Three days after Liam woke up, Dr. Morrison cleared him to go home.
Isabella had spent those three days in a waking nightmare—preparing for the board meeting, fielding calls from concerned executives, managing Blackwood Global's crisis response, and watching from a distance as Liam recovered surrounded by everyone except her.
Chloe was there constantly. Margaret visited twice daily. Even Marcus made appearances, positioning himself as the concerned family member while subtly undermining Liam's confidence in his own judgment.
And Isabella? She was banned. Explicitly, by Liam's own request.
"I don't want that woman near me until I understand what happened," he'd told Dr. Morrison, loud enough for Isabella to hear from the hallway. "She's clearly confused about our relationship. Or I was. Either way, her presence is... uncomfortable."
Uncomfortable. She made him uncomfortable.
