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CHAPTER 39.
publish date:
2026-08-12 16:00:57ISLA'S POV
The rest of the dinner passed in a blur I could barely follow, my mind too tangled in the weight of Dare's stare across the table to properly track the conversation happening around me. By the time dessert had been cleared, the engagement had been discussed as though it were already settled fact — Victor outlining plans for the two families to formally meet the following weekend, Irena chiming in about venues, Julian nodding along with the easy satisfaction of a man who'd
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Between Two Brothers CHAPTER 40.
ISLA'S POV"Darian." Serena's voice cracked back through the foyer before she'd even reached the door, spinning to face him one last time, fury still bright in her eyes. "You humiliated me tonight. Defending her, in front of your entire family, like I don't even factor into your decisions anymore.""Leave her out of this, Serena." Dare's voice was low, final. "This was my decision. I stopped you because it was the right thing to do, not because of anything Isla did to provoke it. If you're angry, be angry at me.""Oh, I am," she snapped, though something in her voice had thinned, exhaustion bleeding through the anger now. "Believe me, I am."Fine," she said, voice tight. "Enjoy your evening, both of you." She turned sharply and swept toward the door, heels striking hard against the marble until the sound faded entirely into the night beyond it.The silence she left behind felt heavier than the argument itself.Dare turned to me s
Between Two Brothers CHAPTER 39.
ISLA'S POVThe rest of the dinner passed in a blur I could barely follow, my mind too tangled in the weight of Dare's stare across the table to properly track the conversation happening around me. By the time dessert had been cleared, the engagement had been discussed as though it were already settled fact — Victor outlining plans for the two families to formally meet the following weekend, Irena chiming in about venues, Julian nodding along with the easy satisfaction of a man who'd gotten exactly what he wanted. The wedding itself, they decided, would take place in two weeks.Two weeks.The number rattled around in my head long after everyone had risen from the table, long after Julian had excused himself to see his father out to the study for some final business discussion, leaving me standing alone near the enormous front windows while I waited for him to bring the car around.I was still staring out at the dark garden, trying to steady my brea
Between Two Brothers CHAPTER 38.
ISLA'S POVDare stood so abruptly his chair scraped hard against the marble floor, the sound cutting through the stunned silence like a gunshot."No." His voice carried across the table, flat and final. "I'm opposed to this."Victor's expression shifted from satisfaction to something colder, sharper. "Excuse me?""You heard me." Dare's jaw was tight, hands braced against the table's edge like he needed something to hold onto. "This engagement isn't happening. Not like this. Not tonight.""And why exactly not?" Victor's voice had dropped into the low, dangerous register I recognized from every negotiation he'd ever conducted, the one that meant he was already calculating how to win. "Give me one good reason, Darian."Dare's eyes flicked briefly to me before returning to his father, something raw and unguarded flickering there before he schooled it back into something harder. "Because Julian isn't fit to be her husband."T
Between Two Brothers CHAPTER 37.
ISLA'S POVThe car arrived at exactly nine, sleek and black, a driver stepping out to open the door for me with the kind of practiced formality that made my nerves climb another notch. I'd spent the last hour second-guessing the gown, the way my hair sat against my shoulders, the whole evening ahead of me, and none of that uncertainty eased as the car wound its way through wrought-iron gates and up a long, illuminated drive.The Blackthorne estate was larger than I'd imagined, even after everything I'd already seen of this family's wealth — stone and glass rising three stories against the dark sky, windows glowing gold from within, the kind of house that made you feel small just looking at it.Julian was waiting on the front steps when the car pulled up, already dressed for the evening, dark suit fitted perfectly, his smile warm and immediate the moment he spotted me through the window."You look beautiful," he said, opening the door himself befor
Between Two Brothers CHAPTER 36.
ISLA'S POVDare had agreed to the rest of the week off without argument, which somehow unsettled me more than if he'd fought me on it. A single line in a work email — Take whatever time you need. Don't rush back. — no explanation, no attempt to check in beyond that, like he'd decided the safest thing he could do for both of us was simply disappear from my life until I resurfaced on my own terms.I was curled up on my bed Saturday afternoon, half-watching something on my laptop without actually absorbing any of it, when my phone buzzed with a message from the building's front desk. Package and letter for you, Miss Harlow. Courier just dropped it off.I went down to collect it, curiosity briefly overtaking the low, persistent exhaustion I'd been carrying all week. The package was heavier than I expected, wrapped in expensive black paper, and the letter tucked beneath the ribbon bore a wax seal I recognized instantly — the Blackthorne family crest, pressed in
Between Two Brothers CHAPTER 35.
ISLA'S POVI hadn't said a word since the basement.Thea hadn't pushed, not on the drive to her flat, not while she was fussing over blankets and pulling the curtains shut against the last of the evening light. She just moved around me quietly, the way you'd move around something fragile you weren't sure how to hold, and I let her, because I didn't trust my own voice not to crack the moment I used it.I couldn't go home. Couldn't face my mother, couldn't watch her eyes go soft with worry the second she saw my raw hands, couldn't explain any of it without unraveling completely. Thea's sofa, with its mismatched cushions and the blanket she kept draped over the back for exactly nights like this, felt like the only place I could fall apart without an audience I needed to protect."Hey." Thea sat down beside me, careful, voice gentle in a way that made my throat tighten further. "Are you okay?"I nodded. It was a lie, and we both knew it, but
Between Two Brothers CHAPTER 4.
ISLA'S POVThe ring on my finger felt like ice.I stared down at it, my heart hammering so loudly I was sure everyone could hear it over the low hum of the restaurant. My mouth had opened, the word “yes” balancing on my tongue like a white flag. I was tired of fighting. I was jobless, terrified fo
Between Two Brothers CHAPTER 3.
ISLA'S POV I stared at the imposing glass tower of the Blackthorne Group, my stomach twisting into knots. The morning sun glinted off the building like a mocking smile, reminding me exactly where I stood—far below the people inside.Swallowing my pride tasted like ash. Yesterday, after the disaste
Between Two Brothers CHAPTER 2.
ISLA'S POVThe morning sun filtered through my bedroom curtains, but I couldn't bring myself to face it.I hadn’t told my mother about losing my job yet. When she had called me early this morning, her voice bright with the bustling sounds of her restaurant kitchen in the background, the truth choke
Between Two Brothers CHAPTER 1.
ISLA'S POVThe ticking of the office clock had become the metronome of my despair.Six years. For two thousand, one hundred and ninety days, I had survived in the sleek, glass-and-steel corridors of the Blackthorne Group, fueled entirely by a promise that was slowly turning to ash.In the beginning
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