Between Love and Betrayal

what is still only a whisper. Lena did not yet know that this evening would mark the beginning of a silent break with

esture, an obligation without warmth. No matter how hard she tried to attract his attention, to provoke an exchange of glances, nothing happened. She was alone, ever more alone, and her husband seemed to see nothing, to feel nothing. It was then that

iant finery. Her heart was beating a little faster than usual, each step seemed to take her further into a universe that was not her own. The guests mingled, ch

n as he turned his head and met her gaze. The world around them suddenly seemed to shrink into a closed, silent space, as if suspended. He

at was happening, but she felt it deeply, like a subtle change in the air, a vibration she had never had before. She turned away in turn, he

n shining in the fog of the reception. When she found herself facing him at a certain moment, a flash of silent understanding occurred. They exchanged another knowing look, almost imperceptible to others, but powerful and u

cene an unreal atmosphere. She stood there, her eyes unfocused, trying to understand what was happening inside her. It was as if the evening, this meeting, everything seemed to play against the silence she

most like an apparition. He approached without

he said in a low voice, a mischievou

"I was just... thinking," she replied, trying to

"I think you're the only one who hasn't found your place here," he sai

uess that's true," she murmured. "I

eyes that unsettled Lena, like a deep knowledge of the loneliness she carried within

aid, with an almost melancholic sweetness. "But life is made up of moments like the

life, spoke to her in a way she could not explain. It was a cryptic message, a silent c

e. A shiver ran through Lena, and she couldn't help a slight quiver in her

ed her hand, like a furtive caress. "Lena," he said in a whisper, "if you really want to

of capital importance. There was something that was woven between them, a secret complic

d never considered before. She had not yet fully understood what was happening between them, but Maxime's ges

more. This "something" now bore the name of Maxime. She would sometimes meet him, exchange a few words, sometimes just a look, but each encounter left

me came to her. He looked at her intensely before lea

e, secrets that my father doesn't want you to find out. But you know, sometimes you

ting faster. She knew, in that mo