14. Isabel
Isabel
Am I ready?
I honestly don’t know. Everything inside me feels stretched too thin. Like one more truth might be enough to break me completely. Facing it means everything changes. And right now… I’m not sure I have the strength for that.
Sometimes living in the dark is better than stepping into the light, right?
Aiden cups my face in his hands, his forehead pressing against mine, anchoring me before I drift too far. “There is no right or wrong answer. If you need more time, I’ll keep ignoring everyone.”
His scent wraps around me, steady and warm, bringing a calmness I’ve craved for days. It’s a nice reminder that I’m not alone in this.
“Ignoring who exactly? Are you a bad guy? Or just pretending to be a bad guy?”
Why do I keep poking at things I’m not ready to hear?
Without missing a beat, a sly grin spreads across his face as he replies, “Pretending.”
Holy fuck!
I stare at him, waiting for the catch. For the lie. But it doesn’t come.
Then he drops another bomb like it’s nothing.
“I work for Falcon Global.”
My brain short-circuits. I blink once, twice—then smack him hard in the chest. “Shut up!”
Aiden shrugs, that infuriating smirk pulling at his lips like he’s enjoying every second of my reaction.
I lean back, sunlight catching in his eyes as I try to process what he just said. “How long?”
“A few years.” He exhales, his breath faint in the cool air. “Darius recruited me while I was recovering. My father’s history made me the perfect fit for this job.”
He shifts a little, as if weighing his next words. “I reunited with the Doyle family after my dishonorable discharge from my SBS unit. Started at the bottom. Earned my way up. Gained Trent’s trust.”
My stomach twists.
“A year ago, I exposed his head of security. That’s how I got this job. Since then, I’ve been building a case, gathering evidence and piecing together the puzzle.”
“Reunited?” I echo, my head swings with the amount of information. “You were a member before?”
A flicker of something dark crosses his face “When I was a teenager, I got caught up in some ugly shit. My father was a bones-man. Low level, but deep enough. He pulled me into his circle, tried to make it my life too.”
I can’t even imagine that.
“Long story short, we got pinched. He killed a man. I was offered a way out if I testified against him. He ended up pleading guilty before it got that far.”
His gaze sharpens. Controlled. Locked down. “I joined the military the second I was released. Deep down, I knew it was the only way I could break free and leave that world behind.”
“Wow. Okay. So, you went back in undercover?” And before he can answer, I laugh. “And here I thought I was letting my bad girl side come out by falling for someone like you. That’s a bit of a buzzkill.”
His throaty growl sends a shiver down my spine as he leans in to kiss me again. The gentle pressure of his lips against mine, soft and warm, soothes my soul.
When I asked him to kiss me earlier, I wasn’t sure I could go through with it. But I was determined to make sure that motherfucker’s kiss wasn’t my last. I made a choice to be brave and see if Aiden could still make me weak in the knees.
It exceeded my expectations.
Kissing Aiden feels like coming home after a long trip through hell. I nearly forgot where we were, earlier. One more second and I’d have dragged him closer, hoping to convince him to take it even further. Strip us both bare—literally and figuratively—to help me wash all these horrid memories away.
The interruption earlier was a good thing. I’m not ready. Not yet.
Each day, the physical and emotional scars are a little less raw, a little less painful. The edges soften. And when I am ready… I’m climbing this man and begging him to do his worst.
“I’m far from an innocent man, babe.” His voices rough, yet grounding. “I’m more bad than good. Most of us who’ve served are. We just learn how to aim it. Channel it.”
The back of his hand skims down the uninjured side of my face.
“When I get my hands on Rurik, he’ll pay for letting his men do this to you.” His gaze darkens, his voice low. “You’re still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
His thumb lingers.
“My woman.”
“Yours,” I agree. “And you are mine.”
“For as long as you’ll have me.”
The moment fractures as the shrill, insistent buzz of his phone cuts through the air. Aiden’s expression shifts instantly, irritation flashing as he pulls it from his pocket.
“So,” he mutters, “are you ready to talk, or should I pretend our service is shit out here?”
“Answer it.”
He doesn’t argue. Just answers and then puts it on speaker. “What?”
The voice on the other end is immediate. A sharp, commanding voice repeats. “What? When I call, you answer. Every. Fucking. Time.”
Recognition hits instantly. He’s a tough cookie when he wants to be, but he’s also a huge softie.
“Hello, Darius.”
“I told you,” Ingrid’s soft voice, like a gentle melody, filters through. “But did you listen to me?”
