Boxed Set: A Possessive Billionaire - Vol. 1-3: His, Body and Soul by Olivia Dean Page B

would probably have been better if he was just ‘boring’…instead, I have a rival, some catatonic poet who will never recover from her silence…what can I do about it? I can’t help from feeling jealous. This passion that Elisabeth just described, will he ever feel that for me? What can our relationship possibly amount to, compared to such a tragic love story?
    “A real story, not a crummy excuse,” Manon says, always ready to comfort me.
    “You think so? I don’t think I’ve got much over a girl who writes poetry…”
    “A vegetable that used to be a girl, you mean? Come on, Emma, think clearly! This woman was just a teenager’s fantasy, you’re much more than that!”
    “A fantasy?”
    “Yes, basically…something that never would have gone much further, but was frozen in time thanks to that dashing addict…uh…”
    “François.”
    “Yes. If everything had gone normally, your Charles would have realized his mistake after a few months and that would have been the end of this whole story. It’s as simple as that. You and Charles share things, you have sex, you laugh, it’s how a couple works…”
    “I think you’re right.”
    “So there you go.”
    “And now what? What should I do?”
    “I don’t know. If you want things to continue, you’ll have to break the spell. Either you wait for him to do it himself, but that might take centuries, or you bring it up…but that might cause some trouble.”
    “I don’t know if I want any more trouble…”

    Like I’ve done each time since this whole thing began, I decide to do nothing to see where things will go. Until now, it’s been mixed results, but I think that this solution is the least dangerous option. And it also lets me get back to work, I only have a week to hand something in to Mrs. Granchamps and I’m having a hard time concentrating. As long as he doesn’t come to me, I can stay at my desk and work. I’ve got enough dried fruit and nuts to hold down the fort and all the books I need.

25. Dinner
    “Emma! Emma! Are you still alive? Say something!”
    I’ve fallen asleep again at my computer. What time is it? I should open the door.
    “Look at the time! Are you sick? It’s been five days since you left your house, I’ve been worried.”
    “Everything’s fine, don’t worry, I just have a lot of work to do.”
    “Are you eating, at least?”
    I open the cupboard to show him my collection of dried food.
    “No thesis requires the kind of treatment you’re subjecting yourself to! It’s scandalous. Get dressed, I’ll take you to dinner.”
    “No, really, I need to work, I don’t have time to go out.”
    “In that case, I’ll make you dinner. Keep working and stop by my place in two hours. I can’t leave you like this!”
    “Really?”
    “Yes, I insist. And anyway, I miss you and your scruffiness.”
    “In that case…”
    “See you soon.”

    When I come over to his house two hours later, I once again find the Charles that I left in Italy. Happy, open and at the stove.
    “Sit down, I’ll take care of everything. Here, have a glass of wine.”
    “Thanks.”
    “Did you finish yet? It’s just an outline you have to hand in, right?” This time, he’s not making fun of me, I can tell. He really has been paying attention to my progress and my work and wants to know where I’m at.
    “Yes. Actually a draft. Something that shows where I’m going.”
    “I see. It’s the hardest part, I remember. After this, it’s all going to seem really easy, you’ll see.”
    “I hope.”
    “I think you’ll do just fine. You’re intelligent, gifted and a hard worker. You’ll nail it. As long as Granchamps doesn’t have something against you, of course.”
    “Do you know my professor?”
    “No, not beyond what you told me about her…do you like cockles?”
    “What are those?”
    “A delicious type of shellfish. I made some with a little crayfish sauce. You’re going to like it. And hey, it’s ready! Careful, it’s