Chapter Five ISLA'S POV

The construction site was chaos at eight forty-five AM. Workers shouted over machinery, cement mixers rumbled, and somewhere a drill screamed. I stood at the entrance in my new clothes, clutching the portfolio Kai had delivered at seven, trying to remember how to breathe.

"You ready?" Kai appeared beside me, two coffee cups in hand.

"No." I took the coffee. "How do we do this? Do we tell people we're engaged now or…."

"Not yet. Today you're the lead designer. I'm the client. Professional only." His eyes flicked to my lips before he looked away. "Last night was…."

"A mistake?"

"Complicated."

A black SUV pulled up and Derek Stone climbed out, carrying a briefcase. "Kai. Isla. We need to talk before the meeting."

Inside the construction trailer, Derek spread papers across a table.

"Background check on Brandon Mitchell came back with some interesting information." Derek pulled out a file. "His company, Mitchell Properties, is connected to Richard Crane's firm through several shell corporations."

Kai went very still. "Crane? Are you sure?"

"Who's Richard Crane?" I asked.

"My biggest competitor. He's been trying to poach my investors for years." Kai's jaw tightened. "If Brandon is working with him….."

"Then the stalking might not just be about you, Isla." Derek pulled out more papers. "Brandon started dating you two years ago, right after Kai paid him off the first time. What if that wasn't coincidence?"

My stomach dropped. "You think he targeted me deliberately?"

"I think Crane has been looking for leverage against Kai for years. Your connection to both Kai and Marco makes you valuable." Derek looked at Kai. "If they know you care about her…."

"They'll use her to get to me." Kai's hands clenched. "Which means we need to move faster than planned."

"Move faster on what?"

"Tell me what?" I looked between them.

Kai pulled out his phone and showed me a document. "Marriage license application. I filed it this morning. We can get married as soon as tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Kai, we just decided this six hours ago!"

"And Brandon sent you three more messages between then and now. Each one more threatening." Kai's voice was calm but his eyes were dark. "We don't have time to wait."

Derek cleared his throat. "There's one more thing. Your father called a board meeting for Monday. He's planning to use the marriage clause to remove you as CEO unless you're married by then."

"How does he even know….." Kai stopped. "Elena."

"Your sister told him?"

"My father has been using her gambling debts as leverage for years." Kai rubbed his face. "Which means we get married this weekend or I lose the company."

"This is insane." I stood, pacing. "We can't get married in two days. There are papers to file, families to tell….."

"We'll go to city hall. Sign the papers. Tell our families after." Kai's tone was matter-of-fact. "Keep it simple."

"Nothing about this is simple!" My voice rose. "You're asking me to marry you to save your company and protect me from a stalker who might be working with your business rival. Do you hear how ridiculous that sounds?"

"I hear how dangerous it is." Kai stood too. "Brandon sent you a message at six this morning. Do you want to know what it said?"

I didn't, but he told me anyway.

"He said he's been in your apartment. He described your bedroom in detail. What color your sheets are. What book is on your nightstand. Where you keep your passport." Kai's voice dropped. "He's been inside your home, Isla. Multiple times."

My legs went weak. Derek caught my elbow, guiding me back to the chair.

"I had my security team check your apartment an hour ago," Derek said gently. "He's bypassed your locks at least a dozen times in the past three months. He's installed cameras. He's been watching you sleep."

I was going to be sick.

"We're getting a restraining order filed today," Kai continued. "But paper won't stop him. Legal marriage gives us more options. It makes you family, which means my lawyers become your lawyers, my security becomes your security."

"Your prison becomes my prison," I whispered.

Kai flinched. "That's not what this is."

"Isn't it?"

"I'm asking you to let me help." He crouched in front of my chair, forcing me to meet his eyes. "I know this is fast. I know it's not how anyone imagines getting engaged. But I need you safe, Isla. I can't…." His voice cracked. "I can't lose someone else because I didn't act fast enough."

