Chapter 756

Nathaniel's voice cracked with urgency. "You're closed already? I had an appointment with my fiancée to get our marriage license today!"

The clerk gave him a disapproving look. "We closed hours ago. Was your fiancée that stunning blonde with emerald eyes?"

Harrison had made quite an impression.

Nathaniel's fingers tightened around his car keys. "Yes, that's her. My future wife."

The clerk crossed her arms. "You ought to be ashamed! That poor girl waited here from opening till closing. Getting married isn't some casual errand—it's a sacred commitment. How could you stand her up?"

Waited all day...?

Nathaniel's stomach dropped. "There was an emergency at Falcon Enterprises."

"Doesn't matter now. She left when we locked up." The clerk softened slightly. "You'd better go make this right, young man."

Nathaniel sprinted to his Lamborghini, the winter air biting his cheeks.

His phone screen illuminated with dozens of missed calls—all from Harrison. Each notification felt like a knife twisting in his ribs.

He wanted to punch the steering wheel. How could he have failed her like this? After everything they'd survived to be together?

The phone rang four times before going to voicemail.

"Harrison, baby, please—"

Silence.

Again. Again. Still no answer.

A leaden dread pooled in Nathaniel's chest. He'd fought through hell for this woman, and now—

A white-hot lance of pain split his skull.

Isabella materialized beside his car window, her crimson nails tapping the glass. "Darling, you look terrible."

Nathaniel recoiled. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Her lips curved like a satisfied cat. "Where else would I be? You're my compass, Nathaniel."

"Get lost!"

He shoved the car door open, but the pain returned with vengeance—a thousand needles stabbing his frontal lobe.

Isabella caught his arm. The agony instantly dulled.

"See?" she purred. "Your body knows what your stubborn mind won't admit. You need me."

Nathaniel wrenched free. "I need Harrison."

Three steps. That's all he managed before collapsing against the hood, vision swimming.

Isabella's stilettos clicked closer. "This isn't healthy obsession—it's self-destruction. Let me take you home."

Tears blurred Nathaniel's vision. "You don't understand. She thinks I abandoned her."

Each attempt to stand sent fresh waves of torment crashing through his nervous system. The harder he fought toward Harrison, the more his body rebelled.

Until finally—darkness.

His last conscious thought was of Harrison's tear-streaked face as his knees hit the pavement.