ISABELLA’S POVI can’t tell how long had passed. Every bit of will had started to seep from me for the hours that passed. My throat was so parched to the point that I could drink my pee. Would that be bad? My stomach was rumbling too. Damn! I should have eaten the rice when I had the chance. Finally, the door burst open with a kick, and I looked up dreamily, hoping it was food. “Step out bitches. Time for some exercise.” The hefty man with the bushy brown beard spoke before five men walked in, pulling each by the arm and shoving us out the door. I dragged my feet weakly as they led us, wiping those who slowed us down. I was so weak, and I knew this wasn't going to be easy.I mean ditching them and finding my best friend. I had to think fast. We had to find a way to leave before being sold. A bright idea popped into my head, and I put my feet forward, causing the lady before me to trip. She crashed into someone, then another and soon, some were on the floor. The men got so pissed,
ISABELLA’S POVSince they carried Mireille out of this room, I could not sleep. I have spent most of my time crying and blaming my cursed life for making life difficult for me. For us.Was she buried? Where?Those men never came back, so I had no idea who to ask. Days had passed that I was sure of because my strength had diminished, and now I could barely breathe. I haven't had food or water since I stepped in here. My stomach had stopped rumbling at this point, and the worm in it had started feasting on my insides, causing me sharp pains. My throat was so dry that even a drop of water would go a long way.“Is anyone there?” I yelled with all my strength, and desperation to cling to dear faith consumed me. My eyes barely had tears left to cry. “Hello,” I added weakly. My head was falling forward.The door creaked open, and a young-looking male walked forward. He wasn't as huge as the others but he still looked scary. He wore a white cotton shirt, black leather pants, and brown shoes.
ALARIC’S POVIt didn't work. The police’s effort, the attempt to get the girl to recollect anything, nothing worked. Two days of agony went by, and after night, staring at the space and hoping I didn't have to do the feared, I eventually picked up the phone and made that one call I never wanted to make again.“To what do I owe this call, Mr Wolfe?” Nam’s mocking voice cut through the air, and I felt my stomach churn in annoyance,I exhaled; my palm balled into a fist on my knee. “I need a favour.” I finally let out, and silence lingered in the air, then a crack.“Nothing is free, Wolfy, but what is life without comprises.” He laughed. “You know where to meet me.” With this, he ended the call.I ran my fingers through my hair, a voice scolding me for turning to my worst enemy. But I would do anything for my wife, even if it meant plucking every fingernail of mine off its bud. Hot coal dug deep into my skin even if I had to watch. Isabella wasn't just my wife. She was the reason the s
ISABELLA’S POVThe sun filtered through the curtains, announcing the arrival of a new dawn. I sprang my eyes open, my head banging badly. Alaric was sitting on the edge of the bed; his eyes held warmth. “Did you sleep well?” He asked, his tone filled with concern, and I nodded.I could barely make out what happened last night. Did he sleep here?“You were having a bad dream, so I had to tuck you back in bed.” He half smiled, his eyes now filled with sadness. His eyes were filled with dark circles with the hair trails on his beard. He looked like he had barely slept a wink. He was, however, dressed in a dark grey rubber shirt that clung keenly to his skin with a short white knicker.“Did you sleep?” I questioned and watched him squeeze my hand softly before standing up.“I called the police to find Mireille’s body. They will ask you some questions.” He paused, running his fingers through his hair. “I might need you to twig the truth a little bit.”My heart flipped. “What?” He seemed
ISABELLA’S POVFunny how the universe could flip the script in a second and leave all its occupants guessing. One moment, I was planning a wedding with Mireille. The next, I was standing at her burial, pouring the last sand over her casket. My scarf was tied over my head, with a black sunshade over my eyes. Alaric and Enzo were the only ones here. Mireille had no one else. I was dressed in a black suit, and one thing I knew for sure would be her frowning face if she could see me right now. She always said something about wanting a colourful burial someday, everyone dressed in bright colors with jams playing underneath, and me dancing because she wouldn't want to spend her last moment bored. . It had been nothing but a casual conversation that I never knew I would have to carry out someday. It hurt that the universe deemed her fit to die, with her legacy buried deep in the sand. I let another tear pat my cheek. A stabbing pain gawking at my chest. Guilt is eating deep within me. Wou
