Chapter 10:The wedding eve.

Isabella had barely slept.

Two days.

That was all the time Adrian had given her to prepare for a wedding she had never planned.

She stood in front of the mirror, staring at herself.

“This is madness,” she whispered.

A knock came at the door.Hannah entered without waiting for an answer.

“So, are you finally going to tell me what you're wearing?”

Isabella turned around, “I don't even know where to begin.”

“Start with the dress.”

“There is no dress.”

Hannah stared at her.“You're getting married in two days and you don't have a wedding dress?”

“I didn't exactly have time to prepare.”

Hannah sighed dramatically. “Then we're going shopping.”

Before Isabella could protest, Hannah grabbed her hand.

****

The night before the wedding, Isabella stood outside her private residence with Hannah beside her, staring at the phone in her hand.

Everything was ready, she had prepared the meal Adrian had requested, and tonight, she wanted it to be a surprise.

Tortilla Española.

She still couldn't understand why that particular dish meant so much to him, but she was curious to find out.

She dialled his number.

“Hello?” Adrian answered.

“Are you busy?”

“No. Why?”

“I want you to come over, Hannah is here, and since tomorrow is the wedding, I thought we could spend the evening together.”

“Your residence?”

“Yes. I've also prepared something for you.”

There was a brief silence.

“What is it?”

“It's a surprise. You'll find out when you arrive.”

“I'll be there.”

*** When Adrian arrived, Isabella welcomed him inside.

The moment he entered the dining area, the familiar aroma reached him.He stopped walking, his eyes settled on the meal arranged on the table.

“Tortilla Española,” Isabella announced proudly.

“Just as you requested.”Adrian looked at her, for the first time since she had met him, Isabella saw genuine happiness on his face.

His usual reserved expression had disappeared, replaced by a smile she had never seen before.

“You actually made it,” he said quietly.

“I told you I would.”

He looked at the food again, and for a moment, he seemed lost in memories.

Isabella watched him curiously.What was so special about this meal?Why did it make him look so happy?She wanted to ask, but decided not to spoil the moment.

They sat down together, with Hannah joining them.

“You know, Adrian, you should smile more often,” Hannah remarked.

“Is that an instruction?”

“Consider it friendly advice.”

“I'll think about it.”Isabella laughed.

Not long afterwards, Daniel and Grace joined them, Isabella introduced them properly, and Adrian greeted them politely.

Grace, however, was already interested in him.

“So you're really marrying my sister tomorrow?” she asked.

Adrian glanced at Isabella, “That's the arrangement.”

Grace giggled.“I like you already.”

Daniel laughed. “You haven't even known him for an hour.”

“That doesn't matter.”

Soon, Hannah suggested a question game to make the evening more entertaining, everyone joined in.

They asked one another silly questions, shared embarrassing stories and laughed at some of the answers.

Even Adrian participated, although he remained less talkative than the others.

Then Grace turned towards him with a serious expression.

“Adrian, I have a question.”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you want your first child to be a boy or a girl?”

The room went quiet, Isabella's eyes widened, she immediately covered her mouth, staring at Adrian as though silently begging him not to answer.

Adrian looked at her, he had no idea how to handle the question without making their arrangement obvious to the little girl.

After a brief pause, he pointed towards Isabella.“She has the answer.”

Isabella stared at him in disbelief, before she could respond, Hannah quickly smacked her hand.

“What about both? A boy and a girl at the same time?”

Isabella immediately understood.“Yes! That would be better.”

Grace's face lit up “Really? I'll have a baby cousin who is a boy and a girl?”

Everyone laughed.

“Something like that,”

Daniel replied, Grace was delighted, she continued asking questions, already imagining how wonderful it would be to have two little cousins.

The evening continued with laughter, jokes and conversations, for once, Isabella forgot that the wedding was only an arrangement.

But Adrian couldn't forget, he watched them enjoying themselves, knowing that this might be the last time he would ever sit with them.

Tomorrow, he intended to disappear and he was certain their paths would never cross again.

Adrian's POV

The first time I heard the name Isabella in Montclair, I wasn't prepared for the memories it would awaken.

I entered her restaurant after returning from the land survey, I heard a young woman speaking outside about a wedding and a marriage arrangement.

Then I heard someone call her Isabella.

I stopped.

For a moment, I was seventeen again, standing in a university in the United States, that was where I had met my first love, her name was Isabella too.

She was the first woman who made me believe that perhaps my life could belong to me, rather than being controlled by my family.

But Lucia had other plans.When she discovered our relationship, she threatened to make Isabella disappear if I refused to end it.

I knew Lucia well enough to understand that she wasn't making an empty threat, I was young, and I didn't want the woman I loved to suffer because of me.

So I walked away, I ended the relationship without telling her the real reason, and I never heard from her again.

Years passed, my family arranged my marriage to Camilla Ortega, the President of Spain's daughter.

It was a marriage that served everyone except me, I had spent years regretting how easily Lucia had controlled my decisions.When I first heard Isabella Montoya's name in Montclair, I didn't know who she was.

She was a stranger whose name happened to belong to someone I had once loved, after learning about her circumstances, I couldn't simply walk away.

She was facing a situation that reminded me of the helplessness I had once experienced, I had turned my back on someone before because of Lucia's threats.

I wasn't going to make the same mistake of ignoring someone who needed help.

Now, sitting in Isabella Montoya's home, watching her laugh with her family, I wondered how I had allowed myself to become involved so deeply.

She wasn't the woman I had loved in America.

Yet somehow, her presence had brought back memories I thought I had buried.

My gaze settled on her.Tomorrow, I would leave, she would never know who I really was, and perhaps that was better.

I lowered my eyes, this time, I had to do what I came here to do.

***

Later That Night — Victor's Residence Victor Blackwell stood in his private study, surrounded by several of his trusted men.

Tomorrow was Isabella's wedding.And he had no intention of allowing it to happen, one of his men stepped forward.

“Everything is prepared, sir.”

Victor adjusted his cufflinks.

“Have you confirmed her location?”

“Yes. We know where she will be tonight.”

“And tomorrow?”

“We'll be ready before the ceremony begins.”

Victor walked towards his desk and picked up his glass.

“She thinks she can humiliate me, bring another man into my affairs and walk away as though nothing happened.”

His man remained silent, Victor's expression hardened.

“I want the bride brought to me before she gets the chance to marry that stranger.”

“And what about the fiancé?”Victor gave a cold smile.

“Let him discover that marrying Isabella won't be as easy as he imagined.”

The man nodded.“Understood, sir.”

Victor took a slow sip from his glass.

“Tomorrow, Isabella will learn that nobody makes a fool of Victor Blackwell.”

---Back at Isabella's residence, the laughter continued, Grace was still asking Adrian questions, while Hannah and Daniel argued over the rules of their game.

Isabella looked at Adrian and smiled, she had no idea that the man sitting beside her had already decided to disappear.

Neither did she know that Victor had made plans to stop her wedding before it could begin.

Tomorrow was supposed to be the happiest day of her life.But someone had other plans.