The bedroom door slammed behind Isla with satisfying force. She pressed her back against it as if the solid wood could shield her from the memory of Damien's lips on hers. Her fingers rose instinctively to trace her mouth—still warm from his kiss.
“No.” She shoved away from the door, pacing the length of the extravagant bedroom like a caged panther. The room was a masterpiece of cold elegance—all steel grays and icy blues, the furniture so pristine it might never have been touched. Just like its owner. “It was all for the cameras. Just for the damned cameras. It meant absolutely nothing!” She kept repeating to herself like someone fighting a powerful spell. But her traitorous body remembered too well: the firm pressure of his mouth, the possessive grip of his hands at her waist, the way her pulse had stuttered when he had pulled her close. “Gosh! Things were going too fast.” She was still thinking when a sudden knock on the door sounded, cutting off her spiral thoughts. “Who is that?” She called out even though she already guessed who was at the door. Without saying anything, she straightened and strode to the door to pull it open. And there he was, Damien Blackwood, standing right outside. Isla’s throat went a little tighter. For a second, neither of them moved. Then, still without a word, she turned and walked back inside, leaving the door open. She heard him step in and the door closing again. Damien leaned against the doorframe, watching her with that infuriating half-smile. Then, with a sharp spin, she turned around to face him, flashing accusing eyes. "We need rules," Isla snapped. Damien's eyebrow arched. "Do enlighten me." “What you did back there was not good enough, I just want to know why you kissed me like that…you took me by surprise. You know you can't just…” "Touching my wife?" Damien pushed off the door, advancing with predatory grace. "That wasn't a surprise, Isla. It was strategy." "Strategy?" "To make them believe." He stopped just inches away, close enough that she caught the subtle spice of his cologne. "Unless you would prefer the world sees this marriage for the farce it is?" Her breath hitched. "There are other ways—" "None as convincing." His gaze dropped to her mouth. "And none that infuriate Nate quite so effectively." The mention of her ex was a slap. Isla stiffened, but Damien wasn't finished. “God I hate this.” She whispered. She hated how he always appeared a step ahead of everyone. How effortlessly he always seemed in control. He closed the remaining distance, his voice dropping to a velvet murmur. "If we're doing this, you need to commit. No flinching when I touch you." His fingers brushed her waist, igniting sparks where they grazed. "No hesitation when I kiss you." His breath warmed her ear as he whispered, "And no running when this gets... complicated." Every nerve in her body came alive. She should've stepped back. Should've shoved him away. Instead, she held her ground, her chin lifting in defiance even as her pulse raced. "Fine," she bit out. "But I want answers. Why me? You could've chosen anyone." Damien's smile didn't reach his eyes. "Because you're Nate's greatest mistake—the one prize he can never reclaim." Nate's greatest mistake? What did he mean? And Just how deep did the rift between him and Nate go? After some time, she hummed, nodded once, and responded in a much lower tone. “Well, next time, no surprises,” Damien smirked, his expression still not hiding his amusement. “Fair enough.” He nodded back. Damien’s eyes stayed for a moment longer, as if testing her limits, before finally pulling back with deliberate slowness. Then, without another word, he left the room, leaving her standing there. Isla stood back frozen, staring blankly at the spot where he had just left. A few seconds after Damien left, Isla remained still, staring at the same door as the same set of questions kept repeating. Then, finally, she let out a resigned sigh; she turned, went near the bed, and collapsed on it. She let her head fall back, closing her eyes briefly as if that alone could strip her mind of everything. She needed some distraction. She reached for her phone, unlocked it with a swipe, and started to scroll search for anything that wasn’t Damien Blackwood. But the moment the screen lit up, her face cracked. A flood of notifications filled up her screen, an overwhelming heap of messages, tags, and mentions that made her abdomen ache. The internet was on fire. And it was on fire with the very things she was just trying to avoid. Her name and that of Damien were everywhere. Hundreds of people had tagged her. Notifications were flashing with an absurd number of alerts. And as she reluctantly opened social media, the barrage of headlines and accompanying posts left her stunned. Pictures from her red carpet with Damien were plastered across the internet, capturing every moment in agonizing detail. Particularly the moment when Damien had kissed her. “Good gracious!” She murmured as she scrolled down, the comments were even worse. "That didn't take long. Someone's got a type." "How long before this billionaire dumps her too?" Then Sophia's text appeared: "Tell me this isn't true, Issy." Isla's jaw tightened. She had been through this routine of media storms before when she married Nate, but this one was way more brutal. The sheer viciousness of their labels was worse than she had anticipated. Soon, her attention shifted to her call log, her head feeling hot at the sight of the several missed calls. The numbers belonged to her parents they had both called multiple times. And seeing what she had just seen, she didn’t even have to guess why. Isla hurled the phone onto the bed like it had burned