Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Isla
I stand frozen in the middle of the bedroom, listening to Knox’s footsteps fade down the hallway.
My heart hammers against my ribs like it’s desperate to escape, and I can’t seem to catch my breath.
The silence he’s left behind feels heavier than his presence ever did, vibrating with the weight of his words.
And the last thing he said.
Mine.
The word echoes through me, as steady and inescapable as gravity. God help me, the way it rolled off his tongue—with that absolute finality—made it sound like a law of nature.
He’d said something similar last week when I dropped the contract off at his office. But tonight felt different. There was a carnal look in his eyes that stripped me bare, and damn it, my body responded, humming from the possession in his voice.
I’m not used to having this kind of attention. Or having a man like Knox Vale calling me his.
Chad never did that. He never even blinked when other men flirted with me.
It doesn’t matter. What matters is he’s here. And Knox was rude to him.
He was absolutely, completely out of line. The way he dismissed him, speaking to him like he was nothing more than an inconvenience to be brushed aside, was cruel and unnecessary.
I’m furious about it.
But there’s that thing again buried beneath my fury—the annoying gratitude and logic.
Beneath the layers of indignation and humiliation, is a truth I hate to admit: Knox was right.
Exes aren’t friends. Not really.
And the fact that Chad came back asking for a second chance, looking at me with those pleading eyes, only proves exactly what Knox suspected.
Chad came back to reclaim something he still thought belonged to him.
Me.
There was a time—not so long ago, really—when I would have given anything to have him back.
Anything. My soul. My sanity. My future.
When he left, the heartache was like a physical thing, carving holes straight through my chest. I used to lie awake at night, staring at the ceiling, imagining all the ways he might come back to me.
All the pretty words he might say, all the promises he might make.
I would have fallen to my knees and thanked God if he’d shown up at my door asking for forgiveness, begging me to take him back.
That heartache was so consuming I never thought it would stop.
But one day, like waking from a fever, it just… did.
The sharp edges dulled, the holes filled in, and Chad became nothing more than a memory. A closed chapter in a book I’d already moved on from.
Now he’s back with his nervous smile and desperate eyes, and I feel… nothing.
No racing heart. No butterflies. No urge to fall into old patterns.
Just a hollow kind of recognition, like seeing a stranger wearing a familiar face.
And I’m about to marry a possessive billionaire who just called me his with a conviction in his voice that made my knees weak.
What kind of craziness is that?
How can I allow myself to get weak-kneed over a man who’s just a contract to me?
Knox and I are a business arrangement with an expiration date stamped in bold across every page. In six months, this will all be over, and we’ll go back to being strangers.
I am no fool. So, I won’t be a fool for him.
Knox was just protecting his investment tonight, making sure I don’t mess things up or make him look bad in front of the wrong people.
He said so himself. He doesn’t want another scandal.
Tonight was damage control. A reminder of the terms I agreed to.
I need to stay on track. Up my game.
Before Chad waltzed in and created a storm, I was thinking about the forfeiture clause. That’s where my focus should lie.
And… I also owe Chad an apology.
The way things ended tonight was awful.
He may have hurt me, but he didn’t deserve to be dismissed and humiliated, no matter what his intentions were.
I still think of us as friends. He needs to know that, regardless of Knox’s motives or my own confused feelings.
I just have to figure out how to make things right… without making everything worse.
I close my eyes and press my palms against my temples, trying to push the memory of tonight out of my head.
But not even a minute passes before Knox drifts back in—his fingers on my neck, the jump of my pulse beneath his touch, the dark, dangerous flicker in his eyes when he leaned close enough for me to smell his cologne and feel the heat radiating from his skin.
Stop, Isla.
God, what the hell?
That goddamn man may have my stomach twisted in knots and my thoughts spinning in circles, but I’m stronger than his charm.
My heart’s telling me I need to find a way out of this.
And I will.
I just have to keep my eyes open.
“You should have heard him, Mia. Knox was such an asshole.” I press the phone to my ear and drop onto the edge of the bed.
It’s just past midday. I have the day off from work to get ready for the engagement party. A request from his highness, who, by the way, didn’t even come to bed last night.
“Wait a minute,” Mia says, her tone dripping with disbelief.
“You’re telling me Knox Vale—as in one of the hottest men in New York, Knox Vale—put your ex, Chad nobody, no-good Holloway, in his place?
Told him you’re worth the best diamonds money can buy and basically said he had his chance, blew it, and you did better? ”
My scalp tightens, heat prickling along the back of my neck. “Yes, that’s what happened.”
