Chapter 2 - THE KISS THAT DESTROYED A MARRIAGE
The first thing Isabella noticed was the way Elliot's expression changed.
For the past twenty minutes, he had treated her like an inconvenience. Now, as Chloe Decker approached beneath the glittering chandeliers, his entire face softened.
It was the expression Isabella had once believed belonged to her.
“Elliot!”
Chloe's voice carried across the red carpet with theatrical delight.
She wore a breathtaking emerald-green gown with a plunging neckline and a train that swept behind her like liquid silk. Her blonde hair fell in perfect waves over one shoulder.
Elliot released Isabella's waist.
“Chloe. You look incredible.”
Isabella stood motionless.
Her husband's hand had abandoned her so quickly that she nearly lost her balance.
Chloe glanced at Isabella's pregnant stomach before lifting her eyes to her face.
“Oh, Isabella. You're here.”
There was something almost amused in her voice.
“Of course I'm here,” Isabella replied quietly. “I'm Elliot's wife.”
Chloe's smile widened.
“For now.”
The words were barely audible beneath the clicking cameras.
But Isabella heard them.
And so did Elliot.
He didn't correct Chloe.
Instead, he laughed.
“Don't start,” he murmured.
Chloe reached up and straightened his bow tie with an intimacy that made several photographers turn their cameras toward them.
Isabella's stomach tightened.
“Elliot,” she whispered, “can we go inside?”
“Not yet.”
He looked toward a television correspondent approaching with a microphone.
“Perfect timing.”
The reporter smiled brightly.
“Elliot Vance! One of New York's most exciting developers. And Isabella, congratulations on the baby!”
“Thank you,” Isabella said.
Before she could say anything else, Elliot interrupted.
“It's been an extraordinary year.”
The reporter turned toward Chloe.
“And Miss Decker! What a surprise. We heard rumors that you and Mr. Vance have a major announcement tonight.”
Isabella felt the blood drain from her face.
“Announcement?”
Elliot's smile grew.
“Yes. Actually, I'm glad you asked.”
He placed his arm around Chloe.
Not Isabella.
Chloe.
The reporter's eyes widened.
“Is this about your upcoming film?”
“Something much more personal.”
Isabella stared at him.
“Elliot?”
He finally looked at her.
And there was no tenderness in his eyes.
Only impatience.
“Isabella, don't make this difficult.”
“What are you talking about?”
His voice remained pleasant for the cameras.
“My wife and I have been experiencing certain difficulties. We've decided to separate.”
A collective murmur spread through the reporters.
Isabella's breath caught.
“No,” she whispered.
Elliot continued.
“It's been a challenging time. Unfortunately, Isabella hasn't been emotionally equipped to handle the pressures of my career.”
The reporter's smile vanished.
“Are you announcing a separation tonight?”
“I'm announcing that honesty matters.”
Chloe leaned against his shoulder.
“And sometimes,” she added, “people find happiness where they least expect it.”
Then she kissed him.
Directly on the mouth.
In front of more than a hundred cameras.
Isabella felt something inside her go terribly still.
The photographers erupted.
“Elliot! Look this way!”
“Isabella, did you know about the affair?”
“Is the baby his?”
That final question struck harder than anything else.
Isabella instinctively wrapped both hands around her stomach.
“Please,” she whispered. “Stop.”
But the questions grew louder.
Elliot turned toward her with a warning expression.
“Don't create a scene.”
She stared at him.
“You brought another woman here. You kissed her in front of everyone. And you're telling me not to create a scene?”
His jaw tightened.
“Lower your voice.”
“Why?”
The question surprised even her.
For two years, Isabella had obeyed every instruction.
Tonight, something had changed.
“Why should I lower my voice when you've humiliated me in front of the entire city?”
Elliot stepped closer.
“Because everything you have comes from me.”
A photographer captured the moment.
The furious husband.
The trembling pregnant wife.
The glamorous mistress watching with a satisfied smile.
Elliot's voice became cruel.
“Without me, Isabella, you'd still be hanging paintings in some miserable little gallery.”
Chloe laughed softly.
“And wearing dresses from department stores.”
Isabella looked down at her gold gown.
She suddenly hated it.
The diamonds.
The silk.
The expensive shoes that made her feet ache.
None of it had ever made her happy.
“Then take it back,” she said.
Elliot frowned.
“What?”
“The dress. The necklace. Everything.”
She reached behind her neck and unclasped the diamonds.
Several reporters gasped.
The necklace slid into her palm.
She held it out.
“Here.”
Elliot stared at the jewelry.
“Don't be ridiculous.”
“You said everything I have comes from you.”
Her voice trembled, but she did not stop.
“Then I don't want any of it.”
Chloe's expression hardened.
“She's being dramatic.”
