Five years ago, Isla Wilde Montgomery was the perfect wife, elegant, loyal, and madly in love with her husband, billionaire tycoon Lucian Blackwell. But when tragedy struck and she miscarried their child, Lucian’s silence and his family's cold betrayal broke her. Branded a disgrace, Isla vanished from his life without a trace. Now, she’s back, not as his wife, but as the icy CEO of a global fashion empire. Stronger, colder, and untouchable, Isla returns to the elite business world with one mission: to reclaim her name and make those who destroyed her pay, including Lucian, the man she once loved. Lucian never stopped wondering why Isla left. But the woman who’s returned is no longer the warm girl he married. She’s a storm in heels, and she’s forcing him to face the truth he buried deep inside him. In a world where love is a dangerous game, can two broken hearts survive the wreckage of their dark past? Or will their love story end exactly the way it began… in flames?
View MoreThe Manhattan skyline glittered under the early morning sun, a sea of glass and steel reaching toward the heavens like a crown fit for a queen. But today, no building shone brighter than the digital billboard that stretched across Times Square, dominating the heart of New York City.
ISLA WILDE. CEO. BACK IN NEW YORK. The headline blinked on loop, bold and hard. Inside the 48th-floor office of Blackwell & Co, Lucian Blackwell stood motionless, eyes locked on the screen across the room. The sleek espresso cup in his hand had long gone cold, forgotten. He didn’t need the news to know as his gut had screamed this truth the moment her name surfaced again in industry whispers and social media chatter. Isla Wilde was back. His ex-wife. The woman who had shattered his world five years ago. Lucian’s chest tightened. He hadn’t seen her since that day, the day their world had fallen apart in a sterile hospital room filled with too much white light and too many unanswered questions. The moment when Isla had cried, trembling and broken, begging for a miracle that never came. A moment he had failed her. A moment when he hurt her. His assistant’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. “Sir, the press conference is starting live. You need to see this.” Lucian barely nodded, the silence hanging heavy as the video began to play. Isla stood at the podium, a vision of power wrapped in a pristine white pantsuit. Her dark hair was swept back, eyes sharp and unreadable beneath her perfectly arched brows. The microphone caught her steady voice, calm, commanding and bossy. “I’m pleased to announce that Élan Vogue Milan is expanding operations to the United States. And in that effort, I’m proposing a merger with Blackwell & Co.” The room seemed to shrink around Lucian. The merger. The name. The unrelenting fierce fire in her gaze. “What the hell is she doing here?” he muttered, his voice low and rough. “She’s taking over,” his CFO answered without looking up. Phones buzzed, emails flooded in, and the media erupted instantly. Isla Wilde’s return was a shockwave that sent tremors through every corner of the business world. Investors whispered, stocks shifted, alliances wavered all the way around. But Lucian heard none of it. All he could see was the woman who once loved him with everything, who once trusted him. And all he could feel was the ghost of what he lost. The pain of losing the woman he once loved. *** Two hours later, the Blackwell & Co. boardroom was colder than winter. Lucian sat at the head of the mahogany table, eyes fixed on the door as it opened with deliberate precision. Isla entered like a storm in heels, every step sharp, confident. The room fell silent. A haunting silence. “You’re ten minutes late,” Lucian said, his voice brittle but controlled. “I gave you five years,” she replied smoothly, her lips curling into a faint, knowing smile. “I figured ten minutes was nothing.” The weight between them was palpable, thick enough to suffocate the air. The board members shifted in their seats, eagerto watch the first battle in this war. Lucian studied her, the subtle lines at the corner of her eyes, the flawless posture, the way her presence commanded the room without a word. “I didn’t agree to a merger,” he said, tone clipped. “You will,” Isla said, sliding a thick folder across the table with measured precision. “Unless you want your investors to keep pulling out. I’ve already met with half of them.” Lucian flipped open the folder, scanning the pages filled with signatures and figures. His name was there, along with hers, all binding and irrevocable. “You planned this,” he accused. “I perfected it,” she said, eyes glinting cold steel. But for a heartbeat, her gaze softened. “You owe me this, Lucian. More than you know.” She turned sharply and left, the scent of her perfume lingering like a memory he could neither grasp nor forget. --- Lucian sank back in his chair, his mind racing through a torrent of memories and regrets. The hospital room , sterile, suffocating, where she had fought for their child, and he had stood helpless, paralyzed by his own demons and the manipulations of his mother. Claire Blackwell. The woman who had wielded power like a weapon, turning the family against itself. The woman who had whispered lies, buried truths, and orchestrated betrayals that left scars deeper than any battle. Lucian’s jaw clenched. He thought he had lost Isla to grief and pain, but now he saw she was back to fight and this time, she was stronger. And so, was he. *** Later that evening, the city lights blurred outside Lucian’s office window as he stared at the folder on his desk. The merger proposal was more than business; it was a battlefield marked with old wounds and new stakes. He opened his phone and scrolled to a photo from their wedding day. Isla looked radiant in white lace, her smile bright and unguarded. He swallowed the bittertruthh: that day was a beginning and an end. *** Meanwhile, in a sleek penthouse apartment across the city, Isla allowed herself a rare moment alone. She poured a glass of red wine and sat by the window, gazing out at the city that had once tried to break her. Her phone buzzed. It was a message from Leo Stone. “Meeting tomorrow? I have news about Claire.” Isla’s fingers trembled slightly. Leo was her unexpected ally, a man with connections which were deeper than most could imagine, and a past tangled with Claire’s dark secrets. Together, they were poised to unravel the truth. But Isla knew this fight would test everything, her strength, her