Isabella’s POV
As I regained consciousness, I found myself wishing that I remained unconscious due to the throbbing pain all over my body. It felt like all my bones were aching.
When I finally managed to open my eyes, blinking at the harsh lights piercing my eyes, I wasn’t surprised to see myself in a hospital.
Why was I always waking up this way?
However, I refused to move for a moment.
Because I moved, someone would realize that I was awake, and if they saw I was awake, they would start talking.
My mind flashed back to the last time, how the doctor had told me that I had lost my pregnancy.
My chest tightened.
stared blankly at the ceiling, trying to steady my breathing. I wasn’t ready, I didn’t want to know what I had lost.
‘Oh, you’re awake,” a fairly familiar voice drawled from beside me, and I tensed, slowly turning my neck towards the direction of that voice.
‘Alexander.” I breathed out his name. I couldn’t believe he was here, in the flesh.
‘Hello Isabella,” Alexander Pierce, Marcus’s older brother, said coolly.
He was leaning casually against the chair beside my hospital bed. His arms were crossed, and ne looked so relaxed, but when I looked deeper, I could see the worry and lack of sleep in his
eyes.
My breath caught in my throat.
‘You… you’re really here,” I whispered. My voice was hoarse, and filled with disbelief.
Alex grinned mischievously, “Well, yeah. We were supposed to meet, remember?” he teased, but
is voice was gentle.
blinked at him, still confused. “The orphanage… the fire-”
‘I know,” he said softly, his grin fading. “I was there.”
My lips parted slightly in surprise. “You were? But Alexander-”
He cut me off, leaning closer towards me with a smirk. “Come on, Isabella. I’m your fiancé now, surely you can call me Alex.”
My heart flipped in my chest, and I nodded slowly.
‘And yes, I was there. I-” He started, but I cut him off.
‘You saved me,” I said slowly as realization dawned on me. My eyes widened.. “I thought that someone carried me out, I thought it was a stranger…”
Alex shrugged, but I could see an unreadable expression cross his face. “It was chaos. I got there, there was smoke, and so much screaming and you weren’t answering your phone. I barely got to you in time. You were unconscious, the building was going up in flames, and that bastard…” He growled, clenching his jaw.
Chapter 15
2/2 19.5%
9:28 pm GADD
I knew who he meant.
Marcus.
“I saw him,” Alex said coldly, “He came out with Bianca, holding an unused gas mask, and I feared the worst. I watched as he got into the car and left you inside.”
I closed my eyes, and the memory rushed back. I could remember the thick smoke, feeling my
lungs, and I could feel the heat. I could still remember that numb feeling when Marcus had yanked away that extra gas mask from my reach, just so Bianca could have a spare.
He had left me to die.
My throat tightened, and I swallowed hard. I didn’t speak.
Alex’s voice was gentle when he spoke again. “You don’t have to talk about it yet. Just know you’re safe now, and you’ll always be safe.”
He reached out, and held my hand gently with a soft smile.
“Thank you for saving my life,” I murmured.
His grip tightened on my hand slightly. “You don’t have to thank me for anything, Izzie.”
Despite the pain, I smiled fondly. Izzie was Alex’s nickname for me.
Alex smirked. “Besides, carrying you out of that burning building was very romantic.”
I released a small laugh at his words, and he brightened. That had been his goal, to cheer me up,
and it worked.
I gasped as a thought flashed through my mind. “The orphanage!”
Alex’s smirk faded.
Panic surged through me, and my heart raced. “It was burning. I saw the flames! The children! Oh God, the kids! What happened to them? Are they okay? Where are they now? Where will they stay? I need to-”
‘Hey, hey,” Alex cut in, gently squeezing my hand to calm me. “Relax, Izzie.”
turned my head sharply toward him, ignoring the pain that shot through my neck. “Relax? Alex, they could be-“”
‘I said relax, he repeated, softer now. He had a reassuring smile on his lips. “I’ve handled it.”
blinked. “What?”
