Page 76 of Until You (Forgive Me)

Her eyes locked with Isabella’s, the sadness radiating from them enough to make Isabella catch her breath.

“We weren’t talking. You’d turned away from me...” Realisation shone from her eyes. “That was when you saw Pierce leaving my room. That was when we stopped talking.”

Isabella dropped her gaze. It was true. She’d not been mature enough to confront her stepmother with what she had seen. Instead, she’d closed down and shut her out. As far as she was concerned, Danielle could not have loved her father if she was jumping straight into bed with his best friend and business partner.

“So it was Pierce’s suggestion to put me into rehab?” Isabella asked.

She had to know. She’d broken up with Edward, had been about to graduate. She would have been going back to King and Lebroc as soon as she finished. It had been their father/daughter dream, to work together at the family firm. Edward was there with his father, and she would work alongside hers. Instead, it had all gone wrong. She’d ended up turning her back on everything she knew and left. Their actions had meant she could not even access her trust fund, although that had been the least of her worries at the time.

“I won’t blame him. I could’ve said no. I was so worried I’d let your father down I wasn’t thinking straight. Dominic was always so proud of you. He loved you so much.”

Danielle was now openly crying. This was not the cold woman who had picked her up from the airport. This was the Danielle she remembered, who’d been there during her teenage years. The woman who had eased her through her first period, who’d talked to her about sex, had held her when she cried over her first teenage crush... this was the woman she remembered.

Isabella stood up and moved around the table, pulling Danielle into her arms, rocking her, as Danielle had done so many times for her.

“I miss him so much,” Danielle cried into Isabella’s stomach. Isabella felt her eyes fill up as the two held each other and cried over the years that could have been and what they’d both lost.

Isabella stayed for several hours. She and Danielle catching up. Isabella had not realised how much she’d missed her stepmother. It was only when she was leaving that Danielle stepped forward and pulled her into her arms.

“I hope you won’t be a stranger?” she said before stepping back and taking Isabella’s face into her hands.

Isabella smiled. “Never. I’ve missed you,” Isabella said, finding she really meant it.

“Not as much as I’ve missed you. You were my daughter, maybe not by blood, but in my heart. I’m sorry about the airport. I think I was in shock that you’d reappeared.”

“Let’s put the past behind us. I know it’s what Dad would have wanted. He loved you, Danielle. You made him happy. You brought light back into our house when it had all but died with my mother. I will always be grateful for that.”

“And Christian...?” Danielle’s eyes sparkled. “You always had an enormous crush on him growing up... your father would be thrilled. He thought the world of Christian. It doesn’t surprise me he’s been as successful as he has.”

Isabella’s vision blurred. Would her father have been happy with her choices? They hugged once more before Isabella left and made her way back to Christian’s apartment. The sun was still shining, the beauty of the long summer nights.

“Hi,” Christian said, coming up and taking her into his arms as she let herself into the apartment.

“Hi, you,” Isabella said, smiling up at him.

“How did it go with Danielle?” Christian asked, dropping a kiss on her upturned mouth.

Isabella smiled up at him, “It was good, and I’m glad I went... we cleared the air. I’d forgotten who she was to Dad and me. She wasn’t the money grabber everyone accused her of being. She was a genuine woman who fell in love with a wealthy man and took on his daughter, showering her with love. Somehow, that got lost,” Isabella said wistfully.

Isabella wrapped her arms around Christian’s waist, resting her head on his chest. The strong beat of his heart comforting her.

“I may be wrong,” Isabella said, drawing her head back and looking up at Christian, “But I think Pierce was up to something. I’m not sure what game he played, but somehow, I think I walked straight into his trap. Things Edward said when I caught him with Victoria, and the events that occurred afterwards... maybe I’m being paranoid.”

Christian tipped her chin up, concern flashing through his eyes.

“One thing I’ve learned in business. If your gut is telling you something, then you should listen, or at least check it out... I’m not sure what Pierce would have gained by what happened, and your father spoke very fondly of him, but park the knowledge. Has he been in touch?”

“You sound like my father. He always used to talk about following his gut. The answer is no, Pierce hasn’t tried to contact me. For how close my father and he were, it’s strange. But then again, maybe he’s embarrassed. We didn’t exactly part on the best of terms,” Isabella stepped back. “Perhaps I should visit him. Go into the office, see some of the old faces. It is my family’s business as much as his.”

Isabella watched as Christian’s business face fell into place. She’d seen this many times over the past couple of weeks since moving in. His brain was churning, running scenarios.

“Will you hold off? At least until I can...”

Isabella stepped forward, placing a finger against his lips. She was falling in love with this man.

“Of course. I need time to think. I won’t jump in until I know where I’ll land. That is something else my father drummed into me,” she said. “The things Danielle said have set off warning bells. I won’t ignore them. They may be nothing, or they may be something. I need to tread carefully.”

She wanted Christian to know she was not some naïve child. Throughout her life, her father raised her in a business environment, and she attended many of his business meetings to prepare for her future. She’d honed her skills within her own company.

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