She had called him by his full name, so she was really angry with him. Shawn moved away from her, put the empty glass on the table, and went to the window that opened onto the terrace and towards the rose garden, the place of many moments spent with Isabelle. It was the last place he had seen Belle before the ‘Silver Spur Ranch’ tragedy. He still was able to see Isabelle's sad face and the pride of her bearing, her decision not to show him how much his cruel words had hurt her. All she had asked of him had been a car to take her away from there right to the place where she almost met death.
"Obviously that I feel sorry for what happened to her," he replied in a weak tone because he understood that his way of behaving with Belle was making her situation quite difficult.
“Both Isabelle and Lucy, have told me that they will do everything not to stay too much h
Her appearance calmed the situation, at least for the moment. She realized that she had interrupted a very heated scene and this made her understand that the days that will follow will be even harder for everyone. Billy blamed Shawn for Isabelle's situation; Shawn blamed himself for everything. Whenever someone mentioned Belle’s health, her nephew became withdrawn and quite aggressive. Marie felt so sorry for him, but she knew that to pull something positive out of this whole tragedy, Shawn had to do something he didn't like, something he hadn’t done since Jennifer's death: lower his head and listen more. Marie knocked on the door and entered Isabelle's room. The girl had just woken up.“I overslept...” she said in a slightly husky voice."It&
The morning was already there and, for the third time in a row, Shawn had spent the night awake. He was still sitting in his armchair near the window with a blank stare on his face. Near the armchair was an empty bottle of whiskey, the only cure he could use to erase overwhelming thoughts and deep regrets. But even so, he couldn’t silence the severe voices, filled with accusations, he kept hearing every day. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough alcohol that could help him, that could erase the memories that continued to torture his mind, his heart, his soul, like the one of Isabelle almost dead and covered in blood. Ever since Isabelle had arrived at the villa, Shawn had been feeling even worse. To avoid seeing the indifference in her eyes, Shawn was coming home late every night, when everyone was already asleep. When he
Completely stunned even more than Shawn, about she had just told him, Isabelle covered her mouth. She knew how to speak French?! Since when? Maybe him being here next to her was more helpful than the others. Maybe it was he and not Billy, the key to jog her memory. Even though she and Billy had talked a lot in the past few days, she still couldn't remember much. Even her chats with Lucy hadn't been very successful. She told her about her father, about the way he changed after her mother's death, about his illness. But Isabelle knew she didn't have all the data yet, that there was still so much more to find out. Shawn was staring intensively at Isabelle, and not a single muscle was moving on her face. Maybe she was really that good in make-believe... maybe her father had taught her to master this part of the poor, innocent girl...
“What's going on here?” Marie asked, managing to slip into the room passing by her nephew. She turned to Shawn and saw him completely astonished. “Isabelle, dear, are you all right?”“You’re asking this feisty cat if she’s all right?! Are you kidding me?” Shawn exploded shaking his head totally incredulous. “Goddamnit, aunt! She threw a pitcher full of water on me! She’s batshit crazy! She could’ve killed me with that fucking pitcher!”“Shawn Gabriel Grayson, I’m asking you nicely to watch your language and to behave better! What did you say to our sweet Bella to make her react this violently?” Marie asked looking at him intently. He stared at his aunt, surprised that she took the defenses of ‘sw
And that's how Lucy found them. She came up to Isabelle’s room to bring her a tray with breakfast. The housekeeper looked alarmed at the disaster on the floor. Marie left the two of them talking and laughing about everything that had happened. She was happy that Isabelle was starting to remember even more, but she was also very worried about what will happen when she will find out that everything that happened with Andrew, including his death, was the result of Shawn's intrusion into their lives. She liked this fantastic fighter for her nephew. Isabelle was the type of woman she had always wanted for Shawn: beautiful, intelligent, honest, opinionated, courageous. She smiled with satisfaction and went to join her husband for breakfast. Downstairs on the terrace, Shawn was having breakfast with Billy and Chris. He had just fin
Shawn stared at him for a few seconds and after he remained alone on the terrace, he smiled softly... Maybe Isabelle could be the right woman for him, but he had caused her too much pain and he knew that she would never forgive him. Shawn had never thought that behind her little, scared mouse image could be such a fiery woman... He saw that side of her on another occasion: when they had sex... She had changed from being shy to kissing him and responding to him like an expert in just one second. That’s why he thought that she was pretending, that being there, in his arms, was part of a trap. Peter Jones was right; she had given him herself because she loved him. Billy had told him at least a thousand times so far, that Isabelle was in love with him. He heard the horn of a car that stopped in front of the villa. He recognized t
Shawn needed to get away from the villa for a few hours, to clear his mind and recover after the impact the new Isabelle had had on him. All of a sudden, after her ‘explosion’, he had the feeling of really seeing her for the first time. Isabelle, so temperamental and sarcastic was someone new to him; she was completely different from the submissive and fearful Isabelle. This side of her was very exciting but also quite confusing. He wanted to know more about Isabelle, he wanted to discover all her secrets, what were her fears and her desires... Shawn needed to find out everything about her before opening his heart to her. He had to be honest with her and tell Isabelle everything, every little detail. It was necessary for him to empty his soul in front of her. And although her reaction to what he’l
Shawn got off his horse in front of the stables and after saying hi to the guys who worked there, he went over to look for James, the ranch administrator. He was on the phone, but when he saw Shawn, he put it down almost immediately and greeted him. The last time they saw each other was the evening when Shawn had saved Isabelle.“James, thank you for receiving me so quickly!” Shawn said sitting on the chair in front of the desk. “I know you're quite busy these days...”“Shawn, I will always find time for you and your family. Please, tell me how Belle is doing? Everyone is asking me about her...” James asked with a worried look."She's doing fine... She's recovering very well..." Shawn replied. “Who's asking about her?”“Most o