ISABELLA'S POVIt was a Tuesday morning and Edward was taking a shower, getting prepared for work. It was quiet and I enjoyed the peace. I was reading a James Hadley Chase Novel, but I couldn't concentrate on the story. I read one paragraph over and over again, still not quite grasping the message.I picked up my phone and saw a missed call from my mother, and a text from Brianna asking how my trip went, but nothing else… especially from him.I hadn’t even realized that I still nursed the hope that Alex would reach out, and the fact that he hadn’t hurt more than I wanted to accept.I shut my eyes and all that came to mind was... Alex.His almost boyish grin, but with that intensity raging in the depths of his glare.What's wrong with me? Why do I keep thinking about him? I kept chanting to myself.I remembered the party last week and how he had stood up for me. How he had dragged me out of Edward's arms, as he paraded me as his prized possession.I didn't feel angry towards Edward. Be
ISABELLA'S POVI knew I didn't nod because I accepted what Edward was saying, but just for the acknowledgment that I heard him. Whatever thoughts I had about Alex was the furthest thing from my mind, as all I could think about was the fact that Edward didn't want me to actualize my dreams. I had given up on having children just because he didn't want kids. He didn't want any conflict over his properties to arise after his demise between his children and any children I may have. Even though I've always wanted children, I gave up on that dream because Edward didn't want any more children.I knew I would disobey him this time.I rose to my feet, took his plate, and mine, then headed over to the sink. I rinsed out the plates and proceeded to load them into the dishwasher. The maid hadn't come yet and I needed the chore to keep me busy.I stared at my phone screen, barely managing not to cry. I texted Brianna about my conversation with Edward and I awaited her response. I just hoped she wa
ISABELLA'S POVFor the first time in more than a while after the party, we were seeing each other again, and I looked like a homeless stray cat, with sweat dripping down my face. I wanted to bury myself in the ground.What was he doing here?He was dressed in a two-piece set, the matching waistcoat and pants molded and fitted to his body like a spell. I tried not to think of the parts of him I had seen and tasted, but given that I'd never thought I would see him again this soon, this was a treat I couldn’t deny myself.Now he was back here again, and everything seemed to be tilted on its axis. I didn’t know how much longer I would be able to remain patient.I gazed up at him and caught his gaze. He winked at me. I turned away, my nerves suddenly jittery."I'm working out to keep fit, to keep my mind occupied." I finally managed to say and I began walking again on the treadmill.He walked towards me and stood, looking at me with such intensity and I felt my skin heating up."You're wor
ISABELLA'S POVFive minutes later, I turned to watch him as he locked the door to his room and reached to undo the buttons of his shirt. I didn’t even spare any time as we’d barely made it to the room without attacking each other.He’d constantly palmed me at the most unexpected moments, his finger slipping into my tank top to rub my nipples every chance he got, bringing me way too close to the brink.I couldn’t wait for him to be lodged inside me. I couldn’t recall ever feeling so wild, unrestrained, and excited, which wasn't too long ago though, in this same room.He stalked me like a predator after its prey as he shoved his shirt aside. I retreated at the tease, ready to become thoroughly exposed to him, while I reached to my side to pull down the zipper of my tank top. My breasts spilled out as I pulled the material away, my hands molding as much of the masses as I could handle.The flare of appreciation in his eyes spurred me on, my teeth nibbling on my bottom lip.“You’re so fuc
ISABELLA'S POV Things were tighter than I’d expected.At my slight wince, he sat upright, his hand softly cradling my face.“Are you all right?” He whispered.I opened my eyes to see the genuine concern in his gaze as he searched mine, checking for any sign whatsoever of discomfort.His consideration touched me and in response, I threw my hands around him resting my face in the crook of his neck as his cock stretched me. I slowly impaled myself onto him, slight whimpers sounding from my throat as my body stretched to accommodate his length and thickness.He rested his hands gently on my hips, guiding me slowly all the while showering kisses across my face, on my forehead, on my cheeks, nibbling on the tip of my nose, and on my bottom lip to distract me.It made every inch slide easier and finally, he was lodged solidly inside me. I slammed myself down on him the rest of the way and felt him hit the end of me.“Ahhh,” I moaned out, throwing my head back as the fullness I craved was fl
