When we got home, I didn't know that bad news was waiting for us. For me, the bad news was Luke coming over and asking to speak with me as per my parents' request. I immediately refused to talk to him, but Dad convinced me that I should talk to Luke.
"Why are you here?" I asked Luke.
Even though my voice seemed calm, I was still nervous. I didn't expect to see him again. I thought that our last conversation was also our last meeting. But what happened? Why did he visit our house again?

"I'm asking you, Luke. Why did you come here?"
"Are you still mad at me?" he responded with a question.
"Do you think I'd be happy with what you did to me? You've known for a long time that Dad planned to marry me off to someone else and you knew I didn't agree, but what did you do? You still left me. It's like you were just waiting for the perfect timing to do that, right Luke?"
"That’s not true, Isabella. I really regret what I did to you that day," he said, but I wasn't swayed by his sweet words.
"And what should I do if you're sorry?" I asked him again, and I was very thankful that my voice didn't crack as I spoke.
"Isabella, please, let's go back to how we were. I can't stand not being with you or talking to you every day," he said.

"What can't you stand when you managed not to reach out for weeks? Now that I've moved on, you show up? What nonsense is this, Luke?"
"You've moved on?" he asked, surprised.
"Why? Did you think I'd waste my life waiting for you? And why would I do that? Have you forgotten who I am? Have you forgotten that I am the daughter of an Alpha and I still have a bright future ahead of me? I won’t waste my life waiting for someone like you, Luke!"
"Isabella, come on. It's only been a few weeks, so it's impossible that you've already forgotten everything that happened between us and how much we loved each other."

"We loved each other? Are you sure about that? It seems to me you were just playing with me. I know I truly loved you. I know what I felt for you back then was real," I said, and I couldn't stop myself from crying in front of him.
"I’m sorry, Isabella. I didn’t want to hurt you or leave you back then, but I couldn’t think of anything else to do. Your dad was determined to marry you off to the man he chose, so what would happen to me?"
"My God, Luke! You're old enough to be sensible! I’ve told you many times before that I would not agree to marry someone else because I wanted to be with you forever," I said, and he slightly smiled as if I said something funny.
"I'm glad you didn't agree. I'll talk to your dad later and ask for your hand so that you can be mine," he said, making me frown.
"What are you talking about? That's not possible anymore," I said.
"And why not? I made a mistake, Isabella, when I left immediately without talking to you properly, now, I'll correct everything," he promised, which made me raise an eyebrow.
"Too late, Luke. I've agreed to the marriage. And I don’t care who that man is!" I said.
I know the name of that man, but that's all I know. Besides, I don’t care about him. If my dad thinks Lucas Giovanni can be of help to me, then so be it. I don’t care whether I will be happy or not, because I have accepted everything.
I have accepted that perhaps this is indeed my fate. Because if I was meant to be happy, it should have been when I was still with Aric since I truly loved that man. But no, he deceived me. And Luke, he may not have cheated, but he wasn’t sure about his feelings.
I don’t want that. It's better to be alone and I'll just prepare myself for the outcome of my decision. Even if my love life won't be great, Pembroke will be stable and that's more important.
"You agreed? I thought you wanted to be with me forever?" the man asked.
"You know, you sound crazy. You were the first to leave, Luke. You wasted me, so why act hurt now? Is it wrong for me to agree to marry another man when the person I loved is gone?"
"I'm here now," he said.
"It took you so long to come back. Sorry, but I can’t take back my decision," I explained to him.
"Isabella, come on!"
"So, if I were you, I’d stop. If you haven't moved on, move on now and forget you ever knew me," I suggested to him.
"I can’t," he said.
"Yes, you can, you especially," I said, and as I stood up to end our conversation, he also stood up, but I was surprised when he suddenly hugged me.
He trapped me in a tight embrace. I tried to push him away, but he did not budge, and as our bodies pressed together, I couldn't help but inhale his perfume. I breathed it in, and memories came flooding back, but before I could go crazy over him, I took a deep breath before pushing him away.
"What are you doing? Do you think you can sway me with that? Hey Luke, calm down and respect my decision because there's nothing you can do anymore. Don’t forget that you were the first to give up and leave. I could have fought for us against anyone, but what else can I do if you yourself don’t want to fight for me? So please, just stop," I pleaded with him.
"Give me one more chance to prove to you that I really love you, Isabella," he said.
"Haven’t I given you one before?"
"I guess I deserve to have unlimited chances with you because I can truly love you," he declared, which made me shake my head.
"Are you drunk? If you're drunk, go home and sleep. Don’t bother me anymore, okay?"
"I’m not drunk, Isabella. I'm just desperate to have you back and to make you mine again," said Luke.
"If you want to come back into my life, there’s an entrance fee now, and it's not free. It used to be free, but not anymore," I said, though I was just joking. I wasn’t serious, but I knew he couldn’t afford the entrance fee.
"How much?" Luke asked.
"One Billion," I said, and his face didn’t even flinch in surprise. He just stared at me for a few seconds and then turned around. I knew it!