IslaI pulled on a pair of black pants—sleek, tailored—then the silver silk top. Yeah, silver again. At this point, it was basically my signature. Was it even a real color? Didn’t matter. It caught the light, made my skin glow, and gave me that don’t mess with me edge. Good enough. A few silver hoops, a thin bracelet, and my Louboutins clicked into place like armor locking into position. The mirror didn’t sugarcoat it—I looked expensive.Gran-Gran whistled when I stepped out, like I was some K-drama lead strutting off a runway. “Gran-Gran,” I groaned, my face heating up. “Seriously?” She cackled—the kind of laugh that meant trouble—and hooked her arm through mine. I could already feel the chaos brewing. Her cane tapped against the pavement as we walked, sharp and unyielding, just like her. The car was waiting. I helped her in, and with a quiet nod from the driver, we were off. The McCatty mall was all polished floors and overpriced serenity, the kind of place where the air
IslaI turned off my phone without a second thought and let the weight of the day drag me into sleep.When I opened my eyes again, it was to soft kisses fluttering against my cheeks. I blinked up, half-dazed, and found Rolin’s smirking face hovering above me like the trouble he was.“Good evening, butterfly,” he murmured, brushing a strand of hair from my face. “Or should I say… wife? How was your day?”I squinted at him. “What time is it?”“7:32 p.m.”I hummed and sank deeper into the sheets. “Have you eaten anything?”He stretched beside me and shrugged. “Not really. Grandma’s cooking.”That made me shoot up. “And you didn’t wake me?” I smacked his chest lightly. “You just let me sleep while food was being made?”He grinned. “Didn’t want to disturb my wife.”Then he leaned in close, lowering his voice. “you were just being sweet in front of Abigail today. Was someone feeling a little jealous?”I rolled my eyes so hard it could’ve been audible and dodged him, making him lose balance
IslaI told Rolin I was heading to see Jane.He didn’t ask questions—just nodded with that unreadable look of his. We told Grandma we were stepping out, and as we walked toward the driveway, he glanced at my car and smirked.“Your car taste hasn’t changed,” he said, like it was some inside joke.“It’s called loyalty,” I replied, sliding into the seat like I owned the world.When I pulled up outside Alex’s house, I rolled my eyes. The place looked smaller—uglier—now that I wasn’t trapped in it. I stared at the driveway and made a silent promise: I’m taking it all back.I bought this house. And like a fool, I signed it over to him. That ends today.I walked in with the confidence of a woman who knew her worth—and the weight of the potted plant I’d grabbed randomly from a roadside shop, just for cover.Jane opened the door like she’d been waiting to smile her way out of a scandal. I didn’t even glance at her. Inside, Alex sat on the couch like a smug prince, champagne glasses already wai
Isla *BRAAAP-BOOM* The city pulses with celebration—fireworks cracking overhead, music bleeding through the frosty air, laughter spilling from the open doors of the Blackwood Hotel. I tighten the silk wrap around my shoulders, my pulse hammering as I step inside. Tonight was supposed to be different. A fresh start. Alex had been distant for months, but I’d chalked it up to stress. That’s why I’d spent hours getting ready—wearing the emerald dress he’d once called stunning, curling my hair the way he used to tug at it in bed. I still believed in us. God, I was an idiot. I spot him instantly. He’s at the center of the room, flawless in his tuxedo, champagne flute dangling from his fingers like he hasn’t a care in the world. Then I see her. Jane. She’s pressed against him, her blood-red dress leaving nothing to the imagination. Her nails drag down his lapel, her lips curved in a smirk. My breath stalls. Alex tilts his h
Isla The slap cracks across my cheek like a gunshot. "Isla." Another strike. My vision swims as I force my eyes open. Fluorescent lights stab into my skull. My mouth tastes like copper. Alex crouches over me, his fingers patting my face—fake concern dripping from every touch. His other hand holds a whiskey glass, the ice untouched. Waiting. Like he wanted me conscious for his victory toast. Jane's voice cuts through the buzzing in my ears: "Drama queen." I swallow bile. The nausea clings, but I shove it down. Focus. Marble floor cold against my bare legs. Nails digging half-moons into my palms. Alex finally takes that sip, savoring it. "Fainting? Really?" His thumb swipes my lower lip, smearing blood. "Pathetic." Good. Let him think I’m weak. I let my hands shake as I push upright. "Haven’t… been eating since—" My voice breaks just right. Jane rolls her eyes so hard I hear it. "Christ, you’re insufferable." My
Isla The glass of water was cool in my hands when Rolin passed it to me. His fingers lingered against mine a second too long - not quite an accident, not quite on purpose. I took a slow sip, the water doing nothing to wash away the taste of revenge on my tongue. Then I looked up and said the words that would change everything: "I'll marry you." For three heartbeats, he didn't move. Didn't blink. Then he reached for his phone with that terrifying efficiency of his. "Jamie. Bring the documents. Now." I nearly choked. "You can get a marriage license that fast?" The corner of his mouth twitched. "When you're me? Yes." Of course. Rolin McCarty didn't wait in lines or follow normal people's rules. The realization should have scared me. Instead, it sent an electric current down my spine. "Keep it quiet," I warned. "If Alex catches wind of this-" "Understood." Just like that. No arguments. No questions. As if he'd already considered every angle. Then he
