Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Isla
I shove my phone back into my purse, still shaking with rage from Knox’s call.
I’m sitting at a little café in the village, at one of the tables outside by the river. Chad is inside at the counter waiting for the pastries we ordered.
People at the surrounding tables glance my way with curious expressions. Even though I didn’t argue with Knox and kept my voice calm, my reaction must’ve said everything—the balled fists, the red face, the murderous look in my eyes. All telltale signs of someone about to snap.
Earlier, I’d wanted so badly to hear Knox’s voice that I should have been glad he finally called.
But I couldn’t be. Feeling glad would’ve felt like another defeat to my heart, another crack in the wall I’ve built to keep the devil out.
The moment he spoke, fury grabbed at my insides and squeezed and squeezed and squeezed.
Everything that enraged me came flooding back, and I couldn’t stop it. I wanted to make him as angry as he made me.
And when he became the possessive, demanding dick telling me to leave, he pushed me right over the edge.
It wasn’t the time to argue, either. Not with Chad here.
God, of all the things to happen to me.
I still can’t get over the fact that Chad is here in Italy—and yes, Knox, I know he’s lying. It’s one hell of a coincidence that he’d have business here at the exact time I’m on my honeymoon.
What’s worse is that I’m alone, and Chad knows that.
So, forgive me, universe, if I’m pissed as fuck.
I’m furious at Knox, at the situation, at my stupid heart for the way it reacted the second I heard Knox’s voice. And I’m furious that I’m stuck in this twisted mess with Chad.
I hate it even more that Knox isn’t here, but Chad is.
I look at him waiting in line. He glances over his shoulder at me and gives me a little smile.
When the call came through, he guessed it was Knox. At least he gave me privacy to answer.
He offered to grab some iced tea and pastries. But damn it, he came back with the tea and handed it to me. That’s when Knox heard him.
And part of me knows Chad chose that moment to do it so he could eavesdrop.
I waited until he returned to the counter before finishing the conversation.
He definitely saw me hang up, though. And if everyone else can tell I’m upset, a guy I’ve known my whole life will pick up on it instantly.
I press a hand to my forehead and try to steady my breathing, but the internal struggle twisting inside my chest feels alive.
I keep being thrown into situations where everything I do feels wrong, even when it’s the best bad choice.
When I saw Chad on the bridge, it freaked me out. He told me he was here for a photo shoot with his company and asked me to go to lunch.
At first, I turned him down. But when he insisted, I thought maybe it was a chance to talk.
Mia had just told me I needed to clear the air with him.
Granted, even she probably wouldn’t approve of this—lunch with an ex while I’m honeymooning.
It’s so far-fetched, it makes me look like the bad guy when I’m not.
Chad gets served ten minutes later and makes his way back with a tray of pastries. The smell of butter and sugar wafts around him when he reaches me and sets the tray on the table.
“Warm pastries for the lady,” he announces in that overly hearty voice, like we’re still the college couple grabbing food between lectures instead of two strangers pretending nothing’s wrong.
“Thank you.” I sit a little straighter.
“Everything okay?” He sounds a little too eager and looks a little too bright eyed.
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?” His voice is gentle, and sympathy shines in his eyes, but it feels like he’s pushing on a wound just to see how deep it goes. “You look…upset.”
I give him a stiff smile, reach for a croissant, and scuff it down. “I’ll be fine.”
Before I got the call, he was telling me about this so-called project of his that brought him here. I do believe there is a project; it sounds like there is from what he’s told me. But I think he positioned himself so he could be in Italy.
“It sounded like you told your husband I was here.” He studies my face, searching to look beyond what I want to show him.
“I did. Was I supposed to keep that from him?”
“No.” He shakes his head. “But I’m sure he wasn’t overly fond to hear that.”
“Of course not. And it’s understandable.”
Chad smirks. “I don’t really care what he thinks. He’s working, isn’t he?”
“Yes, he’s working.”
“Who leaves their wife by herself to go to work while they’re on their honeymoon? You two have been married for what? Two days? That’s a red flag in my book, Isla.”
I can’t even tell him he’s wrong or try to justify the accusation. The only excuse that would work is that Knox needed the money, and we both know that’s far, far from the truth.
I straighten, wiping the frustration off my face as best as I can. “He’s a busy man,” I lie, because I refuse to unpack this mess with the last person on earth who should see me vulnerable right now.
