Chapter 1
For my sake, Alexander Sterling had sworn off three things: women, brawls, and street racing.
Whispers around Kingston claimed I, a mere woman who was pampered by him like a caged canary, had finally tamed the city's wildest man in the elite circles.
Yet, the morning after the fairytale wedding, I woke up to a different reality—five years in the future.
At twenty-nine, Alexander stood before me, slapping divorce papers against my chest.
"I told you not to mess with her! Next time, I won't stop at breaking your arm."
"Isabelle Grant. I'm done wasting time on you," he roared.
His features were carved from ice, the warmth he once held completely gone, replaced by a terrifying rage.
My eyes stung with tears, and my lower lip trembled. "Honey, are you really being mean to me?" I whimpered.
Alexander froze for a moment.
A heartbeat later, his brow furrowed even deeper.
*****
He looked utterly baffled, and frankly, the feeling was mutual.
Just last night, he'd actually humbled himself and brought me warm water to soak my feet.
Not long ago, after that car crash, Alexander had nearly died just to protect me. The scar by his eye was still there, plain as day.
Even at our wedding, Alexander, as the heir to the Sterling Group, who was notorious for his cold and ruthless ways, actually got all choked up and even cried in front of everyone, just because he was marrying me.
Just one night later, and everything was different.
The man who used to treat me like I was his everything was now looking at me like I was something he couldn't stand.
Alexander clearly couldn't wrap his head around what I was saying.
He gave me a long, searching look. "Don't tell me you forgot about everything. Isabelle, you don't have to come up with something so absurd," he said, his voice cold.
Alexander wasn't buying my reaction.
He rubbed his temples in frustration, barely spared me another glance before snatching up his coat and storming out.
I froze for a second before hurrying after him, reaching out to grab his arm. "Alex—"
But Alexander suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Caught off guard, I slammed my nose right into his rock-hard back.
A sharp gasp escaped me, and tears sprang to my eyes instantly.
But Alexander acted like he didn't hear a thing—didn't even bother to turn around.
Instead, he just lowered his head and fished out his phone, which had been buzzing nonstop.
It turned out someone was calling him.
Alexander picked up the phone.
Instantly, a bright, feminine voice rang out from the speaker, clear as day—I heard every word.
"Alex, why aren't you here yet? Ethan's been waiting for you forever," she said.
Alexander let out a low "mm."
The icy edge in his eyes softened instantly. "I'm on my way."
My heart suddenly tightened, and I blinked awkwardly, feeling lost.
"Who is she?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
That voice rang a bell.
But my mind was a jumble, and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't place where I'd heard it before.
"Are you done with the act?" Alexander's voice was cold as ice.
He put his phone away and turned to face me. There was still a hint of softness lingering on his face, but his words made me feel like I'd just been thrown into a freezer.
"If it weren't for me, you'd have died in that poor village ages ago. You wouldn't be standing here," he said.
He barely glanced at my reddened nose, his tone flat and distant. "Isabelle, you should be grateful."
The door slammed shut with a deafening bang.
It shook me to my core, jolting me back to reality.
With trembling hands, I picked up my phone.
Almost on autopilot, I dialed the number I knew by heart.
It rang for ages before someone finally picked up.
"Hello? Is this... Isabelle?"
It was my best friend Natalie—she sounded genuinely surprised, like she hadn't expected my call at all.
But I didn't have the energy to read into her tone.
As soon as I heard Natalie's voice, I just couldn't hold back the tears anymore.
Once I finished talking, there was a pause on the other end.
Then, her voice suddenly shot up, incredulous. "Wait, you mean you just got married yesterday?"
I stared at the divorce papers in my hand, completely at a loss.
"Yeah, and now Alexander wants to divorce me..."
I sniffled, trying to hold back my tears.
"Natalie, can you come pick me up?" I asked, my voice trembling.
There was another long silence on the other end.
It was so quiet that I started to wonder if she hadn't heard me.
Finally, a single word came through the phone. "Okay."