Isabella felt dirty.
She felt the same way the first time Gabriel had sex with her.
Hours she spent under the shower trying to console herself, trying to assure herself that things would be okay.
Back then, she had told herself that she wouldn't regret her decisions.
Years after, nothing was okay. No amount of days spent under the shower could assure her of better days in Gabriel Manifold's house.
As she gathered her mattress into a corner of her office, Isabella immediately cringed.
The pain from that deadly evening was still there, her body wept and her whole being was crying for help.
But then, she was tired.
Fighting was a ridiculous thing to her at that moment. She just wanted to give up or maybe give in. She was sold off to her husband anyway, she might as well give him the opportunity to use her the way he wanted.
She could give up the company and become a sit-at-home wife who does nothing but follow her husband's words. Occasionally, she could visit her father...
Her father.
'My father,' she thought as she picked up her phone from the desk where it had been laying ignored for the past few days.
Ignoring the numerous messages and missed calls she had gotten from Caleb and surprisingly, Gabriel, she selected the contact of her father's secretary who happened to be her godfather.
For some reason, each time she tried her father's number, it never went through. It seriously bothered her on most days but dealing with Gabriel on several days made it hard for her to think about following up on her father.
The few times she did, she ended up calling her father's secretary who readily picked up her calls every time.
'Isabella, my girl,' a mellow voice said from the other end.
"Uncle Ben, hi. How are you doing?"
'You know how silly old men like me are, I have been moody all week about the number of wrinkles that keep appearing on my face.'
Isabella managed a genuine chuckle before she said, "I am certain you are still finer than my dad anyway."
'He must not hear you say that. How are you, Isabella? How are you holding up?' Uncle Ben, since he was in no place to have a say in her life, could only console her when he found out what his friend was up to. He supported Isabella with words of fortitude when the whole 'marriage to Gabriel' issue happened.
"I am trying to keep sane, Uncle."
'I'll be praying for you from here.'
Isabella smiled gently as she wished she had the street to tell him about Gabriel's craziness and how he has been treating her. The first few days of her marriage, she did that very thing and nothing good came out of telling people about it.
Since then, she kept things to herself.
"Is my father there?"
'Uh... no. He just left.'
"I always get this feeling that he doesn't want me around him." Isabella's voice shook as tears threatened to pour.
'No darling, don't say that. Your father loves you regardless of how he acts towards you.'
"All I know is, if he really loves me as you say, he wouldn't have distanced himself like he did ever since my damn marriage."
'Isa...'
"Goodnight, Uncle Ben. My regards to my wonderful father."
As she ended the call, the tears came right after. Ever since what Gabriel did days ago, her tears always fell easily. She didn't have the strength to keep them tucked away for long.
"Isabella..." Caleb squatted by her side as he held her firmly and allowed her to rest on his chest.
"Why doesn't he want to speak with me?" Isabella asked a clueless Caleb through her thick sobs. "He is the reason I am in this mess in the first place. He left me in this mess after making sure I did as he wanted."
"Isabella, it is okay."
"No!" She threw her hands in the air as she released herself from his hold. "It is not fine. If I had not given in to his demand, I would be married to the man I truly loved. I would be happy." She whispered the last words.
"Talk to me, Isa. I need to know what you are talking about."
"I..." Her words were interrupted by footsteps that helped themselves into the office.
"Good day," a firm voice greeted.
Isabella immediately got up, her hands wiping off her tears hurriedly. "H- hi, welcome."
"We are from the bank," the man who appeared to be the leader of the suited trio said.
"Oh yes, hmm welcome." She waved to Caleb to offer them seats.
"Actually, we won't be taking much of your time." Isabella did not trust the smile on the man's face. "Our bank appreciates your patronage over the years. But we regret to inform you that if payments of debts are not made within the next three days, the bank will have to take over your company."
Isabella's legs went weak as she asked quietly, "What?"
"Wait, we still have about a month left to settle that," Caleb butted in, an equally confused look on his face.
"We hate to inform you about this, but our new management had that window sewn a bit tighter." Isabella hated how the man and woman with him kept nodding in agreement with what he kept saying. Their uniformity which extended to the colours of their hair also pissed her off. But that was not even the issue.
Isabella sighed. "This is so... this is crazy."
"In case you won't be able to meet up with that deadline, we have with us documents that you can sign to hand over Shades and Cloaks to the bank without hassles."
"What the heck, guys? At least let us try to pay."
"Caleb," Isabella gave him a soft smile. "It is fine. Can I see those documents?"
Caleb rushed to her side. "What are you doing?"
"I am taking a look at the papers."
The lady from the bank who had been standing with a small frown on her face paused the fetch of the document from her bag.
Their leader then asked, "Is everything okay? Is there a problem?"
"No, there is not." Another voice joined the party.
"Mr. Oxford," Caleb was elated to see the man who he probably considered a saviour at that moment.
Isabella was shocked.
"Hello, gentlemen and... ladies." The frown on the blonde's face instantly changed to a smile.
'Talk about miracles,' Isabella thought within herself.
"I will be helping out my darling over there with her debts. I have been a terrible boyfriend and I need to make it up to her. So..." He took out a book. "How much is this debt?"
"Well..."
Isabella was quick to pull Charles out of the room. "What on earth are you doing?" she asked once they were far from her office.
"Helping my woman out?" He stood akimbo as he looked down at her with a smirk.
"Wipe that smug look off your face, I am not getting married to you."
"Oh trust me, you are going to, eventually."
Isabella scoffed, "Don't you get that I can't be with you? Not only am I married, but my father's life also depends on the marriage."
"Your father?" Charles was almost laughing pitifully.
"Yes, my father."
"Isabella..." He reached for her arms and sent warmth that she ignored, through them. "Your father is no more."
She immediately tore off his hold, anger began to build within her. "What the fuck are you saying?"
He sighed, licked his lower lip, and said, "Your father... is dead. And I have proof."