After Jason asked–more like ordered–her to leave his office, Isabelle went back to her department and trudged to her desk in low spirits. She was worried that she might have offended him.Her earlier confidence to set things straight was gone. In the aftermath, she felt that she had been too brazen, and that she never should have allowed her fears to take charge. He must have found it so inappropriate of her to ask him such a question.Just because he showed concern and acted promptly whenever she faced an obstacle didn’t mean he had intentions similar to her former department director. Maybe he really was just very diligent at his job.The next day in the morning, she was heading for the elevator when she noticed Jason standing there, waiting for one too. Glad to get a chance to apologise to him, she hurried forward. He noticed her immediately when she stopped in front of him, and she noticed how his eyes widened instantly.“Good morning, sir,” she greeted, her heart hammering nervou
Over the weekend, Isabelle spent most of her time working on the final draft for the Green Leaf Project design.After her draft had been re-adopted, she had needed to prepare a more detailed plan that was to be used for the project. She had barely rested at all over the weekend as she pushed herself to make it perfect.She didn’t believe Naomi’s taunts that she was talentless and didn’t belong to a company like the Larson Group, but she wasn’t taking any chances. She was determined to give nothing but the best, until she was satisfied that it was the best plan she could come up with.By the time Monday came along, there were dark circles under her eyes, and anyone who took a look at her could tell she hadn’t rested at all.When she got to work, she headed to the design director’s office and submitted the final draft. Grace would review it, submit it to the Green Leaf Company, and then await their final approval. If all went as planned, they would get an answer from the client within t
That day, Jacob got back home at midnight. He expected Isabelle to be asleep already, but to his surprise, she was in the kitchen, baking cookies.“Hi,” she greeted cheerfully when he appeared in the kitchen doorway. “How was your day?”Smiling at her cheerfulness–which he found quite odd at such a late hour–he said, “It was good, thanks. Why aren’t you asleep yet?”He had barely seen her the past weekend because she had ended up spending most of her time at the company, working on the final design for the Green Leaf project.She had looked awfully tired that morning, and he thought that once her design was approved, she would take the opportunity to have a good rest. Instead, here she was, baking at midnight.“I haven’t seen much of you the past three days because I’ve been working overtime, so I wanted to wait for you tonight.”“Oh?” he asked, as warmth spread in his insides. Did she realise how that sounded? It was like they were a real couple. Had she missed him? He knew he had mi
Isabelle was stunned to hear Jacob’s confession. She couldn’t understand why he became jealous so easily.She had no interest in Logan Larson–not that it would matter if she did. She had never met him, and as she had pointed out, she was just an ordinary worker while he was the CEO of the Larson Group.His only interest in her was because she was his employee. And, she was only saying nice things about him because he was a good boss. She hadn’t thought it would make Jacob feel bad.She straightened from her position on the counter and gave him an apologetic smile. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel like that.”While she hadn’t anticipated his jealousy, it sure made her feel all sorts of giddy. She knew it shouldn’t matter to her whether Jacob was jealous of her talking excitedly of another man. He was her pretend husband. She shouldn’t get giddy because he got jealous. But knowing that fact didn’t keep her from feeling warm all over.When he stood from his stool and came aroun
“Mine or yours?” Jacob asked when a while later, he led Isabelle by the hand towards the bedrooms.Isabelle looked between the two doors. Was she really doing this? Sparks flew up her arm from where he caressed her wrist with his thumb. Yes, she was.“Yours,” she replied. She had never been in his room before. She wanted to lie in his bed and surround herself with his scent.“As you wish,” he said, reaching for his door and pushing it open. He caught her by surprise seconds later when he hooked his arm below her knees and the other around her back and scooped her off her feet.“What are you doing?” she asked, even as she wrapped her arms around his neck securely.“Carrying you over the threshold,” he told her, stepping into the room and then kicking the door shut. “This is the first time you are coming into my room. It’s momentous.”She smiled like a fool as she looked up at him, a strange warmth spreading over her insides. He was really a handsome man. She must have thought that a hu
Isabelle licked her lips nervously. She didn’t need to uncover what lay behind his boxers to know that it was big. Way too big. The idea was to fit that into her–No. It would never–“You look terrified,” he said. “I have to admit, that was not the reaction I was hoping for.”She licked her lips again and lifted her eyes to his face. He gave her a small smile as he got on his hands on either side of her hips and leaned in. “Do you like what you see?” he asked, his voice a low timbre that sent shivers coursing down her spine.She couldn’t find her voice. Was it too late to run away? If she had known she would end up in this position with him tonight, she would have prepared. At least mentally. But she wasn’t sure anything–not even bingeing articles on what to expect the first time–could have prepared her for this.His hand wrapped around her wrist gently. “You wanna touch?”Her hand trembled in his, but she didn’t resist. He pulled her hand forward until her fingers brushed against the
