Strong-willed, badass and bounded by the chains of an arranged marriage, Isabela Arias dreams of the freedom to live and love as she chooses.
Being sold to the Italian mafia wasn't exactly on Isabela's to do list...
As she's forced to navigate the r...
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Standing face-to-face with Julian has to be one of the hardest things I've ever endured. His black locks were in messy ringlets from his constant game of tug of war with his hair. The presence of deep black circles on his eye bags reveals how stressed he's been. His blue eyes shift around the room in a lost state.
Julian has always been hard to read. Even when I thought there were some feelings between us, I couldn't tell by looking at him. He's always been good at wearing a mask, a facade, to save himself from the pain I'm undergoing. While I let him straight into my heart, Julian kept me at arm's length.
Until the night of my wedding.
As cliche, as it sounds, I thought we became one, like Julian was finally removing the mask over his face. That night, I saw his blue irises twinkle for the very first time, and I mistakenly took it as his love for me. It's my fault for jumping the ship — I've always struggled with moving too fast.
Right now, there's nothing left in his eyes.
Just rawness.
Against my will, my heart chips at the broken sight of him.
He doesn't deserve it, but I can't help how my heart reacts when I'm in his perimeter.
I sigh. "Are you going to say something, or am I just wasting my time?"
Julian blinks, taken back by my response, and honestly, I didn't mean for it to come out as harsh as it did. "I-I'm sorry... It's just I've dreamt about this moment for so long, but now, I don't know what to say."
I stifle a chuckle. "How convenient."
Julian's hands rake through his hair. "Isabela, if I would've known what would've happened that night-- I wouldn't have gone all the way with you."
Another corner of my heart drops to the floor, if it's even fucking possible. My heart pounds in my ears, mellowing Julian's voice in the background. Is he saying he regrets sleeping with me? It makes sense for me to regret it because he ditched me like a hitchhiker in the street, but him? He got his cake and ate it too.
Wow.
He probably just regrets the consequences of his actions.
Midway through his following sentence, I open the hospital room door and slam it as I stalk to the elevator. The fucking nerve on his guy.
"Isabela! Isabela!" My finger violently bashes the elevator button, praying it opens before Julian reaches me. Open, goddammit! Just as I was about to step inside through the two opened doors, Julian grabbed my wrist. "What happened to my five minutes?"
I force a smug smile on my lips. "I decided to cut them short."
"Isabela..." He blows out a shaky breath.
"What! What?" I rip my wrist out of his grasp. "Your sorry for sleeping with me. Okay, thank you. I appreciate the apology. Now, can you get the fuck out of my face?"
