Chapter 2

The cool morning air brushed against my skin as I sat in the corner of a small Brooklyn café, hands wrapped around a lukewarm cappuccino. I'd barely slept, spending the night in a modest hotel where the desk clerk hadn't recognized the Montgomery-Blackwell name. The anonymity felt like freedom—terrifying and exhilarating all at once.

I traced the rim of my cup, watching the last wisps of steam disappear. My phone lay face-down on the table, silenced after the first dozen missed calls. I couldn't bear to see his name flashing on my screen, couldn't stomach the thought that he was calling not out of concern but irritation at the inconvenience I'd caused.

Charlotte Hayes was back. The knowledge sat like a stone in my chest. I'd seen pictures of them together in old society pages—Ryan looking at her with an openness he'd never once shown me. What was I compared to her? A business transaction with a signature at the bottom.

"Another cappuccino, miss?" The barista's gentle voice pulled me from my thoughts.

I nodded gratefully, pushing my empty cup forward. "Yes, please."

The bell above the door chimed, and I glanced up automatically. My heart stopped.

Ryan stood in the doorway, his tall frame rigid with tension. His usually immaculate appearance was disheveled—his shirt wrinkled, dark circles under his eyes, hair mussed as if he'd been running his hands through it repeatedly. For a moment, he looked almost... vulnerable.

Our eyes locked across the small café. Something flashed across his face—relief so profound it bordered on pain—before his features hardened into the cold mask I knew too well.

He crossed the room in four long strides, looming over my table. "Do you have any idea what you've done?" His voice was low, controlled, but I caught the slight tremor beneath the steel.

"I left a note," I said quietly, looking up at him. "I needed space."

"Space?" He spat the word like it was poison. "You disappear in the middle of the night without a word—"

"I left a note," I repeated, stronger this time.

"—and you think a three-word note is sufficient?" He raked a hand through his hair, a gesture so uncharacteristic of his usual composure that it momentarily stunned me. "I've had my entire security team searching the city. I called every hotel, every friend you've ever mentioned."

I blinked, trying to process his words. "You... searched for me?"

"Of course I searched for you!" His voice cracked slightly. "You're my wife."

The title hung between us, hollow and meaningless. Wife—not beloved, not partner, not even friend. Just a legal designation, a box checked on his life plan.

"Why?" I whispered, my voice barely audible above the café's ambient noise.

Something shifted in his eyes—a flash of raw emotion quickly suppressed. For a heartbeat, Ryan Blackwell, the impenetrable CEO, looked utterly lost. His shoulders sagged almost imperceptibly, and when he spoke again, his voice held a softness I hadn't heard in years.

"Isabella, I—"

But whatever he might have said was swallowed as his jaw clenched and the mask slipped back into place. His eyes hardened, and he straightened to his full height.

"This behavior is unacceptable," he said coldly. "You have responsibilities. The Montgomery-Blackwell Foundation gala is next week. How do you think it looks when my wife vanishes without explanation?"

Of course. Appearances. The business. The arrangement.

"I'll be home tonight," I said flatly, turning my gaze back to my fresh cappuccino.

Ryan stood there for a moment longer, as if waiting for something more. When I remained silent, he gave a curt nod and turned to leave.

As he reached the door, he paused, his back still to me. "Don't do that again," he said, his voice so quiet I almost missed it. Then he was gone, the bell chiming in his wake.

I stared at the space where he had stood, trying to understand what had just happened. For a moment—just a moment—I'd glimpsed something beneath Ryan's perfect, polished surface. Something that looked almost like fear.

But that was impossible. Ryan Blackwell didn't feel fear. He didn't feel anything at all.

Did he?