Billionaire's forgotten Bride

chosen with a meticulous eye, from the marble floors that gleamed beneath Isabella's feet to the plush, custom-made Italian sofas arrang

n't dare look up at the man pacing in front of her, his footsteps heavy with frustration. Alejandro Santiago-

ing through the silence like a blade. He stopped in front of her, towering over he

ver the years, though it never stopped hurting. Every day she told herself that maybe, just maybe, tod

y wasn't

eting his dark, stormy gaze.

he preferred, the name everyone else used in his world of high-powered business deals and boardro

jaw tightening, "that this n

e ground beneath her shift, as though everything she had bee

g to steady her voice. "I

f something, perhaps guilt, perhaps regret-but it was

ny emotion. "This marriage was a mistake from the beginning. You

ify everything between them. Their marriage had never been about love-at least not for him. It had been

er voice barely above a whisper.

nyielding. "There is no 'us,

nched tightly in her lap. How could he stand there, so composed

trembling despite her effort to stay calm.

r confession meant nothing to him. As though he

re than this. I need someone who understands me

ed painfully. "You mea

jaw tightening again. "Vicky is coming back," he admitted. "W

career in Paris, had always been the ghost in their marriage. No matter how much Isabella tried to convi

bella asked, her voice b

final. "This was always temporary, Isa

ached, after everything they had shared? Didn't he see how hard she had tried to

rough her thoughts. "I've already spoken to my lawyer. You'll

ike a death sentence. He was dismissing her, casting her

Isabella said bitterly. "

ing flickered in his gaze-doubt, hesitation, regret

d like," he muttered, mor

e faced him. "You really think I marrie

, but the silenc

d to let them fall. Not here, not in front of him. N

ated, her voice trembling. "I wanted

st time, he looked away, unable to meet h

she demande

said quietly, his v

d. She had tried so hard, given so much, and in the end, it

her voice hollow. "But know this, Alejandr

lly spilled down her cheeks. The world outside the penthouse was a blur of city lights and

a hand on her stomach, the weight of her

She wouldn't give h

w. Not

her to return. But she didn't. The silence that followed her departure was deafening, and for the first time

gr

hat needed to happen. He couldn't afford to be distracted, not with Vicky coming back. His life was

eel like he was the o

and he pulled it out, grateful for the d

you tomorrow. Miss

he expected. Instead, his thoughts drifted back to Isabella-he

edictable, and Alejandro couldn't afford messes in his life. He needed

ver the city skyline, the image of Isabella's tear-s

uld be filed. The cha

told him it

t