The air left my lungs in a rush.
For a heartbeat, I forgot how to breathe, how to think or even do anything at all. Alex filled the doorway like a nightmare stepping into daylight, tailored black suit, coat undone just enough to show the tension rippling through him. His jaw was locked, but it was his eyes that was what terrified me most , glacial, bright, and burning with something far worse than anger.
Possession.
Ian shifted instinctively, stepping in front of me, his arm stretched protectively across my chest. "Alex, it's not what you..."
"Move," Alex's voice cut through me like a blade.
Ian didn't.
That single second of defiance felt both brave and suicidal.
"Don't," I whispered, my fingers clutching Ian's sleeve. "Please, don't do this….."
But it was too late.
Alex's hand shot out, fisting the front of Ian's shirt. He slammed him against the wall so hard the sound echoed through the small apartment like thunder. "You think you can steal from me?" Alex hissed, his voice low and sharp enough to scrape skin. "You think you can take what's mine?"
"She's not yours!" Ian spat, struggling against the grip.
Alex's eyes flicked to me, something dark and unreadable glinting behind them. Then, calm as a storm before it breaks, he released Ian with a shove. Ian stumbled back, breathing hard, his face flushed with rage and humiliation.
Alex turned to me.
"Isabella."
Just my name. No anger in it now, no heat, just that awful, cutting calm that made my pulse roar in my ears.
"Pack the little things you've brought here" he said quietly. "We're leaving."
"I'm not going anywhere with you," I managed, my voice shaking. "You can't keep me here like I am some ...some property."
He stepped forward, and my back hit the wall. The room seemed to shrink, and I could smell the faint trace of his cologne ,dark, restrained and familiar. "You don't get to run from me," he said, voice low enough that I could feel it in my bones. "You signed that contract. You belong to me now, whether you like it or not."
"I didn't belong to you before, and I don't belong to you now," I shot back, but it came out as a whisper.
His gaze flicked down to the duffel bag, then to the wig still half-hanging from my head. His jaw ticked. "You would've run to another man with my money, under my name, with my ring on your finger."
"I didn't ask for any of this!" I cried. "You forced me into it!"
Something in him shifted a flash of something human, something almost hurt and then it was gone. He turned away, his voice clipped and cold. "You'll come with me willingly, or I'll have my men bring you which ever way you want it's your choice.
Ian lunged forward again. "Do not fucking touch her!"
Alex didn't even look at him this time. "If you care about her at all," he said, his tone suddenly flat, "you'll stay out of this. The next time you interfere, I won't be this merciful."
It was a threat so soft it made my stomach twist.
Alex reached for my wrist. I jerked back, but his grip was firm, wrapping around me with the finality of a lock snapping shut. My breath hitched, and I hated that even now...even now his touch sent heat crawling up my neck.
He noticed. Of course he did. His mouth twitched, a cruel ghost of a smirk. "Let's go, Isabella."
I turned to Ian one last time. His face was pale, his jaw clenched, his eyes full of helpless fury.
"I'll find you," he said. "I swear, I'll find you Bella."
Alex tugged me toward the door, his hand firm and unrelenting. "You can try " he muttered, his voice laced with quiet arrogance, "but you will fail."
The hallway outside was lined with his men suits, earpieces, all waiting, like this had been planned from the beginning. My throat tightened as we stepped into the cold air.
Every part of me screamed to run. But Alex's grip on my wrist was unbreakable.
He opened the car door, and when I hesitated, his voice dropped to something dangerous, something quiet enough that only I could hear.
"Try it again, Isabella," he said, "and I won't just keep you. I'll destroy everything and everyone you care about."
My heart stopped.
I climbed in.
The door shut behind me with a soft click, the sound final, like the world sealing itself away.
Outside, Ian's voice rang out one last shout, one last plea before the car pulled away and swallowed him in the night.