CHAPTER 5

HIS CURSE; HER BLESSING

 CHAPTER FIVE

 (Isla’s POV)

I stood with my back against the door, frozen long after Lena had left, her words replayed itself  in my mind.

"I’m here to take back what’s mine."

She wasn’t just playing by what she said. She was serious. And that meant I had to act fast.

I forced myself to breathe, to push aside the anger burning inside me. If I let Lena get under my skin, I would be walking right into her trap.

I wondered why she changed her mind. 

Or did father told her something I didn't know about? Something about Ethan?

No.

I had worked too hard to let her ruin this.

Squaring my shoulders, I left my room and made my way toward Ethan’s study. I needed to talk to him before she did. Before she could twist everything in her favor.

But as I reached the hallway leading to his office, I stopped dead in my tracks.

Lena was already there.

The door was slightly opened, and I could hear her voice, trying to unbind everything I had binded. 

"I was foolish to run, Ethan," she said slowly. "But I see things clearly now. I never should have left."

I clenched my hands in anger not sure of how I was supposed to feel.

I stand still at the door trying to listen on their conversation. 

Then Ethan’s voice came, cool and unemotional. "You expect me to believe that?"

A soft smile appeared on his face. "I don’t expect anything," Lena replied. "I just want to make things right. For both of us."

I took a step closer, my pulse racing.

Ethan sighed. "You’re wasting your time."

I held my breath, waiting for her reaction.

Instead of retreating, Lena giggled. "You say that now, but we both know the truth, don’t we?"

Ethan didn’t respond.

Lena continued, her voice showing how confident she was. "Isla may be your wife on paper, but we both know she’s just filling in for me. She was never meant to be here, Ethan. I was."

The room fell into silence with either of them saying anything.

Then Ethan said something that made my stomach drop.

"Isla is my wife. That won’t change."

For a split second, relief washed over me. But then he continued, his voice colder than before.

"That doesn’t mean I care about her."

The air left my lungs.

Lena hummed in amusement. "So you admit it. She means nothing to you."

Another pause.

Then Ethan said the words that shattered me.

"I don’t love her. I never will."

Something inside me cracked, making me lose the strength I had been gathering and mustering just to see him walk.

I didn’t wait to hear more.

I turned on my heel, and walked away as fast as I could, my vision blurring with unshed tears.

I didn’t know where I was going. I just needed to get out.

I needed to breath

I had fought so hard to stay, to prove myself. But in the end, I was exactly what everyone said I was.

A replacement.

A placeholder.

A wife in name only.

By the time I reached the garden, I could barely breathe. The crisp evening air bit at my skin, but I welcomed the cold. Anything to numb the ache in my chest.

I should have known better.

I had told myself this marriage was just a contract, that I didn’t care about Ethan’s feelings. But hearing him say it so plainly—I don’t love her. I never will.—it was like a dagger to my heart.

A sharp gust of wind rustled the trees, sending a chill through me. I wrapped my arms around myself, staring up at the darkening sky.

What was I even doing here?

Why was I fighting so hard for someone who didn’t even want me?

The sound of a wheelchair screeching against the interlock floor  behind me sent a shiver down my spine.

I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

Ethan.

He didn’t say anything at first. Just stood there, watching me.

Finally, he spoke. "You left dinner early."

I let out a bitter laugh. "I wasn’t hungry."

Silence.

I turned to face him, searching his expression for any sign of regret. Any sign that he hadn’t meant those words.

But his face was unreadable.

Cold. Distant.

Just like always.

"I heard what you said to Lena," I finally said, my voice showing how hurt and displeased I was.

Something flickered in his eyes, but it was gone too fast for me to catch.

I stepped closer, my heart pounding. "Do you really think that?" I asked. "That I mean nothing to you?"

He didn’t answer.

I swallowed, my throat tight. "Say it to my face, Ethan."

A muscle in his jaw tensed.

"Say it," I pressed. "Tell me I don’t matter. That I’m just a placeholder."

His hands clenched at his sides. "Isla—"

"Say it!"

For a moment, I thought he might.

But then, something shifted.

I took a step forward, closing the space between us in an instant. I barely had time to react before he grabbed my wrist, his grip firm but not painful.

"You don’t understand," he muttered, his voice low and rough.

I stared  at him, my pulse racing. "Then make me understand."

His grip tightened. "This marriage was never supposed to mean anything. I told you that from the start."

I swallowed hard. "Then why do you look so angry right now?"

His eyes met mine.

I had never seen him like this before—so tense, so furious.

It wasn’t the cold, indifferent Ethan I had grown used to.

This was something else entirely.

For a moment, I thought he might say something.

But then, without warning, he let go of my wrist and turned away.

"Go back inside," he said, his voice clipped. "It’s late."

I clenched my fists. "Ethan—"

"This conversation is over."

And just like that, he strolled away.

Leaving me standing there, my heart pounding, with alot on my mind.

What was Ethan fighting so hard to protect and what was the deal between my sister, Ethan and sabestian? 

I needed to know if I was going to win the game I was playing