Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Isla
Sleep holds me like a warm tide, pulling me under again and again.
Somewhere in the haze, I feel him.
The heat of Knox’s body presses along my back, and the ghost of last night sinks into my skin.
I feel it all. The whisper of his breath against my neck. The way he touched me. The way he said my name like it meant something.
For a heartbeat, I drift in that warmth…
Until it disappears.
Cold seeps into the sheets where his body should be. I try to reach for him, but my limbs feel heavy, boneless, unwilling to move. I’m too tired, too wrung out to open my eyes. So, I stay there, caught in the timeless space between asleep and awake.
Something brushes my shoulder. It’s light at first. A soft nudge follows. Then a gentle shake.
“Isla?” a voice whispers at the edge of my dream.
I groan, burying my face deeper into the pillow.
Another shake.
“Isla, sweetheart… you need to wake up.”
My eyes open slowly, blurry and reluctant as my mind tries to hold on to memories of him.
Sheila’s face comes into focus standing over me, watching me carefully.
“Sheila?” My voice comes out rough with sleep.
She smiles, then glances around the room like she’s stumbled onto a crime scene she’s not sure she should be witnessing. Her eyes flick from my face to the tangle of sheets, and the expression that crosses her features is equal parts awe and concern.
Then I remember I’m naked beneath the sheets.
Mortification clamps down on me, and I yank the covers higher over my chest like a prim woman clutching her pearls.
God. Kill me now.
I sit up, trying to look composed even though my pulse is in my throat.
Sheila softens with a kind smile. The kind that says I was young once, too. “Good morning, Mrs. Vale.” It’s the first time she’s called me that.
Heat floods my cheeks. “Good morning. What time is it?” It looks far too bright outside for early morning. Knox and I were supposed to leave for Italy first thing.
Sheila bites the inside of her lip. “It’s noon.”
“Oh my God. I overslept.”
“Don’t panic, it’s fine.” She smooths a hand down her blazer. “There’s been a slight change to the schedule. Knox left you to rest, but he asked me to get you ready for your flight before lunch. The jet will leave whenever you wish, though it’s best to get going sooner rather than later.”
I blink several times, trying to catch up. I understand the part about the jet, and sure, it’s nice having a plane take off on my word, but that wasn’t the plan. “Where is Knox?”
She hesitates, just for a breath, but it’s enough to send unease creeping up my spine.
“He was called into the office early this morning. An urgent situation came up with his Zurich deal.” Her gaze softens. “He didn’t want to wake you.”
Her words feel carefully chosen, like she’s afraid even one might bruise me.
Work?
Knox is at work?
We were supposed to leave together.”
“It’s nothing for you to worry about,” she adds, her features gentle. “He just needed to handle a few things.”
The words land like a pinprick in my chest. “Right. Will he be meeting us at the airport?”
That same hesitation flickers across her face. “No. We’re going to Italy ahead of him. Knox will meet you there sometime tomorrow.”
“I see.” My voice comes out smaller than I intend.
“He asked me to make sure you were taken care of in the meantime.”
Right.
The word echo inside me like a dull thud, and everything that happened last night fades into the ether.
Was I the fool again?
I glance down at the rings on my finger and remember what he said to me.
Wear them for me.
For a few stolen hours, it felt like the wall between us didn’t exist at all.
And now he’s gone.
Back to work.
Back to the world where I’m not his priority.
A quiet sting blooms beneath my ribs, and the thought of traveling without him settles strangely in my stomach.
Last night, we were fire.
Now, I’ll be boarding a jet alone.
I swallow hard and force myself to nod. “Okay. I’ll get ready.”
“Alright. Come down for breakfast when you’re finished, then we’ll head out.”
“Okay, thanks.”
Sheila gives me a sympathetic smile before slipping out of the room, closing the door with a careful click that somehow feels louder than it should.
The quiet she leaves behind sinks into my bones.
I fall back against the pillows, a low heaviness settling in my stomach as I try to process what’s happening. And how I’m supposed to be okay with it.
Knox and I had sex all night. All night.
I know I’d be a fool to think it meant anything. Or that it was supposed to change anything. But him leaving me to head off the work makes me feel like shit.
I’ve never heard of a husband sending his wife off on their honeymoon by herself. Never.
But then again, nothing about us is normal.
Once again, Knox Vale has thrown me off balance.
Goddamn it. He shouldn’t have this power over me. The power to tilt my world. But here I am, staring up at the ceiling wondering how I can escape the Twilight Zone yet gain.
I drag a hand over my face, trying to gather myself, to pull the pieces back together. But another thought slides into my mind, and I bolt upright.
The woman.
The woman I saw Knox with at the wedding.
I still don’t know who she was. He never said anything about her. He didn’t even refute my accusations.
His only reaction was a faraway look in his eyes. Then he hooked me with that one line about showing me what’s real, and I was a goner.
I didn’t even care about the whole Chad present thing, which yes, I agree, it was highly inappropriate.
A tight knot forms in my chest, twisting until it’s hard to breathe.
What if he’s with her?
What if there’s no business emergency, and he’s with her?
I can’t forget the way Knox held her or how she looked at him like she had a right to.
What if I’m right?
I could be. Emergency business is exactly the excuse he would give Sheila to cover his tracks, even though he trusts her more than anyone.
Damn it. I could be right.
And the worst part is, she’d have more right to my husband than me.
The contracted wife.
Warm Tuscan air curls around me as I walk across the Devil’s Bridge in Borgo a Mozzano. It has that haunting, romantic, old-world beauty that quiets the soul. This was the first place on my mental list of places to visit.
Everything is breathtaking.
But the beauty only sharpens the hollow inside me.
