"Nathaniel, do you love me?"
What answered her was a storm of hunger, fierce and relentless.
Isabelle Ashford clung to the man tightly, almost desperately, tangling herself around him like she wanted to drag him straight into the abyss of love and obsession.
It went on until well past midnight before the two of them finally pulled apart.
Nathaniel Blackwood turned over, got off the bed, and walked straight into the shower.
Isabelle lay there on the sheets, staring blankly at the ceiling above. The steady sound of running water filled the room, and in a split second, her thoughts were yanked back to earlier that evening.
She had spent ages carefully making a whole table of dishes, waiting happily for Nathaniel to come home for dinner.
Then the moment she turned around, she saw the live news report playing on TV.
"[Blackwood Group's CEO personally picks up top star Evangeline Wren at the airport. Are the two finally going public with their romance?]"
Nathaniel was dressed sharp in a suit, his features handsome and defined, his expression softer than usual as he placed a bouquet of baby's breath into the woman's arms. He rarely smiled, but when he did, his eyes looked like they were full of stars, bright enough to knock the breath out of anyone.
Seeing his first love return... he had to be thrilled, right?
The two of them hugged each other at the airport like nobody else existed, and after that, Nathaniel led her into the car.
When Isabelle was eighteen, she had gone from Jiangcheng to Qing County to visit relatives. On the way, there was a car accident. The vehicle flipped, fuel leaked from the tank, and it looked like it could blow any second. She had been one step from death when Nathaniel appeared like some god out of nowhere and carried her out of the wreck to safety.
Calm, steady, not panicking for a second, he kept encouraging her when she was on the verge of blacking out, even giving her mouth-to-mouth.
That had been her first kiss...
She still remembered his lips that day, cool and distant, yet somehow warm too, pulling her back from the edge of death.
Then, with a deafening explosion behind them, she lost consciousness, and the image of his deep-set eyes and sharp brows was carved straight into her heart.
So much so that even after all these years, she still couldn't let it go. She missed him, thought about him, dreamed about him over and over.
She had thought there would never be anything between them.
But fate really loved playing games. Three years later, she went to the hospital for a check-up and, by pure chance, donated blood to save a woman in critical condition.
That woman just so happened to be Mrs. Blackwood, Nathaniel's mother.
And when Nathaniel asked her what reward she wanted...
Her gaze burned, fierce and unwavering. "I want to marry you. I want to be your wife!"
Back then, old Mr. Blackwood had been pushing Nathaniel Blackwood into one blind date after another, basically lining them up nonstop. So when a wife practically landed in his lap, he only paused for a second before saying yes.
The marriage registration was absurdly fast.
Ten minutes, done.
It was only after they got married that Isabelle Ashford found out Nathaniel Blackwood had once loved someone deeply—his first love, Evangeline Wren. Too bad the elders never approved of her, and they forced the two apart. After that, Evangeline went abroad for further study, and the two of them were separated just like that.
For the past three years, Isabelle had done everything a wife was supposed to do. She took care of Nathaniel’s daily life, looked after him in every little way, and played the part of the gentle, obedient, perfect wife to the letter. Even though Nathaniel never brought her to social events, never introduced her into his world, she still kept going without complaint, doing all the thankless things and never once making a fuss.
She had stupidly, hopelessly wished that one day he might turn back and look at her.
That maybe she’d get even a moment of his tenderness.
But outside of the rare times when they were tangled together in bed, strangely in sync like soulmates only in the dark—
the rest of the time, his indifference was like a blade, cold and sharp, driving straight into her heart and leaving her hurt, lost, and empty.
The bathroom door slid open.
The tall man walked out, a bath towel hanging low and loose around his waist.
Broad shoulders, narrow waist, sharply cut abs, that clean V-line, the whole unfair package.
And right in front of her, without the slightest intention of avoiding her, he began getting dressed.
Isabelle already knew where he was going...
A sour ache rushed to her eyes before she could stop it, stinging so hard it felt almost unbearable.
"You're going to see her?"
Nathaniel’s hands paused for a beat. "Don’t overthink it. She’s sick. I’ll go check on her and come right back."
"Can you... not go?"
Her voice was so soft it was almost pleading, almost pitiful. This was her last try, her last attempt to hold on to him.
"She doesn’t know anyone else in this country except me. She has no family here. I can’t just leave her alone." His tone was flat, cool, without warmth. "Isabelle, you’ve always been sensible. I don’t want you crossing the line."
Not a trace of emotion in those cold words.
In an instant, her heart felt like it was being torn apart by some savage beast, pain ripping through her so violently she could barely breathe.
When did trying to keep her lawful husband from leaving become crossing a line?
Isabelle Ashford stared at the man in front of her, almost greedily, like she wanted to carve his face into her memory. His sharp features, those deep-set eyes, that straight, proud nose bridge... She lowered her voice and said softly, "Nathaniel Blackwood, let’s get a divorce."
Nathaniel narrowed his eyes at once. "What now? Another one of your tricks to get my attention?"
"This marriage is forced. Neither of us is happy." Isabelle pressed her fingers together, forcing herself to stay calm. "I’ll set you free..."
She took out the divorce papers she had prepared long ago and handed them to him.
The second Nathaniel saw the agreement, he finally realized she wasn’t being dramatic this time. She meant it.
His face turned cold in an instant, and a wave of anger came out of nowhere, fast and hard.
"Isabelle Ashford, you were the one who insisted on starting this in the first place. And now you think you can just end it because you feel like it? That’s not your call." His voice was icy, every word hitting like a slap. "As long as I don’t agree to this divorce, you will stay exactly where you belong, as Mrs. Blackwood. Behave yourself."
Then he turned and strode off without another glance.
Watching his retreating figure disappear, Isabelle’s tears finally broke free and poured down all at once. Her chest felt numb, so tight it was hard to breathe.
Only after seeing how deeply he could love someone else did she fully understand the cruel truth—over these two years, Nathaniel had never loved her at all.
All the hope she had clung to, all the joy she once held onto like a fool, drained away in that very moment. What was left was nothing but cold, dead exhaustion.
Half an hour later, Isabelle had packed her luggage.
The moment she stepped out of the villa, she blocked every single way to contact Nathaniel.
Then, without looking back even once, she vanished into the night.
