Engine Running

{Isla’s POV}The wiper was the loudest in the car.I was cold but couldn’t care less about that. Tonight’s event replayed in my head.Marcus drove with both hands on the wheel, and his eyes didn’t leave the road once. Not even when he received a phone call from his husband. For a second, I was scared they were going to kill me, but I remembered they still needed my signature.I folded myself into the corner of the back seat in a dress with no back. Every time we passed a streetlight, the car went gold, then dark, and each time it went gold, I could see the blood dried into the creases of my knuckles. None of it was mine. I curled my fingers; Poppy's picture was underneath it. I had been holding it so tight my fingers had gone numb, and when I opened it, the school photograph was creased down the middle, and I couldn’t help but think why Axel would kill that man.“Marcus.”“Mrs. Blackwood.”“Why did Axel kill him? Where did he get the gun?”The wipers went right, left, and Marcus eyes

Last Updated : 2026-10-29

Properly.

{Isla’s POV} Nessa ran the bath so hot I couldn’t see my reflection in the mirror again.She found the zipper on my backless dress and drew it down slowly. The way I hoped Axel would take it down this night, or at least our wedding night.The dress fell into the corner, and we both looked at it.“I will take it to the laundry…”“Burn it,” I said.Nessa blinked. “Ma’am, that’s at least twenty thousand dollars. I know a woman on Averly Row who would give you half. If I get the receipt.”“No,” I said.“A third then. Nobody would ever know.”“It has a dead man’s blood on it, Nessa. I’m not selling it to some stranger who will wear it to her anniversary dinner. I said burn it. That’s an order.”“Yes, ma’am,” she said and carried it out at arm’s length, though I know she isn’t burning it.I got in. The water went pink around my knees, and I watched it for a long time. I didn’t know when Nessa came in till I felt her hands on my back. Then she started rinsing my hair without a word, which w

Last Updated : 2026-10-31

The Greyhaven Pass

{Isla’s POV}“Wakey, wakey.” I heard a voice say above my head.But I knew whose it was. It was Nessa’s.“I don’t have work today. Leave me alone.” I said, still keeping my eyes shut. “What are you still doing in my room? Don’t you have work in the house?”“No, ma’am. In case you forgot. I am a caretaker. Your caretaker. You are my responsibility. And Axel has ordered me to get you ready before 9 am.”I removed the duvet from my face and slowly opened my eyes. Something felt different. There was a warmth in my chest, low down and steady, like a hand resting there. It had been there ever since last night, when Nessa was jumping on my bed.When I got up from the bed, Nessa had already laid out the outfit I was wearing. It was a casual one. Usually, I’d let myself get excited and delusional, but surprisingly, I didn’t care.I just did what I always do in the morning and went to the bathroom for my pill. It lives in an orange bottle in the cabinet. I have taken one every morning since my

Last Updated : 2026-11-02

Asleep.

{Isla’s POV}“Take me to it,” I said again.“But what if your husband…”“With all due respect, sir, don’t make me repeat myself.”The old man led me down a passage so old I could smell it. It smelled like rain. He walked slowly with his hand on the wall as if he were looking for a hidden key. The pass had been mine all this time, and no one told me about it.Everything was starting to make sense. Why my father never allowed me to go to events as myself. Why he didn’t allow me to work. Why he trapped me in that house and spread false things about my name.Every paper, every seal was signed in my name. It was all mine. And Richard took that from me.“I can’t believe they didn’t tell you about it. And now it's going to be in Blackwood’s name in a year.” The old man said.I followed him with my fist shut, and all I could think was that my father had sold something that wasn’t his to sell, and that he had sold me along with it.The safe was behind a painting of a mountain. Inside was a sma

Last Updated : 2026-11-03

All Chapters of The Alpha's Unwanted Bride: Chapter 21 - Chapter 24

Engine Running

Properly.

The Greyhaven Pass

Asleep.