There was definitely something off with her, Charles thought as he landed his buttocks on the softness of the chair behind him.

After settling, his thoughts continued.

It was as though Isabella was lacking something or maybe she wanted something so bad.

Whatever it was, Charles wondered what it could be.

Sitting back into the leather chair he had specifically constructed to his taste, he wondered when she exactly was going to walk into that room and ask what his proposition was with attitude.

He smirked to himself.

She sure acted like she did not break his heart six years ago. And he knew her so well, it was certain that she would keep up with that attitude for a while until he decides to break it.

Smiling more, he could picture the defiant look on her face once he does kill that attitude.

That would be quite a sight. Seeing the woman that broke his heart wear that look would be something that would please him.

Suddenly, Charles groaned inwardly, his hands almost pulling at his hair.

She was driving him crazy.

So, so crazy.

And, that was wrong to him. He should be the one making her feel regretful. He was meant to be driving her crazy. All she had to do was show up, Charles was sure he would do that perfectly.

Almost absent-mindedly, he checked his watch.

Something was telling him that the woman he was waiting impatiently for was nearby.

And, he hoped his guts were right.

"Sir?"

Charles turned his attention to the men seated opposite him.

"What?" His response sounded rough even though it was not his intention.

"We asked if you are okay with the plan," the man clothed in a grey suit carefully said, his low bangs bobbing as he peered at his boss who had suddenly arranged for his and his colleague's arrival in the States for certain business issues.

Charles adjusted his silk robe which he hadn't bothered to change out of since he was in his residence. "I gave a response, didn't I?"

"Uh... no sir. You just smirked... smiled actually." Even the man was surprised at what he just said. But his one-second expression of shock soon turned into a serious look as though he feared getting lashed at.

"I did?" Charles's famous stone look was back in a jiffy.

"Uh... sir? The plan?"

Charles's ringtone filled the anxious air.

"Excuse me." He majestically crossed his legs which were clothed in matching blue silk pants.

" Yes?" He prompted Miss Kane to talk without wasting his precious time.

"Isabella Shade is here to see you, sir," the woman on the other side informed.

Charles wanted to smirk again, well, his face wished to wear a grin, but a look at the gentlemen in front of him, caused him to keep it in. And he disguised his slight happiness with a low throat-clearing sound.

"Let her in." As he spoke, Charles hoped he was doing a good job of hiding how much his chest was beating, just like he hid his smile.

"But you are in a meeting, sir," Miss Kane responded, the tone of her voice seemingly complaining.

"Did I stutter, Miss Kane?"

"I'll let her in right away."

"Mr. Wade, Mr. Blunt..." Charles faced the men who quickly gave their full attention to him. "I like the plan, but I want to know more about this business. Have the owners properly prepare a presentation and..."

"Good evening." His knees felt instantly weak so much so that his legs had to disentangle. Her voice did that much to him. Charles didn't like how that was the reality, but it was.

But like the strong man he was, he was quick to regain composure.

"Miss Shade. Have a seat." Charles pointed at the seat that was close to his huge, neatly dressed bed. As he watched her take a seat, he suddenly wished that the chair was not there. Seeing her on his bed was a sight he missed. And a sight he would love to see again and again.

"Sir... you were saying something."

"Yeah... Have them prepare a presentation and meet me sometime next week. I want to know more." Charles also wanted to know what had Isabella glued to her phone. His eyes couldn't stop staring at her slender, cute, and quite sexy hands as they slid over the device in her hold.

Slowly, as he half-listened to what Mr. Wade was saying, he traced her entire body. From her slightly opened lips that she hardly adorned with lipstick, to her sleek hair that kept calling him to run his hands through them, he noticed every single thing. That look he saw on her face at the party, the one he could not decipher was present too.

"Mr. Oxford?"

Charles realized he had zoned them out once again. And that was a very unusual thing for a man of focus like him to do. He was sure the men would be so confused since they were seeing him act that way.

"Just let me know how everything goes."

"Okay, sir."

After they had packed their stuff and left, Charles just had to let out that smirk he had been hiding. "Miss Shade."

Her head came up finally and their eyes met. "Mr. Oxford."

Charles's smile widened. She was trying to act professionally. The next few minutes sure were going to be fun. He got up and made for where she was seated.

"It is good that you showed up." She gave a short shrug as her eyes followed him- as they should. But as his robe came off suddenly, her eyes which bore a grim look suddenly widened.

"I was starting to think you had given up on your suffering company." His pants came off next as he made for his small wardrobe, and her eyes swiftly darted elsewhere.

"You said you have a proposition," Isabella said, her neck trying not to turn. Charles wondered how much her body reacted to him at that moment.

Years ago, that sexy body of hers melted on just seeing him.

