The days after Alexander Kane's visit were a blur of restless nights and tense silences between Isabella and Dominic. The air between them had shifted — something unspoken, but palpable, like an electric current that buzzed beneath their every interaction.
Dominic remained distant, his focus entirely on business, but his eyes sometimes lingered on her longer than they should. His hard exterior, the one that Isabella had learned to navigate with precision, was beginning to crack. But she didn't know if it was out of frustration, anger, or something else.
And for her part, Isabella couldn't deny the gnawing feeling in her chest. The more she thought about the offer from Alexander Kane, the more dangerous it seemed. She didn't want to admit it, but there was a part of her that was tempted. A life of her own, one where she wasn't constantly living in someone else's shadow. But the thought of leaving Dominic… even with all his flaws, all his control… was harder than she expected.
It was late one evening when she found herself in the private garden behind the estate, the soft rustling of leaves in the wind the only sound. The moonlight bathed everything in a soft silver glow, making it feel like a dream.
She wasn't alone for long.
Dominic's footsteps were quiet against the gravel path, but she heard them nonetheless. She didn't turn to face him immediately.
"You've been avoiding me," he said, his voice cutting through the silence.
She stayed still, her fingers brushing against the cool stone of the garden wall. "I haven't been avoiding you."
"You haven't been talking to me," he corrected.
Isabella finally turned to face him, crossing her arms. His posture was rigid, but there was something in his eyes — something she couldn't quite place.
"I've been thinking," she said slowly, "about everything. About this marriage. About us."
Dominic's eyes flickered with something unreadable. "What are you thinking?"
"That maybe you were right all along," she said, her voice quiet but firm. "This is just a contract. We've both been playing a part."
He didn't answer immediately, as though he was waiting for more. When she didn't continue, he spoke.
"You think I don't know that? You think I don't see what's happening?" He took a step closer, his voice lowering. "I never wanted to drag you into this. I made that clear from the start."
"Then why did you? Why did you make me marry you?" she demanded, her frustration boiling over. "You could've just paid me off. You could've kept your distance and kept your damn control. But instead, you brought me here and forced me into this game."
Dominic flinched, the weight of her words hitting harder than he expected. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes briefly before meeting her gaze.
"I didn't want you to be a victim, Isabella," he said quietly, his voice rough. "I didn't want to keep you in a position where you had no choice. I thought if I could control everything — the media, the public, us — I could protect you."
She raised an eyebrow. "Protect me from what?"
"From becoming another pawn in someone else's game. From becoming a target. From… being used."
She looked at him for a long moment, searching his eyes for some sign of the man she had married, the man who had been so cold and distant — yet, underneath it all, so broken. But there was nothing there now. Only the same icy walls that had always surrounded him.
"And what if I don't need your protection?" she asked, her voice soft, almost challenging.
Dominic didn't flinch. But his eyes darkened, just slightly. "Then what would you do? You think you can just walk away from everything? From this contract? From me?"
"Maybe I can," she said, her chest tightening. "Maybe I'm stronger than you think."
The words hung in the air between them, thick with the tension of things unsaid. For a long moment, neither of them moved.
Finally, Dominic broke the silence.
"You think Kane would treat you better?" he asked, his voice almost a growl.
Her heart skipped a beat. "What are you talking about?"
"He came to see you," he said, his tone icy. "I saw the way he looked at you. The way he spoke to you. He's a manipulator, Isabella. He'll play you. Use you for whatever he can."
Isabella's chest tightened. "I told him I wasn't interested."
Dominic stepped closer, his eyes narrowing. "I don't trust him."
"And I don't trust you," she whispered, barely above a breath.
The words hit him harder than she intended. He stepped back, as though the air had suddenly thickened between them.
"Is that what you think?" he asked, his voice a mix of disbelief and hurt. "That I'm just like everyone else? That I'm using you?"
"You're using me to get what you want," she shot back. "To control everything."
"I'm not the same as him," he said, his voice hardening. "I didn't ask for your heart. I didn't ask for anything from you. But Kane — he'll use you for power. He doesn't care about you. He never will."
Isabella swallowed hard, the ache in her chest growing. "Then why do I feel like you don't care about me, either?"
For a moment, the world stood still.
Dominic's eyes were dark with something she couldn't decipher. Anger? Hurt? Regret?
And then, before she could say another word, he stepped toward her, his body coming closer until there was barely any space between them.
"Don't you dare accuse me of that," he whispered, his breath warm against her ear. "You don't know what I've been through. What I've lost. Don't you dare say I don't care."
Her pulse quickened, her body reacting to his nearness, to the raw intensity in his voice. But she held her ground.
"You're pushing me away," she whispered back, her breath shaky. "And I don't think I can take much more."
Dominic's eyes softened for a moment, just a flicker of vulnerability behind the ice. But it was gone before she could reach it.
"I'm not pushing you away," he said quietly, his voice low and hoarse. "I'm trying to protect you. Even if you don't understand it yet."
And with that, he turned and walked away, leaving Isabella standing in the moonlight, her heart pounding in her chest.
She didn't know what hurt more — the fact that Dominic couldn't show her the love she craved, or the fact that, despite everything, she still found herself yearning for it.
The next day, she received a message.
Alexander Kane.
It was short. Simple. Direct.
"I haven't forgotten our conversation. Let me know if you change your mind. I can offer you a way out."
Her fingers hovered over the phone, the weight of his words sinking in.
Her heart was torn in two.
Would she remain in the cold shadows of a man who couldn't love her, or would she take the chance and walk away from the life Dominic had built around her?
It felt like the beginning of a war she hadn't been prepared for.
And she knew that no matter what she chose…
She was about to lose something precious.