I arrived in Tuscany earlier this morning. Since the flight was nearly ten hours, I slept on the plane, so I was ready to explore the moment Sheila got me settled into the villa we’ll be staying in for the rest of the week.
She offered to come with me, but I wanted to be alone to lick my wounds in private.
Poor Sheila. She tried her best to make me feel better, but some wounds aren’t fixable with kindness.
She talked the whole way here, filling the silence with facts about the region and little updates about the itinerary, but I barely heard her. My mind kept replaying my night with Knox.
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him. And the fact that he hasn’t called hurts even more. Granted, he hasn’t called Sheila, either, but she’s been sending him updates.
No response could mean he’s busy. Or he lost signal.
Or he’s with that woman.
I have no idea.
I stop by the highest arch and gaze across the Serchio River glimmering far below me, the surface catching the afternoon light like shards of gold. I look farther toward the village tucked into the hills and promise myself I’ll come back here in a few days to paint it.
The picturesque scene with its terracotta roofs, cypress trees, and cobbled lanes would be perfect to add to my collection.
So much life and art surrounds me. And yet, I’ve never felt more alone.
I don’t even know if I’d rather be here alone or at home alone.
Both feel just as miserable.
My phone rings in my purse, and my heart stutters.
It has to be him. Surely.
God, how pathetic am I that I’d take even one of his stupid terms and conditions over this silence?
I dig out my phone, breath catching.
And then my heart drops straight through me when I see the name on the screen.
It’s Mia. Not Knox.
Instantly, I feel guilty for the disappointment. I’m always happy to hear from Mia. And honestly… I could use her voice right now.
Other than the quick text letting everyone know I landed safely in Tuscany, this is the first real moment since the wedding—and since she and I saw Knox with that woman—that I’ve spoken to anyone back home.
I swipe to answer. “Hey.”
Mia doesn’t waste a second. “How are you holding up?” Her voice is soft and careful. The way she gets when she’s trying not to poke at one of my bruises.
A lump rises in my throat. “Well, I guess I’m… here. Here in Italy.”
“Oh, Isla. You sound terrible.” She sighs, and I imagine her shaking her head.
“I know.”
“Babe, tell me what’s going on. Did you speak to Knox about that woman?”
I stare out over the river, trying to compose my mind. “Yes and no.”
She huffs. “Isla, which is it?”
“A bit of both. I’m serious.” I draw in the cool air, hoping it will still my mind. “I might have asked him more about her, but we started arguing, and then…we, um, slept together.”
“You what!” Something falls to the floor. It sounds like she knocked over a drink.
“Yeah. We had sex. A… lot.” I breathe out the last word, heat blooming through my body.
“Jesus, Isla.” Her voice cracks first, then she gasps. “That isn’t the kind of thing you tell me when I’m in between meetings or when I’m standing up. You could have at least made sure I was sitting.”
“I’m sorry.” I grip the railing tighter as a wave of dizziness threatens to take me.
“Don’t be. I’m being silly. You weren’t to know. Are you…okay?”
“No.” I bring a hand to my cheek and blink back tears. If I cry, it won’t be because I’m hurt. It’ll be because I let myself down. “I’m so stupid, Mia. And I keep making these foolish mistakes.”
“Is that what you think? That it was a mistake?” Typical Mia. Always seeing straight through me.
I pause to think about the question. To remember how I felt when I was with Knox. There was no part of me that didn’t want him. “No.” The confession hurts, but the truth feels freeing. “I don’t think it was a mistake.”
“I thought so.” She sighs. “Alright. Tell me everything you can. I have fifteen minutes.”
A shaky breath slips out of me as I gaze across the river. “Okay, here goes. You may want to sit, though. There’s more. More to do with Chad.”
Chair legs scrape against the floor on the other end of the line, followed by a muffled sound. “Fire away.”
I take another quick breath before I tell her everything. I even tell her about the encounters I had with Knox before our wedding night. By the time I’m done, I feel weak all over again.
“Holy shit, Isla. I’m actually speechless. That’s just too much.”
I nod, even though she’s not here to see me. “I guess I’m experiencing an out-of-the-frying-pan-and-into-the-fire situation. And it’s my fault.”
“No. Absolutely not. What happened between you and Knox is not your fault, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to allow you to blame yourself for Chad, too.” The fury in her voice ripples through the phone.
“My mind feels completely fucked.”
“I’d be surprised if it didn’t.” She laughs without humor. “Look, the solution to this is going to be down to you. What you want.”
“Do I really have a choice?”
“Of course, you do.”
She makes it sound so simple. Maybe it is. So, I think about what I want.
“I just want things to be less confusing.”
“Then you need to talk to both of them. Knox and Chad. We know where you stand with Chad, so that should be easier. Knox, on the other hand…well, I think whatever he does next will help you decide where you stand, especially with that woman.”
“Maybe he is with her, Mia. I hate that I’m mad about that. I hate that I’m mad he sent me here by myself. And I hate that I hate he’s not here.”
“Oh, Isla,” she breathes, her voice laden with concern. “I think the fact that you’re angry is important, regardless of the contract. So, don’t jump to conclusions until you have all the information.”
My pulse skitters at her words. She’s right. “Thanks, Mia. Talking to you helped.”
“I’m glad. Call me later or whenever you can and let me know what’s happening.”
“I will.”
“Love you girl.”
“Love you, too.”
The call ends, and I suck in a long breath, letting the air steady me. The ache inside my chest softens into something bearable.
And then a voice I know too well disrupts the peace.
“Isla?”
My entire body locks.
That voice shouldn’t be here. Not on this bridge. Not in this country.
For a heartbeat, I genuinely believe I imagined it.
But when I turn, he’s there.
Chad.