Chapter 71 My Mother, His Promise
Isabella — POV
I woke up the next morning tangled in Alexander.
Not beside him.
In him.
Sometime during the night I must have turned in my sleep, because my back was pressed against his chest now and one of his arms was wrapped tightly around my waist. His hand rested just under my ribs, fingers curled slightly like he had fallen asleep holding on to me and refused to let go.
It didn’t feel like someone sleeping next to me.
It felt like someone guarding me.
Like sometime in the darkness, when the house had gone quiet and everyone else had finally left, Alexander had pulled me closer and wrapped himself around me like he was afraid the moment he loosened his grip I would disappear.
His face was buried against the curve of my neck.
His breath was warm against my skin, slow and steady now.
But his arm around me was still tight.
Too tight for someone who was truly relaxed.
For a few quiet seconds I stayed completely still, just staring at the ceiling above the bed.
Morning light filtered through the tall curtains, thin golden lines spilling across the room. The light touched the polished wood floor, the soft gray walls, the edge of the blanket tangled around our legs.
Everything looked calm.
Too calm.
My body remembered the ropes.
The cold metal chair.
The weight of the vest strapped across my chest.
The sound of the timer counting down.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
My chest tightened before I could stop it.
My breathing shifted.
Immediately Alexander stirred.
Even half asleep.
Even exhausted.
He noticed.
His hand slid slightly higher on my waist, pulling me closer before his eyes even opened.
“You’re okay,” he murmured softly, his voice rough from sleep.
It wasn’t even a question.
More like a reminder.
I turned my head slightly so I could see him.
His hair was completely messy, dark strands falling across his forehead. His jaw was rough with stubble and there were faint shadows beneath his eyes.
He looked exhausted.
Like the last few days had dragged him through hell and left pieces of him there.
But somehow…
He was still unfairly handsome.
I studied his face for a moment before smiling faintly.
“It’s not fair,” I murmured.
One of his eyebrows lifted slightly.
His eyes slowly opened.
“What isn’t?”
“That you look hot no matter what.”
He blinked at me.
Then the corner of his mouth twitched.
“You woke up from being kidnapped and strapped into a bomb vest and your first thought is that I’m attractive?”
I shrugged slightly against him.
“I’m very observant.”
He studied my face carefully.
Really looking at me.
Not the way people casually look at someone across a room.
This was different.
Checking.
Searching.
Making sure.
His fingers came up slowly and brushed a loose strand of hair away from my cheek.
“You have no idea how beautiful you are,” he said quietly.
His thumb lightly touched my lips.
“How do you feel?”
I thought about it for a moment.
“Like I got kidnapped, strapped into a bomb vest, emotionally destroyed…”
I paused.
“…then rescued by my hot husband.”
Alexander huffed out a quiet laugh.
“So… not great.”
I shifted slightly and rested my forehead against his shoulder.
“No baby,” I murmured. “I’m okay. We made it. Don’t worry about me.”
His hand slid up my back slowly.
He didn’t say anything for a moment.
Then quietly,
“We can stay in bed all day.”
I lifted my head to look at him.
“Tempting.”
His thumb brushed along my cheek slowly.
“I’m serious.”
“I know.”
And that was the problem.
Because if I stayed in this bed with him all day, wrapped in blankets and warmth and the steady sound of his heartbeat beneath my ear…
I might forget there was a world outside this room.
And that world still had unfinished pieces of my life waiting for me.
My mother.
The thought hit me suddenly.
Sharp and immediate.
I sat up so quickly Alexander tensed beside me.
“What?”
“My mom.”
Alexander’s expression changed the moment the words left my mouth.
Not surprised.
Prepared.
That alone made my stomach tighten.
I narrowed my eyes slowly at him.
“What?”
He shifted slightly against the headboard, leaning back with one knee bent, studying me like he was measuring every reaction before I even had it.
“She’s safe.”
My heart skipped so suddenly it almost hurt.
“What?”
“She’s okay,” he repeated more gently this time. “No one has touched her.”
I stared at him, trying to process what he’d just said.
“You talked to her?”
He nodded once.
“Yes.”
My breath caught.
“When?”
“Two days ago.”
My eyes widened instantly.
