I watched as Isla stood there, her back to me, shivering as she cried. My fingers hovered over her naked skin, over the scars that lined her back, an evidence of the pain she had suffered.
"Who did this to you?"
She chuckled. "the correct question should be how many people did this to me."
She put her shirt back on and turned to me. "Don't let me go, Mr Harrington. If I go now, they will kill me. At least, wait until I can find a husband. I will go on dating sites, I will put myself out there. If I have a husband, they cannot kill me because then everything will go to him."
"Okay, but you are not doing some guy in my wife's clothes."
She laughed. "I am sorry; I know it must be difficult to see me in this. James told me I look a lot like your wife."
"Yeah."
"I am also sorry for lying to you. I didn't know what else to do." She threw her hands in the air and sat on the edge of the bed. "Any life was better than what they planned to do to me."
"I knew your father. We were competitors. We would roast each other wherever and whenever we met. But I respected and admired him." I chuckled.
"He built Whitmore Group from the ground up just like I did with Vivi. I started my company with my wife's money actually." I laughed thingking about how stubborn I was when Viv offered me money.
"My dad didn't treat his daughter the way you treat yours, though." She winced at me. "Chilly, brrr," she fake shivered.
"Viv took my smile with her, my happiness, my laughter. I love that woman like you wouldn't believe."
"It is nice to see this side of you. I hope to see more of it."
"So what exactly is your plan?"
"I don't know what the future holds, Mr. Harrington. But from what you tell me, the Whitmore group is still thriving. I have no skills; I have no degree. I know nothing. The best I can do now is find a husband to stay alive."
"Okay! Let's find you a husband! But first, some underwear."
Isla laughed out loud. My God, it was refreshing. "You really thought I was trying to seduce you?"
"I mean… come on… I'm fine wine." I winked.
"Women must throw themselves at you all the time,"
"It is both a gift and a curse." I turned to leave the room. "Tomorrow, you go shopping."
"Uh, I don't have any money to pay with."
"Don't worry. I'll deduct expenses from whatever I pay for Whitmore." I shrugged.
"I haven't decided to sell yet."
"I am very persuasive." I checked the time on my watch. Today was going great so far; why not make it even better? "You want to come with me to pick up Grace."
The smile on her face was so wide, she almost looked like Grace herself, cute as a button. "I knew there was still some love left in you."
She got up and followed me out of the house.
*****
Grace was over the moon when she saw me pull up after school. She squealed and bounced all over the place before running into my arms.
"Hey you."
"Daddy!"
"How was school?"
She shrugged. "That bad, huh? Maybe something else will cheer you up. Look who I brought with me." I signaled to Isla in the front seat, and she stepped out of the vehicle.
"Isla!" she rushed to her, jumping in her arms. How did these two get so close in two days? Maybe I should get her to read me a bedtime story too.
"How's your art coming along?" Isla asked.
"Splendid!!! My teacher let me spend my break time with it." Grace answered, hopping into the back seat.
"Do you want some music? Your dad has terrible taste in music." Isla asked, and I sent a scowl in her direction.
"Baby shark!!!"
Isla smiled and took out Grace's tablet, connecting it to the car's speakers. At first, the song was catchy, but listening to it five million times through the ride and both girls singing at the top of their voices was driving me crazy.
By the time we drove into the compound, my head was already spinning. It had become an earworm in seconds. God help me.
James welcomed the ladies back home and stood with a ridiculous smile on his face.
"Baby shark?"
I nodded. I fear I might break into song if I spoke.
"Yeah, I endured it for five years, sir. And I suffered in silence. Be a man." He patted me on the back before entering the house.
I need a beer.
*****
That night after dinner, I stood at the doorway as Isla read to Grace. This time, it wasn't a chaotic story. It was Sleeping Beauty. In a matter of minutes, Grace was off like a light.
We both left her room quietly and headed to the kitchen. Her for water and me for a beer.
"So the matter of you finding a husband, I think I can help with that. But if you are going to roll in my circle, you need to change how you look. Or you will be recognized. You also need to change your name."
"Starting off a relationship with a lie?"
"Your uncle began to roll in these circles too since your father died. I hear he is also trying to get his daughter married. If you do not want them to know you are alive yet and you still want to socialize, then you need to change. You need to lie at least in the beginning."
"Fine."
"I have one question, though."
"You can ask me anything."
"How did you get to Ravenwood? How did you end up where I found you?"
She sighed and gave a small smile. "Two weeks ago, they just started being nice to me. I didn't understand it. I thought maybe they had changed. And then they told me we would spend the weekend at my father's house in Ravenwood to celebrate my birthday."