Chapter 280: Old wound, new walls

Isabel’s POV

The basement is dim, quiet except for the ragged breath of the man tied to the chair.

Malik.

And standing over him… Alexander, his grip tight around Malik’s collar, fury thick in his posture. I freeze at the top of the stairs, stunned. His knuckles are white. His whole body tensed. Like he’s one second away from snapping.

I can’t believe what I’m seeing.

Thank God I got here on time. If Monica hadn’t whispered this location to me, I wouldn’t have even known. It wasn’t easy getting it out of her—she hesitated at first. But the memory of everything we once shared must have meant something. She gave in eventually. Just enough.

I step forward slowly, each movement calculated. My fists clench at my sides as I take in the scene. My voice rises before I can stop it.

“Alexander!”

His body stiffens. He turns slowly. Eyes meeting mine.

The tension thickens instantly, wrapping itself around us like a second skin.

How dare he?

How dare he lock Malik down here like this—bruised, helpless, hidden. Malik is one of the most important leads we have. He’s a key witness to everything. If he disappears or gets hurt, we lose everything. Cynthia. Selene. The truth. How could Alexander think this is the way?

I storm toward him, anger pulsing under my skin. “I can’t believe you, Alexander.”

My eyes dart to Malik, tied up and injured, then back to him. “Why do you have him with you?”

Alexander breathes in sharply. “Look, Isabel, it’s not what you think. I was only trying to get information from him.”

I scoff, my gaze flicking to Collins, standing in the corner like a silent shadow. My mind flashes to the case of Aria—how Collins got the confession video from Eva, exposing the lies she told about Aria. And then, not long after, Eva turned up dead. He’s always said he had nothing to do with it, but standing here now, watching this play out, I can’t help but draw the connection.

I look back at Alexander. “I don’t think so. What I just saw… that didn’t look like someone trying to ‘get information.’”

His voice drops. “Then what does it look like to you? You still don’t believe me, do you? You still think I’m the villain in your story?”

I meet his gaze, my voice cold. “Yes, Alexander. I don’t believe a single word that comes out of your mouth.”

He scoffs, tilting his head back in frustration, then forward again. “All I was trying to do was make him tell the truth. Everything he knows about Cynthia, about her plans—”

“So you can have him killed afterwards?” I cut in, eyes on Collins. We both know what I meant.

“What?” Alexander runs a hand through his hair, disbelief dripping from his voice. “Don’t you think you’ve built a very twisted version of me in your head? Do you really think I’m capable of that? Isabel—”

I tilt my head toward him. “Then you should’ve taken him to the police. For questioning. Not brought him here. To your basement of all places.”

His voice falters, softening. “But I can’t keep hoping the police will protect you. Don’t you see why I’m doing all this?”

His steps falter toward me, voice barely a whisper now.

“I never asked for your protection,” I say, closing my eyes, inhaling deeply. When I open them again, I speak clearly. “You’ve never protected me before. And I don’t need you to start now. If you really want to help me, then stay out of my business. Don’t interfere with anything that concerns me.”

I point at Malik. “And that begins with handing him over to the authorities.”

He reaches out gently, hand curling around my wrist. “Isabel…”

I pull my arm away like his touch burns. “You have no right, Alexander. No right to worry about me. You lost that right a long time ago. Don’t make me say it again.”

I turn to leave, every step meant to distance myself, not just from the room… but from him.

Then suddenly, a sharp tug at my wrist pulls me back, spinning me around. I stumble into his chest, his arms wrapping around me tightly. His breath brushes hot against my neck.

“Please,” he whispers, voice cracking. “Don’t say that. Don’t shut me out like this. I want to protect you… and the kids. I just want to keep you all safe. I want to make sure Cynthia never gets near you again. Don’t ask me not to care. Please, Isabel.”

He holds me like letting go will steal the breath from his lungs. Like I’m the last thing anchoring him to this moment.

I freeze, heart torn between old wounds and the the warmth I once craved.

Part of me wants to melt into it. Just for a second. To pretend none of it happened. But another part—older, colder—won’t allow it.

I remember every night I cried alone. Every smile I forced in front of his mother. Every time I waited for him to choose me—and he never did. Years of marriage, and he never once protected me from the weight of it all. He let me carry it alone.

And now he wants to protect me?

A tear builds at the corner of my eye, but I swallow it back.

I slowly pull away from his grip, lifting my eyes to his. “We’re over, Alexander. There can’t be an ‘us’ anymore. You need to accept that.”

I try to smile, but it’s faint. “I’ve protected myself and the children all these years, and I’ll keep doing so. I also have my family now. They’ll keep us safe.”

I step back. “Send Malik to the authorities. And stop thinking it’s your job to protect me.”

Then I turn, breathing deep, and walk away.

My steps are steady, but my chest feels like it’s splintering. The moment I step out of sight, a tear escapes, sliding slowly down my cheek.

I let more follow.

Quiet, steady, aching.

“All of this means nothing,” I whisper to myself. “Maybe when I marry Roy… maybe then I’ll stop feeling like this.”

I take a deep, shaky breath and walk to my car.

“I’m sure my marriage to Roy will be a new beginning… and the end of every feeling that shouldn’t still exist.”

I open the door, slide in, and shut it with care.