The raw pain in his expression stopped my spiral. This was about Sarah.

"What happened to her?" I asked quietly. "To Sarah?"

Kai stood abruptly. "That's not relevant."

"It is if it's why you're doing this."

"I'm doing this because Brandon Mitchell is a threat and I have resources to neutralize that threat. That's all."

Before I could push, voices outside interrupted.

"Mr. Westbrook? The design team is here."

Kai straightened. "We'll be right there." He looked at me. "Can you do this? The meeting?"

"I can do my job." I stood. "The personal stuff can wait."

As we walked toward the building, Derek fell into step beside me. "Sarah was his fiancée. They were supposed to get married six years ago. The night they broke up, she drove home angry and crashed her car. She died instantly."

My heart clenched. "Why did they break up?"

"She found out Kai had feelings for someone else. Someone he'd promised his best friend he'd never pursue." Derek's look was pointed.

"He broke up with her because of me?"

"He broke up with her because he couldn't pretend anymore. And she died hating him because of it." Derek stopped walking. "Kai blames himself for her death. He's spent five years punishing himself by staying away from what he wants. If he's breaking that pattern now, it's because he thinks you're in real danger."

He walked ahead, leaving me frozen.

Kai had loved someone who died because of me. Because he'd had feelings for me. And now he was asking me to marry him.

But I thought of Brandon in my apartment, watching me sleep. I thought of the messages, the photos, the constant fear.

I thought of Kai's kiss last night and the five years we'd both spent wanting something we couldn't have.

Maybe disasters were worth it if they kept you alive.

The meeting was already starting when I entered. A dozen people sat around a temporary conference table. Kai stood at the head, commanding the room.

"Everyone, this is Isla Moretti, our lead interior designer."

All eyes turned to me. But there was one person I didn't recognize, a man in an expensive suit sitting in the back corner, watching me with an intensity that made my skin crawl.

I pulled out my portfolio and began presenting, losing myself in the work. I could talk about color theory and spatial flow until my fear receded.

Halfway through, my new phone buzzed. Kai's eyes flicked to it.

I ignored it and continued. The phone buzzed again. And again.

"Excuse me." I checked the screen.

Three messages from an unknown number:

“Nice presentation, baby. You look good in that outfit.”

“Is that Kai's credit card paying for those clothes?”

“Wave to the camera. Southeast corner, third floor. I'm watching.”

My hands started shaking. I looked toward the third floor and saw a flash of light. A camera lens.

The man in the expensive suit was gone.

"Isla?" Kai's voice pulled me back. "Are you alright?"

I couldn't speak. Just held out the phone.

Kai read the messages and his expression went dark. He said something about taking a break, then guided me out with a hand on my lower back.

"He's here," I managed. "That man in the corner. It was him."

"What man?"

"Expensive suit, late thirties, dark hair. He was in the back and then disappeared."

Kai pulled out his phone, speaking rapidly about security footage. Then he looked at me, and I saw something dangerous in his eyes.

"We're getting married today."

"Kai….."

"Not tomorrow. Today. Right now." He was already texting. "Derek can meet us at city hall in an hour."

"We can't just leave the meeting…."

"Watch me." He cupped my face. "I told you I'd burn the world down for you. That includes this project, this meeting, and my reputation. None of it matters if you're not safe."

"Your company….."

"Can go to hell if it means losing you." He pressed his forehead to mine. "Marry me, Isla. Right now. Today. Let me protect you."

I should have said no.

Instead, I whispered, "Okay."

Kai kissed me hard and fast, then pulled away. "Derek? City hall. Thirty minutes. And bring witnesses, we need two."

As he made arrangements, I stared at the construction site where Brandon had been watching.

We were getting married in half an hour. I was becoming Mrs. Westbrook before lunch.

And Brandon Mitchell had just declared war.

My phone buzzed one more time: “Congratulations on the engagement. Hope you enjoy your wedding day. It'll be your last happy memory before I destroy everything you love.”