“Two days ago?” I pushed myself up a little straighter. “Alexander, what did you tell her? You know I haven’t told her we’re married. She will literally kill me if she finds out I got married without her there.”
The panic came rushing out before I could stop it.
“What did she say? What did you say? Does she know?” I pressed my hand to my forehead. “Oh my God. She is going to be so mad at me. She’s going to lose her mind when she finds out I got married and she never even got to see me in my wedding dress.”
Alexander exhaled slowly, the kind of patient breath of someone who had clearly expected this exact reaction.
“Relax, Isabella.”
He reached for my hand again, his fingers wrapping around mine with quiet certainty.
“I told her everything.”
I blinked.
“…Everything?”
“Yes.”
His voice remained calm.
“I told her the truth. That I forced you to marry me. That you didn’t tell her because you were afraid of me. That the marriage wasn’t exactly… normal circumstances.”
My mouth fell slightly open.
“Wait… you told her all of that?”
“Yes.”
“Like… all of it?” I pressed.
He nodded.
“We spoke for a long time.”
I searched his face nervously.
“And?”
“And,” he said slowly, “she actually likes me.”
My brain nearly stopped working.
“…What?”
Alexander’s mouth twitched slightly.
“We had a very interesting conversation.”
I shook my head quickly, still trying to catch up.
“Wait, wait, wait. So she knows everything?” My voice rose again. “She knows I got married without her there? She knows she didn’t get to see her daughter on her wedding day?”
I groaned, covering my face.
“Oh my God. She’s definitely mad at me. She has been talking about my wedding since I was sixteen. She already had the whole thing planned in her head.”
Alexander lifted one hand calmly.
“She isn’t mad at you.”
I lowered my hands slowly.
“What?”
“I told her it was entirely my fault.”
“You… what?”
He shrugged slightly.
“I told her you didn’t have a choice.”
He watched my face carefully before adding,
“But I also told her something else.”
I squinted at him suspiciously.
“What?”
Alexander’s voice softened just slightly.
“I told her I’m completely crazy in love with you.”
My heart fluttered before I could stop it.
I tried to hide the reaction, but judging by the faint curve of his mouth, he noticed anyway.
“And,” he continued, his voice lower now, “I told her you’re not going anywhere.”
His thumb brushed gently across my knuckles.
“And neither am I.”
I blinked at him, my chest doing strange, confusing things.
Then he added casually,
“And I told her we’re going to have a real wedding.”
I froze.
“…What?”
“A real wedding.”
He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“With her there.”
“With our families there.”
“With everyone.”
I stared at him, completely stunned.
“Wait… what?”
Alexander smirked faintly.
“Yes.”
He looked almost amused by my confusion.
“We’re getting married again.”
“Alexander…”
“And this time,” he said calmly, “we’re doing it properly.”
His voice softened just enough to make something warm spread through my chest.
“I want everyone to see how happy you make me.”
My heart squeezed.
I narrowed my eyes at him playfully.
“Oh, Alexander…”
I leaned forward and kissed the tip of his nose.
“You’re getting very sweet lately.”
I tilted my head.
“What’s going on?”
His eyes darkened with that dangerous little smile I knew far too well.
“You happened to me.”
My stomach flipped.
Then his voice dropped lower.
“Now stop looking at me like that before I decide to do very bad things to you.”
I shoved his shoulder lightly.
“Behave.”
He caught my wrist before I could pull away.
Slowly, he lifted it to his lips.
His mouth brushed softly against the inside of my wrist.
Right over the faint healing marks the ropes had left.
His expression shifted again—something quieter now.
Something protective.
“I was going to take you to see her today.”
I froze.
“…What?”
“She’s nearby.”
Now I was really staring at him.
“What do you mean nearby?”
Alexander sighed softly.
“I moved her.”
My eyes widened.
“You moved my mother?”
One of his eyebrows lifted.
“She agreed.”
That stopped my argument mid-sentence.
“Oh.”
He studied my face carefully.
“Do you want to see her?”
I was already out of bed before he even finished the question.
He watched me with clear amusement as I rushed to grab a sweater.
“That was a stupid question.”
“Yes,” I said quickly, pulling the sweater over my head. “It was.”
Behind me, Alexander chuckled quietly.