CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

|| Isabella's POV ||I was utterly exhausted.After everything that had happened in the past few days—Anastasia's cruel photos showing off her expensive bracelet and her intimate moment with Aaron, Sophie's terrifying hospitalization, the discovery that Linda had deliberately poisoned our daughter—I felt like I'd been hollowed out from the inside.My body ached with a bone-deep weariness that no amount of sleep could fix. My mind still reeled from the terror of nearly losing Sophie, from watching my baby lie in that hospital bed with an IV in her tiny arm, from the helplessness of not being able to do anything but wait and pray.After settling Sophie in her crib for the night, I stood there for a long moment just watching her sleep. Her fever had finally broken completely. The doctors had said she was going to be fine, that the antibiotics were working, that the food poisoning was clearing her system.But I couldn't stop replaying the memory of her flushed face, her weak cries, the wa

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

|| Isabella's POV ||A few days later arrived the day of Mrs. Cole's birthday party, and I woke up with my stomach in knots.I'd barely slept, tossing and turning all night, dreading the evening ahead. This would be the first time Aaron and I appeared in public together as a married couple since our wedding, and the thought terrified me.Our wedding had been a small, quiet affair at the courthouse. No guests, no celebration, just a legal formality to legitimize Sophie and avoid scandal. The only photo that had made it to the press was a blurry paparazzi shot taken from a distance, too unclear to show much of anything.But tonight would be different. Tonight we'd be walking into a room full of the city's elite—Aaron's business associates, society figures, people who'd been speculating about his mysterious wife for over a year. They'd all be watching, judging, waiting for me to make a mistake that would confirm whatever rumors they'd heard.The thought made me want to stay in bed with th

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

|| Aaron's POV ||I couldn't stop staring at Isabella as we drove to the Cole family estate for the birthday party.She sat beside me in the back of the car, looking out the window at the passing city lights, and I kept stealing glances at her when I thought she wasn't paying attention. The partition between us and the driver was up, giving us privacy, but Isabella seemed determined to maintain as much distance as possible in the confined space.I'd seen her every day for over a year. Watched her move through our house, care for Sophie, navigate the complicated dynamics of our marriage with quiet grace. I thought I knew what she looked like, had her catalogued in my mind as pretty in an understated way.But tonight she looked like a completely different person.Beautiful in a way that made my chest tight, elegant in a way that put every other woman I'd ever known to shame. The emerald dress hugged her figure perfectly, the color bringing out the warmth in her skin and making her eyes s

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR|| Xander's POV ||I was invited to the Cole family birthday party, of course.I'd been carefully cultivating business relationships with both the Styles and Cole families for months now, positioning myself as a valuable potential partner. Attending their social events, making strategic connections, becoming a familiar face in their circles.All part of the revenge I'd been planning for years.The Styles family had taken everything from me. From my mother. From the life I should have had. And I was going to make them pay for it, piece by piece, until there was nothing left of their perfect empire.But my plans had gotten complicated when I'd met Isabella.Beautiful, lonely Isabella, trapped in a loveless marriage to Aaron Styles. I'd seen an opportunity there—a way to hurt Aaron where it would cut deepest while also giving myself what I'd always been denied. A real family. A real life.Isabella deserve

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE|| Isabella's POV ||Victoria arrived at the party fashionably late, as always.I'd been at the Cole estate for maybe twenty minutes, standing close to Aaron while he greeted Mrs. Cole and other early arrivals, when I felt the atmosphere in the room shift. Conversations paused mid-sentence. Heads turned toward the entrance. People straightened their postures and adjusted their expressions.Victoria Styles had arrived.She swept into the party like a queen entering her court, wearing a burgundy gown that probably cost more than most people made in a year. Her silver hair was perfectly coiffed, her jewelry tasteful but expensive, her bearing radiating the kind of confidence that came from a lifetime of being at the top of the social hierarchy.The moment she saw Aaron standing with me, her expression soured. The polite smile she'd been wearing for the other guests vanished, replaced by thinly veiled displeasure. Her eyes swept over me with obvious distaste, taking in

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

|| Anastasia's POV || I watched Isabella standing alone by that marble pillar, looking lost and uncomfortable, and felt a surge of vindictive satisfaction.She looked beautiful tonight, I had to admit grudgingly. The emerald dress was stunning, her hair and makeup professionally done, the diamond necklace glittering at her throat like a brand marking her as Aaron's property.But she also looked terrified. Isolated. Completely out of her element in this world she'd never belong to no matter how expensive her costume was.I'd been seething all evening, watching that nobody wife of Aaron's draw all the attention that should have been mine. This was my mother's birthday party. I was the hostess, the guest of honor's daughter, the one who should have been the center of attention.Instead, everyone had been talking about Isabella. About how beautiful she was. About how Aaron Styles's mysterious wife had finally made her public