ALEXANDER'S POVShe walked out angrily, her hand brushing her curls out of her face.“Bella,” I called out. She ignored me. I decided to go after her. She had gotten to her bedroom door when I caught up with her.“Can we talk?”She stared at me, her gaze boring into mine and then she shook her head as if to clear it.“No,” she said. “There’s no need. There's nothing to talk about.” With a smile, she turned around, entered her room, and banged the door in my face."C'mon! What did I do? Did I say something wrong? Why are you getting so upset?"No response."Look, I said I wanted something more. If you don't want more, that's understandable. I just... hell, I don't even know what I'm apologizing for."I waited again to see if I would get a response but she had ignored me through it all.I wanted to knock until she opened the door, but my pride wouldn’t allow me. She had pushed me away once… So this time around, she had to be the one to come to me. And if she didn’t, then so be it."Jeez
ALEXANDER'S POVI strolled into the revolving doors of the building that housed my father's company. I walked confidently, and I was fairly certain that on the outside, I looked totally in control.But on the inside, my nerves were tied in knots and my chest had become severely constricted. All of this had absolutely nothing to do with it being my first working day in my father's company after many yearsThe last time I had been this nervous was more than Eight years ago when I was fired from my last job.Since my last encounter with Isabella, I hadn't gone back to the house. After I left Madison's place, I stayed at a hotel, just to avoid seeing Isabella. Needing the space myself to think, to work out my own emotions- the turmoil slowly brewing in my heart.I was immediately met in the reception by half a dozen men in suits. I immediately recognized Tom Bradley, the current CMO of the company.The team of executives introduced themselves to me then we rode up to the three floors of t
ALEXANDER'S POV I prowled the executive floor toward the elevator. I just couldn't bear to be in the same building with Lucas and my father.I headed to the elevator, towards the ground floor. I was waiting for the goddamned slow elevator. I saw a chubby lady with very short hair. I had never seen her in the building before. Perhaps she was a new staff member.She smiled at me, and I returned the gesture. It wasn't new for ladies to flirt openly with me. We both stood side by side to wait for the elevator, but then she kept glancing at me until finally, I met her gaze.“I apologize,” she said. “But I have a question for you.”“Sure.”“Are you by any chance related to the CEO? I heard he has two sons and I only know one. I heard the younger one will be joining us soon so... Are you the boss's son?”For a moment, I just stared at her, and then I looked around me, not exactly sure what I was checking for. “Uh...” I didn’t know how to respond to that."Well... Yeah. I'm the younger son."
ALEXANDER POVWe lay now in her bed, rumpled and all over each other. She was on her side as she stared at me, those dark orbs portraying so many emotions. I remember the very first day I met her. I hadn’t been able to see her eyes quite well, but then I could tell that she wanted me and fought deeply against it until she finally gave in. It feels like ages now. Now I watched her, wishing I could tell her so many things and nothing at the same time.“We need to talk,” I said, my mint breath washing over her face. “We have so much to talk about, don’t you think so?”She squeezed her face into a frown. “No, I don’t think we need to talk about anything.”“Isabella, you know I have to explain the situation to Madison. It’s not what you think it is.”“I don’t care what it is, Alex. I just don’t want to talk about it now. Can we not ruin the mood, please?”I nodded slowly. I didn’t understand her. She had practically jumped on me when she found out that Madison and I were now together. She
ISABELLA POVWe took a walk around the plane to the hotel I was in. I didn’t remember following him out right after I gave him that hot slap, but I did. Eventually, we sat under a bamboo cover at the outdoor bar of the hotel. The sun was bright, and the pool was empty. It would have been the perfect day to swim and wallow in sadness, but the source of my sadness was right in front of me.His face was blank and expressionless. He ordered drinks for the both of us; so natural, so neutral, as though we had not been fighting for the past few weeks, and abandoned me for some other girl. When the drinks came, he slowly pushed one towards me with a small smile.“So this is where you’ve been hiding,” he said dryly. “Suiting, I suppose, for the kind of person that you are.”I shook my head at him, somewhat surprised by his choice of language. “And what type of person am I, Alexander? The one who is married to your father or the one that you should just not mess with?”He looked away instantly,