“So, why are we upset?” Mia’s voice crackles through the phone, full of amusement. “You do realize Knox sounds like he just stepped out of a romance movie.”
I roll my eyes and rub a hand over my face. “Mia, you make it sound like he made some grand romantic gesture. It wasn’t. He was just marking his territory like a caveman with a better wardrobe.”
She laughs, the sound bright and unbothered. “Be that as it may, Chad totally deserved it. He had it coming. And it wasn’t okay for him to show up at the restaurant.”
She has a point. “He meant no harm.”
“Your dad just died, Isla. You’re in a vulnerable position. Not that it matters now, but he shouldn’t be asking for a second chance.”
Her words land harder than I expect.
Maybe it’s because she’s right. And because every mention of my dad still feels like pressing on a bruise that won’t heal.
I swallow the lump rising in my throat. “You’re right. He caught me off guard. He just showed up out of nowhere, and I wasn’t ready for any of it.”
“Of course not. Have you thought about what you’re going to do?”
I pull in a slow, steady breath. “I have to see him.”
“Despite Knox’s warning?”
“Yes. It’s Chad. He’s like… family. I’d feel awful leaving things the way they are.”
She sighs. “What are you going to tell him? It doesn’t sound like you’d want to give him a second chance, even if Knox weren’t in the picture.”
“No.” The word sounds strange outside my head. “My answer would have been no. But that doesn’t mean I don’t care about him.”
“Isla, you’re definitely a better human than me.”
I chuckle softly. “You have a heart, Mia. I’m sure you’d do the same thing.”
“No, I would not.” I can almost see her shaking her head. “The way Chad left you is unforgivable. I would never speak to him again.”
Lord. I’m so conflicted. “I hear you. I guess I need closure for myself.”
“Just… be careful. What about the other thing we talked about, the forfeiture clause?”
“I’m still thinking about it.”
“At least you have a plan now. And the engagement party will give you a chance to observe more of Knox’s world.”
“Yes. I think it will.”
“I’m excited about going to the Astoria.” Her voice brightens through the phone.
The Astoria is an invite-only association for the world’s elite. The kind of place people like me dream about. I have dreamt about it. Now, my engagement party is going to be hosted there.
But I can’t share Mia’s excitement. Still, I say, “It’ll definitely be an experience.”
“It will.”
A knock sounds at the door. That’ll be Sheila.
She said she’d meet me at lunchtime to take me shopping.
We’ll be picking up the dress I’m wearing tonight and trying to find shoes to match.
I couldn’t find anything I liked the other day when we went out.
But I think it was because I wasn’t really in the mood.
“I have to go. I’ll see you later.”
“Sure. Be strong, Isla. You’ve got this.”
Although I feel drained and like strength is the furthest thing from me, I appreciate her belief in me. “Thanks.”
We hang up, and I call out for Sheila to come in.
She walks in with a bright smile and a clothes bag draped over her arm. I stand and set my phone down, my gaze flicking to the bag.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“There’s been a change of plans.” Sheila’s smile widens as she lifts the bag a little higher. “We’re not going shopping anymore.”
I blink. “Aren’t we?”
“No.” Her voice brims with excitement. “Knox sent this over. His personal shopper took care of your dress. It’s absolutely stunning.”
My stomach knots. Knox picked out a dress for me.
For a moment, I just stare at her. Then the realization sinks in and fury unfurls in my gut.
“What about the dress I picked?”
“Well, Knox thought…” She pauses, and that beat of silence tells me everything I already suspected.
He’s exerting control again.
“He thought this would be better. Something more suitable for the occasion and the venue. Have a look at it.”
She lifts a gorgeous black gown from the bag, and the tiny diamantes scattered over the skirt catches the light like stars. It’s beautiful. I’d look like a princess wearing it.
His princess.
There was nothing wrong with the gown I chose. It was a navy gown that reminded me of something you’d wear to the Oscars. Knox obviously thought it wasn’t suitable.
I stare at the gown in Sheila’s hands, taking in the way it glimmers—a beautiful leash disguised as luxury.
Knox decides where I go. Whom I speak to. What I wear. How the world sees me.
Then the perfect idea hits me.
Start small.
With the forfeiture clause, I could start small.
What I need isn’t some grand, dramatic plan. It’s something slower. Smaller.
One unraveling at a time.
That’s how you drive a man like Knox Vale crazy.
And I’ll start with this dress.
The one he chose for me.
The one I won’t wear.