in their own way, wanted to fill.

She looked away. She had to ignore Nathan's presence, it was easier that way. But this idea did not reassure her. Because the more she ignored him, the more the echo of his absence became present in her head. His eyes, the way he moved, his indifferent attitude, it all kept going on a loop. He had control over everything. Of his body, of his voice, of his image. But that evening, he had lost this control. She could see it clearly.

"Eliza, what do you think? »

She turned her head, snapping out of her thoughts. Mr. Vernay. The name rang in his head like a metallic vibration. This man was not like the others. He had this way of looking at her, this way of staring at her that made him feel like he saw beyond what she presented. He had this air of knowing everything, all the secrets she hid under her mask. She felt a rush of heat invade her. A palpable embarrassment. Vernay was not there by chance. He knew she had a role to play and that she was just one piece in a bigger story, but there was something disturbing about the way he insisted that she be involved in their discussions. . His eyes shone with a strange glow, a glow she couldn't define. It wasn't interest, it wasn't admiration, but something much more... dangerous.

"I think the question is more complex than you seem to suggest," she replied, dodging his gaze. "There are factors that are difficult to quantify in the long term. Investments are not made solely on the basis of financial reports, you have to know where to place trust. »

She smiled, but that smile was fake. She knew that Vernay, like the others, understood much more than he wanted to let on. She wasn't stupid, she knew she didn't belong in these discussions. But why was this man putting this pressure into the air, like a mist that slowly envelops you?

He was still staring at her, his lips slightly stretched in an expression that was too professional to be honest. "You're right, Elisa. Confidence... That's a word that sums it all up. And you think your father can really be trusted with all this? »

He asked the question in a light, almost amused tone, but she felt her heartbeat speed up. He wasn't expecting a response. No, he was waiting for her to have something to prove. Let her give him the opportunity to test her. She had nothing to prove to this man. Not to him. But when he placed his hand on the edge of the table, a shiver ran down his spine.

She looked away quickly, feigning interest in her glass of wine. But the effort of control she had to exert not to get up and leave the room immediately was almost insurmountable.

The minutes dragged on, and the dinner continued in this strangely tense atmosphere. His stomach tightened, but it wasn't from the food. It was the sensation of this invisible trap that she felt closing around her. Then, just when she thought everything was going to become bearable again, the living room door opened.

Nathan entered, with a quick, almost nervous step. He glanced furtively at the table, lingering on it for a moment before looking away. He sat at the head of the table, as if he were a man passing through, a stranger among his people. Then he launched into a conversation with one of Alexander's associates. She wasn't really listening. What she felt was stronger than anything: a strange sensation, like a rift occurring between them.

Dinner continued, but something had changed. The laughter was more forced, the exchanges more interested. Nathan was there, physically, but his gaze constantly avoided Elisa's. He was slipping away. She was almost certain of it. Every move he made seemed calculated, like he wanted to keep her away, like he didn't want her to see him.

Suddenly he stood up. Too abruptly. Too hastily not to be noticed. His hands were tense against the table, his jaw clenched. He said nothing, but his whole body betrayed a need to flee. He hurried away, without saying goodbye, without even looking at anyone. She watched him disappear behind the door. He had left the room like a thief.

His hands were trembling. She had never seen Nathan act like this. He was fleeing. He was running away from something, or someone. She stood up, without thinking. The murmurs around her seemed to become more distant. She had to find him. Let her know why he was running away like that. Why was this man, the one she thought she knew, hiding in the shadows. Something, or someone, was pushing him to flee.

But when she reached the hallway, she stopped dead in her tracks. Nathan was there, leaning against a wall, staring at the floor, as if nothing made sense. When he saw her, his eyes raised, and a strange flash passed through his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but she didn't listen. She approached, feeling the tension between them increase.

"Why did you leave? Why are you running away like that? » she asked, her voice trembling despite herself.

He looked at her for a moment, then shook his head. "You don't know anything, Elisa. You don't know what's going on. »

But she didn't need to hear his words. She knew. She felt that something between them was broken, that a secret he had been keeping was manifesting itself in this strange and disturbing form. The silence that followed was not heavy, it was suffocating.

Nathan turned on his heel, without a word. And she remained there, in this corridor, alone with the truth that she had not yet understood, but which was already devouring her.