ALARIC’S POVThey say love hurts. But it isn't the love that hurts; it is the one we love. The thought of them letting go so easily and walking out on you as though you were never there.My eyes are glued to the screen of my laptop, and I am seated in my office, but all I can think about is her. The company’s resources were drowning, and a part of me wondered if it was all my fault. I had spent my time attending to her, after all.Dragging in a breath, I ran my fingers through my hair and eventually pushed the laptop aside to go through the papers with me. My eyes widened in realisation. Father had approved many investments without my thoughts, and most of them had flopped—almost all of them.Fuck!The company was struggling before his bad decisions. I picked up my landline and dialled Henry, telling him to come up, and he was walking through my door in minutes.“I saw the investments. What was that about?” I threw forth, hoping for a better explanation.“Your Father wanted us to….”“
ALARIC’S POVGetting into the building was easy, and luckily, I saw Isabella sitting in the corner of my left hand. She was dressed in a red gown that clung to her white smooth skin like a second flesh. Her waist was snatched, and the dress stopped right above her kneecap. I drooled over her cleavage, deep, weak in the knee. She had a white pearl necklace on alongside white heels. Her legs were put together and slightly bent to the side before a chair leg. She looked so sophisticated. Her brown hair was beautifully rolled up, with none falling below her neck. She had slight makeup on, with her lips painted red.I was confused between going to meet her there and causing a diversion from the auction or signalling her to come over. But the Isa I knew was too stubborn to come over, so I went instead.“We need to talk,” I whispered, watching her give me a death stare. “Leave, Alaric. I’m busy.” She muttered between clenched teeth, then looked away.“If you could just give me a moment. Yo
ALARIC’S POVWhen I had informed her of us going skating, her eyes lit up in delight. But now that we were standing here with skates strapped beneath our feet, I was starting to rethink that decision. Even with the knee pads, ankle pads and helmets, my heart was still pounding so fast. I have never skated, and the multiple online videos I watched all night did nothing to help.“Are you ready?” I asked, a part of me hoping she would chicken out and insist on leaving so I wouldn't be the sacred one. But instead, she nodded.I watched her get onto the ice, pulling me with her, and my heart started to race. Never had it occurred to me that I could be scared of ice. It's just ice. I have gone through so much more, so something like this shouldn't break me.A bead of sweat broke behind my neck. As much as I wanted to tell her how I felt, she was smiling brightly and without worries. I didn't want to ruin that. I watched her move one foot, then another gently, and I followed suit, but my
ISABELLA’S POVI knew asking Kelvin to stay was a tricky move, but it was for the best. My heart was too soft to turn him down, not after knowing his story. I would be like the monsters he feared if I did. Besides, he was there for me on days when no one was willing to show up. Just like Mireille, he was my best friend now, a part of my family, too.But boy, oh boy.Alaric’s face was scrunched in a frown as he sat opposite me, his spoon clinking against the plate. He was barely eating anything, just staring at the food.I knew I shouldn't notice. Nor care because it was seemingly for the best. We needed to keep our sexual urges out of our field of decision-making. I needed to be sure that forgiving and letting him back in was right. The best thing to do. If his mother meant every word or this was just an attempt to get me back in, only to torment me some more. I needed to be sure if what I felt for him was sex-related or if our love was more profound than that.With Kelvin around, no
ALARIC’S POVIsabella walked out of the kitchen, wiping her hand with a napkin while a smile curled the tips of her lips.“You didn’t tell me you were coming.” She pointed out while he closed the gap between them, placed his palm on her shoulder, and then trailed it down to hold her palm. Something glistened in his eyes, and it only came on when he saw her.“I heard about the incident.” He started. “Are you okay?” The news carried it? How come I didn’t know that? I had ordered Henry to keep it low, but I could see that was impossible given how the criminal was a dangerous one. The police had said that it would unravel a long chain of crime and we might have to lay low for a while, although I didn’t tell Isabella about that yet cause I didn’t want to scare her or let it affect the competence of her job. Besides, I had lived and breathed danger all my life; I was almost immune to it at this point, so nothing fazed me. Nothing except losing her, so all I needed to do was keep her safe.
