TWO

IZZY

"What is this?" I breathed, tears blurring my vision. I was shaking so hard, panic assaulting my senses.

"Divorce papers..." I heard him say. My knees gave out, and I sank to the ground, lifting my gaze to search his eyes. But before my gaze could meet his, I was pulled into darkness...

With a gasp, I jolted upright in bed, a feeling of loss gripping me. For a moment, I sat there, burying my face in my hands.

Was my dream a remnant of the past I couldn't remember? I wondered.

My grandparents had mentioned that I had once been married. However, they never spoke of the man whom I'd been married to. I'd always found it strange.

The pain in my head spiked up, and nausea rolled through me, a reminder of the fact that I'd gotten myself drunk the previous night.

Speaking of the previous night...

My head snapped up, every muscle in my body freezing over as I took in the sight of the large room I was in. This was definitely not my bedroom.

A hotel?

In that moment, the memories of the previous night's event flooded my mind. However, I still couldn't figure out how I'd gotten here.

Did I sleep with the stranger last night?

Wide-eyed, I lowered my gaze to the white sheets, my heart skipping a beat.

Surely, I wasn't naked, right?

My thoughts trailed off when I lowered the blanket and was greeted by the sight of my nakedness.

Groaning in annoyance, I hurried out of bed and quickly got dressed. Only then did I recall what day today was. My wedding.

Cursing under my breath, I grabbed my bag and fished out my phone.

Right then, my phone rang out, and I grimaced when I saw that my best friend was calling.

"Are you alright?" She said, once I picked up the call.

"I think so," I muttered, slipping on my shoes.

"You don't have to pretend that you're okay, honey. It's okay to be sad," she replied, and I frowned.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You haven't heard?" She choked out, her voice cracking.

My heart sank, tension sinking into me.

"Heard what? Tell me."

Maxine was silent for a few more seconds, and when she spoke again, her voice quivered.

"Your grandparents are in the hospital right now. They were poisoned."

My eyes went wide, my knees going weak. The room suddenly felt as though it was spinning, my throat constructing.

"No... that's not possible..." I croaked, gasping for air.

"That's not all..." She choked out, letting out a sob.

At this point, I'd been paralyzed by fear.

"W-what?"

"You should come see it for yourself," she rasped, letting out a shaky breath.

"Tell me. I want to hear it," I said through gritted teeth.

"Y-your son...Adriano.... he was poisoned as well."

My grip on my phone loosened, and I stared at the wall in shock, feeling my blood drain from my face.

My son… poisoned? Fresh tears blurred my vision, and I gasped, my lungs straining for air.

I couldn’t think, couldn’t move, but somewhere deep inside, a fierce urgency began to push through the shock. I needed to see them.

When I snapped out of it, I hurried out of the room as quickly as I could. Maxine had texted me the hospital's address.

Once I was out of the hotel, I flagged down the first taxi I found. My hands trembled, and my eyes filled up with more tears. I couldn't afford to lose the only family I'd ever known.

As the car sped towards the hospital, tears spilled down my cheeks, and I couldn't bring myself to wipe them away.

Maxine was there to welcome me at the hospital. She'd been crying. It was obvious from the tear tracks on her pale face. Eventually, I was allowed to enter the ICU.

...

A sob tore out of my throat as I held onto my son's limp hand. He was lying on the hospital bed with a tube in his mouth. I'd been crying for hours, and now my eyes were so swollen, I could barely let out anymore tears.

Regrets hit me hard as I stared at his immobile form. When I'd regained consciousness from my two-year coma with no memory of who I was, it had taken me a while to accept the fact that I was a mother. Even so, I'd always left him with my grandmother. It didn't help that I was always busy with work.

As I left the ward, I felt empty and ruined.

I was Isabella Moreno, the stubborn, ambitious woman. I'd always believed that the world revolved around me.

Yet, there I was roaming down the hospital corridors, feeling dead inside.

"There she is."

I looked up at the sound of my stepbrother's voice.

"Heath," I sighed.

