The Bracelet

Aiden’s POV

The laptop keys kept clicking under my fingers as I scrolled hard and fast, reading every single line on the screen like my life depended on it.

Isabella Schneider.

Only child. Born and raised in Germany. Married but currently a widow. One child. Wealthy background. Married into serious money. Old money type. The kind that does not show off but controls things quietly. Her husband was a powerful German businessman with deep political ties.

Everything about her screamed foreign. Nothing about her said New York. And yet, here she was. Living here. Starting fresh. Acting like a woman with nothing to hide even though I had a growing feeling that she does.

I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my jaw slowly.

Something was wrong.

Germany was better off than New York in so many ways. Better systems. Better structure. Better stability. So why would a woman like Isabella leave all that behind and settle here?

It did not make sense.

And then there was the child.

That little girl.

I could still see her face clearly in my head. The way she stared at me. The way my chest had tightened for reasons I could not explain. She looked like the kind of child I would stop for. The kind I would not be able to ignore even if I tried.

My thoughts drifted back to earlier that day.

Isabella’s eyes.

That reaction.

She had not expected that little girl to show up. I was sure of it. The shock had been quick, but I caught it. She had stiffened. Her feigned smile had faltered just for a second.

Why?

Was she hiding her child on purpose?

I scoffed softly.

I tapped my fingers against the table, thinking.

Could it be that she was interested in me? That she thought keeping her child out of sight would improve her chances? Women did things like that.

I smirked at my own thoughts.

“Yes,” I muttered. “That has to be it.”

Nothing else explained the disappointment that had crossed her face when she read my wedding invitation. I had replayed that moment over and over since then. The way her eyes lingered. The way her lips tightened.

It was disappointment. Clear as day.

Disappointed that I was taken.

I shrugged lightly, letting out a low chuckle.

Too bad.

I loved Serena. But maybe I could love her too because I just couldn’t lie about not being drawn to her. By the way, my heart was big enough to care for people. I had always been that way.

The door opened behind me.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

Serena staggered in, her heels coming off before she even shut the door. She tossed her latest Louis Vuitton bag on the bed and sighed loudly before collapsing beside it.

She had gone out again. Another party. Another night of drinking. According to her, she was enjoying her final days as a single woman. She always said she was the last among her friends to get married, so the celebration had to be special.

Special now meant constant parties.

She smelled like alcohol. Different types mixed together. The scent hit my nose hard and before I could stop myself, I scrunched it in disgust.

She noticed.

She always noticed.

She hated when I did that. Said it meant I hated her. Maybe I did sometimes. Or maybe I was just tired of pretending I did not notice how much she had changed.

I loved her. That part was true. But the woman lying on my bed now felt different from the one I had chosen years ago.

I had picked Serena over Claire because she had been driven. Focused. Smart. Elegant. Careful with money. She had wanted to build something real. Claire seemed comfortable with her miserable life back then. I loved her, right but I knew we just wouldn’t last.

Meanwhile, now, bold was the only trait Serena still had. Bold enough to do whatever she wanted without caring how it affected me. Elegant was gone. She spent recklessly, chasing luxury instead of growth. Ambition had shifted too. It was no longer about building with me, but about measuring me against other men.

She thought I wasn’t aware. Well, I was.

I just chose not to fight it.

And still, I pushed the wedding forward. Because I believed in loyalty even though I hadn’t practiced it back then. But we learn from our mistakes, right?

And because no normal woman would willingly stay with a man like me, with the kind of father I had.

And also, Serena was my karma.

I already accepted that.

“How long are you going to keep doing this?” I asked quietly, watching her fumble with the zipper of her dress.

“C’mon,” she slurred, laughing softly. “Help me.”

I carried the laptop and placed it on the bedside table, making sure the screen faced away. I stood and moved closer, unzipping her dress carefully.

“You are so sexy up close,” she said, words dragging as she smiled up at me.

“Serena,” I said flatly. “Please.”

She kept talking anyway, words tumbling out without direction.

“You know what,” she continued as I finally got the dress off her body.

I turned to put it away, but she grabbed my hand suddenly and pulled me toward the bed. I lost my balance and fell into her arms.

I sighed.

She was stronger than she looked when she was drunk.

I tried to get up, but she held onto me and rolled onto her back, dragging me along.

“You need clothes,” I started.

She kissed me hard, cutting me off. Her lips pressed against mine with hunger. Then she pulled back, laughing softly.

“All I wanted was to come home and be with you.”

I stayed quiet.

She loved me. That much was true. I could see it in her eyes even now. But fear ruled her actions. Fear of being abandoned. Fear of being replaced. Fear of not being enough.

“We will be married in a week,” I said calmly. “That is the start of forever. You do not need to worry.”

She smiled and kissed me again, deeper this time. Her hands moved quickly, confidently. Her nails dug into my skin.

My body reacted instantly.

She pressed herself against me and I felt myself harden. She guided my hand to her breast, squeezing it against my palm.

I kissed down her neck slowly, my lips trailing lower until I reached her stomach.

Heat radiated from between her legs.

“I want you,” she said breathlessly, eyes locked on mine.

I pulled her panties down with my teeth, slow and deliberate. She shivered beneath me. My fingers slid into her wetness and she moaned softly.

I took my time.

I fingered her until her breathing became uneven, then lowered my mouth and ate her out like nothing else existed. She gripped the sheets, her thighs tightening around my head as she came hard.

She relaxed, thinking it was over.

It was not.

I pulled my shorts down and she gasped at the sight of my hard dick.

“Fuck me,” she said, spreading her legs wide.

I kissed her once more and slid into her slowly. She gasped as I filled her completely.

I moved steadily.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

Slow.

Then faster.

Harder.

Our breaths broke together. Our bodies moved in sync until we both came at the same time.

I collapsed beside her, chest rising and falling heavily.

Then she suddenly spoke.

“Who is Isabella Schneider,” she murmured, voice tired, “and why does it look like I have seen that bracelet somewhere?”

My heart almost stopped. I hadn’t realized she would be able to see the laptop screen.

I sat up fast. My eyes landed on the laptop screen and I found it. The bracelet.

The exact one I had given Claire the day she got that job at Café One.

Why did Isabella have it?

I slammed the laptop shut and turned to Serena. She was already asleep.

I stood up quietly, pulled on my clothes, and walked out of the room without wasting time.

Something was very wrong.