her. Outside, the city glittered—beautiful, brutal, and utterly indifferent. Somewhere out there, Nate and Vanessa were probably laughing. Somewhere out there, Damien was already three moves ahead. And here she stood, caught between revenge and ruin, with no idea which side of the line she would land on when this was over.Ever since Isla had signed a contract with Damien, she had become familiar with a new kind of freedom. A life that was the complete opposite of the one she shared with Nate. Back then, she had been a full-time housewife, but there had always been something to do. She would run the errands for his grandparents, do the shopping, oversee the house maintenance, and even scrub the damn floors herself. In Damien’s world, that life was nonexistent. Isla felt like a ghost in the big house with its numerous staff. There was even a time she had attempted to cook just to remind herself of the life she once lived but one of the maids, Amelia, had stopped her with a look so grave it was as though she had attempted to commit a crime. "Mr. Blackwood doesn’t like his wife working." It was perhaps after that particular encounter that the realization came upon her like a heavy cloak. If she stayed like this doing nothing, she would suffocate. The boredom would destroy her before the contract ev
Since the red carpet announcement, Isla's phone hadn't stopped ringing—calls from her parents, her sister Sophia, and everyone trying to reach her. But she couldn't answer. Not because she didn't want to, but because she had no words to explain. How could she tell them she had been essentially kidnapped by her ex-husband's billionaire rival? That he had offered the perfect revenge in exchange for marriage? They would think she had lost her mind. So she kept ignoring them, buying time to plan.Saturday morning brought a rude shock. Right after breakfast, a security guard burst in. "Your family is at the gate ma’am.”For a paralyzing moment, Isla stood frozen, panic turning her limbs to stone. Damien was home. This couldn't be happening."Tell them I'll be out in a minute," she managed to whisper, the words sticking in her dry throat.Minutes later, Isla finally summoned the courage to step out of the house. From a distance, she spotted her father, Robert Carter, standing firm at t
The stylists were done and left a moment ago. Now Isla stood alone in her room gazing into her reflection in the mirror to see their finished work.They had transformed her into a goddess.The deep emerald necklace on her neck shone under the light. The glow of her face intimidated her. The dress they had selected was impeccable: a velvet gown whose off-shoulder cut exposed the smooth, shiny lines of her collarbones.“Great job,” She whispered.This is what being the wife of Damien Blackwood meant. It was nothing like before when she was just a glorified maid bound to the kitchen.Now she was someone stronger. Someone who belonged in this world of power and ruthless ambition. Someone who was not allowed to be vulnerable. But was she?She hummed, not allowing herself to pursue the thought further. “It was almost time for the party.”~~~Isla stepped out about five minutes later, moving with careful control, the sound of her heels steady against the glittery floor. Something switched
Days later, Isla was sitting alone in the office of her new boutique, her manicured fingers eagerly skimming over the contract papers spread before her. From what she was seeing, her business proposal had won multiple grants, zero-interest loans, and exclusive sponsorships. One after another, the contracts bore the names of the high-profile investors and elite brands that had endorsed her. This was the kind of win she ordinarily would have spent years trying and failing to get the attention of, but like magic, it was lying freely on her palms.“Wait…is this for real?”Her expression hardened slightly as she queried herself. It was true that she had worked tirelessly for this, she had poured every element of her ambition into this dream business for some time now.But even so… this came way too easy.“Too convenient.”Just like that? Her brows knitted as she leaned back into the chair in contemplation. The rhythmic tapping of her finger against the desk echoed softly as she tried to
“Ugh God!” half-sleepy, with a half-repetitive beeping from her phone stirring her awake the next morning.With a sluggish roll of her hands, she picked up the phone and sat up slowly before finally lifting it to see a train of new notifications waiting on her screen.She blinked, letting her vision adjust to the light before swiping further."Isla Carter’s Success: Talent or Just Another Rich Man’s Wife?"That was the title of the main headline people were tagging her to. Her pictures with both Nate and Damien were placed side by side,, and under the main post, over a hundred thousand people had commented in less than three hours.A cold feeling ran down her spine, as her face started to get dark with foreboding. She swallowed, forcing herself to scroll further down.The main post she found beneath the pictures was worse;It painted her as nothing more than a former secretary who had merely married her way into success, someone whose achievements were not the result of talent but of
