Page 65 of My Horrible Arranged Marriage (Bancroft Billionaire Brothers #20)

MINA

I t was just past nine when I heard a knock at the door.

Tori told me she was going to bed early.

That had been my plan as well. I was surprised by how exhausting lying on a beach in the sun all day could be.

The soft knock was barely audible over the sound of rain pounding the windows.

I blinked up from the book in my lap, frowning.

I wasn’t expecting room service. I hadn’t ordered anything.

Maybe the storm had worsened and we had to evacuate.

Before I could get to the door, there was another knock, firmer and more desperate.

I slipped off the couch and padded barefoot to the door.

My heart picked up pace before I even opened it.

Something in me knew . The visitor had nothing to do with the storm. When I pulled the door open, there he was.

Isaac .

My heart jumped at the sight of him. I couldn’t stop the reaction my body had at seeing him. He filled the persistent emptiness in my very soul. It was like a shot of pure joy.

Even soaked to the bone, black shirt plastered to his chest, and his hair dripping water down the sides of his face, he looked gorgeous. He looked disheveled and wrecked and absolutely beautiful in that way that only heartbreak and devotion could make someone. I couldn’t breathe. Or talk.

He didn’t say a word. Neither did I.

We just stood there for what felt like an eternity with him breathing heavy like he’d run to me. The breath had been knocked clean out of my lungs. Along with words from my mouth apparently. My brain was frozen. The surprise of seeing him had me twisted up.

I swallowed, untangling my thoughts just enough to come up with words. “You’re soaking wet.”

“It’s raining,” he said, water dripping from the tip of his nose.

“You’re here .”

“I couldn’t wait two weeks.”

Confusion, disbelief, hope, and grief rolled through me like a wave. Each emotion elicited a different reaction to the point it left me unable to move. I stepped aside before I could change my mind.

“Come in.”

He moved slowly. Like he was afraid he’d cross the threshold and I would attack him.

But he came in. I grabbed a towel and handed it to him, still unable to get my head around the fact he was here.

I had told no one where I was. Not even my dad.

The only way he could have known was by checking my credit card statement. Would he really do that?

“You’re insane,” I muttered, shaking my head. “Jamaica?”

He took the towel but didn’t use it. Just stood there, dripping, like he couldn’t move.

“I had to see you,” he said. “I needed you to see me.”

I crossed my arms, leaning against the table for balance. “Right now?” I asked somewhat incredulously.

“Because you said maybe,” he said. “And I couldn’t risk maybe turning into no. I know you said you wanted space but I’m afraid.”

“Afraid?”

“Afraid you’ll get used to me being away from you,” he said softly. “I don’t want you to move on without me. I know that’s selfish, but it’s true.”

I should have been angry. I wanted to be angry. But all I felt was this unbearable ache in my chest. It was the same ache I had felt since that moment in the study. Seeing him again cracked something in me wide open.

“What if I wasn’t ready?” I asked softly.

“I would’ve waited. Outside. In the rain. For however long it took. I’d give you the space you needed but not too much. Mina, I need you. I can’t do this without you.”

He meant it. I could see the emotion in his eyes.

I lowered my gaze. “You really forgot about the job?” I asked softly.

“I really did,” he said, finally swiping the towel across his face.

“It sounds insane, but once we started planning and I had my eyes on the future, I was focused on us building our lives together. The rest of it fell away. All I could think about was us buying our home with a backyard and a family and spending time with you. I didn’t even think about the deal or the job or any of it.

I didn’t think about my dad’s owed favor.

I wasn’t thinking about my brothers. Not the firm. Not your dad. Just… you. Only you. Us.”

A lump formed in my throat. I turned away from him, walked to the window where the storm lit up the sky in silver flashes. My heart was tumbling and skipping beats. I wanted to believe him. I did believe him.

“I’ve been thinking a lot,” I said quietly. “About what we built. What we faked. And what was real.”

He stayed where he was, giving me space. For once.

“I didn’t expect to fall for you,” I went on.

“Not like that. Not deep. Not the kind of love that lives in your ribs and makes it hard to breathe when it’s gone.

You came into my life like a tornado. I wasn’t expecting it.

You swept me off my feet and I got caught up in all of it.

I fell head over heels. You blocked out the sun and moon and the world. I was consumed by you, Isaac.”

I heard him exhale behind me, ragged and low.

“I hated that I trusted you,” I whispered. “That I let you in. That I let you touch every part of me and then found out there was still a part of you I didn’t know.”

“I never meant to hide it,” he said, his voice strained. “It started before you and me. Before we were real. And by the time we were, I didn’t know how to tell you without it sounding like it wasn’t real.”

I turned to face him. “But it was .”