heart, and the fragile hope of redemption. And now she was ready. *** Back at Blackwell & Co., Lucian paced the length of his office, the weight of the past and the challenge ahead pressing down on him like a heavy weight. “She’s not just back, she's here for war.” Lucian whisper, voice low and rough. The merger was no longer just a business deal; it was a war. And the Ice Queen had returned. *** Hello everybody I hope you all liked the first chapter of the book Do give your reviews in the comments box. I would love to read them all.Isla found herself returning to the Dufort mansion every weekend now. At first, it was overwhelming, from the grandeur of the estate, the walls covered with portraits of a family she wasn’t sure she belonged to the warm but unfamiliar embraces she had come to accept. And just like that, little by little, the sharp edges of shock began to smoothen slowly.Sia would always greet her at the door, her arms open as if she had been waiting all week for this precious moment. Selene dragged her away on what she called “sister adventures” tea dates, shopping trips, late-night movies as if they were trying to create a lifetime of sisterhood into the years they lost together. But it was Dominic who surprised Isla the most.He didn’t push her. He didn’t demand her to call him dad.. He was simply there for her. Whether it was waiting patiently while she looked at those old photo albums, or walking beside her in the gardens, or watching Aaric run around the estate with a quiet smile, Dominic gave
The Saturday sun spilled golden light over the Duforts’ vast estate, its marble floors glowing under the sunshine. It was Isla's another week of agreeing to spend time with them, and this time Sia and Selene had insisted on a “girls’ day.” Lucian had been amused and relieved, when Sia promised that Aaric would be spoiled rotten under his grandfather’s watch.“Go,” Lucian had murmured at the car, pressing a kiss to her temple softly. “I’ll manage with Aaric today.”Isla let out a smile.Inside the glossy black limousine, Selene looped her arm around Isla’s with a sisterly ease that startled her. “We’re going to City Street first. The boutiques there are to die for. They are amazing ”Isla laughed softly. “I don’t really know if i should go-”“Oh come on, ice queen,” Selene teased, her eyes dancing just like their father’s. “Elser sisters don’t get to say no to their younger sisters.”Sia, sitting across from them, watched with a tenderness that seemed to ache through her watching her d
The drive to the Duforts’ mansion had become almost routine now, though Isla still felt a flutter inside her nerves each time the estate gates swung open. Lucian’s hand rested reassuringly over hers on the leather console between them while Aaric chattered excitedly in the backseat about his new grandparents and recounting every fun thing they had done over the past week.“It’s Sunday, Yay! We’re going to see Grandma Sia!” he squealed, bouncing in his seat. “And the garden flowers! And maybe we can play in the library too!”Lucian chuckled softly, shaking his head at his chirpy son,“Careful, Aaric. You might give your mother a whiplash with all that excitement.”Isla smiled at the nickname, a warmth spreading through her chest. Each weekend she had spent with the Duforts had been a careful balance of curiosity laced with hesitation, openness mixed with a lingering doubt.But slowly, she found herself letting go, allowing all the small gestures, the laughter, and the shared stories to
The Blackwell car rolled to a slow stop outside the wrought-iron gates of the Dufort estate. The early Sunday sun painted strokes of pale gold, dew still clinging to the edges like diamonds. Isla sat stiffly beside Lucian, her fingers absently tightening around the strap of her handbag. She had agreed to meet the Duforts again. She reminded herself. She had agreed to come here without Aaric, to see them as their daughter. Still, the very word tangled in her chest.Lucian reached over and touched her hand. “You don’t have to force yourself,” he murmured. His voice was quiet, protective, the tone he reserved only for her.“I know,” Isla replied, forcing a small smile. “But I need to know who I was before.”The gates opened and the car moved forward, revealing the sprawling Dufort’s mansion beyond.When they entered, Sia Dufort was already waiting at the top of the stairs. The older woman’s eyes softened as soon as they found Isla. She came forward quickly, not with hesitation but with
The drive back from the Dufort mansion was quiet. Aaric had dozed off in his car seat, his little head tilted against the soft cushion and his soft breathing a gentle rhythm in the tension like silence.Isla sat rigid, her gaze fixed on the blur of trees and city beyond the glass. Her nails dug faint crescents into her palm, every muscle tight, as though letting herself relax might let everything she’d been holding back pour out. Lucian studied her, he could see the calm mask she wore, the way her storm-grey eyes shone with a glassy sheen she refused to spill. He didn’t press her further.When they finally returned to the Blackwell mansion, Isla carried Aaric into his room, tucking him in with her quiet and motherly gentleness. She lingered with a small yet broken smile at his bedside, brushing back his curls, watching him sleep like he was the only steady truth in her collapsing world.Only after the door clicked shut did her facial expression change.Lucian was waiting in the livin
Isla hadn’t slept for a single hour. She had spent the night sitting on the edge of their bed, her back pressed against the headboard, The files kian had sent were open in her trembling hands. Every word cut her open, every photograph felt like a stranger stealing her memories, stealing her past.Sabrinal Dufort. Heiress. A stolen child. A missing girl. The names swirled in her mind like a curse.Lucian hadn’t pushed her into thinking any further. In fact he had simply stayed close, silent but watchful, his hands were brushing against hers every time she faltered. His presence was the only thing tethering her to remain sane at this point.When the sun rose, the storm inside her hadn’t silenced down.“I need time,” Isla whispered, her storm-grey eyes raw with exhaustion. “I can’t just switch families overnight, Lucian. The Montgomerys raised me. They were my parents. And now suddenly I’m supposed to believe I was stolen?” Her voice broke on the last word.Lucian cupped her face, forcin
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