“Busy, my ass. I read an article from last summer where he took some model to the Seychelles, and the reporter droned on and on about how your husband was glued to her twenty-four/seven. According to your story, he would have just started dating you at the time. Now, you two are married, and he has to fucking work.” His eyes linger on me a second too long, assessing, curious, and suspicious.
I look away, pulling my hair over my shoulder, trying to find some version of control. But all I feel is foolish and exposed, like Knox managed to peel me open and expose my wounds.
“I said he’s a busy man.” I meet his eyes again. “And what happened months ago with some woman is nothing to do with him and me.” Isn’t it, though? What if that woman was the same one I saw Knox with at the wedding? What do I know? She could be. Knox was glued to her.
“Come on, Isla. This isn’t you. You have better sense than this,” he seethes. “And fuck, you haven’t even mentioned my gift.”
“Because it was inappropriate.”
“At least I tried. I even had to deal with your husband’s monster of a brother, who threw me out on my ass.”
God… that sounds like Dorian. He’s like a Bond villain, except he doesn’t send henchmen. He does all the dirty work himself. “You shouldn’t have come. And you definitely shouldn’t have given me that gift.”
“Did he see it? Knox?”
“Of course, he did.”
Chad’s jaw clenches, and he sets his arms down on the table. “I’m just trying. I told you I wouldn’t give up. It makes me want to try harder when I find you here all by yourself walking the streets of Italy, looking sad when you should be happy.”
This is just perfect.
Exactly what I needed.
More complications. More eyes on me. More of the wrong man showing up at the worst possible moment.
I lean forward and stare at him. It’s time to get to the heart of this matter and say what I need to say. “You’re not really here for business, are you?”
He leans back and takes a swig of his iced tea. “What do you think?”
My shoulders tense with the truth. “I think you need to stop whatever you think you’re doing because it won’t work. You shouldn’t have come here, Chad. This is crazy.”
His brows snap together in a deep frown. “You don’t love him. You still love me.”
“I love you as my friend, Chad. Friendship.” I make sure I place emphasis on my words, so he knows I mean them. “That is the only reason I’m sitting here. That was the only reason I kept contact with you after you left. Friendship.”
“We’ve been friends forever, but I refuse to believe this is it for us.”
“I’m married.” I wince, trying to keep my voice down.
“For now.” He gives me a clipped nod. “You are married for now. It won’t last, babe. You can’t trust men like Knox Vale.”
His words hit me deeper than I should allow. It’s stupid because I already know how my story with Knox will end. It’s like watching a sad movie again and again, each time hoping for a different ending.
“You and I would have lasted.” He nods with a gentle smile.
“But we didn’t.”
“Because I fucked up.” He presses a finger into the smooth groves in the table. “Had I not been so foolish, we would have been married already. You can’t tell me any different, Isla.”
I think for a moment, taking my mind back to when we were together.
We were so in love. So, so in love. But there was something missing. But I didn’t realize it at the time. I only noticed it when he left.
We had no chemistry. We had no spark. We had no fire.
There was love, but that was it.
I wanted a man who fought for me. Who showed up when it mattered.
A man whose first instinct was me.
I wanted a man who could make me lose my mind and get lost in him.
Someone who would choose me—loudly, unapologetically, without hesitation.
A man who would walk through hell just to stand beside me. And if I’m to break Madame Corvina’s elusive curse, I’d need someone who’d love me enough to bleed for me.
Chad was none of those things. And I was fully aware of that when we were together.
“I don’t know Chad.” He stares at me like I just slapped him in the face.
“You’re only saying that because things worked out differently.”
Slowly, I shake my head. “I’m not.”
He grits his teeth and leans in again, stern faced. “I refuse to believe that, Isla. I refuse.”
“Then we’re done here.”
“No. If our friendship means anything to you, you’ll come with me. Come back to New York with me and leave that asshole. Be with me.”
It’s like he just doesn’t get it. “Chad, I—”
The words die on my tongue as the roar of a motorcycle tears through the air like a wild animal.
A motorcyclist in a black biker jacket pulls up fast to the curb across from us, the Harley rumbling beneath him.
He parks and cuts the engine, then drags off his helmet.
Every thought I had dies when piercing blue eyes meet mine, and my stomach plunges through the earth.
Knox.
It’s Knox.