CHAPTER 27
The tension in the room was palpable. Graham could feel every nerve in his body pulled taut as Isla stood before him, her face a mixture of hurt and anger, her eyes glistening with tears she was trying so hard to hide. He had never seen her like this—so raw, so vulnerable—and it made something inside him snap.
His mind raced, trying to make sense of everything, but the words felt trapped in his chest. He had always prided himself on being able to control situations, to fix things when they went wrong. But Isla... she wasn’t a problem to be solved. She was a person—complicated, beautiful, frustrating—and he realized that, no matter how much he wanted to fix it, he had no idea how to make things right.
Her voice cut through the silence again, soft but laced with accusation. "I can't believe you did this, Graham. I thought... I thought you were different. But it feels like you were just using me the whole time. I don’t even know who you are anymore."
His breath caught at her words. He had expected anger, frustration, maybe even disappointment, but this... this felt like something worse. This felt like betrayal. And he hated it.
“No, Isla,” he said, taking a step toward her, his voice barely above a whisper. “It’s not like that. I’m not using you. I... I care about you more than you know.”
Isla looked at him, her face torn between the desire to believe him and the fear that she had been manipulated. “Then why all of this? Why the party? Why bring me here, to New York, under false pretenses? I don’t even know if I can trust you anymore.”
Graham’s heart ached. He didn’t want to hurt her. He never wanted to hurt her. But somewhere along the way, he had lost his way. The idea of the party, the plan to show her his world, had seemed like a good one at the time. A way to bring them closer, to share a part of his life with her. But now, it felt like a trap—like something he had created, unwittingly, to prove something to himself, rather than to her.
“I didn’t mean for you to feel that way,” he said, his voice cracking slightly. “I swear, Isla. I didn’t think... I didn’t think you’d react like this. I thought we were on the same page, that you’d want this... want to be a part of this with me.”
Isla shook her head, her lips trembling. “I’m not some... some prize you can show off, Graham. You’ve made me feel like I’m just some accessory to your life. And now you want me to pretend that everything’s okay, that I’m okay with being paraded around at a party I didn’t even ask for. I can’t do that.”
Her words hit him like a slap, and he felt a cold wave of guilt wash over him. He had wanted to show her that he cared, that she mattered to him. But somewhere along the way, he had gotten lost in his own ambitions, in his desire to prove that he could make her fit into his world. The very thing he had thought would bring them closer was now driving a wedge between them.
“I never wanted to make you feel like that,” he said, stepping closer to her, his voice barely a whisper now. “I’m sorry. I should’ve known better. I should’ve listened to you, instead of just assuming what you needed.”
But Isla wasn’t ready to listen. Her eyes were burning with frustration, and her fists were clenched at her sides. “You’re not listening to me now. You’re just talking. You’ve been talking all along, Graham, but you’re not hearing what I’m saying. I never wanted any of this. I wanted to be with you, yes, but I didn’t want to be some part of your perfect little plan.”
Graham’s chest tightened, and he felt a pang of regret cut through him. “I’m sorry, Isla,” he repeated, but this time, his words felt like they were not enough. He had hurt her. And no apology could change that.
She stepped back, her face hardened, and her voice was firm as she spoke. “I want to go home, Graham. I want to leave this place, leave all of this. I can’t stay here, not like this.”
The words hit him like a punch to the gut. Home. She wanted to go home. And in that moment, Graham realized just how badly he had failed her. He had made her feel like she didn’t belong, like she was an outsider in his life. The woman he loved felt like a stranger in his world.
His heart was racing now, panic and guilt swirling inside him. “Isla, please—don’t leave. Please don’t do this. We can fix this. We can talk about this. Just give me a chance.”
She shook her head, her voice trembling with emotion. “I don’t know if I can trust you anymore, Graham. I don’t know if I can stay here and pretend that everything is okay. I can’t just smile and nod while you continue to make decisions for me. I have my own life. And I want to be in control of it.”
The truth in her words stung, and for the first time in a long while, Graham felt completely out of control. He had built his life, his success, on being able to manage everything. But now, in this moment, he realized that no amount of control could fix what was broken between them.
He reached out to her again, this time more gently. “Isla, please, don’t leave me like this. We’ve been through so much together. I don’t want to lose you. I need you.”
For a moment, she hesitated, her eyes searching his face for any sign that he meant it. Her breath was shallow, her chest rising and falling with the weight of her emotions.