Isabelle felt like she was going to die if he didn’t do anything to stop that ache building in her abdomen.His fingers felt good, but they were only increasing the ache. She felt empty. She wanted him to fill her with…with that huge erection of his that she wasn’t sure could even fit inside her.But it wasn’t like she was going to tell him to just fuck her already. She wished she had the courage to. He had no problem telling her exactly what he thought. She wished she could be able to say the things he did without feeling embarrassed.Jacob shifted, getting up from his position beside her. He covered her body with his, his knees parting her thighs apart. Then he lowered his lower body, got his fingers out of the way, and grind his hard-on into her.Her thighs fell further apart and her head fell back as her arousal climbed to another level. Her hands held onto his shoulders, her eyes locked on his face as he moved between her legs. He rocked his hips back and forth, his hard ridge hi
When Isabelle woke up the next morning, the sun was shining brightly through the curtains. She moaned and turned away from the light, hiding her face in the pillow.Why was the sun on her window in the morning? She could only see the sunset from her–She froze.Her next breath–which flooded her senses with Jacob’s scent–confirmed that she indeed wasn’t in her own room.Her eyes fluttered open again. Slowly, she scanned the area next to her. It was empty. She turned her head just as slowly to the other side. Empty. Relief swept through her. He was gone. That meant she could slip away.The relief waned as soon as she took note of the sunlight filtering through the curtains again. Her stomach sank. Oh no! She hadn’t overslept, had she?She scrambled from the bed, her body screaming in protest from about a hundred places. Her muscles hurt big time, but she didn’t have the luxury of sleeping around. She had a job to get to.The moment she got to her feet on the floor, she gasped and sat ba
Four Years Later“Mummy!”“Daddy!”“Mummy!”“Daddy!”As the two toddlers rushed through the room trying to outdo each other with the screaming, Isabelle turned away from her laptop and got ready to receive the three-year-old boy who came barreling into her arms.On the other side of the room, Jacob put away the tray of vegetables he was carrying outside to the barbecue just before their daughter barreled into him and wrapped a tiny arm around his legs, the other pointed accusingly towards her brother.“Daddy, Raul is being mean to me again!”Jacob reached down and scooped her into his arms. “Is he? What did he do this time, Ruthie?”Now secure in his mother’s arms, Raul turned to glare at his twin sister. “It was my turn. You never let me have my turn!”“But then you called me ugly!”“Did you call your sister ugly, Raul?” Isabelle asked.He looked at her, blinked, and then shook his head dramatically. “I didn’t.”“You did!” his sister claimed. And then she started crying.Raul stared
Isabelle swallowed nervously and took a step back. “I…we–”“We?” he interrupted, his gaze hardening. “Are you two a couple now?”“Let me explain,” she told him, lifting a hand to slow him down. “I left the apartment that night. I didn’t know there was a storm coming, and that the bus services had been suspended. He saw me at the bus stop.”When she stopped, he arched an eyebrow and asked, “And?”“He took me to his house–”“His house?” he cut her off once again. He paced, his jaw tense. “I knew it. That shameless jerk…” He suddenly changed direction and headed for the door. “I’ll finish what he started right now.”Isabelle rushed after him and grabbed his arm before he got to the door. “I’m not done yet.”“Do I need to hear anything else? If you’ve been living with that man–”“I only stayed for one night,” she told him hurriedly. “I didn’t have time to look for somewhere to move into because of the storm. I stayed just that night, in his guest room. The next day, I got a room in Hillsi
Isabelle frowned. “What was the point of the arrangement, then?”“It was your adoptive parents who wanted a share of the Garcias’ wealth, fame, and glory. The pact was their condition to an old business deal. If they had really wanted to cancel it, I would have obliged them in a second.”“But…they were afraid of your wrath. They acted like there was no way out of the arrangement. Besides Ruth’s issue, that’s why I agreed…they had adopted me and taken care of me. If I could do that one thing for them…” she trailed off and sighed.“Then, it appears that your adoptive father was determined to marry one of his daughters into the Garcia family, come what may. You happened to be the ideal backup when their eldest claimed to be pregnant.”She immediately shook her head. “No, my… Francis would never do that. He…in that household, he was the only one who treated me decently.”“Are you sure he wouldn't? I’m assuming he is the only one who knows the true nature of the marriage agreement. If his
