CHAPTER 11

            When Isabelle finished singing, she realized that nobody was talking, not even her father. She raised her beautiful blue eyes and, very close to her she met another pair of eyes that were staring at her in complete awe. She hadn't noticed that while she was singing, he had moved and was now near to her.

"You're such a good singer, Isabelle," he said stunned almost whispering those words. “Your voice is so stunning.”

"Shawn is right, my dear," Marie added in a tone full of enthusiasm. “Sweetie, you are a young woman full of surprises.”

              But she wasn’t paying attention to the other comments. Apart from Shawn's tender words, she heard nothing else. Someone cleared his throat and Isabelle looked in the direction of her father who was finishing drinking the last drop of whiskey. Her heart began to beat extremely fast and the fear she started to feel gave her light shivers.

"Please excuse me, I would go and see how the girls are," Isabelle said softly.

"Nonsense!" Andrew exclaimed in a cold and almost evil tone. “You will sit there, and you will behave yourself. Show your manners, your mother and I taught you better! Remember that this isn’t your home.”

"Father, please..." she started to talk while staring at him with eyes full of anxiety.

"Stop with this whining right now!" he exclaimed, in a cold voice. His glassy gaze started to frighten her, and she preferred to stop talking. “Must I remind you that you promised to listen to me and do everything I tell you to do?” he asked Isabelle raising his voice just a bit.

        On Andrew's face, Isabelle could see the tension rising; he was almost challenging her to add something more. Isabelle bit her lower lip... How could she ever forget the promise she had made to him a day earlier and the tone her father used while he was telling her what he was expecting from her. Isabelle knew how to behave to stop the further humiliation in front of the whole Grayson family, especially in front of Shawn.

           Right now, she had to be smart and play this carefully…she mustn’t pay attention to the answer that her father was eager to hear from her if she wanted to prevent him from having one of his violent crises. She opened her mouth to answer, but before she said anything, Billy got up from his chair and approached her, offering Isabelle his arm like a true gentleman of the past.

“Isabelle, would you like to come with me to the terrace? The moon is spectacular… Let’s enjoy the fresh air and the silence of the night.”

"Oh, she will come with you, Billy!" she heard her father's voice deciding for her. “Isabelle, go outside with him. We, the grown-ups have to talk about things that you won’t be able to comprehend,” he added with a strange grin on his lips.

          Isabelle nodded and took Billy's arm, determined to follow him. She knew that Andrew pushed her in Billy's direction for one reason only. What Andrew didn’t know was that Isabelle had no idea whatsoever of getting involved with Billy Grayson. But for the moment, she accepted his proposal to go outside because she wanted to get away from her father for a few moments. She looked down… Isabelle didn't want any of the people present to notice the despair that had taken hold of her.

           Billy covered her cold hand with his and smiled at Isabelle who followed him slightly smiling to him. The young woman tried not to look at her father again. Andrew was only interested in two things: seeing her married to Billy and getting rid of the responsibility of keeping her under his roof.

         Andrew looked at his daughter for a while longer. None of the Graysons had to know what he had in mind. Once his useless daughter would become a Grayson, things would change for him. The position on the couch allowed him to keep an eye on Christopher and Marie. Soon, Christopher would pay him much more than those miserable millions he had given him when he bought his beloved company. Isabelle would help him accomplish this.

"I'll come with you," Shawn said, staring at Andrew. “Of course, if my presence won't bother you too much,” he added and followed them.

         All three of them went out to the terrace and Billy, like a perfect gentleman, pulled a chair helping Isabelle to sit. Then he and Shawn also sat down. In the light of the small lampposts that lit the terrace, Isabelle was able to see Shawn's face. He was not a person who exuded happiness or tranquility. On the contrary, he looked harsh, tough, restless… Shawn was the opposite of Billy... Isabelle felt that he didn’t appreciate her presence or that of her father at ‘Villa Mimosa’. She knew what Shawn thought without him opening his mouth to express it.

"Isabelle, where did you learn to sing like that?" Billy asked her gently.

“I've always loved singing, ever since I’ve started talking. When I was little, my father and I always went to see musicals. Dad used to say that a woman must know how to do everything, she must know a lot of things and that music is an important part of a woman’s education.”

“And, of course, a woman should also act as a perfect doll and always say ‘yes, sir’, right?” Shawn added, expressing his thoughts with the intent of hurting her.

"Shawn!" Billy warned him. “I think that you should keep certain considerations for you...”

"And I think," Shawn continued, not caring about what his cousin had just told him, "that our Belle here present, is without the shadow of a doubt, the little slave of her daddy. She is Miss ‘yes, father’. This is the reason why, at twenty-three, she is alone, with no friends and no fiancé or even a boyfriend. N'est-ce pas, ma petite Belle?" (N'est-ce pas, ma petite Belle?) he asked her and Isabelle saw in his eyes the same harshness she already knew so well.

