Isabelle blinked back tears as realization finally settled in. Problems seemed to be pouring from every corner, surrounding her unforgivingly. Isabelle stood in Sean's guest room bathroom in front of the oval wall-mounted mirror above the sink. The only thing she could see in her reflection were her dead eyes. There was no spark, no joy, and no hope. All she could ask herself was whether she would manage to live another minute. She splashed cold water on her face and exited without bothering to dry off. Isabelle had been stripped of her own choices and decisions. Sam, Dylan, and Tiffany; an unplanned pregnancy; Christian drama; and Mr. Stanton. She spoke them aloud, dragging herself towards her bed. It had been a few hours since her return from the hospital, but she had no idea what time it was."You don't look okay." Sean's voice pulled her back into reality. He was casually leaning on the entrance door with his hands deep in his pockets. When he came back from work and called for h
"How was your meeting with Mr. Stanton?" Christian asked when a fire began to crackle between them. Isabelle tensed, her hand freezing around the fork right in front of her parted mouth. Christian observed the quick change, furrowing his eyebrows."I don't like that man." He added. Isabelle blinked, trying to keep her face blank. The last thing she wanted was to involve Christian in her problem with her manager. She had agreed to go out with him to forget for a minute about the whole ordeal with Stanton. She wasn't a fool, Isabelle knew that the man was blackmailing her.She chuckled forcefully, trying to rid herself of the tension that gripped her. "This is really good." She hummed, finally taking another bite of the Kenyan meal. The sweet aroma, the interesting flavor that she hadn't experienced before, Isabelle couldn't control her moans. Christian caught on it though; she was avoiding speaking about her meeting with Stanton."I'm glad you like it." He decided to leave it first, la
"There, there." Sean soothed, rubbing Isabelle's cold back while he kept his glare on Christian across the street. His friend had promised to make things right with Isabelle and not hurt her. Yet there she was, buried in his chest, with her shoulders shaking as she wet his shirt with her tears. Christian's eyes didn't move even as cars and people blocked his line of sight every few seconds. He couldn't take it anymore, and with a pang in the deepest part of his chest, Christian crossed over. Sean was tempted to usher Isabelle into his car and drive off before Christian reached them. But one look at his friend, with his slumped shoulders and slightly hung head, he knew there had been a misunderstanding."She's a friend." Christian blurted when he finally stood behind the two. Isabelle tensed in Sean's arms when she heard his voice. "I swear I had no intention of hurting you."Christian breathed, a hint of desperation detectable in his deep voice. "You know being in the streets like th
Isabelle and Christian could feel their shared breath as they fumbled to get off their clothes. They stumbled into Christian's condo straight from the elevator with their lips locked. They couldn't even remember saying goodbye to Sean when he dropped them off. Their surroundings ceased to exist as they got lost in each other."I missed this." Christian pulled back from the kiss to whisper against Isabelle's neck. His voice, deep and sensual, caressed her skin; the warmth of his breath compelled her to snake her hands around his neck. She tiptoed again, time stopping when their lips met again. Christian's hand on her hip tightened as he tasted her, pushing his tongue incessantly between her parted lips."Gosh, I missed you too." Isabelle replied breathlessly, pushing her dress downwards past her thighs, until she was left in her pink panties. Christian's shirt was already open; he just pushed it off his shoulders. "Fuck." Christian sneaked a guilty peek at Isabelle's flushed face as h
Isabelle blinked once, then twice, before the words sink into her blank mind. Her lungs burned, a reminder that she needed to breathe in. Then she did, searching for any type of uncertainty and jokes on Christian's facial expression. The man held his breath, crossing his fingers as he awaited Isabelle's response. He resisted the urge to tap his feet on the floor."Yes." It was a single answer, but that three-letter word had Christian's mouth opening without any utterance."Yes, I will be your girlfriend." Isabelle added in a sweet smile, her eyes dropping to his front. His cock was still out, semi-hard, between them. Christian lifted Isabelle in a hearty laugh, twirling her around with a satisfying warmth in his heart. He had finally taken a step in his life, burying his fears about having a woman in his life."Thank you, thank you, thank you, babe." He laughed in between, pulling her into a warm embrace. There were so many factors to consider, but Isabelle didn't think they were enou
"Good morning, sir." Sarah saluted with a forced smile, following Christian inside his office with two files in her hands. He ignored her, sitting without sparing her a glance. His investigations into her were still ongoing. Sean and him had uncovered her meetings with his father even though they were married. He almost pitied his estranged mother because of what his father was doing behind her back."These are the files Sean asked me to..." He raised his hand to stop her from assaulting his ears further."Leave that tag around your neck on your desk and the access card on your way out." He stated coldly, opening the first file. "What?" Sarah squinted her eyes, not seeming to apprehend his words."In other words, Sarah, or should I call you mother?" His upper lip stretched into a knowing smirk when her eyes widened. "I know everything about you." He proudly stated, leaning on his comfortable chair with a smug look."L-look..." Sarah fumbled with words, her heart racing. She had been