“Now is not the time, love,” Darius’s tone lightens, before he clears his throat. “How are you, Isabel? Is Aiden at least giving you the royal treatment?”
“I’ve been better,” I admit. “He’s great. Very supportive. And if you fire him, I’ll cry. Remember, you hate it when I cry.” I tease, but it’s true. My emotions are so fragile that I’d likely burst into tears.
“That’s not fair.” He laughs, but something about it feels wrong. Forced. “So, he’s told you.”
“He has.” With a nervous bite of my bottom lip, I finally muster the courage to say what needs to be said. “Did you know?”
“Know what?”
I’m so fucking tired of all this runaround, so I don’t hold back. “So, that’s a yes.”
“No, I’m lost.” Darius’s voice steadies. “My job is knowing things that most people never will. Like I knew your grandfather got himself mixed up in some risky business years ago. It nearly got him arrested, but your brother helped him get out of it.”
My stomach drops. That lands harder than I expected.
“He was more careful after that,” Darius continues. “And your grandmother, she and Polina Doyle were close. Until Polina left Trent and moved to France.”
Silence hangs in the air for a moment before he speaks again.
“But there are holes in what I know. Gaps in my knowledge. So, I ask again, know what?”
Aiden nods when I look at him for encouragement. His unwavering support brings a smile to my face. It’s a constant, reassuring presence. It offers me the courage I need to continue.
“Is Antonio with you?”
“I’m here.” My brother’s firm and familiar voice echoes across the line. “I’m glad you’re safe. I wish you’d have let us know sooner. We were worried.”
“Worried about what, exactly?” The words snap out of me. “That I’d discover the truth. And don’t tell me you didn’t know. I’ve had time to process. If anyone knew it would be you.”
My suppressed anger makes my fists clench. “So… how long?”
“I think this is better discussed in person,” he says carefully. “There are too many layers for a simple phone call. Why don’t you tell me where you are—”
“No! Tell me.”
With a quick, reassuring squeeze, Aiden’s hand presses into my thigh.
The line crackles with an unnerving silence. The static hum stretches, twisting on so long I’m sure he’s hung up.
Then his words hit me like a freight train, and my world tilts on its axis as it unravels.
“Since the day I was sworn in. That’s when I gained access to all of father’s documents. If he’d lived long enough to pass the crown to me, I doubt I ever would’ve found it. But he didn’t get the chance to remove it. The file was all still there.”
A pause. Complete silence.
“Not that it mattered, because it changes nothing.”
Something inside me cracks.
“Lies,” I hiccup but I’m not letting him pretend things are normal. “My entire life has been one gigantic lie.”
“I disagree.”
“Of course you do.”
The silence stretches, thick and suffocating, pressing in until it’s hard to breathe.
He breaks it with a question I know too well. “Are you going to listen to me or assume you know everything?”
With an exaggerated eye roll, I act as if he can somehow see me through the phone. “Go on then. Enlighten me, Your Majesty.”
Aiden lets out a quiet snicker beside me. “I’m glad to see you give everyone grief.”
I shrug, though my muscles stay tense. Leaning in, his cologne mixes with the crisp morning air. His steady breathing is a quiet anchor against the storm building inside me as I wait for Antonio to speak.
“I understand you’re hurt,” he says. “But know this: you will forever be a Reyes. And my baby sister.”
“But I’m not,” I counter.
“You are.” His voice doesn’t waver. “Is Larkin less of a Cross because the blood running through her veins differs from her parents? Is Tomas?”
“That’s different,” I fire back, feeling unconvinced by my own words. The fact that he’s using his adopted son to make his point irritates me more. “They’ve always known the truth.”
“And now so do you.” Frustration bleeds into his tone. “Listen to me. The man you’ve always called your father still is. Maybe not by blood, but by law—and by every other measure that matters. Just as I am your brother.”
I swear he knows what he’s doing, hitting me when I’m weak.
“I don’t know why it happened. Back then, I didn’t see the point in digging up the past. That part of history died with your parents. But this has never changed, never will. You are Princess Isabel Sofia Reyes. Nothing will ever take that from you or us.”
My throat tightens, tears fill my eyes. It should be enough—him still claiming me as his sister—but it doesn’t stop the shift inside me.
I’m not the same. I can’t pretend I am.
“However,” he says, softer now. “If you need to understand the whys—then we will find them. Whatever it takes. We’ll uncover the truth. Just understand this: your place in our family does not change.”
“I need to know,” I tell him.
