Page 84 of Enigma: The Final Chapter
My shaking hand rattles the paper when he passes the document to me. After shifting my eyes between his, I lower them to the document. The first thing my eyes zoom in on is the wordexcludedwritten in thick black ink on both documents, closely followed by the 0% in the probability of parenting.
“You’re not their father?”
Isaac shakes his head. “No, I'm not.”
I don’t know whether to be disappointed or happy. I’m happy Isaac doesn’t have illegitimate children, but I’m sad that he’ll never see a mini version of himself running around.
Isaac grips my chin before hoisting my face back to him. After his eyes flick between mine, he shakes his head. “Only you would be disappointed, Isabelle.”
I roll my eyes, hating that he can read me so easily, where I could study his face for hours and not extract a single fact he didn’t want me to see.
Chuckling, he gathers me under his arm where I remain until we arrive at a private airstrip in Hopeton. I eye him warily when Hugo drives onto the runway before parking next to an industrial-size hangar. “Please don’t say we're getting on a plane.”
After Isaac took me against the wall in the hallway of our home, the next morning, he tried to bundle me into his car and fly us to Reno to get married. Thankfully, even blinded by lust, my levelheadedness resurfaced in enough time to gain back the shrewdness that always evades me when I'm in his presence.
Although our marriage license has been filed, and the wedding rings have been purchased, I'm holding off on setting an official date until I come down from Cloud Nine. I want to make sure this is what Isaac truly wants, and I’m not forcing his hand because he’s unable to control his domineering nature.
Isaac slides out of the car before leaning back in to assist me out. I grip his hand tighter the closer we get to the private jet idling near the hangar. When we stop at the bottom of the stairs, the galley pop door opens. I inhale a sharp breath when my dance partner from The Dungeon’s impressive frame fills the doorway of the plane.
As my heart thumps my ribs, I drift my baffled gaze to Isaac. His eyes are scanning my face, acting nonchalant. With my heart in my throat, I return them back to Ayden. Like I could get any more shocked, I’m taken aback for the second time when a little girl peers out from behind Ayden’s thigh. At a first guess, I'd say she's a toddler of maybe two years of age?
As Ayden walks down the jet’s stairs, she remains cowering behind his leg, only peering out when Isaac crouches down to her level. When he holds his hand out for her, her big brown eyes peer up at Ayden for several heart-clutching seconds before she leaps for Isaac. Her brisk movements have Isaac sprawling onto his ass, but the most scrumptious laugh also bellows out of him.
After gathering her into his chest, Isaac stands from the ground. My pulse surges through my veins at a rapid pace as I stare at the little girl who just saw Isaac’s soul from one glance into his eyes—just like I did with my Uncle Tobias.
Isaac removes the strands of hair fallen in front of her eyes before he twists her to face me. “Callie,” he croons, his tone calm and nurturing, “this is your sister, Isabelle.” I balk, shocked. “Isabelle, this is your sister, Callie.”
Callie’s head pops off Isaac’s chest, so she can run her eyes over my face. I assess her with just as much eagerness. She has the same rich chocolate brown eyes that Enrique and I got from our father, the same small nose, but her skin is a shade darker than mine.
I drift my watering eyes to Isaac. “The money? Your dealings with Vladimir?” In my disoriented state, I can’t form full sentences.
“Yes, I bought her.” His gaze lowers to Callie. “When I saw her eyes, I knew without a doubt she was your sister.” He returns his focus to me. “I couldn’t stop wondering what would’ve happened to you if Tobias didn’t buy you. Where you would have ended up? What monster would have owned you? So I couldn’t stand by and watch it happen to Callie knowing she has your blood running through her veins.”
Tears gush down my face. I never thought I could love Isaac more than I already do, but he continues to prove me wrong every day.
“Callie turned three last month. She's a little small due to malnutrition, but Jae said she's very healthy. She's a fighter, just like you.”
After adjusting Callie so he's holding her with one arm, he wraps his spare arm around my shoulders and draws me in close. My tears dampen his shirt, but the heat of Callie’s admiring will quickly take care of them. She’s staring at Isaac in awe like he's her knight in shining armor. In a way, he is. He did save her from the clutches of our father.
I don’t know how long we stay huddled together on the runway. It could be minutes or it could be hours. It’s impossible to tell because when I'm with Isaac, time doesn’t matter. It just stands still.
Epilogue
Isabelle
Six Months Later…
“Are you ready?” Ryan’s tone is as cheeky as the sparkle in his eyes. “You know this is bound to happen, so you may as well get the inevitable over and done with.”
I roll my eyes before nodding. My sassiness is stripped from my veins when sirens bellow through the humid morning air. As my frightened eyes dart to Ryan, the beat of my heart turns dangerous.
When the dark blue sedan pulls to the side of the road as requested, Ryan waggles his brow before he exits the vehicle. “Remain in your vehicle with your hands on the steering wheel,” he advises the driver of the car, his tone stern.
I move to back him up, my legs quivering with every step I take. When the back passenger door suddenly opens, and Isaac curls out of the car, I freeze. Excitement dashes down my spine when I drink in his impressive body, which is concealed in an impeccably tailored three-piece suit.
When Ryan advises him to place his hands palm side down onto the trunk and to spread his legs wide, his jaw sets into a hard line, but he does as instructed through gritted teeth, of course. When Ryan gestures for me to frisk him, I shake my head. I could never.
Ryan glares at me before he motions his head to Isaac again, advising his demand is not a request. With my pulse shrilling in my ears, I glide my hands over the hard ridges in Isaac’s torso before drifting them down his splayed legs.
