Chapter 3

Isabel clenched her other fist so tightly that her nails were practically digging into her palm. She kept her voice as calm as possible as she said, "Thanks for telling me this, Cam."

Cameron still noticed something was off, though. He softened his voice and said, "Don't blame me for this, Izzy. You and I grew up together, and I want more than anyone for you to be with a good man. You deserve more than a fickle bastard like Samuel."

Isabel only found him pretentious. He was just helping Winona to take Samuel away from her, yet he was saying these things to make himself out to be a good brother.

She shut her eyes and took a deep breath as she made up her mind. The Shore family and Samuel were all scum, and she didn't want to put up with them.

"Izzy…" Cameron started.

"I'm tired, Cam. We can talk about this tomorrow," Isabel cut him off coldly before hanging up. He called her again, but she didn't answer.

She sat on the couch and processed the situation for a while before pulling up a number from her list of contacts. It belonged to a person named Dominic Zimmerman.

She texted him. "Mr. Zimmerman, is our deal from three years ago still valid?"

It was 2:00 am, so she didn't expect him to answer so soon. However, her phone rang as she got up to return to the bedroom. Her heart clenched when she saw Dominic's name pop up on the screen.

"Hi, Mr. Zimmerman."

"If my memory serves me right, you and Samuel Klein have just registered your marriage today," he drawled, sounding relaxed and a little lazy. His voice was also tinged with a hint of hoarseness.

His mockery made her flush slightly out of embarrassment. As the daughter of the Shore family, she'd been raised to pursue elegance and grace, not ambition. Her path was predetermined—she didn't need a successful career. All she needed to do was master the arts.

And so, she'd been sent for various classes since childhood. But what she truly excelled in was architecture, translation of rare languages, and vocal music.

Upon learning that she wasn't related to the Shores, she'd secretly started planning her way out. And so, she'd gotten a job as a voice teacher. Thanks to that, she'd crossed paths with Dominic at a student's house.

The Zimmerman family was one of Jeriton's most prestigious families, and Dominic had been born at the pinnacle of power—he stood at the top of the social pyramid from the moment he came to exist.

Isabel had instinctively kept her distance, but he kept appearing in her life, whether by chance or deliberately. After figuring out his intentions, she'd preemptively rejected him to avoid unnecessary trouble.

At the time, Dominic hadn't been upset by her rejection. Instead, he'd smiled and asked her to take him up on a wager. He'd told her that she and Samuel wouldn't last.

That had pissed her off, so she'd agreed to the bet in the heat of the moment. It would last for three years—if she and Samuel ended up calling it quits, she would have to join Dominic's architectural design team.

Isabel had shared a photo of her marriage certificate on her social media earlier that day, and Dominic had been the first to like it. Who would've known that she'd prove herself wrong the same night?

She had no choice. If she wanted to rid herself of the Shore family, she needed to plant her roots firmly in Jeriton. She would need a more substantial backer for that.

"It's easy enough to turn a marriage into a divorce," Isabel said.

Dominic chuckled. "That's quite a hefty price to pay, Isabel."

She fell silent.

He continued, "I'm at Mt. Zeeson. Come over now."

That caught her off guard. "Now?"

He hummed in agreement. "Don't let the opportunity slip, Ms. Shore."

She pursed her lips. "Alright. I'll head over now."

An hour later, Isabel pulled up outside Zeeson Manor, Dominic's private villa, valued at 580 million dollars. It was brightly lit, and she could feel that the heat was on the moment she set foot inside.

As she entered the living room, she saw Dominic, dressed in loose silk pajamas, seated on the couch. He was drop-dead gorgeous, and the sharp contours of his jawline flowed smoothly down to defined collarbones. The look added a hint of devilishness to his presence.

Everyone else backed out, leaving them alone. Dominic gestured at a couch with his jaw. "Sit."

"Thank you." Isabel sat on a single-seater couch and looked at a contract placed on the coffee table.

"Before we sign the agreement, don't you think you should apologize to me for the harsh things you said three years ago, Ms. Shore?" Dominic smiled, but his gaze was as dark and dangerous as a panther lurking in the night.

"Can I ask you a question before I do that?" Isabel asked.

"Go ahead."

"Did you secretly investigate Samuel three years ago?"

"I don't think there's any point in asking this now."

"There is," she said firmly.

He was frank. "Yes, I did. What now? Are you going to demand to know why I didn't give it to you straight back then? I wanted to tell you, but you were so wary of me at the time. You probably would've thought I'd faked the evidence, even if I lay it all out before you."

Isabel couldn't deny that she would have thought just that. After all, it was easy enough for someone of Dominic's status and power to do something like that.

After a long silence, she said sincerely, "I'm sorry."

Dominic's eyes crinkled as his smile widened, seemingly in a better mood now. "When can you compose yourself and start work?"

"The day after tomorrow."

…

After signing the contract with Dominic, Isabel headed home and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

The following morning, she woke up to the aroma of food. She sat up in bed, her temples throbbing due to the lack of sleep. She wandered out of the bedroom groggily to see Samuel in the kitchen with an apron on. He was preparing breakfast for her as he always did.

"You're up? Hurry up and freshen up—breakfast will be ready soon. I made all your favorites," he said.

She watched him act all warm and doting as if nothing had happened. It couldn't make her waver anymore—she only found him ridiculous and pretentious.

Her impression of him had changed now. She knew he was a master of time management with acting skills to rival those of award-winning actors.

After washing up, Isabel sat at the dining table, her face blank. Samuel piled her plate high with food before saying, "Babe, I have something to discuss with you."

Isabel had yet to even pick up her cutlery. She looked up at him, taking in his guilty expression. "What is it?"

Samuel said, "There's been a pile of last-minute work at the company that I need to take over, so we might need to delay our honeymoon. I still want to know what you think, though. If you still want to proceed, I'll instruct my assistant to prepare everything for me so I can bring it with me on the trip. But if—"

"You've just gained some power, so it's not the best idea for you to just up and leave on a honeymoon now." Isabel knew he was just making excuses, but there was no need for the honeymoon since they would soon be divorced.

He held her hand and looked at her lovingly. "I knew you'd understand, babe. As for Winona, you don't need to worry about her. I'll deal with it. By the way, I'll ask a few people to come over today to help you move your things to our marital home."

Feeling disgusted, she pulled away from him and picked up her cutlery so she could eat. "No, it's fine. I can handle it myself. But at noon, I want—"

Samuel's phone rang before she could finish. He grabbed it at top speed, but Isabel still caught a glance at Winona's name on the screen.

"It's from my assistant. Babe, you continue eating, alright? I need to go," he said absent-mindedly. He didn't even dare look Isabel in the eye as he grabbed his suit jacket and hurried off.

Once the door swung shut behind him, Isabel put down her cutlery. She picked up her phone, which buzzed at that very moment. She opened the text she'd just received to see a photo of Winona seated on the hood of Samuel's Porsche SUV.

The message was taunting. "Don't tell me you're generous enough to share a man with me, Isabel."

How disgusting!

Isabel ignored her and texted Samuel. "Come back at noon."

He immediately replied, "Got it, babe."