"I don't start my meetings that way, Miss Shade." He walked back into the room, fully clothed in a casual tee shirt and sweatpants. "Why exactly are you here, Miss Shade?" His legs crossed again after he has his seat on his chair.

"My company is in a lot of debt." It was ridiculous that she was seated so far from him, but he wasn't going to stress about that. She definitely would move closer to him at a point.

"So I gathered when I did my research."

Isabella scoffed. "I see you are still nosy."

"It is a habit. So, what do you want me to do?"

Her eyes became a shade of pity, it was like she was sorry for herself. "I would actually appreciate it if we could reach an agreement that will benefit you and pull me out of the debts."

"Hmm." Charles sat back. "Well, like I said when we met, I have a proposition that would benefit you extremely."

"What is that?"

Charles smirked as he knew what he was about to say would force her to move closer to him.

"All you have to do is marry me."

"Are you joking right now?" As Isabella asked that question Charles felt impressed. He wasn't sure why- it might partly because she still maintained a cool look as the inquiry slipped off her lips- but he was.

"You heard me, Miss Shade. Marry me and your debts will disappear, I assure you."

Isabella let out a bitter chuckle as she got up. "You must be joking."

"I am most certainly not," Charles replied calmly.

"So, you just want me to marry you." She moved dangerously yet graciously towards Charles.

"Be my wife and that's all you need to do."

Then, after her hand briskly ran through her hair, she asked, "Did you hit your head? Or don't you know that it is stupid to tell a married woman such nonsense?"

Charles's eyes narrowed as he thought confusedly, 'She is married?'

He checked her ring finger on both hands but there was no sign of her being married. He wondered if she was lying. The man who had her situation checked didn't mention anything about a husband and truthfully, even if the man had told him about her married state, he wouldn't have believed him just as he wasn't trusting Isabella's words at that moment.

"You know I am not joking, so you can cut out the attitude," Charles finally said, his voice sterner than he intended it to be.

"Attitude? You think I am giving you attitude?" she asked unbelievably as she moved even closer. "I am married, Anthony. If your research didn't tell you that much, I am letting you know the reality of the situation. So, now you know, you can shove your proposition back into where it came from."

Charles was dazzled.

If she was really married, she just made the game way fun. Getting up, he maintained this smirk that showed how eager he was to put the woman in her place.

When he stood a few inches away from her, he stopped and his hand immediately went into his pocket.

"You know..." His eyes scanned the walls of the room which were plastered with a spiral design of black and white wallpapers before they looked down at hers which looked like they were eager to tear him apart.

"For someone who is in a lot of debt, you are being too rude." Her pupils dilated. "You are being so rude that you look stupid especially, if I recall correctly, that about six years ago you left me standing at the altar waiting for you hopelessly."

Isabella's legs gave away almost immediately but Charles caught her and sat her down on a nearby cushioned chair, her scent briefly tickling his nose.

"Listen to me carefully Isabella..." His ringtone interrupted him, but he ignored it. " I don't care if you are married or not. I am going to get back at you for what you did. But, no, I am not going to harm you. All you need to do is marry me and have your debts cleared and I will get what I want, simple."

"I can't be married to two men at the same time!" Isabella seemed to have found her voice.

"Well it doesn't look like your marriage is doing you that much good, so a divorce is an approachable option."

"What the hell do you think you are doing? You think I am going to leave my husband?" Charles found it silly of her to be putting up such an attitude. She was making a fool of herself.

His eyes roamed her again as he thought that even when a bit foolish, she looked beautiful.

Damn... there it was again.

The desire that coursed his veins...

That will to pin her between his legs and kiss the hell out of her... That desire to fuck her senselessly as he did in the past... 

Those feelings came back and Charles realized that he was doomed around the woman.

But he soon caught himself.

And, he continued speaking.

"If you want your company's debt to be cleared, you will have to do as I want." Isabella huffed for the umpteenth time. "And yes, you owe me a lot for not marrying me earlier."

"Are you blackmailing me?"

Charles shrugged as he took a few steps back. "If that is what you want to term it, fine. I am just going to remind you that my proposition is simple, just marry me."

Isabella got up angrily and looked him straight in the eye and said, "Never."

Charles sighed and picked up a half-empty bottle of whiskey lying on a low stool. "I guess I will have to ask you again at a more convenient location." His head swung in the direction of the furious woman. "Will your house be okay?"

"I am not going to marry you and that is final." Isabella did not even wait to capture the smug look on Charles's face before storming out.

~

Christina Kane was angry. And that was evident in the manner with which she pressured the almost empty wine glass with her fingers.

And, why was she angry?

She had just heard the most stupid reply come out of the mouth of the non-fashionable woman that just stormed out of her boss's room.

Christina just found it intensely insane, she found it absurd that the woman just boldly rejected Charles's proposal. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but she caught the part where Charles had asked the lady to marry him and the part where the woman said she wasn't going to before angrily storming out of his room.