            Right then and there, the aversion she felt for Shawn made its presence once again! Earlier when they were at the table and he took her defense and his words after she finished her singing, gave Isabelle the false impression that he understood her and what she was going through. She was so wrong about Shawn… Now when she was so vulnerable, when she was down in the depts, when he had witnessed that scene between her and her father, a scene that could offer him a glimpse of her everyday life, Shawn had decided to torment her. Isabelle thought that maybe... Nevermind what she thought, this will teach her a lesson: she will never again let her guard down in the presence of Shawn Grayson.

“Crois ce que tu veux, Shawn! (Think whatever you want, Shawn!) I'm not here to prove something to you, I’m here only because Marie asked me to give her a hand,” she replied calmly and with dignity.

“Shawn, maybe you should put an end to this senseless attack on Isabelle. I would say that this evening she had a lot on her plate, don't you think so?” Billy asked quite irritated, losing the patience that was his strongest suit.

"I don't know if she had a lot, but I certainly do," Shawn said in a slightly scornful tone. “I am out of here; I have better things to do with my time. Goodnight!”

“Shawn, we absolutely need to talk...”

“We’ll talk tomorrow during breakfast. Tonight, I’m no longer willing to hear you lecturing me...”

           Isabelle looked at him as he was walking away. She clenched her fists so tightly that the knuckles became almost white. She was so angry, so upset by this bullying behavior that he adopted towards her...

"Please, forgive him, Isabelle!" Billy said softly. “My cousin’s behavior has nothing to do with you, trust me! He’s been acting like this for years, from one moment to the next his attitude changes and Shawn becomes a despicable being, someone I also struggle to recognize sometimes. And I know Shawn since we were kids, I promise you he’s not a bad person. Please don't let his words upset you so!” he added, still trying in some way, to excuse Shawn's behavior.

             He stood in silence for several minutes. Isabelle looked furtively at Billy. The expression on his face was a disappointed one, sad about what had just happened between her and Shawn. Isabelle wanted to tell him that she stood quiet just because this house wasn’t hers and because her father was in the living-room, that if the circumstances were different, she would have given Shawn a piece of her mind. But since she didn't know how much the Graysons knew about her father's illness, Isabelle couldn't tell Billy that her father's life depended, in some ways, on her calm, submissive behavior. Isabelle couldn't tell Billy that as long as Andrew was alive, she would never find peace, that she would never be free to do what she wanted, that she would never know happiness.

                Isabelle looked at Billy for a few more seconds then looked down, pretending to listen as he was talking to her about his relationship with his cousin. Isabelle thought of her father's proposal to do everything possible to get his attention, to get married to Billy. If she married him, she would leave the ranch and breathe the sweet air of freedom. Certainly, Billy would protect her, would care for her, treat her the best way possible, maybe fell in love with her and she will be free at last.

‘No, what am I thinking ?!’, she asked herself. ‘Father would remain alone and he would hurt himself and maybe even Lucy. No, I can't run like this. I can't repay Lucy who has always been by my side, protecting me. Besides, before mother died, he was the best dad in the world. If what happened to him had happened to me, father would never have abandoned me. He would have stayed with me until the end.’

                She smiled sadly at Billy as he continued talking about this and that. No, she could not escape her responsibilities as a daughter. And even if she did, dragging Billy Grayson into this whole mess would have been right, neither for him nor for herself. Billy had nothing to do with it, she couldn't chain him into such a relationship.

                 Billy hadn't stopped watching Isabelle for a second. She hadn't heard a word of everything he had told her, but Billy didn't care. It was enough for him to have her there, next to him, and without Shawn present. He will tell his cousin to stay away from Isabelle and stop tormenting her as he just did. Billy never imagined that the girl he had seen seven years ago would become such a beautiful woman. Those eyes so blue and her angelic voice... Billy felt his heart start beating fast when Isabelle looked up at him. She was gorgeous under the light of the full moon...

"Billy, I should go inside," she said softly, getting up from her chair. “I'm a little tired and I think my father is tired too. I would like to go home and rest. This way I will be ready for tomorrow, to spend a good day with Frannie and Diana.”

“I'll take you and your father back to the ranch. I'll let our driver go to sleep,” Billy replied and smiled happily. “Isabelle, thanks for this wonderful evening! I hope to see you again soon,” he added, taking her hand and kissing it.

"I think it will be inevitable since I will be here every day to take care of the girls," she said timidly, withdrawing her hand from his. "Forgive me, but I must return to my father."