Isabella ignored her.
She placed the necklace in Elliot's hand.
Then she removed her wedding ring.
For one terrible second, she remembered the day he had slipped it onto her finger.
The flowers.
The promises.
The way he had kissed her forehead and whispered that she would never have to face the world alone.
She looked at the man standing before her.
That man no longer existed.
Perhaps he never had.
She placed the ring beside the diamonds.
“I'm finished.”
Elliot's face darkened.
“You think you can walk away from me?”
“Yes.”
“You have no money.”
“I have a degree.”
“You have no home.”
“I'll find one.”
“You have a child coming.”
Her hand returned to her stomach.
“I know.”
He leaned closer.
“And what makes you think you can raise my child without me?”
Before Isabella could answer, another voice spoke from behind them.
“Because she won't be doing it alone.”
The voice was deep.
Old.
Unmistakably furious.
Isabella turned.
An elderly man stood at the far end of the red carpet.
He wore a dark overcoat, polished black shoes, and a wide-brimmed hat. A silver-tipped cane rested in his right hand.
His white beard framed a face that looked strangely familiar.
“Dad?”
Arthur stepped forward.
“Hello, sweetheart.”
Isabella's lips parted.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to take my daughter home.”
Elliot looked him up and down.
Then he laughed.
“Oh, wonderful. The country gentleman has arrived.”
Arthur ignored him.
His eyes remained on Isabella's tear-streaked face.
“Did he hurt you?”
She tried to answer.
Instead, she began crying.
Arthur opened his arms.
Isabella crossed the carpet and fell against his chest.
He held her carefully, one hand resting against the back of her head.
“It's all right, Bella.”
“Dad, I'm so sorry.”
“Don't apologize.”
“I should have listened.”
“No.”
His voice became firm.
“You should have been loved properly.”
For several seconds, the cameras went silent.
Then Elliot spoke.
“Arthur, this is a private matter.”
Arthur slowly lifted his head.
“A private matter?”
“Yes. Between my wife and me.”
“You made it public when you humiliated my pregnant daughter in front of the world.”
Elliot scoffed.
“Stay out of things you don't understand.”
Arthur looked at him for a long moment.
Then he smiled.
It was not a pleasant smile.
“Elliot, I understand far more than you realize.”
Chloe folded her arms.
“And who exactly are you supposed to be?”
Arthur turned toward her.
“Someone who knows when to leave a sinking ship.”
Elliot laughed again.
“Is that a threat?”
“No.”
Arthur reached into his coat and removed a small black phone.
He pressed one button.
Across the red carpet, several men wearing discreet security earpieces immediately straightened.
A black limousine stopped near the entrance.
Then another.
And another.
Elliot's smile faltered.
Arthur spoke into the phone.
“Benjamin. We're ready.”
A tall man in a charcoal suit approached.
“Mr. Sterling.”
Isabella looked up sharply.
Sterling?
Her father's name was Arthur Bennett.
At least, that was the name she had known all her life.
The man bowed his head respectfully.
“The board is assembled, sir. The press statement is prepared.”
Arthur nodded.
“Good.”
Elliot stared.
“Board? What board?”
Benjamin looked at him with visible distaste.
“The Sterling Global Holdings board of directors.”
For the first time that evening, Elliot said nothing.
Arthur turned toward the cameras.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for interrupting your evening.”
His voice was calm.
Powerful.
Certain.
“My name is Arthur Sterling.”
The reporters froze.
Someone whispered, “That's impossible.”
Another voice said, “Arthur Sterling? The billionaire?”
Arthur continued.
“Tonight, I have an announcement concerning the future of my company.”
He reached for Isabella's hand.
“And the woman standing beside me.”
Elliot took a step backward.
Because suddenly he recognized the old man's face.
He had seen it in a confidential investor presentation three weeks earlier.
Arthur Sterling.
The reclusive founder of Sterling Global Holdings.
A logistics, infrastructure, and investment empire valued at more than forty billion dollars.
The man Elliot had spent six months desperately trying to secure a meeting with.
Arthur looked directly into the cameras.
“My daughter has spent too long being treated as though she has no value.”
His grip tightened gently around Isabella's hand.
“That ends tonight.”
Then he delivered the sentence that would change all their lives.
“Effective immediately, Isabella Sterling Bennett is my sole heir and the designated successor to Sterling Global Holdings.”
A stunned silence fell over the red carpet.
Elliot's mouth opened.
But no words came.
Arthur wasn't finished.
“And tomorrow morning, my company will begin reviewing every business relationship involving Elliot Vance.”
Chloe slowly released Elliot's arm.
The billionaire looked at the man who had humiliated his daughter.
“Enjoy the cameras, son.”
May you like
His expression hardened.
“Because they're about to become the least of your problems.”
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