chapter 4

ISABELLA POV

I stared at my Stepmom in disgust, my mind raced with the thought that even after her daughter snatched my boyfriend from me, she still wanted her to get married to Ryan.

Ryan turned to my mom, his eyes glinting with amusement. “ Aren’t you tired of being a homewrecker, Mrs Genovese? Well, I guess it runs in the family, your family.”

My Stepmom’s face turned red with rage, but she couldn’t say anything, not wanting to anger Ryan any further.

Ryan then turned back to my parents, his expression turned stern. “ From now henceforth, Isabella’s no longer a member of this family. You have no right whatsoever to talk to her or to see her either. Unless she wants to see you, of course. And she no longer bears this family name. From now onwards, she’s Mrs. West. So I suggest you all give her the due respect she deserves.”

My Dad let out a nervous laugh, his eyes darted to me before he said. “ It’s not like I’m against it, Mr. West. But don’t you think she’s a bit young? She’s just twenty-one and still in school….”

Ryan cut him off, his voice turned firm.

“ But you don’t have any problem with your younger daughter getting married, do you? So why is it a problem now?”

My Dad turned quiet at Ryan’s questions, and tried avoiding Ryan’s intimidating stare.

Ryan’s eyes glinted with amusement.

“ From what I’ve seen and noticed, Isabella seems more intelligent, more mature and more financially savvy than your younger daughter. And yet, you gave her away in marriage without a second thought. Why do you have a problem with Isabella getting married?”

My heart raced with joy and excitement at Ryan’s words. Even though I didn’t have any ounce of feeling for him, still I was grateful for his support, and at this point I’d do anything to go far away from my parents.Ryan turned to his butler, who stood by the door. “ Get Isabella’s things to the car, please.”

The butler nodded and stepped out of the living room with my luggage in his hands.

Ryan turned to me, with a small smile on his face. “ Shall we, my dear?”

I nodded, feeling a sense of victory wash over me. I flipped my hair over my shoulder with a victorious smile on my face as I turned to my parents. “ I might be leaving for good, Dad. But, I’ll make sure to take back Mom’s company, even if it’s the last thing I do.”

With that, I turned and walked out of the house, with Ryan by my side.

I laid on the plush bed, with my phone held lazily in one hand as I played Candy Crush. It had been two weeks since I moved out of my parent’s house and into Ryan’s mansion. It was a whirlwind of a change, but I had to admit, I was loving every minute of it.

Most days, I’d wake up early, get dressed, and head to college from Ryan’s house. But some days, like today, I’d decide to stay home and study. Ryan’s mansion was a peaceful oasis, and I found myself getting more work done here than I ever did at home.But despite the peace and quiet, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Ryan was always watching me. He’d often appear in the doorway of my room, a small smile on his face as he’d ask me what I was up to. It was a little unnerving, but at the same time, it made me feel safe and protected.

My phone buzzed, disrupting my game. Ryan’s name flashed across the screen. I raised an eyebrow, wondering what he wanted now. I sighed and answered.

“ What?”

Ryan chuckled deeply from the other end of the line. “ Is that how you respond to your husband?” He teased me.

I shrugged, feeling a little defensive. “ It’s not like this marriage thing is real, Ryan. It’s all on paper, and it’s just for us to act like couples in public. You don’t expect me to act all lovey-dovey with you when we’re alone, do you?” Ryan chuckled softly, “ Anyway, it’s not like I’m asking much from you, Isabella.”

“ Have you seen the tabloids?”

I shook my head, feeling a little curious.

“ No. Why?”

“ You’re going to classes today, right?”

I nodded, wondering where this was going. “ Yes.”

“ I’ll advise that after this call, you check it, before leaving for classes. Because you need to be mentally prepared for whatever attention and questions that’s gonna come your way.”

I frowned, feeling a little confused. “ I don’t know what you’re talking about, but anyway...”

I opened my phone, and my eyes widened as I saw the news headlines. “ Ryan West Officially Engaged to First Daughter of Genovese’s...”  I stared at my phone in shock, my eyes fixed on the news headline. “ Ryan West Officially Engaged to First Daughter of Genovese’s...”

I felt a surge of anger and frustration. Why did he have to announce it? Didn’t he know how much attention it would bring?

I quickly dialed Ryan’s number, my heart raced with anticipation. But to my surprise, he didn’t pick up. I knew he was seeing my calls, but he was deliberately ignoring me.

I gritted my teeth in frustration and dialed the secretary’s number instead. “ Hand the phone over to your boss, right now,” I demanded, my voice rising in anger.

The secretary hesitated, clearly taken aback by my tone. “ I-I’m sorry, Miss Isabella. Mr. Ryan is in a meeting right now...”

But I cut him off, my anger boiling over.

“ Just give him the phone! Now!”There was a pause, and then I heard Ryan’s voice on the other end of the line. “ Isabella, what’s wrong?” He asked, his tone calm and collected.

But I was having none of it. “ Did you have to announce it?” I yelled, my voice echoed through the phone. “. Did you have to make it public? What were you thinking?”

“ Why did you announce it first before informing me?” I demanded, my voice shook with anger.

Ryan’s calm tone was starting to get on my nerves. “ I didn’t even think that we were going to announce it publicly,” I continued. “

Ryan’s voice came through with a brief pause. “ Hold on a sec, Isabella. Do you think that you would be able to get back your mom’s company by keeping everything private?”

I felt a surge of frustration. “ Ryan, don’t forget the base of our relationship. You know that after all this is over, we’ll go our separate ways and get a divorce. It’s a contract marriage, after all.”