Page 18 of Velvet Chains

She looked up at me, her expression wary but curious.

“The engagement,” I said, sighing. I moved closer to her, and I could see her observe my every move. She was looking at me suspiciously, what did she think I wanted to do?

“Elia's question was an ultimatum. We need to solidify our cover. That means getting you a ring.”

It was then that she started to get upset. I could see a lot of emotions on her face in just one second. I started to see things from her perspective and I realized how hard this must be for her. Her life had changed in less than a week. It must have all been so surreal. I was worried that she would freak out and mess things up for me, which is why I had kept a vigilant eye on her during the meeting with Elia. However, she had kept it together surprisingly well, which was not what I had expected.

"A ring?" Her voice was high pitched and she practically hit her head on the head rest of the passenger seat when she leaned forward in shock.

"Yes, a ring," I fired back. “Isabelle, we talked about this.”

"I still don't think we need a ring." She huffed, and I found my patience waning.

"I'm going to say this one more time. The ring is a show, it's a symbol, something to prove to those watching that we're not lying to them." I was angry, so I spoke in a condescending tone.

"There's no need to sound like that."

"Like what?"

"Condescending."

“Fine, I apologize.” I conceded. “Will you wear the ring then?”

“Ok. But this is all for show.” She rolled her eyes. I smirked at her words. “We never talked about getting engaged.”

“Of course. But we have to make it convincing. For both our sakes.”

“I need my independence, you can’t control my every moment. You need to realize that I’m my own person and I need my space. You can’t watch me all the time and you can’t have people watch me either.”

“It’s for your own safety.” Mostly.

“No, and no more monitored phone calls.”

“No.”

“It’s a huge invasion of privacy, what if I want to have a private conversation with my friends or my parents?”

“So that you can tell them what’s really going on?”

Isabelle sighed, throwing her hands in the air in frustration.

“If at this point you don’t trust me, then I don’t know what to say.”

“Of course I don’t trust you" I smirked. Isabelle sighed again.

“I’m still gonna be listening in on your calls,” I said as she started to protest, but I stopped her by raising a hand, “but I will call off the people watching you. You will be allowed freedom within my estate.”

I could see that Isabelle was determined to maintain her independence. I couldn’t deny the growing attraction and respect I felt for her. I was aware of the risks, but I was also intrigued by the challenge she presented; I just couldn’t help myself when it came to her.

Isabella nodded, smiling a little, despite how uneasy she still looked. It was nice to see her smiling. It had seemed like all she did was stare into the distance and furrow her brows stubbornly.

“Good.”

“Can we go now?” I asked.

“I’m not the one holding the wheel,” she responded sassily. I chuckled, shaking my head; I really hoped she would never lose her fire.

So I nodded to the driver who started the engine, with one destination in mind; the jewelry store. I told the driver where we were headed and focused on the task ahead. I had to get Isabelle a rock to solidify our story. As we drove there, I had a feeling that buying the ring would change my life, but only time would tell.

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