Isabel’s POVI felt the panic rising in my chest as I rushed to the maid’s quarters. My heart pounded with each step. “Get the private doctor,” I ordered, my voice shaking. “Tell him it’s urgent. Emerson has a fever, and it’s bad.”The maid sensed the urgency and ran to make the call. I returned to the bedroom, where Emerson lay in bed. His face was flushed. Beads of sweat were rolling down his forehead. His breathing was ragged. “Emerson? Please, stay with me…” I said as I sat by his side.He mumbled incoherently, caught in a feverish daze. I tried to calm myself, but it was difficult seeing him like this. He looked so vulnerable. So unlike the man I had known all these years. His wound, his fever, it was all my fault. He saved me from the fire, and now he was dealing with the consequences.There was a gentle knock on the bedroom door. It was the maid. “The doctor is on his way. But the only one available at this time lives on the other side of Rivermont,” she explained. It would tak
Isabel’s POVAs I sifted through the files on Emerson's laptop, my hands trembled. Among the documents about my father's company, I had found something that made my blood run cold. There were photos of Lilith, drunk and tearful, leaning her head on my father’s shoulder. I was shocked.What? Lilith and my father? When had they even met? He had never told me about her… My mind raced, trying to piece together a timeline that made sense. But the more I thought about it, the less sense it made.In the same folder, I discovered detailed reports about my father’s personal information, his business dealings, and the company’s financial crisis that led to its eventual bankruptcy. Emerson had been investigating him, probably for years. He knew everything from the very beginning. My stomach churned with nausea. Had our marriage been built on a foundation of lies? Was it all just a way to get back at my father? Had I been nothing more than a pawn in a twisted game? Did Emerson… never love me at
Isabel’s POVI never imagined Emerson could muster such strength in his weakened state. Maybe it was I who was the weaker one. Caught off guard, I was pushed down by him. My body hit the cold, hard floor with a force that knocked the wind out of me.The impact sent a nearby glass tumbling from the table. It shattered against the floor. Before I could react, sharp shards dug into my skin. A cry of pain escaped my lips, piercing through the tense silence.The sound seemed to snap Emerson out of his rage. His eyes widened in shock. He looked at me as if he couldn’t believe what he had just done. Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked up at him. The man I had once loved and admired more than anyone. The man who had hurt and betrayed me, more than anyone.
Emerson’s POVIt was the middle of the night. After the doctor’s visit, my fever subsided. I woke up extremely thirsty. I desperately needed a glass of water. “Isabel?” I called out in the darkness. I touched the bed next to me, trying to feel where she was. But her side of the bed was empty.I switched on the light and looked around. Where was she? She had promised to take care of me, hadn’t she? How could she leave me when I had a fever? “Isabel!” I called out again. No response.I really needed water. “I suppose I’ll have to get it myself then,” I muttered, frustration bubbling over. I got out of bed, slipped into my robe and made my way down the hallway. On my way to the bathroom, I noticed a light shining und
Isabel’s POVThe bed in my old home felt like a strange comfort. It was surreal to be here again, knowing my life had shifted so drastically. The villa, once a symbol of my success and happy marriage, was now home to Lilith – the woman who had destroyed it all.The sprawling modern villa was a marvel. High ceilings, sleek marble floors and expansive glass windows that framed lush gardens and a shimmering pool. It had been my haven.Now, it was a place of bittersweet nostalgia. Emerson was with Lilith now. They had Liam. The child I was carrying, Emerson's baby, was gone. I was painfully aware of the nursery next door. The one I had prepared meticulously. I hadn’t had the courage to go in there again. It would hurt too much.