Her manicured, white-painted fingers caused a crack as she thought more and more about it. As Christina spared the glass and set it down, she thought of how foolish the Isabella woman was. Charles Oxford was not a man you can say no easily to.

His glare was enough to drive reluctance out and leave you with nothing but want for him. His body, without being exposed looked so yummy. Even, his beautiful, beautiful face was not left out.

Christina had been crazy about him way before she got a job at the company he specifically headed. Before she became his secretary almost two years back, she worked in a position where she was very invisible.

So, all she did was admire the gorgeous man from afar and hope that he would one day jam into her and offer her a smile as he apologized. And then, he might just ask her to go out.

But that was just pure wishful thinking.

But heavens smiled on her when a spot for his secretary was thrown open. And for the six months used to carefully select a candidate, Christina did more than her best. She drove herself to a point she never would have thought she could have reached.

And, that certainly paid off.

And, that left her with just one problem- making him her man.

Christina's face lit up as reason approached her. If Charles was looking for a wife, maybe she finally had a chance to be with him.

That brought a smile to the sexy blonde's face. Grabbing her phone, she knew she just had to play her cards right. And she knew how exactly she was going to do that.

[ THIS CHAPTER HAS TRIGGERING CONTENT. I TRIED TO MAKE IT AS MILD AS POSSIBLE. 

PLEASE DO NOT READ IF EASILY TRIGGERED. ] 

~

Isabella violently adjusted the neck of her gown which felt like it was growing into the length of her neck to suffocate her more and more just as her husband's presence did.

But, she was just harming the poor gown whose neckline did a good job of giving her chest breathing space.

Her hands retreating from the almost mutilated material, Isabella found a nearby bench to sit on to gather her thoughts properly.

As it turned out to be, the only source of help she had put her hope on was putting her in a spot.

A spot she did not see coming.

Recalling his proposition which he said with all seriousness, Isabella wondered why it had to be her of all people.

She understood that he would want her to pay back for what she did, but marrying her?

Why?

It was just absurd. Who gets married to someone who has hurt them?

Even if she wanted to atone for her sin and she decides to get married to him, there would always be Gabriel and her father holding her back.

That is a cage she has found herself in, a cage that is seemingly impossible to break free from.

'But maybe this is the miracle you have been waiting for.'

A voice from the back of her mind reminded her.

 As she stared at the space ahead, her mind suddenly derailed and she recalled the time he briefly took off his robe. Not only did her face heat up a bit, her insides turned mushy, and her neglected private part cried for attention.

Those few seconds were hellish for her and for an extra minute, she wanted to desperately satisfy the sexual starvation that mere toys failed to fill. For a minute, she wished to end up in bed with him.

But as usual, she held her head high and acted calmly.

Well, that was until he mentioned the incident.

She expected that he would mention it, but she did not foresee the way he casually dropped the bundle of her sin.

Isabella sighed as she looked up at the huge building that spanned grandly to form the hotel.

As she recalled events that had passed, she acknowledged that she messed up in the past and that was causing her present life to face disaster.

At that point, her tomorrow wasn't looking so good either.

"Do you think I should marry him to save my company?" Isabella asked the pigeon that had perched right beside her in search of crumbs. "You know my company means a lot to me."

The bird did not acknowledge the devastated woman who was engaging it in a conversation, but her phone rang before she put all her attention on the animal and raid it with questions it wouldn't be able to answer.

"Caleb?"

'How did the meeting go? Are we going to get help?' a concerned Caleb asked from the other end.

Isabella quickly weighed her options. She was less likely to accept Charles's proposition, but since a part of her wanted the miracle she yearned for so bad, being married to two men didn't sound so bad.

'Isa, are you there?'

She shook her head as her thoughts immediately made her feel disgusted.

"Mr. Oxford and I are trying to work something out, but it doesn't seem like we are going to get that help soon," Isabella replied, her eyes narrowed.

'That sucks. I hope he changes his mind and helps us. Anyway, Gabriel came by a few minutes ago.'

"What did he say he wants?"

'He... he said he knows you are ovulating today.'

Her arm that rested against the arm of the bench felt weak instantly. "What?"

'Isa... Be honest with me. Is your husband molesting you? Is he forcing you to do things you don't want to do?'

"I..."

'Talk to me, Isa.'

"I need to get home, Caleb. I will talk to you later."

'Isa...'

She cut the call and let out a shaky breath as her eyes followed the bird as it flew away, its feet almost touching the ground.

A few seconds later, Isabella gathered her stuff and braced herself for the craziness ahead.

~

Gently, her feet moved as a part of her wished her husband was deeply asleep.

"Hey, baby."

Startled by his sudden voice, Isabella clutched her chest area, her eyes bulging a bit afterward as they saw the sight waiting for her.

