Chapter 59

Chapter 59


ISABEL’S POV

The drive home felt longer than usual.

The city lights moved past her window in slow motion, their glow painting streaks of gold across the glass. Isabel barely noticed any of it. Her mind kept replaying Liam’s voice, the sharpness in it, the way his eyes had fixed on her when he said it.

“Tell me about your relationship with Katherine.”

That was the line that stayed in her head. Over and over.

She hadn’t even answered him. Her throat had gone dry. She’d smiled — that fake, nervous smile she’d used her whole life — and said something about charity work. He hadn’t smiled back. He just looked at her like he finally saw something he’d been ignoring for too long.

Now, sitting alone in her apartment, she kicked off her heels and sank onto the couch. The silence of the place wrapped around her, heavy and loud. She stared at her reflection in the dark TV screen — her eyes looked tired, older somehow.

She pressed her palms against her face and let out a shaky breath.

He was pulling away.

Liam.

Ever since Adele’s accident, everything had shifted. He stopped texting first. Stopped inviting her over like before. Even when she went to his house, he didn’t meet her eyes the same way. He had become polite — too polite — and that scared her more than anger ever could.

She thought about the last time they were together, before the hospital. He had laughed then, really laughed, his guard down for once. He’d touched her cheek in that careless, absentminded way he used to, and it had made her heart twist painfully. She had told herself then that she was winning him back. That maybe, finally, Adele was fading from his mind.

But now…

Now he looked at her like she was part of something rotten.

She stood and walked to the kitchen, poured herself a glass of wine, then stopped halfway through drinking it. Her hands were trembling. She set the glass down and leaned on the counter, trying to breathe.

It wasn’t supposed to go this way. Katherine had promised she’d handle things — that all Isabel had to do was play along, help her keep an eye on Adele, make sure she didn’t get too close to Liam again. That was all.

She hadn’t agreed to be suspected.

She pulled her phone from her bag and stared at the screen. No message from Liam. Nothing.

Her eyes stung. For a second, she let the tears fall — silent, quick, embarrassing. Then she wiped them roughly and whispered to herself, “You’re fine. You always are.”

But she wasn’t fine.

She loved him. God, she actually did.

Not the way she’d planned to — not as a strategy, not as another one of her calculated moves. He had this quietness, this strange steadiness that made her feel small and safe at the same time. When he looked at her, she’d felt seen — until he didn’t anymore.

The sound of her phone vibrating on the counter made her jump. She grabbed it quickly.

It was Katherine.

She hesitated before answering.

“Hey,” Katherine’s voice came, smooth and sharp at once. “You sound tense. Everything okay?”

Isabel swallowed. “He knows something.”

“What?”

“Liam. He— he asked me about you.”

There was a pause. Then, “What did he say exactly?”

“He said… he said he doesn’t trust people anymore. And then he asked me straight up about you. Like he already knew.”

On the other end of the line, Katherine went silent for a moment. When she finally spoke, her voice was tight. “That’s not good.”

Isabel started pacing. “No, it’s not. And I think Selene told him something. Or maybe Adele. I don’t know. But he looked at me like I disgusted him.”

“Calm down,” Katherine said, her tone clipped. “Panicking won’t help.”

“I’m not panicking,” Isabel said, even though she was. “You said no one would suspect anything. You said—”

“I said relax,” Katherine cut in. “We didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Didn’t we?” Isabel’s voice cracked. “Because I’m starting to think maybe I’ve gone too far. He’s avoiding me, Katherine. He doesn’t even want to look at me anymore.”

Katherine exhaled sharply. “Listen to me. This is what happens when people start to wake up. It doesn’t mean they know the truth. It means they’re confused. Let him be confused. Let him wonder.”

Isabel ran a hand through her hair. “You don’t get it. He’s not the kind of man who wonders for long. Once he decides he’s done with someone, he’s done.”

“And what? You’ll just cry about it?” Katherine’s tone turned cold, almost cruel. “You wanted him, didn’t you? You wanted him to see you. Well, now you fight for that.”

Isabel fell silent.

Katherine’s voice softened slightly. “Look, I’ll handle my end. If Liam calls, I’ll make sure he gets nothing from me. You stay calm. Don’t reach out, don’t text him, don’t chase him. He needs to think you’re innocent.”

Isabel bit her lip. “And if he already knows I’m not?”

“Then,” Katherine said, “you make him doubt himself. You’re good at that. Use it.”

There was something almost chilling in how easily she said it.

Isabel sat down again, curling into herself. “You’re not scared at all, are you?”

“Of what?” Katherine asked lightly. “Men like Liam? They’re predictable. They get angry, they dig around, and then they get tired. The only thing that lasts is what they feel— and if he ever felt anything for you, you can still use that.”

The line went quiet for a few seconds. Isabel stared at her reflection again in the black TV screen — her eyes looked hollow now.

“Katherine,” she said quietly, “what if this goes wrong?”

Katherine gave a soft laugh. “Then we start over. We always do.”

The call ended.

Isabel sat there, phone still in her hand, until the screen went dark. Her heart felt heavy, slow.

She looked toward the window — the city lights were still glowing, cars still moving, life still happening. And somehow, she felt further away from all of it than ever before.