Chapter 10
705words
"What you're feeling right now," I say calmly, "is exactly what I felt that night in your apartment."
He starts to tremble.
"How does it feel?" I continue. "To lose control?"
"Isabella…" His voice is barely a whisper.
"It hurts, doesn't it?" I take a step closer. "To watch someone you love belong to someone else. To see their eyes no longer hold your reflection."
Damien stumbles back against his Cadillac.
"But do you know what hurts the most?" I ask. "Realizing that person never truly loved you at all."
"I love you!" he shouts. "I always have!"
"No." I shake my head. "You love the feeling of owning me. You love the power of controlling me."
Julian stands silently beside me. He doesn't say a word, but I can feel his support.
"In your world, Damien, trust isn't a bond. It's a bargaining chip," I say, my words sharp and precise. "And you will always trade up for a bigger prize."
Pain flashes in his eyes. "That's not true—"
"The night you chose Sophia," my voice trembles, but it's steady. "Did you even think about how I would feel?"
"It was for the family—"
"The family?" I scoff. "And now? Now you need me, so you bring out the family heirloom to tempt me back?"
Damien clutches the box. "This isn't a temptation. This is my heart—"
"Your heart?" I cut him off. "Your heart changes direction with the market. Today you need me. Tomorrow, you might need someone else."
"No…"
"Yes," I say, my voice hard as steel. "Because in your heart, power will always be more important than love. Control will always be more important than trust."
Damien looks at me. The desperation in his eyes deepens.
"I… I can change," he begs. "Isabella, I can change everything for you."
"No." I shake my head. "You won't. Because you don't even know what real love is."
I turn to Julian. He's waiting patiently.
"What is real love, Damien?" I ask. "It's respect. It's trust. It's seeing someone as a whole person, not an accessory."
Julian holds out his hand. I take it. His palm is warm.
"It's taking care of her when she's sick, not just possessing her."
"It's trusting her choices, not making them for her."
"It's being her partner, not her master."
Every word is a dagger. His face gets paler and paler.
"I see it now," I continue. "For three years, I was waiting for someone who didn't exist. I thought I could change you. I thought my love could melt your cold heart."
"You did…" he says desperately. "You did change me…"
"No." I shake my head firmly. "I didn't change you. Losing me changed you. But this change isn't love. It's the madness of obsession."
Julian gives my hand a gentle squeeze. It's time to go.
"Damien," I say, looking at him one last time. "You claim you love me, but you murdered the only woman who saw past the monster and loved the man."
Tears stream down his face again.
"You murdered the Isabella who loved you."
With that, I don't look at him again.
I turn to Julian.
In front of Damien, I stand on my toes.
I wrap my arms around Julian's neck. And I give him a deep, lingering kiss.
Julian freezes for a second, then his arms wrap around me, pulling me so close I can barely breathe. He kisses me back, hard.
Behind us, a sickening thud of fist against metal. Then, a raw, strangled scream tears from Damien's throat.
When we break apart, I look back. Damien has punched the door of his Cadillac. There's a deep dent in the metal.
His knuckles are white and bloody.
He slowly slides down the side of the car, collapsing onto the pavement.
Julian opens the car door for me.
I get in. Julian closes the door. Walks around to the driver's side.
The sound of the engine starting is loud in the silence.
I roll down the window. Look at Damien, still sitting on the ground.
He's clutching the velvet box. Tears glitter in the setting sun.
"Goodbye, Mr. Costello."
