Isla's Pov
One of the best decisions she had made was convince Adrian she had to take a business trip every weekend to seal deals that were already sealed. She could never be more grateful for how careless he was with his own company.
During those times, she spent as much as she could spend by herself, checking things off her lists including renting a penthouse under a different name and meeting with her lawyers more often to finalize the divorce, rebuilding her life as she planned on how to release the Wolfe family secret.
"What do you mean you haven't been able to finalize them? I don't have much time left, I want this all done as smoothly as possible, I don't need things to get messy." She explained, pacing her apartment, tonight has been one of those nights she had gotten away.
"It's not much left Miss Isla, I have things under control and you don't need to worry about a thing. Even if he finds out, it's much too late for him to be able to do something about it, the papers have been signed already," Her lawyer assured her but that was not enough to calm her down. She was not scared of Adrian, at least not anymore, but that didn't mean she wanted to go head-to-head with him in a legal war.
She knew he would be unwilling to let her go, he was selfish like that, he knew if she let she would also quit working for him and that would be a huge loss for the company so he would do anything to make sure she didn't leave. She had quite an amount in savings, but Adrian was the owner of a multi-million dollar company, she could never take on him.
"I understand what you're trying to say, I however would not want that to happen anyways, I want this to go as peaceful as something like this can go, I know cases like mine end up messy but if I can help it, I'd rather it didn't," I voiced and the lawyer was silent for a while before he made his promises to make it go the way I wanted and cut the call.
I took my glass of wine and walked to the window, watching the view as the fresh air blew into my apartment. I had never felt lighter….that is until I saw the same black car that had been parked down the street four days in a row now.
I had never seen anyone come down from it, It just showed up every day, parked in the same spot, and stayed till morning before it disappeared only to appear at evening once again.
Unease filled her and she tried to push it down, she was just being paranoid, it couldn't be him. After their messy breakup years ago where she practically begged him never to contact her again, she had not heard even a peep from him, she wasn't even sure he still lived in this country. There was no way he would resurface again, and now of all times.
And that was when she heard it. Soft knocks on her door, sounding oh too familiar to how he knocked…the one she was yet to name in her head, for hope that he would disappear if she didn't acknowledge him.
She crossed the room before she could stop herself, her body seemed to have a mind of its own and before she knew it, she had swung the door open and there he stood, the ghosts of her past, except he was no ghost.
Dante Cavalli stood at her doorway, looking so much better than the last time she had seen him.
He looked Taller. Broader. Sharper. His presence was overwhelming, even more so than it had been years ago. Darkness clung to him like armor, letting everyone within an hour radius know that this man was the exact definition of dangerous.
"Hello Isla," He said, his voice as deep as she remembered.
Her pulse stumbled. She hated the way her body remembered him—how the air itself seemed to tighten, charged with the pull between them. She should slam the door. She should scream. She should do anything but let him in.
"W-what are you doing here?" She managed instead, her voice betraying her.
Dante walked past her and into her apartment and suddenly the air inside felt too thick. He moved around her space, his eyes taking it all in, while she wasn't sure if she should flee or find out what he wanted. Even after so long, he still affected her like he always had.
"It seems you've been very busy Mia Cara," he said with a smirk as he turned to face her, "Lawyers. Paper trails. Secret Apartments. Wolfe family secrets. You never changed, did you? You've always liked to play with fire…tell me, is it for the thrill?" He asked and her stomach dropped.
He knew.
"I don't need you," She managed, her voice not as strong as she wanted but she hoped he got the message and went far away from her, across the country if possible.
"You were never a good liar, Sweetheart," He said, the smirk still planted firmly on his lips as he made his way towards her.
Each step he took made her heart beat faster, he was right, he knew he was right.
He closed the distance between them, until the heat of his body pressed against hers, his breath ghosted her lips, and the electric tension between them was undeniable.
"I'm not here for your confessions, not today, I'm here to make you a deal," He said in a low growl, his eyes still planted firmly on her lips.
"What kind of deal?" Isla asked, breathless.
"I'll help you burn them to the ground. Every lie, every fraud, every piece of that Empire will fall, I'll give it all back to you," He said, his eyes still on her lips as his hands wrapped around her waist.
She waited for him to continue, she knew he had a condition, a big one at that, one she was sure would change her life.
"But after all of this is over...you're mine and forever this time around, I won't let you go ever again."