CHAPTER 67

CHAPTER 67
Isabel sat in the parked car with the engine off and the windows cracked open. The streetlights outside flickered like they were tired. Her hands rested in her lap, fingers twisting into each other over and over until her knuckles ached. She had cried so much her eyes felt swollen, like they did not belong to her anymore.

She kept telling herself to breathe.

In through the nose. Out through the mouth.

It did not help.

Her phone buzzed again. Selene.

She did not answer this time. She knew they were coming. She could almost feel it in her chest, the way everything felt like it was rushing toward her all at once. There was no more time to rehearse. No more time to soften anything.

This was it.

She thought, briefly, about driving away. Just pressing the ignition and disappearing into the night. She had done that once before. Left a whole country behind like it was nothing. She could do it again.

But she did not.

Because Liam’s face kept coming back to her. Not angry. Not shouting. Just quiet. Disappointed. Like he was finally seeing her clearly.

That hurt more than anything.

Headlights swept across the car. Then another set. Doors opened. Footsteps approached.

Isabel closed her eyes.

A knock came on the window.

She opened it slowly.

Selene stood there first, concern written all over her face. Liam was right behind her. Julian a step back, arms folded, unreadable.

Isabel stepped out of the car on shaky legs.

“I’ll talk,” she said immediately. “Before I lose the nerve.”

No one interrupted.

They moved to the sidewalk. Isabel leaned against the car because she did not trust her body to hold itself upright. Her chest felt tight, like something was sitting on it.

She looked at Liam.

“I’m not going to lie anymore,” she said. “Not even to make myself sound better.”

Liam nodded once. “Just tell it.”

She swallowed.

“I left France because I was bored,” Isabel said.

Julian blinked. Selene’s brows pulled together. Liam stayed still.

“I know how that sounds,” she continued. “But it’s the truth. I had money. A name. The right schools. The right friends. The kind of life people think they want. Big apartment. Vacations that looked good on social media. Parties where everyone wore black and talked about art they did not actually care about.”

She let out a small, shaky laugh. “It was empty.”

She stared at the ground. “I was always the interesting one. The beautiful one. The one people wanted at their table. And it meant nothing. No one saw me. They saw what I represented.”

Her fingers dug into her palms.

“So I started looking elsewhere. New cities. New circles. Somewhere I could reinvent myself. Somewhere I could matter.”

She lifted her head. “That’s when I noticed Liam.”

Liam’s jaw tightened slightly, but he did not look away.

“I didn’t know you personally,” she said. “I knew of you. Your work. Your reputation. The way people talked about you like you were untouchable. Grounded. Loyal. Unshakeable.”

She smiled faintly. “I watched from a distance at first. Online. Interviews. Photos. You never looked like you were performing. You looked real. And that drew me in.”

She took a breath. “So yes. I chose this place on purpose. I chose this job on purpose. I put myself where I knew you would notice me.”

Selene exhaled slowly.

“I told myself it was harmless,” Isabel went on. “I told myself I just wanted a chance. That if you liked me, it would be because of who I was once you got to know me.”

Her voice cracked. “But that was already a lie. Because the foundation was a lie.”

She wiped at her eyes angrily.

“When Katherine approached me, I didn’t hesitate,” Isabel admitted. “She saw right through me. She knew I wanted more. She knew I was willing to bend rules if it meant staying close to you.”

Julian shifted his weight.

“She made it sound strategic,” Isabel said. “Controlled. Like we were just influencing situations, not destroying lives. She told me Adele was temporary. That she didn’t really fit into your world. That she was fragile. That she would break on her own.”

Her voice dropped. “I let myself believe that.”

Liam’s fists clenched at his sides.

“I told myself I wasn’t hurting anyone,” Isabel continued. “That if you ended up with me, it would be better for you. Cleaner. Easier. That I understood your world more than Adele ever could.”

She shook her head. “God, I was arrogant.”

Silence wrapped around them.

“I loved you,” Isabel said softly. “But not in a healthy way. I loved the idea of being chosen by someone like you. I loved the safety you represented. The stability. The way you stood by people.”

She laughed bitterly. “I wanted that loyalty for myself. Even if it meant manipulating it.”

Selene looked down.

“When Adele got sick,” Isabel said, her voice shaking, “something shifted. Seeing her vulnerable… it made everything real. I avoided the hospital because I couldn’t face what I had helped create. I couldn’t stand next to her knowing I had wanted her gone.”

She looked at Liam again. “And when you looked at me with that disappointment… I knew I had lost you.”

Tears slid down her cheeks unchecked.

“I don’t expect forgiveness,” she said. “I don’t deserve it. I just couldn’t keep pretending I was confused or innocent. I planned this. I set it in motion. Katherine just helped me execute it.”

Julian let out a slow breath. “So what changed?”

Isabel laughed weakly. “Fear. Guilt. And realizing Katherine doesn’t stop. She doesn’t care who gets hurt as long as she stays in control.”

She straightened slightly. “I’m done being her shield. I’m done lying. If you want to expose me, do it. If you want to walk away forever, do it. But I won’t carry this anymore.”

Liam finally spoke. His voice was low.

“Did you ever actually care about Adele?”

Isabel nodded immediately. “Yes. And that’s what makes this worse. Because I convinced myself she was an obstacle when she was just a person.”

She pressed a hand to her chest. “I am ashamed.”

No one spoke for a long moment.

Julian broke the silence. “You should have told me sooner.”

“I know,” Isabel whispered.

Liam looked at her, really looked at her, like he was putting together the final pieces of a puzzle he no longer wanted.

“I need distance,” he said. “Not to punish you. But because I can’t unhear this.”

She nodded. “I understand.”

Selene stepped forward. “Katherine won’t take this quietly.”

Isabel let out a tired breath. “I know. She never does.”

Julian’s phone buzzed again. Katherine’s name flashed on the screen.

He showed it to them.

“She knows,” Isabel said softly. “She always knows when she’s losing control.”

Liam looked at Julian. “Whatever you decide to do next, I’ll back you.”

Julian nodded slowly. “Then it’s time to end this.”

Isabel closed her eyes.

For the first time in a long time, she was not planning her next move.

She was just standing in the wreckage of her choices, finally telling the truth.

And that, somehow, felt heavier than any lie she had ever told.