Emerson’s POVMy heart dropped when I heard the maid’s scream. Panic surged through me. I knew something must be wrong with Isabel. I ended my call with Lilith abruptly.Rushing down the hall, I felt a cold sweat on my brow. Images of Isabel in danger flashed through my mind. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing her. I recalled all the beautiful moments we’d shared. Memories of laughter and tender words clashed violently with our twisted relationship now.I reached her door, my breath shallow and uneven. The scene inside was worse than I feared. Isabel lay on the bed, her face contorted in pain. Her skin was mottled with red blotches. It was clear she was having a severe allergic reaction. The sight of mango residue on the bed explained it al
Isabel’s POVI never imagined that a simple fruit could be my way out. Yesterday, when I found mangoes in the refrigerator, I froze. The sight of them was jarring. Mangoes hadn’t appeared in this home since Emerson and I married. He knew how allergic I was to them. But now, they were here, casually placed on a shelf.Simone, a middle-aged maid who had worked here for years, noticed my stare. Her eyes widened in recognition. She remembered my deathly allergy. She quickly explained, “These are for Ms. Lilith. She loves mangoes.” Of course they were. Lilith’s preferences now dictated what was kept in this house. The pang of jealousy I felt was sharp, but I shoved it aside. I didn’t have time for envy.When the plan began to form in my mind, I knew it was risky. It could either save me or destroy me. The risk was immense, but so were the stakes. I knew that if I allowed Eric to examine me, there was a high chance he would discover my secret—my illness. I couldn’t let that happen. Not now
Isabel’s POVI had been so close to escaping. The sterile scent of disinfectant lingered in my nostrils, reminding me of the urgency to leave. To distance myself from Emerson's suffocating presence. This was my chance to break free. Emerson wouldn’t expect me to be gone when he returned. But then, as if fate had other plans, a doctor entered the room. I froze in place on the edge of the bed as I watched him take my stuff. What was going on?The doctor was covered head to toe in surgical attire. His cap, mask and glasses obscured his face. But his gray eyes were unsettlingly familiar. I squinted, trying to place where I had seen them before.“Follow me,” he said, his voice low and urgent. “I’ll get you out of here.”My instincts were screaming at me to be cautious. “W-why should I trust you?” My voice wavered, betraying the fear I tried so hard to suppress. I had been through too much to blindly trust anyone. Especially now.The doctor hesitated for a moment. He then reached up and rem
Isabel’s POVDays passed, stretching into an unspoken eternity, and Emerson’s condition could no longer be kept from Liam and Elena.One afternoon, I was sitting by Emerson’s bed, my hand gently brushing his, when the door to the hospital room creaked open. My heart skipped a beat."Liam, Elena, what are you doing here?" I asked, my voice thick with emotion. I hadn’t expected them today, and the sight of their small faces brought a surge of overwhelming love and guilt.Eric stood behind them, his expression apologetic, his eyes soft with understanding. “They begged me, Isabel. They wouldn’t stop asking to see him... I couldn’t say no anymore.”Liam’s face was drawn, his usual bright energy dimmed with concern. Elena clung to her brother, her eyes wide with fear as they both hesitated in the doorway.Before I could say anything else, another figure appeared behind them, stepping into the room. My heart stopped for a moment as I looked up to see Emerson’s mother, Estelle, walking towards
Isabel’s POVA month had passed. One whole month, and still, no sign of life from Emerson. The machines beside his bed beeped steadily. A monotonous rhythm that I had come to know too well. A rhythm that seemed to mock the stillness of his body. I sat by his side every day, watching him, praying for some miracle—some sign that he was still there, still fighting. But each time I whispered his name, there was nothing. Nothing but the soft hum of hospital machinery.“Emerson,” I whispered, my voice trembling despite my attempts to sound steady. “Don’t you want to be with me? If you wake up, I promise we can live happily as a family of four.”I meant it, every word of it. The thought of a future with him, of raising our children together, was the only thing that kept me going. I needed him to hear me. I needed him to wake up.But Emerson remained unresponsive.He looked like a prince charming, trapped in an eternal dream—strangely peaceful. I combed his dark hair back neatly after gently
Isabel’s POVThe world blurred—shouts, chaos, the metallic scent of blood thick in my nostrils. My heartbeat pounded in my ears as I clung to Emerson, his labored breaths hot against my skin.I didn’t dare move. The slick warmth of his blood drenching me was unnerving. His chest rose and fell in erratic, shallow breaths. But then, amid the cacophony of battle, a stunned silence emerged. Orders were shouted. Weapons clicked into position. Something had changed. I forced myself to glance up from Emerson’s chest, my pulse hammering.Alistair stood frozen, his face contorted in pain. Blood dripped from his hand—the very hand that had been pointing a gun at me just seconds before. His grip slackened, and the weapon tumbled to the ground.A sniper.Alistair’s men immediately scattered, taking defensive positions, frantically searching the area. But before they could react, several of them suddenly dropped to the ground.They were convulsing violently, frothing at the mouth. One by one, the
