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
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 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 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 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