Chapter 9 The Truth, Barely

The sea was a dark sheet of velvet, its gentle waves shimmering beneath a sickle moon. A salty breeze rolled through the balcony, cool against Isabel's bare arms as she stood in silence, arms wrapped tightly around herself.

She needed air.

Alessandro was too close in that suite-too quiet, too controlled. She couldn't breathe in there. Not with the echo of his voice in her ears. Not with his scent clinging to the walls.

She barely heard the sliding door open behind her. But she felt him. Like a presence in her bones.

Alessandro stepped out slowly, hands tucked into the pockets of his slacks. The only sound between them was the quiet hush of waves below and the dull hum of music from somewhere in the resort.

They stood like that for a long moment, not looking at each other. Just breathing in the night.

"You always run when it gets uncomfortable?" he asked finally.

Isabel didn't move. "Only when I'm trying not to scream."

"Good to know."

She let out a breath, then turned to face him. "Why did you follow me out here?"

"I figured if I waited, you'd come back in with more accusations," he said coolly. "And I'm out of patience."

"Oh, you're out of patience?" she snapped. "Must be exhausting-being the victim."

His eyes narrowed. "Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Pretend like none of this matters."

"Of course it matters," she said, louder now. "I just didn't come here expecting to get ambushed by you."

"Ambushed?" he said, stepping closer. "You think you were ambushed?"

"I didn't know you were my stepbrother, Alessandro," she shot back. "I didn't know anything. I danced for you because I thought you were just some arrogant, entitled stranger in a velvet booth."

"And you were just some girl desperate for attention, right?" he said coldly.

The slap of his words hit harder than she expected. Her jaw tensed.

"That's not fair."

"No," he said, tone hard, "what's not fair is that I spent the night with someone who never told me who she really was. And now I'm supposed to act like this is normal? Like I'm not completely-"

He stopped, jaw twitching.

"Completely what?" she challenged. "Freaked out? Disgusted?"

He didn't answer.

"You think I planned this?" she asked. "That I knew you'd be here? That I knew who you were?"

He was silent again.

"You do," she whispered. "You really believe that."

His gaze locked on hers, unblinking. "You're your father's daughter."

That stung.

She shook her head, swallowing hard. "You don't know anything about my father."

"I know he's been trying to worm his way into my father's business deals for months. I know Vivian's conveniently obsessed with 'family unity' right when we're closing on international real estate. And I know a girl showed up in my private booth, called herself 'Belle,' and danced like she'd been trained to distract men."

Isabel stared at him, speechless.

"You think I was planted to seduce you?" she breathed. "You really think I'd sell myself just to help my dad land some corporate merger?"

"I think you were desperate," he said evenly. "Desperate enough to do something reckless. And maybe someone saw that desperation and used it."

She stepped back like he'd struck her.

Her throat burned. Her vision blurred.

"I danced for one night," she said, voice low. "One night. Not for your mother. Not for mine. For me. Because I couldn't keep living on tips and broken promises. Because I needed to feel in control. Just once."

Alessandro didn't speak.

"And you-" she went on, "you didn't stop me. You didn't ask who I was. You didn't want the truth any more than I did."

He said nothing, his expression unreadable in the shadows.

"I gave you pieces of me that night," she said, her voice cracking now. "Real ones. Not because I was trying to trap you-but because I forgot what it felt like to be wanted."

She turned away, gripping the balcony rail like it could hold her up.

"You weren't a stranger to me," she whispered. "You were a moment of escape."

The silence stretched again, this time heavier.

Alessandro moved beside her, slow, deliberate. He didn't touch her-but he was close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from his body.

"I knew something was off," he said finally. "At the club."

She looked at him.

"You didn't move like someone who belonged there," he continued. "You moved like someone trying to convince herself she could."

Her breath caught.

"And your eyes..." he said. "You looked terrified. But you never stopped."

"I didn't know how," she admitted softly.

He tilted his head. "Why did you agree to come to this trip?"

"My dad called after months of silence," she said. "Vivian said it was important. A fresh start."

He gave a humorless smile. "Some start."

"I thought maybe..." She trailed off, then shook her head. "Doesn't matter."

They stood in silence, watching the tide roll in far below.

"I shouldn't have touched you," he said suddenly, voice quiet.

"No," she said, just as soft. "You shouldn't have."

But she didn't move away.

He looked at her again, longer this time.

"I've had a lot of women, Isabel," he said.

She gave him a sideways glance. "Charming."

"I'm not bragging," he said. "I'm just saying-I've never wanted someone I couldn't have."

He stepped in closer now, his hand brushing hers where it rested on the rail.

"Until you."

Her heart thudded painfully.

His breath was warm against her temple. His voice was a whisper:

"I've never wanted someone I couldn't have-until you."