The Billionaire Playboy's Ward [Under Revision]

Chapter Twenty-One

Isabella opened her eyes to a darkened room. The sconces on the walls let in soft lighting that should have made her feel better but instead they made her feel worse with the memories of her and Liam in that room for the first time gushing in like a tidal wave. She turned to her side and saw the elegant figure standing looking down at Manhattan with his hands deep in his pockets. Liam did rub off on people, she thought bitterly as Stefan turned to her.

He had shed his jacket and tie and his hair was disheveled like he ran his fingers into it a couple of times. The look on his face told her she was not going to like what he was going to tell her.

“How are you feeling?” He approached her and sat on the chair near her bed.

Isabella shrugged her shoulders softly. She didn't know how she was feeling. When he left that morning she was at the extremes of all emotions but now she felt numb with a dull ache pulsing in her heart. “I'll live. What about you? Did you talk to Liam? Is he alright?”

Stefan breathed in long and rested his elbows on his lap tangled his fingers under his chin. “I saw him today. I talked to him but I don't think what I had to say to him penetrated into his thick skull.”

Isabella pursed her lips. When Liam made up his mind about something, nothing was ever going to change his mind. What she didn't understand was why he cut her out completely. “I'm just glad that he is alright.”

“He had Christoph over.” Stefan eyed her cautiously.

So, Liam went through with buying her out? She didn't stop him but she assured him that the action was going to hurt her. Did he care at all about what he was doing to her? She thought through confessing that she loved him had made him a better man but with what he was doing, she felt he was using her own love for him against her. Liam was an idiot for not realizing someone really and truly loved him wholeheartedly. He didn't want to see that he could actually be happy for once in his life.

“I guess I'm no longer the owner of my father's company.”

Stefan stared at her grimly.

Isabella sighed. “I'm going to apply for a job with Alexander Maguire, Stefan.”

“That will piss off Liam and you know it.” Stefan assured her.

Isabella shrugged. “He makes decisions for me without my consent and he has cut me off completely, I think it's about time I take back my life. I already did the interview. All I need to do is call him and see if he can still accommodate me.” Isabella saw the defeated look on Stefan's face and smiled softly. “I know you want the best for me, Stefan, but believe me, I can take care of myself. I'll be alright.”

Stefan sighed and moved from the chair before settling beside her. He pushed her hair from her face and placed a kiss on her forehead. The action brought back memories that wanted to drown her. She suppressed a choke and blinked away the tears threatening to come out. Did this mean that she lost Liam for good? Her heart felt as if it had been ripped from her chest. The pain made it so hard for her to even take a steady breath.

“Hush now, Isabella. I know you are strong enough to survive this.” Stefan whispered against her hair and pulled her into a hug.

But Isabella feared that she wasn't that strong. Not without Liam beside her to support her. The fear and the devastation of not seeing him again took over her and she found herself weeping loudly against Stefan's chest, her fingers grasping his shirt tightly, afraid that he too would abandon her. She felt lost and disappointed beyond words. The one man she was ready to give her entire world to, the only man she had ever loved all her life and the only man who had been there for her through troubled times had finally abandoned her and with him, he took everything she held dear.