"You did something, didn't you? You were so crazy about getting the old man's properties you decided to kill him off," Heath hissed.

I remained silent, too tired to react.

"Such an ungrateful bitch! You're just like your mum. She married our dad because she was a gold digger!" Tessy, my stepsister said. She was perched by her brother's side, pinning me with an accusing gaze.

I was tempted to fire back at them, but I had no energy. All I wanted to do was curl up into a ball and go to sleep.

"Murderer!" Heath screamed at me, and I swallowed hard.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?! How dare you say that to her?!"

We all turned at the sound of Maxine's voice. She was storming towards us, her bloodshot eyes filled with rage.

She moved to my side and held on to my arm.

"Do you think we don't know how desperate she is to claim our grandfather's wealth? You're probably just like her. Filthy gold diggers!" Heath barked.

"That's right. She was so desperate she even abandoned her own son. She's the reason he's lying in that bed, lifeless!" Tessy added.

With my head lowered, I squeezed my eyes shut, holding my trembling hands together.

It hurt because they were right.

I was selfish. I should've been a better mother.

What if it was too late?

A lump formed in my throat, tears stinging my sore eyes.

Suddenly, I felt a new presence in front of me, shielding me from the abuse that was raining down on me. My stepsiblings had gone silent.

Curious, I opened my eyes and found that a man was standing in front of me. He turned to look at me, his familiar green eyes meeting mine.

I blinked, surprised.

It was him. The man who'd asked me to marry him.

He diverted his gaze from me to address my stepsiblings, and I heaved a sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose.

Why was he here?

"You will not treat her that way," he hissed, and they moved backwards, terror flashing in their eyes.

They seemed to know exactly who he was.

"What are you doing here?" Heath demanded, and the stranger's frown deepened.

He seemed to be deeply aggravated. I couldn't understand why though. This was my business, not his.

"Stay away from her; I will not repeat myself. The next time you treat her like this, I will feed you to my dogs. Do you understand?" He said, his voice thick with authority.

They both glanced at each other and started to back away.

"You can't tell us what to do--" Heath started to say, but before he could complete his statement, the stranger stormed towards him and grabbed him by the throat.

I watched as Heath's face slowly started to turn purple as the stranger slammed him against the wall.

"You will do as I say, right?" He stated, his voice laced with icy menace.

Heath nodded frantically, and he was released. Coughing and gasping for air, he clutched at his throat.

The stranger stormed towards me, grabbed my hand, and dragged me away from the others. I quietly let him drag him down the corridor until the others were out of sight.

"What were you thinking letting them bully you like that?" He demanded, and I slowly looked up at him.

"What's it to you? Why are you even here?" I retorted, and he rubbed the back of his neck, turmoil blazing in his green eyes.

"I figured that something must've happened since you refused to pick up my calls. I did some investigation and --"

"You didn't have to show up. None of this is your business," I interrupted him coldly.

"You clearly need my help --"

"No. I don't."

I was irritated and exhausted. I could barely stand the sight of him.

"Just hear me out --"

"We slept with each other, but that's it. We don't owe each other anything. Let's be honest, the only reason you approached me was because you wanted to have sex with me," I said, and his eyes darkened.

He moved towards me, and I stumbled backwards, flustered by his sudden movement.

Once I was backed up against the wall, he planted a hand on the wall, right beside my head.

Refusing to show any emotion, I kept my expression schooled. He was so close, I could smell his cologne so strongly.

For reasons unknown to me, my heart was racing in my chest. The strange feelings I'd felt for him the previous night seemed to have returned in full force. I hated it.

The air was thick with tension. And when he drew even closer, my breath caught in my throat.

"Have sex with you? If that's all I wanted to do, I wouldn't be here right now," he hissed.

The storm in his eyes grew, and his piercing gaze didn't falter.

"Then, what do you want?" I breathed.

"I want your permission," he replied, and I stiffened.

"What permission?"

"To be your shield," he rasped, and I stared at him, wide-eyed.

Was he insane?