ISABELLA POVI woke up with a soft warmth in my chest. Alexander was with me. I stretched and yawned in bed, tapping the other side of my bed with a grin on my face. I expected him to be there, to reach for me as I had reached for him, to wrap me in his arms.He was not.I opened my eyes and gasped when I realized that I was alone in bed. I sat up in urgency, my eyes quickly scanning the room. It was a mess. It was as though someone had snuck in and made love to me. It was Alexander. It had to be. My bed was a mess. The bottle of wine I had brought in lay on the floor, and the wine spilled. My bikini lay in the puddle of the spilled wine, and the white duvet from the bed had also fallen to the ground, stained by the wine too. The bedside table was pushed to the corner, its contents on the floor.“What the hell…”I didn’t even have the time to assimilate what was happening when a loud knock came on the door. I jumped, a bit startled. Then I drew my hands through my hair and tried to or
ISABELLA POVI woke up to an empty room and silence. It was the third time I was waking up that day, and this was only my second day on the vacation Edward had placed me on. I slowly got down from bed and rubbed my eyes, my worry seeping into the ends of my skull. How long would I continue living like this, yearning for someone I could never have again? Someone who’s so obviously moved on?I walked to the window and looked down from my hotel room. The view overlooked the pine trees and the pool the hotel had, plus the bar that had very few people in it. This was good. I could go down and have a few beers and try to associate. Or I could just soak myself in the water and sun. That would be even better.“Time to get your act together, Isabella,” I told myself.Taking a shower was long and tiring, but I managed to get past it. Then I slipped into a bikini and a wrap and walked out of the room. The fresh air was pleasant and nice, but it was not enough. Somehow the air back home seemed mu
ISABELLA POVI woke up to an empty room and silence. It was the third time I was waking up that day, and this was only my second day on the vacation Edward had placed me on. I slowly got down from bed and rubbed my eyes, my worry seeping into the ends of my skull. How long would I continue living like this, yearning for someone I could never have again? Someone who’s so obviously moved on?I walked to the window and looked down from my hotel room. The view overlooked the pine trees and the pool the hotel had, plus the bar that had very few people in it. This was good. I could go down and have a few beers and try to associate. Or I could just soak myself in the water and sun. That would be even better.“Time to get your act together, Isabella,” I told myself.Taking a shower was long and tiring, but I managed to get past it. Then I slipped into a bikini and a wrap and walked out of the room. The fresh air was pleasant and nice, but it was not enough. Somehow the air back home seemed mu
ALEXANDER POVI watched her walk past me without an atom of emotion in her hers. She had averted her gaze when we had locked eyes earlier on, her purpose now solely to leave and get away from my presence as fast as possible. Each time she did this, I couldn’t help but think about how much she must despise me to want to leave my sight as soon as she saw me.Lucas gazed at me as I walked past him, a knowing smirk on his lips. I hated it. I hated it so much that I wanted to reach for him and punch that smile into his face. I hated that he was hanging around Isabella a little too much. I hated that he looked like he held a sort of secret above me while he was the criminal stealing from our father’s company. I hated that he called me little bro just to undermine me in that very sentence as if he was any better than me. I hated him. I hated myself for hating him. I hated life.I suddenly stopped in the hallway, Madison still latched on to my arms. She was so into me that she barely noticed
ISABELLA POVThere was a helicopter waiting for me at Edward’s request in the morning. I gasped when I saw it, jumping out of bed and rushing to the window to gawk at it. He came up behind me with a wide grin on his face.“You’re going to Miami,” he whispered as he wrapped his arms around.As usual, I was tempted to maneuver out of his embrace because it did not feel like home to me, but I held back that feeling. He was not Alexander and will never be, so it was better for me to look past all those feelings now and move on with my life just as Alex had.“I can’t believe this,” I gushed, truly happy at the sight. “When you mentioned mini vacation I really thought you were bluffing.”“I would never bluff at something like that. I really did mean it.” He squeezed me a little harder in his embrace. “There is just something I need you to do for me.”I was tense. “What?”He seemed to notice my tension because he patted my forearms in comfort. “It’s nothing serious, darling. There’s a docume
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
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