Isabella's POV
The knock came softly. Three measured taps. Not urgent. Not aggressive. But in that moment, it felt louder than a gunshot.
Every muscle in my body locked as if someone had pressed pause on my nervous system. My fingers clenched the headrest of the sofa so hard my knuckles turned bone-white. I didn't realize I was holding my breath until my lungs began to burn.
"Stay behind and don't move," he said, and moved instantly. Silent. Controlled. Deadly calm.
I could still hear his words. "Don't tell me you have another f*cking admirer." That alone brought shivers to my body.
Nikolai didn't look at me when he approached the door, but I felt the shift in the room, the way his presence sharpened, like a blade sliding free from its sheath. He reached the door in long strides, his posture relaxed but deceptive, shoulders loose, fists ready.
I watched his hand curl around the handle. My heart thudded if this were Jonathan.