"How far along are you with uncovering what happened the night Isabelle was framed?" Christian asked Sean as they watched the launch of one of the company's applications online. They were seated in one of the building's boardrooms. "I enlisted a private investigator." Sean paused, unlocking his phone. He had received audio recordings from conversations held between his investigator, Dylan, and Tiffany. "It seems like her ex and best friend know something, but whatever it is, they won't say." "Here, listen to this." Sean played the first of the two recordings after muting the live video they were watching. In the recording, Dylan maintained that Isabelle had gotten super drunk at some point during the party. She had decided to go rest but had come back and called Sam. He said he didn't see her until the next day, in a disoriented state."How can he allow his girlfriend to sleep at his friend's place during a party and leave her there unsupervised?" "What sort of a stupid boyfriend wa
"We need to talk." Christian spoke when Isabelle and he retired to bed. After a long day at work and multiple jumbled thoughts, Christian needed to talk. "I noticed you have been quiet since you came home." Isabelle stated, trailing patterns on his bare chest, while she rested her head under his right muscular arm. Christian loved the tingles Isabelle's finger tips left on his skin."You're no different; did something happen during the day?" Christian couldn't help but feel like Isabelle's moods had totally changed. "No, no, nothing happened. I have just been thinking about us." She stated almost quietly, stopping her fingertips from lazily drawing invisible patterns. "We just started officially dating..." She started biting the inside of her cheek. Isabelle was trying to come up with words that wouldn't upset Christian. She knew how he got when he was hurt or mad, and the last thing she wanted was another plate of trouble. "Uum, Isabelle." Christian called, noticing her squirming
A month after Isabelle's father's burial, Isabelle and Dion had grown impossibly closer. Their relationship with their mother had tightened. Isabelle was back to talking with Dylan, even though Christian didn't like it. Sam had been arrested for blackmail and gotten a one-year sentence, while Stanton got one year of probation."I don't understand why you're nervous." Sean shook his head, looking at his friend, who couldn't stop pacing. The park was closed as darkness approached fast on that Tuesday."Do you think they'll come?" Christian asked, stopping for a second to look at the park's entrance."Of course, I just got off the phone with Dion. He said that they'll be here any moment now. She still has no idea about what's happening, and they are still lying to her." Sean explained, scrolling through his phone to rehearse the speech with Christian."What did they tell her?" Christian knew Isabelle was curious to know why Dion and her mother were taking her to a local park at 7 p.m."G
"She came onto me; gosh, you always date them whores." Christian's father scoffed, shrugging his shoulders, when Christian shot him a glare."It was the only way to get you to talk to me." Isabelle addressed Christian. "She would have done something stupid, so..." Tiffany chimed in, crossing her legs."Shut up!" Both Christian and his father uttered at the same time, making Tiffany roll her eyes. She wasn't fazed by their testosterone; she just wanted her friend and boyfriend to reconcile."I'm sorry." Isabelle started, the memory of her boyfriend leaving her in the morning without a word crowding her mind. "I don't want to listen to anything you have to say. You said enough yesterday." Christian dismissed, lifting his hands above his shoulders. "Tiffany just sent you a photo of me and your father. Feel free to use it if you want to end the contract you have with him." She then turned to Tiffany and beckoned with her hand. "Let's go." Isabelle blinked back tears as she walked over
"Christian please." Isabelle held on to his hand with her hands to stop him from walking out of their bedroom."I'm so sorry, baby say something, please, anything." She begged, sniffing. Christian used his free hand to open the door and easily got out of Isabelle's grip. He didn't look back as he stepped into the hallway, heading to the staircase that led down to the sitting room and the kitchen.Isabelle followed, breathing through her mouth to get air past her clogged nose. She had to jog to match Christian's long strides. He came home late after the fallout in the office the previous day. Hadn't said a single word to Isabelle; when she woke up, she found him already dressed and heading out. He had no plans of even glancing at her. Yes, she was grieving, but that didn't give her an excuse to bring his parents into the mix. "Are you seriously going to leave me here begging you?" Isabelle shouted as Christian picked up his car keys from the bowl on top of the kitchen counter. When he
