Chapter 62
Giselle stopped overthinking and headed straight to her home gym. From treadmill running to spin cycling to bench pressing, it wasn’t long before she was drenched in sweat. The rush of dopamine from the workout quickly washed away the gloom Zachary had brought her. Her whole body felt lighter, her mind refreshed.
She had always been athletic. A day without movement made her restless. At first, she trained in a professional gym with a membership. After buying her house, she sacrificed one of the rooms to set up a mini gym, equipped with several machines. Every few days, she’d go in for an intense sweat session.
In addition to the gym gear, she had a complete set of yoga equipment. She often balanced her workouts with quiet moments of yoga, combining motion with stillness. It gave her figure clean, defined lines. In the full-length mirror, she stood in her workout clothes – a graceful neck, a slender waist that could be wrapped in two palms’ width, long and lean legs, and a perfectly shaped bust. Her figure was tall and toned, with curves in all the right places. She could easily outshine the fragile, skinny girls who looked like they’d fall over in the wind.
The next day, she received a message from Zachary saying he had gone back to Usna. While it was a relief somehow, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right.
Still, she didn’t dwell on it. She had more important things to deal with. Her battle with the Holt family was only just beginning.
The weekend came quickly, and it happened to be her best friend Vivienne Lockwood’s 26th birthday. Though the two often messaged each other on WhatsApp to rant and share bits of life, it wasn’t usual for them to go a week or two without meeting due to busy schedules.
But Giselle would never forget her birthday. After wrapping up errands at her shop that morning, she headed to the mall in the afternoon to buy a gift. She had already decided on a bag. After browsing several luxury boutiques, she entered the Hermès counter to make her pick. With a budget of around ten grand, she chose a popular Constance mini bag. It had the signature H–shaped clasp and a clean, boxy silhouette – perfect for Vivienne’s cute and playful style.
Once the gift was wrapped, Giselle drove to Vivienne’s place. She didn’t tell her ahead of time because she wanted to surprise her. Vivienne was a dentist. Her income was steady but not extravagant, and her financial situation wasn’t as strong as Giselle’s. She lived alone in a small apartment in the city. The unit wasn’t big, and she had purchased it with a down payment, still making monthly mortgage payments.
In less than half an hour, Giselle arrived at the neighborhood. Since Vivienne didn’t have a reserved parking spot, she found a spot along the street nearby. Gift in hand, she took the elevator up and arrived at the door. Instead of ringing the bell, she typed in the familiar passcode and walked in.
The living room was messy, as usual. But this time, there was a faint smell of cigarette smoke in the air. Most noticeably, a pair of men’s sneakers sat beside the couch.
Hearing the sound of a phone playing from the bedroom, Giselle frowned and walked over. She pushed open the half-closed door. What she saw made her freeze.
Vivienne was on the bed with a shirtless man, leaning against the headboard. And when Giselle saw who the man was, her expression changed instantly. Before she could even speak, Vivienne let out a scream and ducked under the covers.
“Holy shit! You scared the hell out of me! You can’t just show up like a ghost! Couldn’t you have called first?”
Chapter 63