"Ohh..." Isabella groaned as sleep departed from her.
Hugging the heavy sheets to her body, she realised Charles was not in the room.
After grudgingly sitting up, she scanned the room. And as her partially clouded sight fell on an artefact on the polished wooden floor, she recalled how crazy they went the previous night.
After a quick meal, Charles initiated a kiss which led to him exploring her insides with his long fingers. Then, she pleasured him before he reluctantly dragged the session to the bed where he took her amazingly as though it was their first time.
Smiling, Isabella wondered where Charles could have gone. She was missing his face. And... his touch.
The woman soon wore a bigger smile as she recalled the words they shared the previous night when they reached peaks of pleasure.
Contrary to what she used to think, Isabella was starting to see how much of a lucky woman she was.
She went from almost giving in to her sorry situation to hearing the man she loved telling and showing her how much he cared about her.
Taking another look at the large room, she was reminded of the house idea she once talked to Charles about when they were still dating.
The white walls had traces of splashed paint in different colours and that made the room look like artwork. On the floor, tiny flowers were painted at strategic places, giving her the feeling of being surrounded by a homely sight.
Her heart danced more as her eyes caught a glimpse of a walk-in closet from where she was seated.
Charles really turned the room into the version she wanted it to be. Isabella could still recall how excited he looked when she talked to him about the design for their matrimonial room.
A sad smile soon took over her lips when she remembered the hurt she made Charles face.
Her eyes landed on the golden chandelier attached to the ceiling and Isabella wondered if Charles consoled himself after she left him by recreating her thoughts.
Realising there was no way she could guess what the man had running in his head at that time, Isabella soon concluded that it was something she shouldn't bother about.
Instead, she should be making up for the terrible thing she did.
Getting off the bed, the sheets wrapped around her naked body, Isabella checked if Charles was in the bathroom.
Seeing that he wasn't, she decided to freshen up.
Minutes later, she was in some comfortable sweatpants and a large-sized blue top that made her pointed nipples very visible.
"Charles?" Isabella called into the quiet space as her bare legs walked her out of the room. After checking the room adjacent to it, she made for the living room.
"Thank you, Augustus."
Charles's deep voice reached the woman's ears as she walked into the simple setup of the living room. His words were followed by a beep from his phone.
As Isabella walked past the very spot where he made love to her the previous night, her heart fluttered so much that another smile made its way to her lips.
Doing a good job of quietly approaching the unaware man, Isabella was soon leaning toward his shoulder to hug him.
But Charles was swift. The chair he was seated in swirled and her chest met his.
"Charles..." she let out a small groan as she tried to gather herself. "W-wait..." He had pulled her back into his chest and he made sure his eyes were all she could concentrate on.
"Hello Bella," he calmly yet huskily said and she could not help but grin.
Everything about him just made her feel good. And to think that she was finally married to him...
Not bothering to fight his hold anymore, Isabella said, "I was wondering where you were."
"Stand up for a second," he said.
Scrunching her lips in wonder, she did as he asked. Soon, she was straddling him, her legs hugging the back of the chair.
"Don't you think the chair will break?" Her neck craned to check the legs of the furniture as Charles began a slow dance on the wheeled chair.
"No, it won't. And if it does..." His hand came up and swept a mass of her hair to the back. "You won't be affected because I will be holding you."
"But you'll be hurt," she pressed further and he sighed, his eyes almost rolling.
"Are you ready for breakfast?"
The topic was swiftly changed and Isabella threw him a silly look.
"What kind?"
Charles's hands settled on her buttocks. "What do you mean by that? What other kind of..." His face suddenly lit with a look of realisation and slight surprise. "You are just never satisfied, are you?"
Slowly, she moved over his shorts. "It has been so long since I felt this way, Charles. Of course, I won't be satisfied." A chuckle came from the man who instantly put a stop to her sensual movement. "Have you made something?" she asked him as she decided to pause her intent to tease him.
"Yes. Pancakes."
Her arms wrapping around his neck, their eyes still into each other's, Isabella asked amusedly, "Are you ever going to learn how to make something else? You know, something that is not pancake?"
"Hmm..." Charles played with her hair. "No."
"Well..." She shrugged. "To be fair, you do make awesome pancakes."
"And that's more reason you should eat them. What?" he asked as she looked to the side, her eyes wearing the emotion she just felt within her.
"I still can't believe we are finally together."
He smiled. It was the kind that made the flutters in her heart grow. "Same here." Isabella let out a small sigh and had her head resting on his shoulder. "We should talk about your company now."
His voice turned so serious, you'd think it was highly inappropriate of her to be in his arms like that.
"I guess we should," Isabella replied.
"Since when have you had troubles with the finances?"
Isabella sat up immediately, her face wearing a frown as she tried to find put one and one together in her head. After a minute filled with memories about bank visits, she finally said, "It was about two months after I got married to Gabriel." Charles blinked. "Why do you ask?"
His huge hands started to run through her butt cheeks as he asked, "Did you check for any document that could have recorded the debt your father owed?"
"No."
"Wait..." His green eyes sharply pierced hers. "You didn't even know how much your father was owing?" Isabella shook her head. "Why did you agree to marry Gabriel in exchange then?"
"I..."
"What amount could it have been that you allowed yourself to be bargained off that way?"
"I don't-"
"Bella..." The anger in his eyes got replaced with softness and he held the sides of her face gently. "Why did you let them use you that way? Uh? Why did you give in to them?"
"He was my father. I had to help him," Isabella uttered with distress in her tone.
While she tried to keep the distress from ruining her face, she wondered why Charles was bringing up that topic. She was certain he also wanted the issue to be a thing of the past.
"Your father?" Charles scoffed and she recognized the look on his face as the same one he had when he informed her of her father's death. "Your father was nothing but a fool."
"Charles!" Isabella jumped off him in anger.
Yes, her father had his faults, but did he have to call him that kind of name?
Swiftly, Charles reached for her hands and said, "Listen to me carefully, Isabella. Your father is not the person who owed the debt. He was used."
"What?" She frowned and fully faced Charles who had now gotten up and was looking down at her with a gentle look.
"It is Ben Idoh that owed the debt your father mentioned."
"B-ben... Uncle Ben?" Her lips quivered as she spoke. Eyes feeling itchy, Isabella started to feel lightheaded. "Charles..." He held her by the shoulders. " Are you sure? A-Are you sure about this?"
"Would I lie to you, love? I just found out myself. Ben used your father."
"What?"
"Your father had a secret Ben Idoh used against him. That secret is the reason your father wasn't able to fight the idea of you getting married to Manifold's son."
"B-but-" Amid the thudding in her heart, her brain tried to figure things out. But the sudden information was too much. It hit her in a way that made her feel weak so much that she had to hold on to his arms for support.
"Isabella? Look at me." She did as he said but almost absentmindedly. "I know this is hard to hear but there is more and you need to hear them."
"What?"
What else could it be? Some grand secret her late mother used to have? Isabella sarcastically wondered within her tired mind.
"Your father... He didn't die of natural causes." Isabella's eyes widened. " He was drugged to death."
"Oh Lord!" she cried, her legs so close to failing her. But she still held on to Charles.
"And, I think the person that killed him is Ben Idoh."