Isabella woke before sunrise. For a few moments, she remained beneath the blankets, staring at the pale light creeping through the curtains.
The events of the previous night returned slowly.
Rafael.
Standing in her room.
Speaking calmly.
Asking about the gifts.
The memory still felt strange. Almost unreal.
A part of her wondered if she had imagined the entire thing.
After all, the Rafael Navarro she knew was cold.
Dangerous.
Unpredictable. Emotionless and expressionless.
Not the man who had sat quietly in a chair asking whether she liked a book.
Not the man who had knocked before entering.
Not the man who had left without a threat.
She rolled onto her side.
The book rested on her bedside table.
Waiting.
Something about it made her smile within herself.
For weeks she had felt trapped inside these walls.
Trapped inside her own thoughts.
Trapped inside her fear.
Yet somehow, Rafael had noticed.
And for reasons she still couldn't understand, he had done something about it.
Her smile faded.
"No." She thought.
She wasn't going to start making excuses for him.A book didn't erase everything.A few gifts didn't change who he was.The man had basically seized her.
Forced her into marriage.Dragged her into a life she never wanted.
She refused to forget that. Yet...
Her eyes drifted back to the novel.
A small sigh escaped her.
Life would be so much easier if he were simply an animal with just devious looks and not the most beautiful body she had ever had the opportunity to set her eyes on.
Animals were not complicated.
Animals didn't send books.
....
Hours later, Isabella found herself curled into the reading nook beside her window.
The novel rested open in her lap.
For the first time since arriving at the Navarro estate, she felt genuinely absorbed in something.
The story followed a young woman crossing an ocean to find a place she could finally call home.
A place where she belonged.
A place where she could stop running.
She had been reading for over an hour when a knock sounded.
She looked up. "Come in."
The door opened.
Selena entered carrying a tray.
Tea, Fresh fruit and Pastries.
A smile immediately tugged at her lips when she saw the book.
"Well."
Isabella looked up.
"I see somebody finally found something to keep her company, how is it?" Selena asked placing the tray on the table.
Isabella closed the book immediately.
"You don't like it?" Selena asked surprised.
"No...."
"What's the problem?"
"That's the problem....I love it" Isabella replied guiltily.
"How's that a problem then?, I don't understand"
"But it's the truth, I don't understand him either."
Selena laughed softly. "Neither do most people."Selena replied.
"He's impossible." Isabella added.
"That too."
Isabella stared out the window. "One moment I think he's going to kill me, the next moment, he's bringing me gifts."
She looked back at Selena.
"Who does that?" She asked rhetorically.
Isabella stared down at the book.
Thinking and Wondering.
Then finally spoke. "Do you think he's in a good mood?"
Selena blinked. "Who?"
"El Diablo"
"Why?" Selena looked at her suspicioius.
Isabella hesitated because saying it aloud somehow felt dangerous.
"I was thinking..." She stopped and sat down.
Then started again. "I was thinking maybe now would be a good time to ask him."
Selena became very still. "Ask him what?"
Isabella's voice softened. "My father."
The room fell silent immediately.
The hope she'd been carrying around for days suddenly felt fragile.
Selena sat down beside her. "Isabella..."
"I know."
Her voice cracked slightly.
"I know everything that's happening." She swallowed.
"I know this isn't a normal situation to ask to go see him but it's been more than two months I saw him"
A pause.
Selena's expression tightened.
"I just want to know if he's okay." Her eyes dropped.
The words sounded painful.
"I don't know if he's eating." Isabella laughed weakly.
"I don't even know if he's sleeping...I don't know anything."She said.
Selena's heart visibly softened. "You're worried."
"Of course I'm worried." The answer came instantly. "He's my father."
Then Isabella looked toward the window.
"Do you think Rafael would say yes?" Selena asked the question instead.
Isabella considered the question carefully.
The old Rafael?, The El Diablo?
Absolutely not.
The Rafael who had spent the previous evening sitting in her room asking about a book?
Perhaps.
The thought surprised even her.
"I don't know," Isabella admitted.
"But if you're going to ask..." Selena said gently. "Now might be the time considering he gave you all this"
Hope flickered.
It was small but dangerous.
Isabella looked around her. The gifts and the book.
The small conversation.
The apology Rafael had never actually spoken.
Maybe something was changing. Not enough.
But perhaps enough to open a door.
A very small one.
And right now, a small window was better than none at all.
That afternoon, Isabella found herself unable to focus on anything after Selena left.
Not even the book.
She wasn't even able to finish what Selena had brought in earlier.
Every passing hour increased her anxiety.
What if Rafael refused?
What if he became angry?
What if she ruined whatever fragile peace had settled between them?
The questions chased each other endlessly through her mind.
Then finally, there was a knock on her door.
Her head snapped toward the door. Her pulse quickened immediately.
"Come in."
The door opened and servant entered.
"Señora."
Isabella stood. "Yes?"
"El Diablo has returned and he asked you should join him for dinner"
Her stomach dropped.
Returned?
How did time fly so quickly that she didn't notice how late it has gotten?
Suddenly every ounce of courage she'd spent the day gathering threatened to disappear.
The servant bowed slightly and left.
The door clicked shut.
And Isabella found herself standing alone in the middle of the room.
Heart pounding. Hands sweating.
Because now she had a decision to make.
Either ask Or spend another night wondering whether her father was alive.