ISABELLA'S POV"What do you want from me, you bastard? Haven't you said enough?" My voice was seething with anger and venom."I came to see if you're okay." He replied cooly.I let out a bitter, humorless laugh." Wow. How sweet of you. You came to check if I'm okay? A few minutes ago, I was coughing my lungs out and you didn't even so much as blink. And suddenly you came to see if I'm okay? I'm not okay Alex. I AM NOT OKAY!!!""I'll advise you to keep it low. You don't want anyone hearing our little banter now, do you?" His face split into a wide, predatory smile, and an electric shiver ran through me. It coursed down my spine to gather low in my belly, where it pulsed urgently.I stared at him, pretty sure my gaze was venomous."Your husband is waiting for you. He wants your company. Go and have a romp with your old man. You can do it right in the middle of the compound, where anyone can see."I lifted my hand to slap him but he was fast. He caught my hand mid-air and held it tightly
ALEXANDER'S POVMore than a week passed by, and I hadn't spoken to Isabella. I didn't even bump into her. She made a good effort in avoiding me.I barely even saw her, except her occasional visits to the kitchen to instruct the cook on what to prepare. It was usually brief and scrupulous, and then she returned to her hideout immediately.It was like I didn’t exist, and that was especially difficult to accept.Meeting her again agitated me, because it would mean that she solely had a percentage of power over me. And judging from our previous experiences, I didn’t expect her to do things as was needed. It had been days since I last spoke to her and I only saw her at dinner time.There were so many things about her I wanted to take my time in getting to know.I pined for her so much but if she didn't at least try to meet me halfway, I didn't know if my pride would allow me to even take another step forward.I laid in bed all day, scrolling through the internet. I switched on my TV and we
ALEXANDER'S POVI felt my lips go wide in a lazy grin. I liked how uncomfortable I was making her."C'mon. You know you want this. It is all for you." I cajoled with a triumphant smirk."Listen Alex, I don't have the strength or the mental capacity to handle your shenanigans, okay?"Ouch. That hurt."Very well then. You don't want me. It's fine." I said, feigning annoyance."Who were you on a call with?""None of your business.""Oh, but it is my business. Judging from what I heard, you were talking about me. That makes it my business."I saw her eyes widen in shock. "You were eavesdropping?""Well... I didn't mean to. You didn't give me much choice.""What the hell do you mean by that? It's bad enough that you eavesdrop on my private conversations, but you also come into my room at will, whenever you choose.""Aren't you tired of this game?""What game?"Why was her response, just like always, been to run? To run without giving me a chance? I understood how badly the situation must h
ISABELLA'S POV It was early afternoon and the house was as quiet as a graveyard, with only the occasional humming of birds. It was the weekend and Edward wasn't home. He had gone for his weekend gold game.I had never been fond of golf. It wasn't my idea of a good time. But for Edward, golf was more than a leisurely sport; it was a passion, an obsession.At fifty-six, he was in his prime on the golf course, or so he thought.I used to follow him every Saturday to his golf games. Where I would be in the midst of old men his age, listening to their raunchy jokes, and the uncomfortable gazes I'd become all too familiar with.The men, all in their late fifties, leered at me in a way that made my skin crawl. The way Edward seizes every opportunity to show me off, their insincere compliments and inappropriate comments were becoming routine, and I had grown tired of it. I always tried to put on a polite smile to mask my irritation.I looked towards my bedroom door. I always had an important
ISABELLA'S POV. “Hello ladies,” Alex greeted politely.Brianna’s hand immediately shot out. “Hello yourself,” she said as she lightly brushed her shiny blonde hair over her shoulders.My eyes widened slightly at her performance, and I cocked my head.Alex smiled at her, his smile almost blinding as he took the hand she offered. “I’m Alex,” he said.“I’m Brianna Curtis. I’m sure you’re already familiar with Isabella.”“Brianna!” I called, gesturing that it was time to go.Not caring, she winked at him and flashed her prettiest smile, famous for trapping men in her wiles.Alex, however, removed his gaze from her and settled it on me.“Excuse me,” he said "but I seem to be quite taken by your friend. Mind if I join you guys?""That would be lovely," Brianna interjected while I gave her a smoldering look."Well... We have quite a lot to discuss and I'm sure you'll be bored with ladies talk.""I don't mind." He said. His eyes twinkled, obviously enjoying the show. I hated how flustered I
ISABELLA'S POV "What was that?" I hissed,When Brianna didn't answer, I went to stand in front of her, my hands on my hips, tapping my feet on the ground."Calm down Bella. Look I'm trying to help you here okay?""Help me? By throwing yourself at him?""Ok, look. You said you don't want him right? I'm trying to take his mind off of you so he doesn't make advances towards you again."I was perplexed. What did she mean?"What the hell are you talking about?""See, you're not interested in him right? You don't want him close to you again right?"I didn't respond."You're not jealous are you?""I don't care about what he's doing with his dick.""Exactly. You don't care. I don't see why his interest in me is a problem for you. I'm getting him off your hands."Well, she was right. That was probably better. Even though I still felt jealous."So you don't mind both of us having a taste of the same man?""As long as you don't want him anymore."We both laugh.We both talk about other things,
ISABELLA'S POV I stormed towards Alexander's room and paused when I got to his door, wondering if I should knock or if I should barge in, just like he was wont to do.I decided to knock, not wanting to catch when he was undressed for fear of something going down.I knocked again and wondered if he had left his room as it was taking him long to open up. Just as I raised my hand to knock again, the door opened.His hair looked wet like he had just come out of the shower. I didn't have time to take in his bare chest and clean-shaven face. I immediately flounced into his room, not waiting for his invitation."What" I hissed through my teeth, struggling to keep my voice low. "What do you think you're doing it?"He cocked his brows and regarded me coldly before walking towards his wardrobe to pick out a shirt."What are you talking about Isabella?"I seethe in anger. How dare he act like he didn't know what I was talking about? I saw that his mouth was set, which meant he didn't intend to
ISABELLA'S POVI followed Edward to his car and watched as he pulled out of the driveway. Then I turned and headed towards the guest room where Brianna was staying. If only she was still there and had not run off with Alex.I didn't bother knocking when I got to her room. I was a bit surprised to find her lying on the bed with her phone. Thank goodness."We need to talk NOW!" I said, feeling exasperated.The moment I came in, she turned around, her eyebrows twitching in surprise."Oh don't give me that look. I said we need to talk.""Is everything okay, Bella?""No! Everything is not okay!"She narrowed her eyes at me, waiting for me to continue. I hated it when she was like that."You betrayed me, Anna. Even though I tell you that it's not a big deal and I don't care, I do! Ok! How the hell will I invite you to my house to complain about someone and the next thing you do is fuck that person."Still no response. I realized I may have sounded harsh and decided to talk more softly."Ann
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