Isla Rolin's voice was too calm, the kind of calm that comes right before a storm. "Alex nearly pulled it off. Covered his tracks like a pro." He tapped the file. "But Nana's death never sat right with me." My hands clenched so tight my nails bit into my palms. "What did you find?" That calculating look in his eyes sharpened. "Nana's will stated the company and properties would only transfer to you after you and Alex had a child together." A pause that made my stomach drop. "If she died before that happened... everything went to both of you." The room tilted. Suddenly all those late-night "business meetings" where Alex had begged for a baby made sickening sense. Not love. Not family. Just cold, hard greed. Rolin stood abruptly, pacing like a caged panther. When he spoke again, each word landed like a hammer blow. "Every time that bastard visited Nana in the hospital, he was slipping mercury into her IV. Slow poisoning. Paid off the medical staff to
Isla The memories hit me like a sucker punch as I looked at Rolin. God, I hadn't thought about those days in forever. But here we were - in his stupidly expensive penthouse, married of all things - and suddenly it all came flooding back. I was just a kid when we met. Nineteen, full of piss and vinegar. He was twenty-one, all sharp angles and colder than a Siberian winter. Same platoon, but I might as well have been invisible to him at first. Every morning I'd throw him a "hey," trying to chip away at that ice. Never got so much as a grunt in return. So one day I stopped trying. That's when the bastard finally noticed me. Started finding him lurking nearby all the time after that. Close enough to watch, far enough to pretend he wasn't. Then came the snacks - chocolate bars, chips, all the contraband we weren't supposed to have. Thought he was messing with me at first. Tossed them right back. The day I finally took one? His face lit up like Christmas morning.
IslaI told Rolin I was heading to see Jane.He didn’t ask questions—just nodded with that unreadable look of his. We told Grandma we were stepping out, and as we walked toward the driveway, he glanced at my car and smirked.“Your car taste hasn’t changed,” he said, like it was some inside joke.“It’s called loyalty,” I replied, sliding into the seat like I owned the world.When I pulled up outside Alex’s house, I rolled my eyes. The place looked smaller—uglier—now that I wasn’t trapped in it. I stared at the driveway and made a silent promise: I’m taking it all back.I bought this house. And like a fool, I signed it over to him. That ends today.I walked in with the confidence of a woman who knew her worth—and the weight of the potted plant I’d grabbed randomly from a roadside shop, just for cover.Jane opened the door like she’d been waiting to smile her way out of a scandal. I didn’t even glance at her. Inside, Alex sat on the couch like a smug prince, champagne glasses already wai
IslaI turned off my phone without a second thought and let the weight of the day drag me into sleep.When I opened my eyes again, it was to soft kisses fluttering against my cheeks. I blinked up, half-dazed, and found Rolin’s smirking face hovering above me like the trouble he was.“Good evening, butterfly,” he murmured, brushing a strand of hair from my face. “Or should I say… wife? How was your day?”I squinted at him. “What time is it?”“7:32 p.m.”I hummed and sank deeper into the sheets. “Have you eaten anything?”He stretched beside me and shrugged. “Not really. Grandma’s cooking.”That made me shoot up. “And you didn’t wake me?” I smacked his chest lightly. “You just let me sleep while food was being made?”He grinned. “Didn’t want to disturb my wife.”Then he leaned in close, lowering his voice. “you were just being sweet in front of Abigail today. Was someone feeling a little jealous?”I rolled my eyes so hard it could’ve been audible and dodged him, making him lose balance
IslaI pulled on a pair of black pants—sleek, tailored—then the silver silk top. Yeah, silver again. At this point, it was basically my signature. Was it even a real color? Didn’t matter. It caught the light, made my skin glow, and gave me that don’t mess with me edge. Good enough. A few silver hoops, a thin bracelet, and my Louboutins clicked into place like armor locking into position. The mirror didn’t sugarcoat it—I looked expensive.Gran-Gran whistled when I stepped out, like I was some K-drama lead strutting off a runway. “Gran-Gran,” I groaned, my face heating up. “Seriously?” She cackled—the kind of laugh that meant trouble—and hooked her arm through mine. I could already feel the chaos brewing. Her cane tapped against the pavement as we walked, sharp and unyielding, just like her. The car was waiting. I helped her in, and with a quiet nod from the driver, we were off. The McCatty mall was all polished floors and overpriced serenity, the kind of place where the air
