Chapter 27
Isabella
It had been over a week since I had seen Nathan, Dante, or Maya. I knew I couldn’t stay at this hotel forever, but my mind had been going in circles, and I didn’t know what to do. I had to postpone the meeting with Oliver and asked Maya to brief him on our standing in the Asian market a few days ago.
Oliver may not have agreed with my decision, but I went ahead and appointed Maya the interim COO of the company. We’re family and she understood the company just as well as I did. In all honesty, she’d been with me since its inception. She had the experience and knowledge, and I trusted her to run the company in my absence. I just hoped things would be all right as I got myself together.
“Hello, ma’am. Room service,” a man said, knocking on the door. I was a little surprised and mystified. It was strange because I didn’t order any room service.
“Just leave it outside,” I said.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but you have to sign for this.” With my hair a mess and my face flushed red; I went to the door and let him in. He served me a piece of chocolate cake with a letter—the same type of letter I would see on my waterfront. It was the same configuration from my secret admirer. It couldn’t be. I ripped open the seal, and sure enough, it was what I believed it to be.
“Sir, excuse me. Who gave you this letter?” I asked.
“Letter, ma’am?”
“Yes! This letter here. Who gave it to you?”
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t even notice the letter until you pointed it out. I’m not sure how it got there,” he said sincerely. I was so confused.
“How could you not know it was there? Did the person who gave you this letter pay you to keep his identity a secret?”
“I promise you, ma’am, I didn’t notice it until you said something. Here, I’ll dispose of it.”
“No, don’t. All right, I believe you.”
“Very well.” He started to make his way back to the door.
“Hey, wait. You said I had to sign for this. Where do I sign?”
He smiled. “You don’t have to sign anything. Good day, ma’am.” He swiftly made his departure. That’s when I knew.
“Wait! Come back. Who gave you this letter?” I yelled down the hallway. But it was too late. He was already in the elevator. Sneaky bastard.
Did everyone in the entire city know I was staying at this hotel? I opened the letter, and there was my name at the top, written just as before. It was a poem. No other dialog addressed specifically to me, just words in the form of poetry. Was I so desirable that someone continued to send me letters, month after month? That one of the wealthiest men in the world wanted me? I was just an ordinary businesswoman trying to make a name for herself. I unfolded the rest of the paper and read the words written.
Dear Isabella,
Forbidden this gift of passion as it is drowning in secrets, dancing its dance and singing its songs
I hope you finally realize that it is I who have loved you for so long
The salted sea air blew through you hair during the sunset, gratifying my feelings yet tormenting my soul
You walked beside me, armor in right hand, heart in left as the story goes
Oh, yes. How I love your smile, your gaze, your scent that compels me to stay
But when you profess your love for another man, all that I am is slaughtered, and to rest I lay
It hurts.
Am I forever to be blinded and shunned by love’s daunting curse?
As long as I have watched you from afar, never have I dreamed that someday I would embrace you—oh, yes, that sensual embrace
To watch tears of joy flow from your eyes, I thought the emotion alone would cause me to suffocate
Forbidden this gift of passion as it is drowning in secrets, dancing its dance and singing its songs
What of logic, the unknown façade of reason that forces me to stay hidden for so long?
That night, you remember it well. Tell me you remember it well
It was reminiscent of the things they speak of in sweet, sweet fairy tales
We took each other in, letting go of our inhibitions
Those comforting moments helped us to toss aside the world when you gave me permission
I never wanted to let you go, never wanted to leave you alone
Letting you go would have turned my heart, my very soul, to stone
I love you well beyond death, forever and ever, dancing my dance and singing my songs
Tell me, Isabella. Look inside of yourself and tell me how can this be wrong?
I love you
I love you truly
I love you only
And I will love you always
Dancing my dance and singing my songs.
This was too much for me to bear, too much sensation, too much emotional disarray. This had to be Dante—it just had to be. I should have asked him flat-out when he was here. This poem was so sensual only someone who was truly in love could have written it. There was no doubt in my mind Dante wrote this. I’d started receiving these letters just months before Dante entered my life. He was the only man who knew such things, and he was the only one who could have written something so passionate.
We took each other in, letting go of our inhibitions—that had to refer to the night we spent together in Seoul. I didn’t want to leave my husband, but this man had shown me things I never knew possible. I felt something for him and even though it had only been a little over a week, I felt as if I were going insane since we had been apart. I never felt this way with my husband, and to tell you the truth, I enjoyed being away from him. I had to— My phone rang. Who was calling me?
“Hello?”
“Isabella, it’s been a damn week now. Are you coming home or not?” Nathan said in his raspy voice. Every time I spoke to him, every time I heard his voice, it pissed me off. After everything he did to me, he was still unapologetic and screamed demands at me as if I should just conform to his every whim. I hung up without saying a word. I still needed time to think. I had all these problems bouncing around in my life, and the man who was supposed to be helping me and comforting me through it all was doing nothing but adding to the problem. In fact, he was the problem. My phone rang again and I answered it, ready to unleash my fury.
“Stop calling me, Nathan. I told you I still need some space!” I screamed into the phone.
“Isabella. It’s me, Maya.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you were Nathan. He’s been calling me nonstop all day.” I felt relieved hearing her voice.
“It’s okay. I’m glad you’re finally taking a stand against that asshole. Anyway, you need to come down to the office right away. I found some irregularities regarding our business deal with the Zinghai Ma Corporation. They were well hidden, but I found them. I asked Gaspard and Dante to have their team look into the matter so we can have an independent eye exam everything.”
“What’s happened?” I asked. This was the last thing I needed.
“You should come down here so we can discuss it in person.”
“Is Dante going to be there?”
“I haven’t seen Dante since we met at the hotel last week. I thought he was with you this whole time.”
“Okay, I’ll be down there later today.” I hung up the phone. Had Dante retreated from the world just as I had? I probably should have asked her if Gaspard had seen him. No matter how much I begged and pleaded for him to stay with me, he chose to leave. I supposed the love I still felt for my husband was too much for him to bear. I reread the words in the letter. But when you profess your love for another man, all that I am is slaughtered, and to rest I lay. It hurts… If Dante wrote this, that sentence was proof enough he was hurting just as I was. How I wished that moment in Seoul on the rooftop of the hotel could have lasted forever. It was so peaceful. It had put my mind at ease. I’d felt utterly free with him.