Gabriel, who was in nothing but a robe was poised in a weird way, a rose flower in one hand, a card in another.

"What's going on, Gabriel?" She recalled that he had even called her 'baby'. That word of endearment scared Isabella greatly.

His sand-coloured hair, which he seemed to have taken time to roughen danced as he approached her.

With a hint of excitement, he said, "What do you mean? I am treating you to something nice before we get down to business."

"Uh..."

"See..." He pointed toward the area behind him. "I even bought the best champagne in town."

"Oh." Isabella was confused further as she glanced at the champagne bottle which she sure was one of the expensive ones.

Gabriel was being nice, too nice. She had to be wary.

Once he was standing in front of her, Gabriel let go of the items in his hands and his long fingers began to trace her face. They grazed over her cheek for a while before they went to cup her chin. Tilting her head, he murmured against her lips, "God, you fucking are beautiful."

"Thank you?" she whispered as she was still not sure what to make of the drama he was acting.

"And, I can't wait anymore," he uttered before capturing her mouth fiercely. Without the thought of making sure the woman in his arms was willing to keep his pace, he began to bite at her lower lip as he suckled on it fiercely.

Isabella pulled away as she was beginning to feel the deep imprints of his teeth on her soft tissues which she felt would become a bruise.

Her lips crying for a means of being soothed, Isabella said to the eager man, "Gabriel, I can't do this today."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't have sex today, Gabriel."

His eyes narrowed. "But you are ovulating today."

She closed her eyes as she shook her head with determination. "I am tired, Gabriel."

"What nonsense are you saying? First, you lied about your period, I said nothing. Now, you are giving some silly tiredness excuse."

"But I am tired, Gab..."

"Shut up!" She jolted, her eyes slamming shut as she wished for the silence that ensued to last for a long time. "Just keep quiet," Gabriel growled.

As she felt his heavy breath against her lips, Isabella opened her eyes. It seemed that moment of silence wouldn't come after all.

Cautiously she nodded, saying, "Gabriel..."

"Don't..." He went straight for her neck. "Don't freaking call my name."

"Gabriel, your hands. Please release your hands." He was not squeezing, but she felt suffocated because of the way his fingers circled her neck.

"Are you telling me what to do?" She shook her head frantically. "How dare you? How dare you tell me you won't be having sex, because you... you are tired?" His hold tightened a bit as he angrily asked with a deep scowl implanted on his bulgy face.

"Gabriel... Please your hand..." Isabella pleaded.

"I said shut up!" Within a second, he had her back against a nearby wall, his fingers pressing into her flesh a bit harder. As she struggled to ease his hold and not piss him off, he continued with a hoarse voice, "In case you have forgotten, your father sold you to me and you have no right in whatever way to refuse whatever I ask you to do."

"Hmm..." she groaned as his other hand snaked past her gown and up her thigh.

"Now, I want to have sex with you and..." His long fingers went past her vulva and without warning, he dug three of his digits into her dryness causing a loud shriek to escape her lips. "If you say no, I am going to deal with you. Do you understand?"

As he talked, his fingers expanded her painfully, her eyes just had to let her tears flow.

Those were tears she had been hiding for a while.

Gabriel finally retracted his hold on her neck but quickly replaced it with his mouth which bit into her skin without mercy.

He ignored her sobs as she was already giving in without putting up a fight. "I asked you a question, baby." His fingers inside her had eased a bit. "Do you understand what I just said?"

Isabella nodded.

Then, he plunged the fingers back in. This time, her scream was louder, it showed the pain she had been hiding. "Answer me with words," he demanded, his voice making her flinch.

"Y- yes." Her voice sounded tired. She was very tired. She was fed up.

"Good. Now moan for me." He bit her earlobe hard.

"Hmm..." she made the sound as more tears broke out.

Gabriel's hand reached for her dress roughly and tore it mercilessly, exposing her half-naked. Next, he tore her panties and removed his fingers which had caused so much damage already.

Isabella just stayed against the wall hopelessly as she beat herself up for putting up a fight in the first place. She watched as he removed the robe which he put on to hide his nakedness.

Almost lifelessly, he threw her up, and instantly, he jammed her with his manhood, going almost ball deep.

This time, it was a mixture of a scream and a cry that left Isabella's lips.

While Gabriel took up the job of initiating distasteful motion between them, Isabella cried even more.

She cried for her life, her sorry life.

She cried because of her unnecessary suffering, she cried because almost six years ago, she threw away an invitation to a good life because of her father.

As Gabriel took his finishing grunts, she cried even more because of her father who has been ignoring her after dumping her into a terrible mess.

Isabella had no idea when Gabriel put her down, but when she heard him say, "That should get you pregnant," she came back to her sorrowful present and all she could do was lay in her mess on the cold tile, her eyes streaming with more and more tears.