"What?" I turned my head towards him in a whipping motion, shock rippling through me. "Why would we….."
"Because, Isabella Green," he said cutting me off in a cool and detached voice, "you're going to spend the night at my place, and we're going to make sure no one questions the fact that we're together. Walking out of the restaurant was just the beginning. We need people to believe this."
My heart sank. It wasn't enough that I had already agreed to his insane plan…..now he is planning to drag me deeper into it, pulling me into his world, into his home. As I opened my mouth to argue, the look on his face stopped me. This wasn't a request. This was part of the deal, and I already agreed to it.
I swallowed my pride and fear ,nodding silently.
We stepped out of the car, with the night air feeling crisp and cool against my flushed skin. Michael led me into the building, his steps were so sure and measured, almost as if he had done this a thousand times. I felt like an intruder in this sleek, high-end space. Everything about it screamed luxury, from the marble floors to the comfortably placed design of the lobby. It looked worlds away from the small apartment which I lived in, cluttering with books and half-finished art projects.
When we got to the elevator, we entered it after pressing the open button , Michael pressed the button for the top floor. Of course, he lived in the penthouse.
The silence in the elevator stretched out painfully, each second feeling like an eternity. My mind was racing with a thousand questions, none of which I could bring myself to ask. I stole a glance at Michael, but his face looked blank, his eyes fixed on the elevator doors. He looked like someone who had everything figured out, but there was a flicker of vulnerability back at the restaurant, when Vanessa left him. "Was he really as unaffected as he seemed?", I thought to myself.
The doors slid open, revealing the vast expanse of Michael's penthouse. From the floor to the ceiling , it has windows which offer a breathtaking view of the city, but the space itself feels cold, almost clinical in its perfection. Everything is in its place, every surface spotless and gleaming. It doesn't feel like a home; it feels like a showpiece.
Michael walked inside without a word, leaving me to follow him behind, my footsteps barely making a sound on the polished hardwood floors. This doesn't feel like my kind of space, like I don't belong here.
Maybe i actually don't.
Michael spoke breaking the silence. "Make yourself comfortable. There's a guest room down the hall."
I stared at him, the reality of the situation crashing down on me again. "So that's it? You bring me here to prove a point, and then you leave me in some guest room like a prisoner?"
Michael's eyes flicked toward me with a hint of annoyance crossing his features. "No one's a prisoner here. You agreed to this."
"Agreed to what?" I snapped, sounding very frustrated."To being paraded around as your fake girlfriend? To staying in your penthouse while everyone thinks we're together? This is insane!"
He walked toward me with his presence overwhelming in the huge room space. "You want out of this mess, don't you? You want people to stop whispering about you, to stop staring every time you walk into a room. This is how we fix it."
"I didn't ask for any of this," I shot back, as my chest tightens with anger. "I never wanted to be part of your world."
Michael's clenched his jaw, his patience clearly wearing thin. "You made your choices, Isabella. Now you have to live with them."
Those words hit me like a punch to the gut. My choices. Yes, I have made choices, but none of them have led me here willingly. I didn't choose to fall into this nightmare with Michael Hartley. I also clearly didn't choose to get pregnant by his brother. But here I am , standing in his penthouse, trapped in a situation that I can't control.
"I just want my life back," I whispered, my voice barely audible.
I saw Michael's expression softened, just for a second, before the hard mask slipped back into place. "This is the only way."
I stared at him disappointed with my mind torn between wanting to fight him and the hopelessness of my situation. I didn't have a choice. Not really. And he knew it.
"Fine," I muttered, exhaustion settling over me like a heavy blanket. "I'll stay in the guest room."
Without waiting for a response, I turned on my heel and walk down the hallway, my footsteps echoing in the quiet space. Immediately I got into the guest room, I shut the door close behind me, leaning against it as I try to steady my breathing .
This isn't how things was supposed to go. None of it. But somehow, I have to survive this.
I collapsed onto the bed with my body sinking into the soft mattress as I stared up at the ceiling. How had my life spiral so far out of control? And how am I suppose to keep this charade going without losing myself in the process.
I shifted slightly on the bed, my mind unable to rest. I had stayed in Michael's penthouse for only a few minutes, but already the pressure of the situation was suffocating me. The room itself was really beautiful, decorated with simples designs, but it felt more like a hotel room than a place someone actually lives in. It didn't have any personal touches, no family photos or knick-knacks…..just emptiness. It reflected Michael perfectly: polished, controlled, and distant.
The weight of everything that had happened today felt like it was pressing down on my chest making it feel heavy. How did I end up here, entangled in the lives of two brothers I barely know? My thoughts drifted back to that night, the night that had changed everything. I was at my lowest, and in a moment of weakness, I had made a stupid choice. A single, reckless decision that had set all of this in motion.
I drifted my hand to my stomach instinctively. I was not showing the baby bump yet, but the weight of my baby growing inside me felt like a ticking time bomb. I didn't ask for this.
I didn't ask for any of it!.
And now, I am trapped in a web of lies, with no clear way out.
I still really can't believe that this is happening to me!
The door creaked open, pulling me from my thoughts as I looked quickly towards the direction of the door drawing my attention from the ceiling. I saw Michael standing in the doorway. I try to read his eyes but they were unreadable as he glanced around the room before settling them on me. "We need to talk."