ALEXANDER POVThey had been arguing all morning. I barely understood what they were saying, but it was apparently due to the jewelry he got her and some class she wanted. I wasn’t exactly sure as their voices were muffled, but I gave up after a few minutes. Isabella was a big girl and I’m sure she can handle my daddy.I thought of the last time we spent together and my cock rose in anticipation. I wanted her again, more now than usual. My need for her kept increasing day by day. There was just something about her, and it’s not because she’s with my dad. Her sensuality seemed to rope me in every single day. The tension between us grew and grew and…“I’ll keep the necklace.”I stood up from the bird as I heard her voice. She was no doubt speaking to my dad. As I assumed, they were fighting about a piece of jewelry… or was it more than that?“You’re going to keep it now?” Edward asked.“Yes, it’s a beautiful piece. I never said I wasn’t going to keep it,” Isabella replied.“Good, because
ISABELLA POV“Where are you?!” I hissed into the phone.“I’ll be there in a moment, just wait for me,” came Alexander’s reply.I hissed and dumped the phone into my purse. If he knew he wasn’t going to make it on time, what then was the use of me coming here? I would have just stayed back at home instead of parading here in this ridiculous dress. The party itself was not the problem; it was the people in the party… and my dress.I hated my dress. Edward had styled me, complaining about not being there but letting me go and represent him. It was ridiculous. He didn’t have to dress me in awful clothes just because he wouldn’t be here with me. What in the world was he trying to prove? Sometimes I wish I could just stone him to death. If he was here with me, he would have styled me in something better and chic. He would have made sure that my hair and makeup and everything were perfect. He would have paraded me in his arms like a damn trophy that was showing off to his old friends.I hate
ISABELLA POVI found myself in the restroom, adjusting the hideous gown that Alex tried to ruin. Why couldn’t he just get the memo and respect himself? If only he knew the kind of danger he was in, we wouldn’t be having unnecessary conversations about whether I wanted him or not.I adjusted my hair one last time before leaving. I needed to find him and talk about what just happened. We’ve been crossing far too many boundaries that I wasn’t comfortable with. Anyone could discover us, and now that Lucas was hot on my tail, we needed to be more careful. Hopefully, he will understand this. Alex was not where I left him. I looked around, allowing my eyes ro roam around the place, but still nothing.“Hello miss,” an old man said in front of me.I focused my attention on him. I didn’t want to talk to Edward’s friends anymore and this man seems like one of them.“Oh, it's you,” he said cheerily and then looked around me. “He isn’t here with you?”“No he’s not,” I replied coldly.“That’s good.
ALEXANDER POVI saw the look on Isabella’s face before she excused herself to use the bathroom. I wasn’t particularly upset to be with Madison in that position, but I was just hoping to show her that I was still a hot, wanted guy. It felt stupid and silly, but pushing me away during intimacy was just as pathetic. Madison had come at the exact time and I just couldn’t stop the words coming out from her mouth. She was exceptional at what she did, including making other ladies feel jealous. I didn’t want that, so I proceeded to tell her.“Maddy—”Her smile was bright as she looked away. “I’ve just seen some old friends of mine. Hold that thought; I’ll be right back.”Then she vanished into the crowd. I didn’t want to start asking questions about which friends she knew here and how she had even been connected to come to this kind of party, but I held my tongue and grabbed a glass of champagne. It was better to drink my way through this party and finally go home. Perhaps then she would be
ALEXANDER POVWhat the fuck was Madison doing on that stage?I know my thoughts were the same as everyone else because we all had the same expression on our faces. Isabella shifted slightly and the guy she was with shifted into her, mimicking her movements. I hated it very much, even more than I hated Madison on that stage. She was crazy; she’d do anything to get my attention—even if I was dying at that point. Going on stage so everyone would be quiet and pay attention to you was… honestly, I had no words for it.She giggled as if drunk, even though I knew that she was fully sober. Madison had not even taken one shot of alcohol here; her acting drunk was just a way to show people that she stood in solidarity with them not being sober either. Sheesh, what a joke!She looked around one more time before she started. “Don’t be nervous; most of you here look like I want to uncover your secret or something.”A few people laughed at her joke while others murmured about how she was wasting th
ISABELLA POVI felt his eyes bore into mine. He was relentless in the way he made his presence known, and I was so used to his moods that I knew he was unhappy with me.What did he want? He was with his girlfriend. She was laughing and twirling and holding him like she never wanted to let go. Shouldn’t he be happy at least? He has what he wants—which is her.Andy led me by the waist out of the dance floor. He was exhilarated and I felt tired. My feet hurt and all I wanted to do was sit down. Eventually, he led us to a chair and allowed me to drop heavily on it. There were two unopened bottles of water on the table and I took one. I stared at him as I drank the water. It was surprising seeing Andy here, but also refreshing. Somehow he seems to always come out at the right moment.When the brat Madison left the bathroom, I stayed there for several minutes to get my wits together before leaving. Who knew that I’d see Andy here, looking as lost and confused as hell?“You look amazing, Bel
ISABELLA POVWhat the hell did she want? What was her plan? Why did she want us together so badly?These were the thoughts that floated through my head as she boldly challenged Andy. I watched her carefully, scrutinizing her every move. Sure, she was a beauty, but Alexander would have honestly done better than her. To say that I was disappointed in his choice of women—including me—was an understatement.Madison laughed and leaned towards Andy, then repeated her question. “Come now, tell us. Do you want to stay with us or not?Andy nodded slowly, glancing briefly at me. I wished he had looked at me long enough to see that I honestly did not want to be here and I didn’t care. But he was concerned for both of us; he wanted to be likable and not step on toes because now Alex was involved and said to be my stepson. It was infuriating.Madison clapped her hands in excitement and giggled girlishly. “Oh now that everyone’s agreed to be here, let’s play a game,” she said.“What kind of game is
ALEXANDER POVWas it safe to say that I did not like this Andy guy? I didn’t like him at all, and it might even be bordering on hate. Some people might say it is jealousy, and yeah, that might just be the feeling too. What I hated the most was when he talked about his crush. He had doe eyes and spoke slowly as if reminiscing the times when it was just him and this crush of it. As if that wasn’t enough, he mentioned her name and gave her those puppy-doe eyes.I knew he was referring to my Isabella. The looks he was giving her all night alone were enough to set me off on fire. Each time I looked over at them, he was smiling and touching and leaning in. There was never a time he did not touch her. During their dance, his hands were practically all over her. She might go around convincing people that it was just a platonic dance, but I didn’t buy that.As much as Isabella didn’t want to admit it, her dress was spectacular. It was not her taste, but it had a deep neckline that showed half
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