Isabelle couldn’t stop her body from trembling as she hurried to the elevator and pressed the call button. What was he doing here? Why had he come to look for her at her work? He was already with Naomi. Was that not enough to get back at her for lying?Jacob walked past her and pressed the call button for the executive elevator.“We can’t use that one,” she told him.“We can,” he said as the doors opened. He reached for her arm, wrapped his fingers firmly around her, and pulled her into the elevator with him. He pressed the button for the executive floor.“What are you doing?” she asked, attempting to free her arm from his grip.“We’ll talk in my office,” he said, setting a steely gaze on the closed doors.“Office? What are you talking about?”A small part of her was convinced she was dreaming. Or hallucinating. None of this made any sense. She knew Jacob was bold, but this was pushing it. He couldn’t just come to her company and do whatever he wished.He looked down at her, one brow
Jacob brushed Seth’s hand off his shoulder, irritated. “Is that any of your business?”“It is,” Seth said, getting in his face. “If you’ve come to cause trouble at her work.”Jacob narrowed his eyes. What did this man know? He had been civil enough during that dinner. Why did he look ready to give him a beating?“If you must know,” he told him flatly, “I’m here to get my wife. Why, do you have a problem with that?”Seth pointed a finger in his face. “You’ll not get anywhere near her.”Jason stepped towards Seth and pulled him back, about to warn him to watch his mouth if he still wanted to keep his job.Seth beat him to it. “Do you know this asshole, Jason?”“Shut up, idiot!” Jason seethed, standing directly between the two men. “What do you think you are doing?”Seth indicated Jacob. “Call security to throw this man out.”“Why would he do that?” Jacob asked, stepping closer and putting a hand on Jason’s shoulder to push him aside.“She ran away from you so you came to cause trouble a
Jacob spent the next two days in the hospital and left on Monday. They were the longest two days of his life, and only Jason giving him multiple updates per day about Isabelle’s whereabouts kept him from saying damn it all and leaving against the doctor’s advice.He left the hospital in Jason’s company, with Kevin driving them. It was only a few minutes’ ride to the company, but he felt like it was taking forever.Jacob looked at his watch. It was twenty minutes to nine o’clock. He knew for a fact that Isabelle was already at work because Jason had her department director report to him the moment she showed up.He exhaled heavily. He couldn’t wait to see her face…hear her voice…hold her…If she would let him.He tapped his fingers on his thigh rapidly. The memory of that day at the hospital flashed through his mind. How she had run away from him, and the accusations her sister had made.The fingers on his lap curled into a fist. He refused to believe it. His sweet Isabelle would never
Isabelle had thought she knew what heartbreak felt like. But even when she had caught her ex in bed with her sister, it hadn’t hurt this way. Not even close.All of a sudden, sitting at the kitchen table with her shoulders drooped and her sobbing face in her hands, she realised the true extent of her feelings for Jacob.All along, she had held her feelings for him back because she had known she was lying to him. She hadn’t allowed herself to take a moment to feel their depth. Now…they hit her like a tornado.She was in love with her pretend husband.But it didn’t matter, because she had lost him.She had known from the beginning he didn’t belong to her. She had known a day would come when her deception would come between them. And, she had known she would hate hurting him. But she hadn’t thought she would be left with a broken heart.She squeezed her eyes shut as an image of the photo Naomi had sent her shuttled through her mind’s eye. She couldn’t stand it. She couldn’t bear the thou
When Isabelle left her hospital room accompanied by Seth, Naomi appeared from behind the corner she was hiding in.She watched the backs of the two as they left, unaware that she had been at the door while they talked, and she had heard everything.Isabelle was pregnant with Jacob’s child? Naomi clenched her teeth and huffed. She was going to do everything she could to make sure that her adoptive sister left the city as soon as she could. Before Jacob woke up, and before Isabelle found out Jacob was actually Logan Larson.Naomi wasn’t going to let her win this time. She was the one who was supposed to marry Jacob in the first place. And now that she knew his real worth, she wasn’t going to let her stupid adoptive sister keep him. If Jacob woke up and found out about the baby…She shook her head. That couldn’t happen. She wanted Isabelle out of his life completely. When he woke up, she would be nowhere to be found. Once Naomi let him know that his wife had eloped with another man, it w
After the doctor left, Isabelle convinced Seth that he didn’t need to stay the night. She was safe now, and she didn’t want to inconvenience him given that he had work the next day.From the look on his face, she could tell that he was deeply worried about her, but he said nothing regarding the news her doctor had just delivered.He told her that he would be there first thing in the morning to see her. She told him he didn’t need to trouble himself, but he insisted.Once he was gone, she was finally able to process what the doctor had said. She was pregnant. With Jacob’s child. She thought they had taken enough precautions when they slept together, but obviously they hadn’t been careful enough. Was it that morning they ditched protection?Whatever had happened, it didn’t matter. She ended up pregnant anyway, and that was what she needed to think about.Whenever Isabelle had thought of having her own family, she had imagined a home with a loving husband and happy kids. She wanted her k