Chapter 11: The Confession

Rain fell as Isabella checked into a tiny hotel. Dead silence.

Alexander cowered alone in his study elsewhere in town. His glass of whiskey trembled in his hand. He spoke out loud for the first time: "I don't despise her. I adore her."

But Cassandra hadn't finished yet. She called on Isabella, leaving her with a bitter ultimatum:

"Go away from Alexander for good, and I'll suppress the scandals. Remain, and I'll ruin his empire."

Isabella's resolve hardened. "You underestimated me, Cassandra. I wed him of my own accord, yes, but I'm not going anywhere. Now."

That night, Isabella returned not to beg, but to defy. She appeared in Alexander's office, drenched from the rain, her eyes blazing.

"You think that revenge is stronger than love? You're wrong," she declared.

Alexander rose, shocked by her resistance. "Isabella

But she halted him. "I know my father was to blame. I know Emily died because of his fault. But I am not my father. And if you can't see beyond his fault and distinguish me, then maybe you never deserved me in the first place."

The words shook him more than he expected. For the first time, the barriers around his heart began to shatter.

Cassandra made her last statement: a series of falsified documents showing Isabella withdrawing funds from Knight Corp accounts. The scandal hit the news.

But Alexander stalled. His gut was howling this was not Isabella.

He went to check things out. And the truth emerged: Cassandra had engineered it all, from leaking the scandal to falsifying documents, even doctoring Emily's death story to stir Alexander's rage.

Standing face to face with Cassandra in his office, Alexander's voice was steel. "You wanted to ruin me. And instead, you clarified things."

Cassandra laughed cruelly. "You'll live to regret choosing her."

But Alexander was beyond doubt. "I already regret not believing her sooner."

He turned his back on Cassandra once and for all.

That night, he found Isabella on the balcony, staring at lights of the city. His voice was gruff. "You were correct. About all of it. I let hatred cloud my vision. But if you'll let me I want to start over. No contracts. Just us."

Isabella's lips trembled, tears bubbling. "And if I say yes?"

His fingers framed her cheek, gentle but urgent. "Then I'll spend the rest of my life showing it."

The garden was filled with white roses, the air thick with the sound of violins. Isabella wore a white gown—not contract-bound this time, but voluntary.

Alexander never looked away from her as she made her way down the aisle. When she stood in front of him, he drew a deep breath, "This time, the vows are real."

Her smile trembled, brilliant. "And forever."

They kissed, solidifying their new life together as husband and wife.

Whispers of scandal among the crowd had blown away like thin air. Cassandra was out of society, her power forfeited.

But Isabella and Alexander didn't care about any of that. They only cared about the truth they'd fought for, the love that had survived revenge, betrayal, and agony.

While fireworks lit the sky that night, Isabella nestled her face into his chest. "Do you think we'll make it through everything that's headed our way?"

Alexander kissed her hair, his arms wrapping around her. "We already do."

And for the first time, Isabella really believed it.