"So it really was about money." Christian spat, speaking to himself. When Isabelle had said he didn't understand what she was feeling, he gave a quick thought about it. For a second he thought that maybe something else was wrong with his mother the day he almost stabbed him. At that moment, as his hand found the door knob, Christian could feel his entire body getting cold."I'm sorry Chris, I'm so sorry." He didn't look back as he stepped out, tuning off his mother's voice. What had he really expected by going to see her? More plans from his father to finish him? For what? He grew up thinking that parents were supposed to be proud of their children. For his parents though? One was money hungry, the other one was both greedy, jealous and just monstrous.He had left his car outside the gate so it was a long stretch. He had to go past the fountain on the front yard and walk for a few minutes before he got to the outside. "Chris please! I should have been there for you, I should have stoo
"That fucking coward!" Isabelle screamed, pulling at her hair, which was held in a bun. Christian engulfed her, minimizing her movements as she thrashed around. Dion stood silently, staring right at his feet. His gut boiled, bile rising up his throat on waves of anger. His skin prickled as his hands clenched into fists. "Cowaard!" She screamed again as she hit Christian's chest. She tried pushing him off her, but he just wouldn't budge. "At least he's not in your life anymore." Christian regretted his words the moment he uttered them. "Shut up! Are you justifying his cowardice now? He sold my brother! He separated us and broke my mother in the process. He fucking tried to kill her and framed me for having sex with my own cousin. He deserved to rot in jail. How can you stand there and spew such bullshit Christian? How the fuck can you?"Isabelle was seeing red, her eyes changing from teary to shooting daggers. "Isabel.." Christian loosened his grip, feeling like she had just kneed h
"I'm so sorry for leaving yesterday without talking much." Dion stated the moment Isabelle entered Sean's office. Christian had a lot of work and a presentation from the IT team. Sean wasn't available either, so that morning it was only Belle and Dion."What's important is how you are feeling." Isabelle hugged her brother, the fact that they were truly related sinking in at that moment. It felt surreal before, but looking at their resemblance, there was no denying it. "I really don't know how I'm feeling, Belle." Dion started, hanging his head when Isabelle sighed. She held his hand and led him out of the office, towards Christian's. Thinking about his insensible, monstrous father was proving a difficult task for Dion. They went straight to Christian's adjoining room and out to the balcony. Isabelle wanted them to have space to talk without interruptions."I didn't know the view was this nice." Dion forced a smile as he placed his forearms on the railings, looking at the dark clouds
"Nnh." Christian moaned in his sleep, or so he thought. Before his eyes opened, he could feel warmth and softness wrapping around his cock. Tingles of pleasure slithered up his spine, slowly consuming him. Isabelle hummed between his legs under the comforter, taking her time to lick his hard cock."Damn baby." Christian groaned in a deep, sleepy voice, biting his lower lip to gain some control. He clutched the sheets on either side, feeling Isabelle's mouth. She pushed off the comforter, taking a deep breath after a minute of staying under the comforter. "Good morning, babe." Isabelle smiled seductively, holding Christian's cock at the base. She looked at his hazy eyes, full of sleep and arousal, as he spread his legs further. "What a fine morning!" Christian's voice ascended when his girlfriend leaned again, wrapping the bulbous head with her beautiful lips."Oh fuck!" He thrust upward, making Isabelle's eyes water as she strained to take him in her small mouth. It wasn't a secret;
"Oh, god, baby." Isabelle moaned, arching her back into Christian's skilled and talented hands. He massaged the top of her right breast while he kissed her neck. He moved his hand along the curve of her boob, raising her sexual frustration. "Babe!" Isabelle complained, throwing up her hands in the air."What do you want?" Christian whispered against her ear, his husky voice sending heat straight between Isabelle's legs. He took the earlobe in his warm mouth, biting gently on it. Isabelle squirmed, her entire body shivering in pleasure and anticipation."Please babe." Isabelle whispered, tilting her head to expose the side of her neck to Christian as he left open-mouth kisses."That's not an answer, love." Christian smirked against her cheek as he pecked her. "Please." Isabelle added with her droopy eyes, staring at Christian as his face hovered above hers. He smirked against her lips and then dipped, capturing the soft pink flesh gently. Isabelle hummed, tilting her head to give Chr
"You didn't even want him in the first place!" Albert argued, shutting his mouth when Jenkins stepped on his left bare foot. Before he could continue assaulting the man, the door burst open, with a number of officers getting in."What the fuck are you doing?" Isabelle's father shouted when an officer pushed him down on his knees and then handcuffed him."Putting cuffs on you." The officer stated the obvious, forcing the older man to his feet."We had a fucking deal, you twits!" He seethed, trying to wiggle out of the damn cuffs. "That deal expired the minute we uncovered the truth behind all these...Did you really believe that you could get away with it?" Baron and Russell got inside, with Baron smirking victoriously at Jenkins."What are you talking about?" Dion was confused. His adoptive parents were arrested and guided outside to the waiting van."This man here played us, or wanted to play us." Jenkins scoffed, stumbling when he was pushed forward towards the door."We just took t