ALARIC’S POVEver since she hugged me at the hospital, all I have wanted was to feel her again, her naked body against mine. And heaven knows how hard I tried to get past the hospital days and not fuck her brain out right there with my Doctor nearby. That was what her presence did to me. Every single time I saw her, my brain would fry into toast.So the moment we got to her place, I knew I had to make the first step, and that was why I stepped out half naked, demanding soap; then, when I noticed her control wall breaking, I put the last plan in action. Get too close for comfort and seduce her.I knew she couldn't restrict my body.Until she did.She was standing here laughing aloud as she munched on her pizza while watching a movie I couldn't even make out. She hasn't sent me a glance since she handed me the soap and left me in front of her room.What was I doing wrong?I couldn't help but ask myself.Had I become so undesirable? Was her love confession only because of guilt? Or to
ISABELLA’S POV“Thank you.” Alaric’s mother said as we sat outside the hospital door. Her hands were firmly on her lap.“What for?” She blinked. “For saving my son, " she finally said after a moment of silence, and I only got more confused.“He saved me,” I explained, and then I watched her slowly raise her head, her eyes tender again.“No, Isabella. You saved him from becoming a shadow of himself by taking him back.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, and next, her palms found mine. “I’m so sorry about how I treated you all those years. I have no excuse for what I did, but I hope you can forgive me.” Her eyes were glistening with tears now.But it was my choice. I was the one to go through the pain and live with it, so I slowly snatched back my hands.“I can't assure you that.” With that, I stood up and returned to Alaric’s side.Henry and he looked up at me. They had stopped talking.“I’m glad you both are okay,” Henry announced with relief. “We have to leave now. We will come b
THIRD PERSON’S POVThe Doctor told her he had gotten out of danger, but he was yet to wake up, so all she could do was sit beside his bed, holding his hand and weeping and blaming herself for not thinking this through in the first place. Maybe it was ill-fated, just like her stepmother had said. Perhaps that was why her parents had abandoned her. That could be the reason her best friend was dead, too. Maybe she needed to run away from the world and hide somewhere she wouldn’t be able to cause harm to anyone.“You have to wake up, husband. Please.” She sniffed back a tear. “I can't leave without you too.” Her heart clenched tightly as she sobbed. She had lost everyone. He was her last family. And she doubted that she could survive another loss. It was just too hurtful.Her tears drenched his hand, her face against it. It felt cold, so cold that she feared that he was gone. Hours ticked by, yet nothing happened, and even when the doctor told her to head home and come back the next day,
ISABELLA’S POVWhen I confronted him to turn himself in so he could heal from the guilt, I thought my words would touch him and finally give my late best friend some peace. After all, only a man ready to change would go through the stress of clearing his late GF’s lawn. I figured he probably needed a boost.But instead, he held a knife against my throat after I threatened to call the cops myself.“You should have died back then.” His voice was rough and cold. It lacked all forms of humanity.My heart started to beat so fast as I looked around for help. The neighbor rushed out, screaming that she had dialed the cops and they were on their way here, probably hoping to scare him. But it didn’t. Instead, something wet and very hot slipped down my legs.The metallic feel of the knife was still cold against my skin.“You don't know what you just got yourself into, Miss. I advise you to go in there and tell them it is a fucking prank so I kill her!” He yelled, his other arm wrapped around my
ALARIC’S POVIf Isabella had planned to frustrate me, then she had done a good job because I couldn't help but feel so dumb as I stared back at the report Henry had sent two days after. The man from earlier was just a cab man.Fuck!Blame her for toying with me.Now, I couldn't help but wonder why she lied. Was it because she despised me so much? A strange feeling shimmered between my skin as I got dressed, my nerves unsettling because now all I wanted was to confront her and demand an answer. I wanted to apologize for the misunderstanding, too. She probably hated me because she thought I abandoned her. Maybe that was why she was with that guy from the other day, to spite me. I have yet to find out his name, but once I do, I will have everything about him sent to him, and then I will find his most profound weakness and threaten him with that.Anything to get those leeches off the love of my life.Suddenly, my phone rang, and I pulled it out to see her name spread across my screen. Ta
THIRD PERSON’S POVIt was on a Tuesday. Isabella had called Rex to ask if he knew who the company’s CEO was before he recommended him to her, and his response had shocked her to the bone.“He wouldn't stop pestering me. I’m so sorry I didn't give you a heads-up. He showed up at my home for days, standing under the snow and half-freezing, to get me to hear what he had to say. I just had to give in. It was either that or the police come visiting to retrieve his body.” He had paused. “He seems to regret his mistake, Isabel. I think you should give that poor man a chance, too. We all make mistakes, after all.” And that had made her laugh. Alaric wasn't a poor, innocent man. He was a manipulative jerk who knew how to get what he wanted.But never her.Now, it made her wonder if he had chosen about a thirty-minute drive away from the start of Durango for his company on purpose. Had it been in a bid to get close to her?She was sitting at the table, files spread right in front of her, along
THIRD PERSON’S POVMonday drew nearer than she thought it would, and yet she didn’t turn down their offer. Every time she wanted to, she would remember Mireille’s wordsLive for us.So here she was, sitting at the long oak table after spending about an hour choosing the right outfit: a fitted cream blouse tucked into high-waisted navy trousers, her hair swept neatly in a low bun. On her way in, she noticed how boring the building looked, passing across information that it lacked life. The secretary had informed her that the boss would be here soon, so she waited impatiently, and soon, the door opened behind her.“Good day…” Her words slurred the second she turned around and saw Alaric. He was dressed in a tailored black three-piece suit that looked like it was made just for him. The white shirt underneath was crisp, clean, and ironed, and the black tie was knotted to almost perfection.Almost because she had been the one to make his tie previously.“Miss Phoenix. Welcome to Stonebrid