Vanessa woke up feeling victorious. She stretched and yawned luxuriously. Today was yet another day to watch Isla Carter getting dragged through the filth of public scorn. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed wearing a smirk. And guess the best part of it all? Vanessa hadn’t even lifted a finger; it was someone else from the sky who had taken it upon himself to do the dirty work. With some effort, she pushed herself up and wanted to rearrange a pillow when a glow from her phone caught her attention. She paused with brows lifted. “More news, perhaps?” Another wave of disgrace for Isla? Well, she certainly wasn’t complaining. Vanessa picked up the phone with a quick flick of her wrist, bringing it closer, prepared to relish every detail. But the moment the words on the screen greeted her face her smirk died an instant death. It was like a dagger straight to the throat. She blinked, then blinked again, as a sudden fever began to descend on her, The headlines weren't ab
“If you want to know the truth about your husband, come to this address. 1588 Belmont Drive. Now!" Isla stared at the anonymous message, the address mentioned was one she knew too well, it was the description of Hayes vacation home, not too far from the mansion she shared with her husband. Her expression remained neutral at first, but soon she could not help but scoff, waving the phone and shaking her head. “Fraudsters…Gossip phishers!” This must be a desperate attempt to stir trouble in her marriage and then put it on the news. Well, they could try such games with any other woman out there, but not her, Isla Hayes. “Not Nate," Isla murmured, shaking her head. "He would never." Three years of marriage had solidified her trust in him. He was a man of discipline, a man of his word. And, more importantly, the circumstances that had led to their unusual union made him owe her a debt that neither of them ever brought up but was deeply understood. The thought of that debt
Isla stood outside Vanessa’s apartment, her hand trembling as it hovered over the doorbell. The sight of the familiar building—a place she had once called her second home—threatened to bring tears to her eyes. But she swallowed the lump in her throat and forced herself to press the button. She needed answers. She needed to hear it from Vanessa herself. The door swung open, and Mrs. Reed, Vanessa’s mother, greeted her with a warm smile. “Isla, dear! What a surprise. Come in, come in! You should join the celebration.” The words were cheerful, but to Isla, they felt like a slap. Celebration? Was this woman so oblivious to the pain her daughter had caused? Or was she simply choosing to ignore it? A sudden, bitter laugh bubbled up in her throat while Mrs. Reed regarded her with quiet amusement. Vanessa’s eyes met Isla’s, and for a moment, there was silence. Then Vanessa sighed, setting her cup down and crossing her arms. “Took you long enough.” Isla’s fists clenched a
Vanessa woke up feeling victorious. She stretched and yawned luxuriously. Today was yet another day to watch Isla Carter getting dragged through the filth of public scorn. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed wearing a smirk. And guess the best part of it all? Vanessa hadn’t even lifted a finger; it was someone else from the sky who had taken it upon himself to do the dirty work. With some effort, she pushed herself up and wanted to rearrange a pillow when a glow from her phone caught her attention. She paused with brows lifted. “More news, perhaps?” Another wave of disgrace for Isla? Well, she certainly wasn’t complaining. Vanessa picked up the phone with a quick flick of her wrist, bringing it closer, prepared to relish every detail. But the moment the words on the screen greeted her face her smirk died an instant death. It was like a dagger straight to the throat. She blinked, then blinked again, as a sudden fever began to descend on her, The headlines weren't ab
“Ugh God!” half-sleepy, with a half-repetitive beeping from her phone stirring her awake the next morning.With a sluggish roll of her hands, she picked up the phone and sat up slowly before finally lifting it to see a train of new notifications waiting on her screen.She blinked, letting her vision adjust to the light before swiping further."Isla Carter’s Success: Talent or Just Another Rich Man’s Wife?"That was the title of the main headline people were tagging her to. Her pictures with both Nate and Damien were placed side by side,, and under the main post, over a hundred thousand people had commented in less than three hours.A cold feeling ran down her spine, as her face started to get dark with foreboding. She swallowed, forcing herself to scroll further down.The main post she found beneath the pictures was worse;It painted her as nothing more than a former secretary who had merely married her way into success, someone whose achievements were not the result of talent but of
Days later, Isla was sitting alone in the office of her new boutique, her manicured fingers eagerly skimming over the contract papers spread before her. From what she was seeing, her business proposal had won multiple grants, zero-interest loans, and exclusive sponsorships. One after another, the contracts bore the names of the high-profile investors and elite brands that had endorsed her. This was the kind of win she ordinarily would have spent years trying and failing to get the attention of, but like magic, it was lying freely on her palms.“Wait…is this for real?”Her expression hardened slightly as she queried herself. It was true that she had worked tirelessly for this, she had poured every element of her ambition into this dream business for some time now.But even so… this came way too easy.“Too convenient.”Just like that? Her brows knitted as she leaned back into the chair in contemplation. The rhythmic tapping of her finger against the desk echoed softly as she tried to