Isla Carlotta's gentle tap snapped me out of it. "Drew your bath, mi hija," she murmured, that warm smile of hers smoothing my edges. I managed a weak smile back. "Thanks." My body moved toward the bathroom on autopilot while my brain stayed stuck on one name: Abigail. The same Abigail from his past. The one his father kept shoving into his life. The hot bath did nothing to wash away the acid churning in my gut. I scrubbed my skin raw anyway. When I stepped out, Rolin was waiting like a damn statue in our room. "Same Abigail?" I asked, toweling my hair. "The one you—" "Yeah." His jaw flexed. "I'll handle it." "Mm." I yanked a sweater over my head. "Where's Gran?" "Carlotta's entertaining her in the lounge." The intercom buzzed before I could respond. Rolin answered, then turned with that infuriating calm. "They're here." My stomach dropped. And there she was. Abigail strutted in like she owned the place, wrapped in a red dress that left zero to the imaginati
Isla Sleep didn't come easy that night. Rolin took his time in the bathroom, giving me space to curl up on my side and fake sleep. The lights dimmed. Water ran. Then the soft click of the door. I felt more than heard his quiet chuckle—that knowing sound that said he wasn't fooled. The mattress dipped as he slid in behind me. I stiffened. Didn't matter. His arm slipped around my waist, pulling me back against his bare chest like I was something precious. Something worth holding gently. I stopped breathing. His nose brushed my damp hair. "You smell like milk and almonds," he murmured. My stomach did something complicated. What even was this feeling? Before I could figure it out, exhaustion dragged me under. — The nightmare hit like a sucker punch. Concrete biting my knees. Shadows with glowing eyes. Hands everywhere, tearing at my clothes. My screams bouncing back at me, useless. Then the hospital. White walls. That nurse's pitying face. "The baby didn't make it." The words
Isla The party died a quick death after that. Conversations cut off mid-sentence. Champagne glasses sat abandoned. Rolin's fingers slid between mine, guiding me through the gawking crowd like I might shatter if he moved too fast. Lucia's heels clicked behind us, eager as a puppy who'd just chewed up the curtains. "Chairman McCatty," he purred, "how'd I do?" Rolin gave a stiff nod, already turning away, when Lucia caught my wrist. "You," he said, eyes lighting up. "That bag was made for someone like you." I offered a tight smile. Lucia's gaze lingered too long, like he was trying to solve a puzzle. "My wife," Rolin bit out, sharp as a gunshot. Lucia's mouth fell open. Rolin didn't stick around for the fallout. He bundled me into the car with that old-world courtesy of his, slamming the door like a period at the end of a sentence. The ride home was the kind of quiet that makes your ears ring. Even the driver kept checking the rearview mirror like he was debatin
Isla We stepped out of the room, the muffled chaos growing louder with every stride toward the ballroom. Voices buzzed like angry wasps. Whispers darted through the air, sharp and curious. As we pushed closer, my eyes caught them—Alex and Jane—standing dead center like two badly written plot twists. Jane clutched one of those masquerade masks-on-a-stick, more for flair than function, and in her other hand… a silver glass purse. Identical to mine. My brow lifted instinctively. Rolin kept walking, and I followed, letting the noise wash over me in pieces. “She copied the woman that came in with Chairman McCatty!” “That bag—look at it. Exactly the same.” “It’s fake. Has to be. That purse is exclusive. The designer LM said she only made one and it was for a special client, and it’s definitely not *Miss sleep with a married man.*” The words rolled out of the mouth of Loretta Monroe—socialite, certified gossip goblin, and known terror in luxury circles. She was pointing at Jane like
ROLINWe moved together on the dance floor, but this wasn't romance. Wasn't war either. That dangerous middle ground where we always seemed to land - close enough to draw blood, too far to ever really touch.The ghost of our last fight still hung between us. I could almost taste the whiskey from when I'd thrown my glass against the wall when she left. But we'd always been better at silence than apologies.Her lips brushed my jaw. "Need air." Like I wasn't already choking on whatever this was between us.I should've held on tighter. Didn't. My fingers trailed after hers for one stolen second - long enough to memorize the way her hand fit against mine. Then she was walking away, that silver dress clinging to every curve, the mask making her a stranger. I watched. Always watched when she wasn't looking. She still moved like she had back on base - all coiled violence and fuck-you grace. That walk that made men think "prey" right before she put a bullet between their eyes. Some t
Isla Kali handed me the gear bag, but her fingers didn’t let go right away. They hovered over mine a beat too long—warm, deliberate, like she was trying to say something without moving her lips. The air turned thick in an instant. Her palm brushed the back of my hand, feather-light, but it set my nerves on edge. I blinked, forced a smile, and did what I do best—shattered the moment with a question sharp enough to slice through the tension. “How’s your girlfriend?” I asked, casually—too casually. She hesitated, jaw ticking. “We broke up.” I raised an eyebrow. “That fast?” “It wasn’t serious,” she muttered, brushing it off like lint on her sleeve. “We ended things on good terms.” Sure… I nodded slowly, the weight of her stare still on my skin. “Alright.” And with that, I walked out, the silence between us still echoing in my chest. When I got home, I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. The cottage’s quiet wrapped around me like an old friend. I lock