The Devil's Bargain

Isabella’s POV

The next day arrived too quickly.

I spent the morning trying to distract myself—folding laundry, checking emails that no longer mattered, even scrubbing the kitchen counters until my hands were raw. But no matter what I did, time marched forward, dragging me closer to the inevitable.

By noon, I couldn’t pretend anymore. I stood at my bedroom mirror, staring at my reflection as though the woman in the glass might suddenly offer answers.

She didn’t. She only looked tired. Her eyes were shadowed, her lips pressed into a thin line.

I slipped into a charcoal-gray dress, modest but fitted, and pulled my hair into a sleek knot. Armor. I needed armor today, even if it was only silk and pins.

“Mommy?”

I turned to find Ethan in the doorway, his bear clutched to his chest. His head tilted, his dark eyes—so much like his father’s—watching me with innocent curiosity.

“You look pretty,” he said.

My throat tightened. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

“Where are you going?”

I crouched to his level, brushing a curl from his forehead. “Just… to a meeting. I won’t be long.”

He pouted. “Can I come?”

My heart clenched. “Not this time, lovebug. But I’ll be back before bedtime, I promise.”

I hugged him tightly, inhaling his warm, sweet scent. He had no idea how fragile our world was. And that was how it had to stay.

---

The car ride to Knight Industries felt like a funeral procession.

The skyscraper loomed over the city like a monument to power, sleek glass and steel piercing the sky. His fortress. His kingdom. And I was walking straight into the lion’s den.

The lobby was all sharp lines and cold elegance, the kind of place designed to make visitors feel small. The receptionist greeted me with professional politeness, though her eyes flickered with something else—curiosity, maybe even pity.

She knew who I was. They all did. The woman Alexander Knight had once loved, the woman who had vanished, now dragged back into his orbit.

I straightened my shoulders, ignoring the whispers that followed me to the private elevator.

The ride up was silent except for the pounding of my heart. Floor after floor ticked past until the doors opened onto the top level.

His office.

---

The double doors stood open, as if he had been waiting.

And there he was.

Alexander sat behind his massive desk, a dark figure framed by the wall of glass overlooking the city. Sunlight glinted off the sharp lines of his suit, the steel of his cufflinks, the storm in his eyes as they lifted to me.

For a moment, I froze.

He hadn’t changed since yesterday, not really. But something about him always stole my breath. He didn’t just occupy space—he owned it. His presence filled the room, heavy and commanding, as if even the air bent to his will.

“Isabella.” My name rolled off his tongue like a claim.

I forced my legs to move, stepping into the office. The doors closed behind me with a finality that made my skin prickle.

“We need to talk,” I said, though my voice wasn’t as steady as I wanted.

He leaned back in his chair, studying me like a predator studying prey. “So talk.”

I crossed my arms, grasping at control. “What you’re asking is unreasonable.”

His lips curved, but it wasn’t a smile. “Unreasonable? Or inevitable?”

Anger flared in me, hot enough to cut through the fear. “You can’t just walk back into my life and demand I marry you. People don’t work that way, Alexander. I don’t work that way.”

“You did once.” His voice was soft, but the words hit like a strike. “Once, you couldn’t get enough of me.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks despite myself. I hated that he could still make me remember. The nights. The touches. The whispered promises I had once believed.

“That was a lifetime ago,” I snapped.

“Five years,” he corrected smoothly. “Five years, Isabella. Not nearly enough time to erase me from you.”

I clenched my fists, fighting the shiver that threatened to betray me. “You don’t know me anymore.”

“Oh, but I do.” He rose then, moving around the desk with slow, deliberate steps. Each stride was a reminder of his power, his control. He stopped just in front of me, so close I had to tilt my chin to meet his eyes.

My pulse hammered.

He reached out, his hand brushing a strand of hair that had escaped my knot. The touch was light, almost tender, but it burned down my skin like fire.

“You still tremble when I’m near,” he murmured. “You still look at me like you hate me, but your body remembers the truth.”

I stepped back, my voice sharp. “Stay away from me.”

He let the strand of hair slip through his fingers, his gaze darkening. “You came here, Isabella. You walked into my office, into my world. Don’t pretend you don’t know why.”

“Because you left me no choice,” I hissed.

He tilted his head, studying me. “There’s always a choice. Say no, and I’ll walk away. Your company will fall. Your father will lose everything. Say yes, and you’ll save it all.”

My chest ached, the walls closing in around me. He made it sound so simple. So clean. But nothing with Alexander was ever simple.

“I won’t be your prisoner,” I said, though my voice broke on the last word.

His eyes softened, just for a moment, and it almost destroyed me. “Not a prisoner. My wife.”

The word echoed in the room, heavy, final.

I shook my head, fighting tears. “Why me? Why now? You could have anyone. Why demand this from me?”

His answer was immediate, raw. “Because you’re mine. You’ve always been mine.”

The conviction in his voice stole my breath.

I turned away, wrapping my arms around myself, staring out at the city beyond the glass wall. I couldn’t let him see how much his words rattled me, how close I was to shattering.

“I need time,” I whispered.

“You don’t have time.” His footsteps closed the distance behind me. “Twenty-four hours. That’s all that’s left.”

I closed my eyes, the weight of it crushing me. Twenty-four hours to decide between saving my father’s company and protecting the life I’d built for Ethan. Twenty-four hours before Alexander Knight either claimed me or destroyed everything.

And standing there, feeling the heat of his presence at my back, I realized the cruelest truth of all.

Part of me didn’t want to run.

Part of me still wanted him.

---

That night, I returned home in silence. My father didn’t ask what had happened, and I didn’t tell him. Ethan ran into my arms, his laughter bright against the shadows clinging to me. I clung to him, burying my face in his curls, inhaling the only comfort I had left.

But even then, Alexander’s voice haunted me.

Because you’re mine. You’ve always been mine.

And I feared that no matter what choice I made, he might be right.