Page 101 of Pride

A flood of awe and thankfulness hits me, and I hate it. I don’t want to feel anything but hatred toward the man, but it’s difficult when he just saved my life. He comes to the surface and draws in a deep breath of oxygen, swimming over to me.

My mouth gapes open as I stare at my husband in awe. “That was crazy.”

“You are fucking crazy, and I will be punishing you for this stupid, reckless behavior back at the villa.”

“Punishing me?” I ask, shaking my head. “You’re the one that needs to be punished for messing with Nina’s love life!”

“You may be mad at me for that, but I had my reasons.”

“What possible reason could that be? You don’t even know Nina.”

“I know about her struggles with her mental health.”

My eyes narrow as I wonder how that has anything to do with it. “So, because she struggles with her mental health, you think she doesn’t deserve to be loved?”

His jaw clenches. “Cathal went running the moment I told him about it. Is that the kind of man who can handle your sister or give her the love she needs?”

I hate how much sense that makes. Cathal clearly wasn’t the right person for my sister, but I fear that Isiah didn’t give him enough chance to figure out if his love for her could outweigh his fear of her condition.

“Come on, let’s get to shore before anymore sharks appear,” he says.

A part of me wants to keep arguing the matter, but instead I nod and start to swim to the shore, desperate to get out of the sea. As we paddle toward shore, the sun is setting above us, casting an orange glow over the ocean.

Exhausted, I fall onto the sand and gaze up at the sky as it slowly turns from blue to dark. Isiah lies down next to me, not saying a word as we both remain quiet and the stars being to shine in the night sky.

All the while, I can’t shake this feeling that Isiah intends to harm me and my family in some way. All signs point to it, including him meddling in my sister’s love life.

I glance over at him, hating how unnaturally beautiful he looks under the soft glow of the stars. “Why did you do it, really?” I ask, knowing that Isiah Darcy doesn’t do anything without an ulterior motive. “Does it have something to do with your intention of destroying my family?”

Instantly, I notice the tension in his body as he glances toward me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I push up onto my elbows. “Don’t bullshit me. I know there’s something you have against my family. You meddled in Nina’s love life and I know for a fact you orchestrated the destruction of that auction at Insignia, which was premeditated.” I realize at this point I’m speaking way too fast, rambling almost, because this man makes me nervous and angry and, at times, insane. “And while I wholeheartedly agree with what you did at the club, I’m not an idiot. The photos on that board in your apartment were part of some sort of plan. I know it.”

He watches me in silence for what feels like forever, before finally opening his mouth. “I do have something against your father. I want revenge for something he did to me.”

I stiffen, wondering if Isiah was perhaps a victim of one of those auctions. “You weren’t sold as a child, were you?”

He laughs, shaking his head. “No.”

My brow furrows. “Then, what happened?”

The walls come done all of a sudden as his eyes become glazed over. “I’ve already told you too much.” He pushes himself up from the sand and I’m sure he’s going to leave again; disappear like he did that first day on the island. Instead, he offers me his hand. “Let’s go and get something to eat.”

I sigh heavily. “More curry?”

He smirks. “I knew you were getting fed up with curry, so I ordered something special in.”

I arch a brow, wondering what he would have ordered. Instead of questioning him, I take his hand and allow him to lead me to the restaurant further along the beach.

We get to the restaurant and the same man who has served us most of the nights greets us at our table. “Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy.”

“Evening, Akhil.”

“As requested, we have your meal ready. We’ll bring it out to you shortly.” He tilts his head. “What would you like to drink?”

“I’ll have a whiskey tonight,” Isiah says, glancing at me.

I nod. “I’ll try one too.”

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