It had been two long days since Isabella had gone missing, and Alex was teetering on the edge of despair. The sleepless nights, the frantic searches, the mounting fear that something terrible had happened—it all weighed heavily on him. His security team had scoured every inch of Tokyo and beyond, but there had been no sign of her, no clues as to where she might have gone.
Until today.
A tip came in early that morning. A woman matching Isabella's description had been spotted at a small, remote guesthouse just outside the city. Alex's heart raced as Victor gave him the details.
"She's there, boss. We're sure of it this time," victor said confidently.
Alex didn't waste a second. He jumped into his car and sped through the narrow streets, his mind filled with images of Isabella—safe, alive, and within reach. His knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel, his breath coming in shallow bursts as he imagined holding her again.
As he pulled up to the guesthouse, a small, secluded building hidden amongst trees, Alex's heart pounded in his chest. The air was still, heavy with tension, and the only sound was the wind rustling through the leaves.
He pushed open the door, his footsteps echoing on the wooden floor as he entered the lobby. The old woman behind the counter looked up in surprise but didn't say a word. She simply gestured down the hallway, and Alex followed her lead without hesitation.
At the end of the corridor, there was a room with the door slightly ajar. He pushed it open gently and stepped inside, his breath catching in his throat.
There she was.
Isabella was sitting on the edge of the bed, her face turned toward the window, lost in thought. Her hair was loose, cascading down her shoulders, and she looked tired—worn, even—but safe.
For a moment, Alex just stood there, staring at her, unsure of what to say or do. The relief he felt was overwhelming, a mix of emotions he couldn't begin to untangle. She was okay. She was here.
"Izzy…" he finally whispered, his voice thick with emotion.
She turned slowly, her eyes widening in surprise when she saw him standing there. For a moment, they just stared at each other, the silence between them heavy with everything left unsaid.
"You found me," Isabella said quietly, her voice barely a whisper.
Alex took a step forward, his chest tight with a mix of anger and relief. "Why did you leave?" he asked, his voice raw. "Do you have any idea how worried I've been? I thought… I thought something had happened to you."
Isabella's eyes softened, but there was a hint of sadness behind them. "I needed time," she said simply. "Time to think. To figure things out."
"Figure what out?" he demanded, his voice louder than he intended. "You disappeared, Izzy. No note, no call—nothing. Do you have any idea what that did to me?"
Isabella stood up, her hands clenched at her sides. "I'm sorry, Alex. I didn't mean to hurt you, but I didn't know how to stay in that house anymore. Everything was too much—us, Sophie, everything. I couldn't breathe."
Alex stepped closer, closing the distance between them. "Sophie is nothing, Isabella. She means nothing to me. You're the one I—" He stopped himself, the words catching in his throat. He had never said those words to anyone before, not even to himself.
"You're the one I care about," he finished quietly.
Isabella looked at him, her eyes searching his face for the truth. "Then why do I feel like I don't belong in your world? Like I'm just an inconvenience you're forced to deal with?"
"You're not," Alex said firmly, reaching out to take her hand. "You're not an inconvenience. You belong with me, Izzy. I need you."
She pulled her hand away, her expression conflicted. "Do you really mean that? Or are you just saying it because I left?"
Alex's jaw tightened as he struggled to find the right words. He didn't know how to explain the depth of his feelings, how much she had come to mean to him. He had spent years building walls around his heart, convincing himself that love was something he could never have, never deserve.
But Isabella had broken through those walls, and now that she was here, he couldn't imagine his life without her.
"I'm saying it because it's the truth," he said, his voice hoarse. "I don't know how to love, Izzy. I've never been good at it. But I know that I can't lose you. Not now. Not ever."
Isabella stared at him, her eyes filling with tears. For a long moment, neither of them moved, the weight of his words hanging in the air between them.
Then, slowly, she stepped toward him, closing the distance between them until she was standing just inches away. "I don't know if I can trust you, Alex," she whispered. "You've hurt me before. You've pushed me away so many times."
"I know," Alex admitted, his voice low. "I know I've messed up. But I swear to you, I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you if you give me the chance."
Isabella's eyes softened, and she reached up to cup his face in her hands. "Don't make promises you can't keep," she whispered.
Alex closed his eyes, leaning into her touch, the warmth of her skin grounding him in a way he hadn't realized he needed.
"I'll keep this one," he promised. "I swear."
Isabella didn't say anything. Instead, she pulled him closer, pressing her lips to his in a kiss that was soft, gentle, and full of the unspoken feelings between them.
In that moment, nothing else mattered. Not their complicated past, not the obstacles they had yet to face. All that mattered was that they had found their way back to each other.
And for the first time in a long time, Alex felt at peace.