The echo of fireworks still glimmered in the silence when they stepped back into the penthouse. The night air clung faintly to Isla’s hair, the cold sharpness of weather tucked between strands of her dark waves, and Lucian’s hand hovered protectively at the small of her back as though he feared she might slip away if he didn’t keep her close.The city outside was still alive, though muted now. From the living room’s floor-to-ceiling windows, the horizon was faintly illuminated with the afterglow of color that had briefly painted the sky. But inside, all was hushed and silent. A quiet that seemed fragile, sacred and pure.Isla dropped her heels by the door, sighing as her bare feet touched the warm marble floor. She stretched, graceful even in fatigue, and moved toward the sofa, sinking into it with a languid ease that spoke more of relief than exhaustion.Lucian lingered near the door a moment longer, watching her. The sight pulled something deep and unnameable from him. She looked at
Lucian didn’t put her down as he had carried her in his arms yet again. He held her as if she were the only lifeline he had, strong arms keeping her pressed against him while she protested.“Lucian, you can’t carry me around like this forever,” Isla murmured, though her voice betrayed a softness that hadn’t been there before.His lips curved in that rare, devastating smile. “Then I’ll carry you until you finally stop fighting me.”He strode across the terrace where lanterns burned low and fairy lights twined around the pergola. The night air smelled of roses and faint woodsmoke, their son darting ahead with excited giggles. But Lucian’s attention never wavered from the woman in his arms, the only woman he had ever loved, the one he had lost, the one he refused to lose again.Isla leaned her head against his shoulder for a fleeting second before catching herself. He felt it, though. He always felt her.“Lucian… what else have you planned?”“You’ll see.” His voice was thick like velvet
Isla, Lucian and Aaric had gone back to New York after their joyful vacation. The next week evening unfolded with a scenery, like the whole city itself was holding its breath. Isla had just returned from a long board meeting, her heels clicking softly against the white marble of Lucian’s penthouse as she slipped inside. Their son had fallen asleep early, curled with his little storybook in hand, and for once, there was no chaos and no ringing of phones or deadlines. What remained was only the muted warmth of lamps and the faint scent of sandalwood drifting through the air.Lucian stood by the window, hands in his pockets, posture deceptively casual. Yet the way his storm bour eyes followed her, it was charged with something she couldn’t name and it made her pause.“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked softly, loosening the clasp of her hair.“Looking as if I don’t already know every part of you,” he murmured, “and yet I want to discover you all over again.”The words made
The first rays of dawn slipped through the sheer curtains, painting the room in a gorgeous gold glow. Isla stirred against the sheets, her bare shoulder peeking out from beneath the duvet, her hair tousled into waves of dark silk against the pillow. For the first time in years, she slept without the rigid tension of someone guarding her heart.Lucian lay awake beside her, not out of restlessness, but because he couldn’t stop looking at her. The night had undone him, and left him with a single truth, he didn’t just love Isla. He needed her. He needed her more than his life itself. She was his everything. She was his lifeline. She was his breath, his sun, his moon and all his stars. A faint smile touched his lips when he noticed the way her hand had found his chest sometime in the night, resting lightly over his heart, as though even in her dreams she claimed him.He slipped out of bed carefully, pressing a kiss to her temple before he did. The floor was cold against his bare feet as
The night was velvet stillness, pierced only by the sound of waves brushing against the private villa’s shore. Candles glowed faintly inside the suite, their light catching on crystal glasses and silk sheets, throwing shadows that swayed like whispers on the wall. The couple had reached the Villa already and little Aaric was already asleep in his room.Lucian stood by the balcony doors, his frame outlined against the silver spill of moonlight. He wasn’t the ruthless Blackwell CEO right now, nor the man who had burned her in the past with arrogance, silence and cold detachment. Tonight, he was simply Lucian, the man whose eyes searched only for her. The man who loved her madly, crazily and obsessively.Isla watched him for a long moment. She had seen him in so many forms: brutal in boardrooms, fierce in arguments, desperate when he thought she would leave him forever. But tonight, there was a softness about him that made her chest ache. The storm was gone. He looked as though he had be
The next day, the small American town was alive in a way that felt different from anything Isla had ever known. Narrow streets lined with brick shops, old lamp posts casting warm glows, and children chasing each other with melting ice creams. Today she wasn’t the ice queen in heels or the CEO with her spine made of steel. She was just Isla, her hand tucked into Lucian’s, their little boy tugging ahead, eyes wide at everything.Aaric’s delight was uncontainable. He wanted a balloon, then cotton candy, then pointed at a toy train running in a shop window. Lucian bought him all three without a blink, though Isla shook her head with an amused sigh.“Lucian, he doesn’t need -”“He does,” Lucian cut in, voice low, final. His gaze slid down to Isla. “Anything he looks at is his. Anything you look at is yours. That’s the rule.”Isla’s lips parted, ready to argue, but Aaric tugged at her skirt, cotton candy smearing his cheek, and she let it go. Sometimes it was easier to surrender than to try