And then, finally, she spoke, her voice barely a whisper. “I don’t know, Graham. I don’t know if I can keep doing this. I don’t know if I can keep pretending like I’m okay with all of this.”
The silence that followed was suffocating. Graham stood there, watching Isla as she pulled away from him, her eyes filled with confusion and hurt. She had said it all—she had poured out her emotions, her frustrations, and the one thing she’d been holding back for so long. And now, there was nothing left to say, nothing left to do.
But Graham couldn’t just let her go. He couldn’t let the woman he loved walk away from him like this, with nothing more than a broken apology to show for it. Every part of him screamed to fix it, to somehow make things right, but the words escaped him.
“Isla,” he whispered, his voice cracking, “please don’t do this. Don’t walk away from us.”
CHAPTER 28
She turned away from him, her back stiff, her shoulders set in defiance. “I can’t stay, Graham. I don’t even know what we are anymore. You’ve made everything so complicated, and I’m not sure I even recognize who I’m supposed to be in your life. Am I a trophy to show off at your parties? Am I a prop in your perfect little world?” Her voice broke at the last words, and for a moment, the mask of anger slipped away to reveal the raw hurt she had been trying to hide.
Graham’s heart clenched. The words stung, but he knew they were true. He had taken her for granted, assuming she would fit into his life, his world, without considering what she truly wanted or needed. He had been so focused on showing her how much he cared, on making things perfect for her, that he had forgotten to actually listen to her—to see her for who she was, and not just as a part of his plan.
“I never meant to make you feel like that,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “I never meant for you to feel like you were just... something to show off. You mean more to me than that, Isla. You’re more than just a part of my life. You’re my life. You’re the one I want.”
She didn’t turn around. She didn’t even acknowledge him. The distance between them, both physical and emotional, felt insurmountable. The hurt was too deep, the words too cutting, and he had no idea how to bridge the gap between them.
As she reached for her purse, the finality of her actions hit him hard. She was leaving. She was done. And there was nothing he could do to stop it. He felt a surge of panic, a desperate urge to make her stay, to fix everything before it was too late.
“No,” he said, his voice growing stronger, more insistent. “You’re not leaving, Isla. Not like this.”
She stopped, but only for a moment, her shoulders tense as she stood there, her back still to him. “I don’t think I can keep doing this, Graham,” she replied, her voice low, almost sad. “I don’t know how we can keep pretending that things are okay when they’re not.”
The words felt like a punch to his gut. He had tried so hard to make things right, to make her feel loved, cared for. But all of his efforts, all of his plans, had only driven a wedge between them. He had built up walls around himself, around his world, and now it was all falling apart.
“Please don’t leave me,” he said, taking a step toward her, his voice raw with emotion. “I’m sorry. I should’ve done things differently. I should’ve listened to you, been there for you. I can’t lose you, Isla. I won’t.”
For a moment, it seemed like she was going to break. She turned slightly, just enough for him to see the pain in her eyes, the tears that threatened to spill over. But then, just as quickly, she hardened again, her face closing off as she shook her head.
“You don’t get it, Graham. I can’t keep pretending. I can’t keep living in this world where everything is a lie, where I’m just a pawn in your game. I’m not going to stay here and be part of your perfect little life anymore.”
His chest tightened. Her words hurt more than anything else could. He had tried so hard to make her feel special, to show her how much she meant to him, but now it felt like none of it mattered. Like everything he had done had been for nothing.
“I don’t want a perfect life,” he said, his voice low and fierce. “I just want you. I don’t care about the parties, the people, the plans. I care about you. And I’m not going to let you leave without fighting for us.”
Isla shook her head again, this time with more force, her voice trembling with a mixture of frustration and sadness. “I don’t even know who you are anymore,” she whispered. “The man I thought you were is gone. And I don’t think I can keep trying to love someone who isn’t real.”
Her words hit him like a blow to the chest, and he took a step back, as if the weight of them had physically knocked him off balance. He had spent so much time trying to be the man he thought she wanted, the man he thought he should be, that he had lost sight of the person he truly was—and the person she had fallen in love with. And now, it was too late.
“No,” he said again, his voice almost desperate. “You’re wrong. You’ve got it all wrong. I’ve never stopped loving you. I just... I didn’t know how to make it right. But I will. I will make it right, Isla. Just please don’t leave me.”