The stylists were done and left a moment ago. Now Isla stood alone in her room gazing into her reflection in the mirror to see their finished work.They had transformed her into a goddess.The deep emerald necklace on her neck shone under the light. The glow of her face intimidated her. The dress they had selected was impeccable: a velvet gown whose off-shoulder cut exposed the smooth, shiny lines of her collarbones.“Great job,” She whispered.This is what being the wife of Damien Blackwood meant. It was nothing like before when she was just a glorified maid bound to the kitchen.Now she was someone stronger. Someone who belonged in this world of power and ruthless ambition. Someone who was not allowed to be vulnerable. But was she?She hummed, not allowing herself to pursue the thought further. “It was almost time for the party.”~~~Isla stepped out about five minutes later, moving with careful control, the sound of her heels steady against the glittery floor. Something switched
Since the red carpet announcement, Isla's phone hadn't stopped ringing—calls from her parents, her sister Sophia, and everyone trying to reach her. But she couldn't answer. Not because she didn't want to, but because she had no words to explain. How could she tell them she had been essentially kidnapped by her ex-husband's billionaire rival? That he had offered the perfect revenge in exchange for marriage? They would think she had lost her mind. So she kept ignoring them, buying time to plan.Saturday morning brought a rude shock. Right after breakfast, a security guard burst in. "Your family is at the gate ma’am.”For a paralyzing moment, Isla stood frozen, panic turning her limbs to stone. Damien was home. This couldn't be happening."Tell them I'll be out in a minute," she managed to whisper, the words sticking in her dry throat.Minutes later, Isla finally summoned the courage to step out of the house. From a distance, she spotted her father, Robert Carter, standing firm at t
Ever since Isla had signed a contract with Damien, she had become familiar with a new kind of freedom. A life that was the complete opposite of the one she shared with Nate. Back then, she had been a full-time housewife, but there had always been something to do. She would run the errands for his grandparents, do the shopping, oversee the house maintenance, and even scrub the damn floors herself. In Damien’s world, that life was nonexistent. Isla felt like a ghost in the big house with its numerous staff. There was even a time she had attempted to cook just to remind herself of the life she once lived but one of the maids, Amelia, had stopped her with a look so grave it was as though she had attempted to commit a crime. "Mr. Blackwood doesn’t like his wife working." It was perhaps after that particular encounter that the realization came upon her like a heavy cloak. If she stayed like this doing nothing, she would suffocate. The boredom would destroy her before the contract ev
The bedroom door slammed behind Isla with satisfying force. She pressed her back against it as if the solid wood could shield her from the memory of Damien's lips on hers. Her fingers rose instinctively to trace her mouth—still warm from his kiss. “No.” She shoved away from the door, pacing the length of the extravagant bedroom like a caged panther. The room was a masterpiece of cold elegance—all steel grays and icy blues, the furniture so pristine it might never have been touched. Just like its owner. “It was all for the cameras. Just for the damned cameras. It meant absolutely nothing!” She kept repeating to herself like someone fighting a powerful spell. But her traitorous body remembered too well: the firm pressure of his mouth, the possessive grip of his hands at her waist, the way her pulse had stuttered when he had pulled her close. “Gosh! Things were going too fast.” She was still thinking when a sudden knock on the door sounded, cutting off her spiral thoughts. “Wh
The next morning met Isla at the well-furnished bedroom Damien had ushered her into the previous night. She blinked her eyes slowly on the bed, adjusting to the light glow as the events of the previous day came rushing back, she sat up abruptly, the weight of her decision passed down her chest like a stone. Yesterday, she had arrived here as Isla Carter, a betrayed and bitter divorcee desperate for revenge. Today, she woke up as Isla Blackwood, wife to perhaps the most ruthless and wealthiest man in the city. A stranger. A billionaire whose motive she still couldn't grasp. The sound of the door opening snapped her out of her thoughts. She turned to see Damian standing in the doorway, his tall, imposing figure framed by the light of the room. His presence seemed to fill the room, the air growing heavier as his gaze met hers. Isla felt exposed and vulnerable and quietly pulled the sheet tighter around her. For a moment, Damien said nothing, he simply watched, his expression unreada
Two days had passed since Isla’s encounter with Damien, and his words still echoed in her mind like a haunting refrain. “Marry me.” The memory of his face—serious, unyielding—was etched into her thoughts, replaying over and over. She paced her room, the business card he had given her clenched tightly in her hand. It felt like it was burning her palm, a constant reminder of the choice looming over her. Was this madness? Or could we call this fate’s way of giving her the perfect opportunity for revenge? How unlikely, how righteous, how suspiciously on time. Could this really be her chance to make Nate and Vanessa pay for what they had done? She grabbed a half-empty bottle of wine from her bedside table, twisted off the cap, and took a long, slow sip. The liquid soothed her throat but did little to calm the storm inside her. The room was silent except for the ticking of the clock, each second a reminder of the time slipping away. What followed next was the sound of the