ISABELLA POVI held the phone to my chest and slumped to my bed. Everything had been so chaotic lately, telling Madison just a few minutes ago that I was okay breaking up with Alex was just downright painful. Not as painful as when I slapped him because I wanted to prove that I was serious with my decision, but painful regardless. I wonder what he thinks of me now, if Madison would get him to play her tunes or if he would just turn to her.Still, at the same time, there was no future for us. Lucas would have continued to exploit me if Madison hadn’t made that video, and our relationship would have been discovered one way or the other. It was wise to let him go, even though my heart was aching and hurting so badly that I could barely breathe.After gathering my emotions together for a while, I called Brianna. She was the only person I could talk to now who would understand me without judging terribly. She picked up immediately as if she’d been waiting for my call.“Are you okay?” she
ALEXANDER POVI blew out a breath and tried to unbutton my tie. Frustrated, I left it alone and focused on my computer. For the third time that morning, I thought of Isabella again. I’d been thinking about her a lot more now. Especially after last night.Should I have accepted her offer and eaten her food when she asked me this morning? The tension between us after the fight was still sizzling, and I’m not sure I’d be able to sit down at the dining table with her and not tear her clothes apart. She was gorgeous, truly. She was wearing a robe when she came down to make breakfast and her face was sort of rumpled from sleep. It took all kinds of self-control to be able to leave there without immediately rushing her with a kiss or pining my head in between her legs. It was hard leaving the house without giving her a hard kiss like I usually do.Sighing, I moved away from the table. How would I be able to concentrate when my sole thought process revolves around Isabella? She didn’t want me
Plan ExecutionALEXANDER POV“What are you talking about?” I asked Lucas.He simply shrugged, the smirk still lurking on his face. So many thoughts ran through my head as I watched him leave. He walked leisurely, as though he was giving me the time to process what I’d just heard.“Are you threatening me?” I called out to Lucas.Lucas turned very slowly to look at him. “Threat? Do you feel threatened by my presence, is there something else?”I said nothing. In all honestly, my mind was blank. When he left, I forced my brain to think about the recent events about the reason why Lucas would come into my office and give me a creepy look, like he knew my secrets and couldn’t wait to unlock them.I bit my lips as I subconsciously started to pace about. Was he and Isabella having an affair and he’d just recently found out that I was with her too? I shook my head at the thought. He and Isabella couldn’t be having an affair. It was just impossible; which means there was just about something el
ALEXANDER POVI watched as she quietly sat down beside me. Her smile twisted into something unsettling, a far cry from the pleading expression I had expected. Instead, she simply looked at me with a glint of mischief in her eyes. I would have given anything to know what Madison was thinking at that moment.Still smiling, she poured wine into the two glasses she held and extended one to me. When I didn’t take it, she shrugged, downed her glass, and then raised the other in a toast.“Cheers to our new partnership,” she said, her voice dripping with irony, before drinking it down as well.I stared in bewilderment. She seemed completely unfazed by the phone or the threat I had supposedly issued. It was as if none of it mattered to her at all. When she was done, she took off the robe she had put on earlier when going down to get the wine.“So Alex, shall we get down to it?”I flew up from the bed and held out a hand to her, my head spinning with so many questions. “What are you doing, Madi
ISABELLA POVI tossed and turned in bed, uncomfortable, upset, and unable to find peace. At some point, I almost pushed Edward to the floor, and he snapped at me so hard, I wondered where he even found the energy from in the middle of the night.“Just get out and let me be if you can’t sleep,” he snapped.That was a good idea, I decided. It was hard to sleep and it was even better to take a walk on the streets with slippers, rumpled hair, and my nightdress than sleeping beside a man I never loved.There were things I wished to attain, things that I wanted, people know that I loved. Now I was being controlled to do the bidding of one man just because he held a significant power over me. As if that wasn’t enough, a stupid girl called Madison had deemed it godly of her to ruin my life.A deep sigh escaped my lips, and just as immediately a sigh escaped someone else’s lips. I turned slowly and saw Alexander sitting on the porch, smoking a cigarette. He was in one of those chairs that coul
ISABELLA POVI didn’t know what to say, so I immediately went into defensive mode. ‘Edward, you don’t understand—”He stepped away from arm’s reach just when I was edging towards him. “I don’t understand. I just heard you on the phone with your lover right now, telling him how much my love haunts you.”“It was her.”“Oh, it’s a female, even? That doesn’t make it any different, Isabella.”“No, you don’t understand. Edward, if you just sit still and let me explain to you?”“No!”He sulked and went to the living room to sulk even more. I sighed and rubbed my forehead. Dealing with Edward sometimes could feel like dealing with a child. He was an absolute darling when he wanted to be and an absolute nightmare if he wanted as well. I dried my hands on a kitchen towel and then went out to meet him. He was looking away, as though the sight of me could hurt him even more.“Edward, it isn’t what you think.” I bent on my knees in front of him and touched his kneecap. “Edward, are you listening t
ALEXANDER POVEverything around me felt slow and dull. My hands were slack, tied by so many things—responsibilities, Madison, the company. The little ray of sunshine I had left had been snuffed out. This little dinner my father was putting together would not help matters, especially since I would see Isabella there. It didn’t matter if I had been sinning with her for the longest time. It didn’t matter if she was never mine to begin with and I had taken what was not meant for me. It didn’t matter if she hated me now and never wanted to look at my face. All I thought of was how much my heart ached at her absence.I heard Lucas laughing and I went towards the sound, eager to find something else to distract me. I stopped halfway when I saw him leaning over Isabella in the space between the kitchen and the corridor. He was smirking and muttering some words to her. Her face was upturned to his attentively. Even though I couldn’t completely see her face, I knew that she was listening intentl
ALEXANDER POVI felt my blood boiling. I wanted to do something, but there was nothing else to do other than hold the scarf in my hand and seethe in anger. There was a red handprint on her face, so glaring and so visible. It only had to have happened today.Isabella grabbed the scarf off my hands with a sigh. “Don’t do that,” she said, wrapping it around her face once more.“You’re being abused,” I said smoothly. “Dad, you’re abusing her?”“I’m not abusing her,” he said sharply“He’s not abusing me,” Isabella said just at the same time as well.They glanced at each other at their words, then quickly looked away. There was something that passed between them that I couldn’t understand, a silent message. The anger started to boil so fast, I could see steam coming out of my ears.“You’re abusing her!” I accused, slamming my hand hard on the table and causing my father to jerk. “Why are you doing this to her, huh? When has she ever wronged you?!”The businessmen shifted in their seats, uns