“Yes,” he said, stepping closer. “From the moment you told me off in the restaurant and stormed out, it was real. You challenged me. Saw through me. You didn’t want anything from me but me . No one’s ever done that.”

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from crying.

“And I chose you,” he added, louder now.

“I chose you every damn day after that. Even when I was scared. Even when I didn’t deserve you.

I knew I had no business marrying a woman like you.

You are my everything, Mina. You changed me.

My very being is forever changed because of you.

In a good way. I never thought I could feel love.

I don’t even know if this is love because it feels like you’ve consumed me.

I can’t look to the future and see anything.

It’s like a black hole. I don’t know what I do without you.

I don’t see me working at the foundation or ever taking a vacation.

I don’t see anything. That sounds dramatic but it’s true. It’s very real.”

“Then why did it feel like I was the last to know?” I asked, voice cracking.

“You say you chose me, but I didn’t get to choose you fully.

Not with everything on the table. You should have trusted me.

Trusted this thing we had. I should have had all the facts.

I told you about the baby before the wedding.

You had that chance, Isaac. Over and over. ”

He closed the space between us then. His hand hovered by my cheek, waiting, like he wasn’t sure he should touch me.

“I broke that trust,” he said. “And I’ll spend the rest of my life earning it back. Not with flowers. Not with grand gestures. But by showing up. By telling the truth. By putting you first. You are my entire world, Mina. My whole fucking universe. There is nothing without you. I love you. Always.”

I tilted my chin, meeting his gaze. “Always?”

His voice didn’t waver. “Always.”

I nodded slowly. “Because I can’t do this halfway, Isaac. I can’t be with someone I’m constantly afraid will betray me. I’m not asking for perfection. Just honesty.”

“You’ll have it,” he said. “No more secrets. No more plans behind your back. Just us. Whatever we build from here on out, we build it together .”

My chest squeezed. “Even if it’s messy?”

“Especially then.” He cracked a small smile. “I like messy. I really like messy with you.”

Tears finally spilled down my cheeks, hot and unrelenting. There was no stopping them. I was pretty sure I had cried more in the last couple of weeks than I had in my entire life. I felt utterly drained. He reached up to brush them away, his touch reverent.

“I forgive you,” I whispered. “Not because it didn’t hurt. But because I still believe in you. In us. And I want to move forward. I want to move forward with you. Not away from you.”

He cupped my face in both hands, his forehead resting against mine.

“I swear to you, Mina. I’ll never lie to you again. I’ll never withhold anything. You’ll always come first.” He kissed my cheek. My temple. My jaw. “Well, along with this one.”

His hand dropped between us and settled gently on my stomach. It was still flat, but it felt like there was the slightest swell. My pants fit just a tiny bit tighter.

“We didn’t get to talk much about the baby,” I said. “I know it’s a surprise. How are you feeling about it?”

“I’m fucking terrified,” he said with a soft laugh.

“But I’ve never wanted anything more.” His hand splayed across my belly protectively.

“I want a family with you, Mina. A real one. With the baby. With late nights and early mornings and arguments over nursery colors. I want a million throw pillows and candles in every scent. I want the whole damn thing.”

I looked up at him, heart in my throat. “So do I.”

And then I kissed him. It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t sweet. It was desperation and relief and long weeks of aching poured into a single breathless collision. He caught me with a groan, backing me into the wall, mouths crashing, hands gripping like we were afraid to let go.

“I missed you,” I breathed against his lips.

“I never stopped missing you,” he rasped.

His hands slid under the hem of my tank top and pushed it up over my head. I reached for the hem of his soaked shirt, pulling it off him and letting it fall with a wet splat to the floor. He kissed me again, slower this time, his mouth soft and reverent as his thumbs circled my hips.

I undid the button of his jeans and helped him peel them down. “How long were you in the rain?” I asked with a laugh. “You look like you swam here.”

“Felt like it,” he mumbled, his lips finding the curve of my neck.

His jeans were a struggle, damp and clinging, but we managed, kicking them aside to join the discarded shirts.

His skin was cool from the rain, but his touch was fire.

My hands roamed over his back, feeling the lean muscle, the way he tensed when my fingers skimmed his spine.

“You’re really here,” I whispered again, as if saying it would make it more real.

“Where else would I be?” he murmured, his mouth trailing kisses along my collarbone. “You’re it for me, Mina. Always.”

He lifted me and my legs wrapped around his waist. He carried me to the bedroom. The storm still raged outside but I didn’t care if it was a full-on hurricane. I had him. He was back.

He laid me on the bed, his eyes dark and intense as he stared down at me. He dropped onto the bed and buried his face in my neck.

“I’ve missed this desperately,” he said.