CHAPTER 2

A TWIST IN TIME

ISABEL

"Isa..." Before Drake could say anything, I raised my hand to shut him up.

Seven years.

My heart ached with the weight of those years.

Seven years of longing, of disappointment, of silent vows broken in the dark.

And now, the doctor had said he made another woman pregnant.

“You already had your heir. You just didn’t want mine.” My voice broke slightly, a sob threatening to come forth.

The humiliation clung to me like a wet rag. I couldn't stand any further embarrassment in the hospital.

I had to hear it from his own mouth first but certainly not here.

"You'd better meet me at home today, Drake..." I gave him a warning glare.

"Yes..." He responded, his voice hoarse, his expression unreadable.

I turned on my heel and stepped out into the air.

I didn't say a word to the driver as I entered the car, and the vehicle soon drove into the Blackwood mansion.

My vision blurred as I stepped out of the car. The mansion gates seemed to sway before my eyes. I reached for the door to keep myself steady, but the ground tilted beneath my feet.

Then everything went black.

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself lying on a bed.

Soft sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting pale streaks across the room. My eyes wandered over the antique dresser, the bookshelf by the wall, and the framed wedding photo on the nightstand.

My bedroom.

The realization settled slowly as I pushed myself upright.

Across from me, Drake sat in a chair, watching me with a frown etched between his brows.

"You're awake." He leaned forward slightly. "You scared everyone. You collapsed right after getting out of the car."

I blinked, still trying to clear the fog from my head.

"How are you feeling now?"

I ignored him.

“Talk to me, Bella,” Drake said, his voice strained with concern. For the first time all day, he actually looked scared. “Don’t let what happened earlier upset you this much. You collapsed. I’m worried about your health. Tell me what’s going on. We can go to the hospital right now.”

I remained silent.

“Should I call a doctor?” he asked.

I only hissed in response and turned my face away.

After he left, I slowly climbed out of bed. My legs still felt weak beneath me as I made my way to the bathroom.

A few minutes later, I changed into fresh clothes and settled on the living room couch. My eyes stayed fixed on the wall clock. I watched the hands move one second at a time, as if my life depended on it.

As the heavy drapes were pulled aside, I watched him stroll in. He had already shed his suit jacket, standing in a crisp white shirt that still looked clinical and sharp, but the air that surrounded him was so cold I could almost feel it.

I wasted no time. “Is it true?”

“Bella,” he answered, his tone terrifyingly nonchalant.

“That’s not the answer to my question. Are you expecting a child with Emily Sinclair?”

An expression I didn't recognise flickered in his eyes for a heartbeat before they shifted back into that familiar, stony indifference.

“The situation will be handled,” he responded, his voice cold, a complete departure from the warmth he used to show me.

“But is it true?” I pressed, my voice trembling.

He didn't look at me. He looked past me, as if I were a ghost or a passing thought. “I won’t engage in this right now,” he said, turning to walk away.

“Drake!”

A breath.

“It is.”

He paused after he walked past me.

​“You know I am justified in requesting a divorce,” I said, my voice shaking but clear.

​Drake didn't even turn around. His shoulders just stiffened. “I wouldn't accept it. For many good reasons.”

Only then did my heart shatter, the pieces scattering like broken glass on the floor.

He didn't deny it.

He kept his back to me, his eyes shut tight. Maybe he couldn't bear to see me hurt, or maybe he just didn't care that this was the final straw that broke the camel's back.

As I stood there, bitterness seeped into my very bones.

My knees grew weak.

This was the moment everything transformed into a desert of pain.

My mind raced, my reality playing in front of me like a wide screen. As my husband, I was supposed to share my most vulnerable moment with him, my happiness. The fact that we're having a baby.

But, what he's refused to let me have, the baby he refused to let me give birth to all these years, he's already having it with Emily.

I never mattered. If I told him about my condition, maybe he would at least see how much I have broken inside.

I opened my mouth, but the words dropped dead on my lips.

Why would he care?

He had already spent years forcing me to take pills because he "wasn't ready."

I bit back the heartache, forcing a facade of calm over the despair drowning me.

“I guess this is the complication you always referred to.” That was all I could manage before I turned and walked away.

Drake didn't return home that night. He couldn't face me—or more likely, he was in Emily’s arms. Alone in our bedroom, I leaned against the door and whispered into the darkness, “You’ll never know.”

The solitude covered me as the night stretched on. I moved quickly, gathering my medication and my hospital records, and reached for my travel box; I had to hide these from the staff.

Only I knew the delicate balance I was striking—taking drugs to protect the baby while the pregnancy ravaged my heart and lungs.

“What are you doing?” Drake’s voice startled me so badly the test results slipped from my hand. As if mocked by fate, a breeze carried the sheet right to his feet before I could move.

“Give it back!” My heart hammered against my ribs.

I was so terrified.

Would he force me to abort this?

He bent down and picked it up.

My breath caught in my throat.

Not that one… please, not that one…

I took a step back, bracing for the blow.

“You’re pregnant!” He rushed toward me, closing the distance and pulling me into a tight embrace.

“This is good news, Bella!”

I froze, confused.

“The scandal about Emily isn't true,” he whispered into my hair, planting a kiss on my head. “Forget that I admitted it earlier. I was just pulling your leg. I was angry.”

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, the tension in my body snapping.

“You’re... you’re not upset?”

“No, baby. I only want you as the mother of my children.” He kissed me again, and I felt my nerves finally relax.

But then, the warmth vanished.

The arms around me dissolved into nothing.

A crash from the hall snapped me out of the cruel imagination, it's just my mind playing tricks on me and I was still alone.

In truth, that was my wish, but it's obviously impossible.

Just then, my alarm rang—the reminder for my next dose of medication.

I blinked, and before I could even speak, Drake was gone.

And I realised he was never there.

I scrambled to pick the paper up from the empty floor and tucked it away, the silence of the room mocking me as I looked at my reflection in the mirror, the reality hitting me like a bucket of ice water.

As I bent down, sharp dizziness hit me so suddenly that I had to grab the edge of the dresser. Black spots flickered across my vision for a few seconds before they finally faded. I stood there, trying to catch my breath, one hand pressed against my chest. Even after the dizziness passed, breathing still felt harder than it should have.

“I’m dying,” I murmured. My lips trembled as the tears finally spilled over.

The weight of it was unbearable.

My husband was slipping away, and my life was ticking down.

“He’s with Emily now,” I sobbed, questioning where I had gone wrong.

And here I was… running out of time, loving a man who had already chosen someone else.

But then, the sadness shifted, a spark of indifference igniting in my chest as I clenched my fists and wiped my face.

“No more mourning. I did nothing wrong.”

Every second mattered now. I could almost hear time slipping through my fingers.

I looked at the mirror again, my eyes hardening. “Hopefully, I’ll live life to the fullest with you, my child. We'll switch places when you arrive.”

If I was going to die, I was damn well going to live first. I sat down at my antique desk and opened a withered notebook. I wrote down a bucket list of things I wanted to do before it's too late. Maybe less… if my body gave up before then.

Drake must never find out about this pregnancy. Whether I file for divorce or not, I can no longer stay in this mansion. But if I leave…. where am I supposed to go?

I hadn't made any close friends since our marriage.