“Then I’ll do all I can to make that happen.”
Darius speaks next. “Do you have any other information for us?”
“Trent’s upset I didn’t take Isabel back to Soulcombe,” Aiden says. “I’ve been dodging his calls, just like I did yours.”
His hand runs down my arm, the warmth of his skin a stark contrast to the chill in the air, grounding me without effort.
“But that won’t last. Not if we want him to cooperate. There was an envelope inside Rico’s safe addressed to him. Not to mention the brooch I found. Both are in his possession.”
His tone hardens. “He’s involved. I’m sure of it. I just don’t know how deep or what it all means yet.”
My mind latches on to one thing. A brooch.
I reach for the memory, turning it over again and again, but nothing comes. My grandmother rarely wore jewelry. Said it always got in the way. And when she did, it was usually earrings, pearl ones.
I can’t for the life of me figure out what he’s talking about.
And the envelope… Why would my grandfather have an envelope with Trent’s name on it locked away in his safe? Was he holding something for him?
The confusion is suffocating—layered, constant, impossible to untangle.
The story of my life as of late.
“Then don’t put him off too much longer,” Darius starts. “I can send—”
“Like hell you will.”
Aiden’s voice cuts sharp, tension coiling through it as his hand tightens against my arm. “Her security will be my responsibility now. If you have a problem with that, too fucking bad.”
Antonio weighs in. “Her protection is the sole responsibility of the Royal Guard. It’s protocol.”
“Pardon my French, Your Majesty, but you can take your protocol and shove it up your royal arse.”
Aiden’s done holding back. He’s on a roll and lets his thoughts be known.
“I’ve gotten past those damn guards more than once.
They were on duty when she was taken. That alone disqualifies them.
They’re fired. Done. I have a new team in place.
Full lockdown. No one, not even the Pope, will get near her without clearance. ”
The tension builds, and the next words out of my brother’s mouth don’t help.
“And who are you,” Antonio presses, “to make that decision?”
I lift my hand to stop Aiden before he can tear into him.
My turn.
“He’s the person I trust the most right now.” My voice stays calm, but firm. “The only one who hasn’t lied to me. And if you have a problem with that, you can get over it. He’s going to be around for a while, so get used to dealing with him.”
“He lied about his job.” Antonio points out.
My gaze shifts to Aiden, steady. “Did he? I don’t recall ever asking him what he did for a living. And when I finally did, he told me. No hesitation.”
Time to put my brother in his place. “And that’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
Silence stretches across the line. I guess I’ve said enough to shut them all up.
Misty appears at the edge of the alcove, Bear at her side. “Breakfast is ready when you two are.”
“Thank you,” I tell her, then address the others. “We need to go.”
Darius’s voice comes over the line. “We’ll see what we can find. I’ve reviewed the files you sent me, but nothing so far is making much sense. We’ll talk later.”
“I’ve got things handled here.”
Aiden’s eyes meet mine, and he holds my gaze, his expression serious. “Let me make one thing clear. I’m telling Isabel everything. No more secrets. Not when it’s her life we’re talking about. She’s the only one who can decide what to do with it.”
He lets that sink in.
“If anyone has a problem with that, they can bring it up with me and I’ll tell you where to shove it.”
Here come the tears again, all warm and salty, rolling down my cheeks. This man is unexpected, and I feel blessed to have him on my side.
“Thank you,” I mouth.
He nods. “One more thing.”
Antonio responds. “So far, I agree. Go on.”
“Not that I care, since it’s not your decision, but fine. Isabel and I are together. It’s new but serious.” Always direct and honest, Aiden makes sure my brother is fully aware of this thing between us. “Again, anyone who has a problem can shove it.”
“Now that I know who you are, my concerns are less.” My brother just can’t help himself. “But I wish you’d reconsider with her security. Maybe we can compromise.”
My jaw drops.
King Antonio doesn’t compromise. Ever.
Aiden doesn’t budge on the matter. “Her security and care moving forward are mine to handle until she says otherwise.”
Then he takes a deep breath and does what I didn’t expect him to do. “However, if you want Ryan and Marty back on her team, I’ll agree. One condition. I’m in charge, and they follow my rules. Understand?”
The silence is piercing, but that doesn’t make Aiden back down or change his mind. “Great. We’ll catch up later.”
He hangs up as if his word is law and final.
Something in my chest expands, warm and overwhelming.
If I wasn’t already falling, I am now.
Heart, soul, all of it.
My love for this man is immense, and I plan to confess that to him very soon.