Isabel’s POVMy wrists ached from the tight ropes binding my hands behind my back as I was shoved forward. The rough ground beneath my boots felt unsteady, my knees weak with exhaustion. The air smelled of blood, gunpowder, and sweat. The night was still alive with distant gunfire, but here, in the heart of the enemy’s grasp, there was only the sound of my ragged breathing and Alistair’s mocking laughter.“Stop resisting, Emerson,” he drawled, his voice filled with smug amusement. “You’re in over your head. Oh—look who finally decided to join us.”Emerson was holding back several opponents, bruised and bloodied from the fight. His head snapped up at Alistair’s words.He turned, and when his eyes landed on me, something in his face shifted. Shock, then rage, then a devastating kind of fear. He lunged forward, but a guard was faster. A rifle butt slammed into Emerson’s ribs. The sickening crack echoed in the night, and he crumpled to the ground, gasping for air."Emerson!" I screamed,
Isabel’s POVAt first, Emerson and I managed to escape the building, slipping into the shadows like ghosts. The night was thick around us, swallowing our hurried footsteps as we navigated through the wreckage of Alistair’s camp. The distant gunfire and shouts of battle echoed behind us. But just as we reached the edge of the compound, the world seemed to shift.From the darkness, figures emerged—silent and predatory, their weapons gleaming under the pale moonlight. They moved like shadows given form, their presence an unspoken promise of violence. My breath caught in my throat as a dozen, no, more than two dozen enemies surrounded us, blocking every escape route. The sheer hatred in their eyes sent an involuntary shiver down my spine. These weren’t just guards; they were fanatics, men who thrived in the chaos of bloodshed and terror.Emerson moved instinctively, stepping in front of me, gun raised. “Stay close,” he murmured, barely audible over the wind. I nodded, steadying my grip
Sebastian/Elias’ POVScarlet’s scream echoed through the dimly lit room, raw with disbelief and fury. “You’re lying!” she spat, her eyes blazing with denial. The restraints binding her wrists rattled as she struggled, but I didn’t move to stop her. There was no point—her fight wasn’t with me. It was with the truth.I let out a slow breath, pulling a small, timeworn pocket watch from my coat. The silver casing had dulled over the years, but the engraved initials remained clear. I clicked it open and held it out to her, revealing a faded family photograph inside.“My father gave this to me before he died,” I said evenly, my voice softer than before. “He cared about you, Scarlet. No matter what you believe, you were never forgotten.”Her breath hitched. For a moment, the fire in her eyes flickered, replaced by something rawer—uncertainty. “How could it be?” she murmured, barely more than a whisper.All the pieces had finally clicked into place as Scarlet unraveled her story. The tangled
Scarlet’s POVTelling my story, I was flung back into the past. Lost in the grip of memories that had never truly left me. The present moment faded, and I found myself reliving those painful years. As vivid and raw as the day they had happened.I had been young, hopeful, foolish. Despite the years of neglect, I had still wanted my parents' love. But when I overheard them denying my very existence, something inside me snapped.Disheartened, I had returned to the countryside, burying myself in my studies. Medicine became my refuge, my salvation. I dedicated myself to understanding the human body—not just how to heal it, but how to manipulate it, how to break it. My hands, once weak and trembling from years of frustration, became steady, precise instruments of control.The first time I killed a lab mouse, something dark and exhilarating bloomed inside me. Power. The ability to decide whether something lived or died. The ability to take control of what had always been out of my grasp.
Elias’ POVI watched from the shadows as Isabel and Emerson disappeared into the night, their figures swallowed by the chaos of battle outside. I clenched my fists and tried to push down the sharp, aching weight that settled in my gut.Maybe it had been foolish to think I ever stood a chance with Isabel. Emerson had always been the one she turned to in the end. The one she trusted in the heat of battle. The one she looked at with that fierce determination in her eyes. And me? I was just a shadow lingering on the edges of her world, never quite stepping into the light.A slow clap echoed through the dimly lit room."Are you just going to let them go?" Scarlet’s voice slithered through the shadows like a snake.I turned away from the exit, my expression unreadable as I faced the woman bound to the chair before me. Her wrists were tied behind her back, her face partially obscured by strands of disheveled hair. Even restrained, she exuded a sickening confidence, her smirk unwavering.I m
Isabel’s POVI had to stop Margot.There was no time to think, no time to call for backup—just raw instinct and the desperate need to prevent her from making a terrible mistake. My boots pounded against the forest floor as I sprinted after her, weaving through the pine trees in pursuit. I knew why she was doing this. I understood the desperate, reckless pull of wanting to save someone you love. But charging straight into enemy territory? Alone? It was suicide.“No!” I hissed under my breath, pushing my legs harder.Margot moved swiftly, her figure barely a shadow in the dim light. She reached the edge of the enemy’s perimeter and, without hesitation, hoisted herself up onto a low window ledge. She pulled her body through with practiced agility. She was inside before I could even call her name.Damn it.I skidded to a halt near the building, pressing myself against the rough exterior. The compound was crawling with patrols. My heart pounded as I scanned the area, calculating the be