"Why are you here?" Isabelle asked sharply, her eyes widening as she stared at the man before her, unable to hide the shock on her face.
Aldric, her father, looked at his daughter with a furrowed brow. "Belle, do you know him?"
Isabelle froze. She was too shocked, too honest, too exposed. She forgot that she was now in a different timeline. The past hadn't happened yet. And this man wasn't supposed to be known by her parents.
Quickly, she fixed her expression. Her lips moved fast, trying to cover up the slip. "No, I don't know him. His face just looks like someone I used to know. But that person is already dead."
Her voice sounded nervous, too quick, and completely unconvincing.
The man - Nathan Blackwell, just stood there, unmoving. His face was blank, showing no reaction to Isabelle's statement. As if he could read that the Montgomery daughter was hiding the fact that she knew Nathan.
Isabelle bit her lip, lowered her gaze for a moment, then looked back at her father with firmness. "I don't need a personal bodyguard, Dad. I already have Emma! She's enough!"
Aldric let out a long sigh, then turned to Nathan. "You heard her. My daughter doesn't want you as her bodyguard. But I've already promised you a position. So, do you still want to take it?"
"Position?" Isabelle asked quickly, her voice rising. "What do you mean, Daddy? Who is he really? Why is he here? Who trusts him?"
Aldric turned back to his daughter, trying to ease the tension clearly radiating from every word she said. "He's Nathan Blackwell. The man who saved me last night. He's also the one who helped the authorities arrest the driver."
Isabelle froze. "Saved you?" she whispered in disbelief.
"Yes. He was a witness when the accident happened. He was the first one to pull me out of the car before the fire spread. If it weren't for him, I might not be here right now."
Isabelle's face turned pale. Her breath caught in her throat. She knew who Nathan was. She knew what that man would do in the future. But she also knew that in the past, he appeared to have "saved" her family. But that wasn't the real story. He took over her father's position because Aldric died in the accident, and Isabelle, devastated by her father's death, let Nathan, who at that time was her husband, handle the family business.
"What? How could he be a witness?" Isabelle asked, her voice beginning to waver.
"He was there. Not far from the crash site. He said he couldn't sleep and was recording the sound of the rain for his sleep therapy."
Isabelle quickly turned toward Nathan, her expression full of accusation. "Recording rain sounds? In such a remote place? Why not just do it at home? Is that your new way of pretending to be a hero?! When in fact you're the mastermind behind it all!"
Nathan still said nothing. His eyes were sharp, locked onto hers, but he didn't respond. As if he knew there was no use defending himself in front of a woman who had already sentenced him.
Aldric gently patted Isabelle's arm, trying to calm his daughter's flaring emotions. "Sweetheart, he didn't know anything. He even recorded everything. The video helped the authorities identify the driver's car and license plate. If it weren't for him, I might've already."
"He must've planned this, Dad!" Isabelle cut in, her voice trembling. "His house isn't anywhere near the crash site. How could he just suddenly be there, just to 'record the rain'? It doesn't make any sense! He must've planned everything from the start. He pretended to help so he could get into our family, and from there, take over all the company's assets!"
Isabelle's voice cracked, echoing through the once-quiet VIP hospital room. Her emotions spilled over. But more than just anger, what seeped through was panic, fear, and uncertainty.
How could this be happening?
She had already stayed away from Nathan. She hadn't approached him at the company's anniversary night, the night that was supposed to mark the beginning of her downfall. She didn't even ask Nathan to marry her to break off her engagement. They were never married. Her life was supposed to change. Everything was supposed to be different.
But now, that man had returned, not as a lover, but as a savior… and worse, as her soon-to-be personal bodyguard.
Isabelle turned to Nathan. The man still stood there, calm, expressionless. But it was exactly that calmness that made her more uneasy. She knew very well that Nathan could wear the purest face while stabbing a dagger straight into the heart of anyone who trusted him.
"I don't understand," Isabelle muttered, more to herself. "Wasn't this supposed to be my second chance? A chance to live the right way? To not fall into the hands of the man who destroyed everything? Then why… why is fate bringing me back to him?"
Her eyes began to glisten, not from weakness, but from inner turmoil and confusion. She felt like a pawn in a game of life she couldn't control. Every step she took away from Nathan only seemed to bring him closer.
"He truly helped, without any bad intentions," Aldric said gently, trying to soothe and reassure her.
Isabelle slowly shook her head. Her breath hitched. "I don't trust him," she whispered at last. "I can't."
Her gaze remained fixed on Nathan. A look unstable, filled with anger, fear, and unspoken wounds. Nathan didn't say a word, but in his eyes, there was something Isabelle hated, a silence that held a riddle.
Aldric was about to speak again, but Eleanor gently patted his arm. "Let it go," she said softly. "Let Belle calm down. We can talk about this later."
Isabelle said nothing more. But in her silence, her mind roared with a thousand questions. Nathan was still standing in his place. His eyes met Isabelle's once more. Just a brief glance, but enough to make her chest tighten again.
This time, Isabelle knew one thing for sure: she wouldn't fall into the same pit twice. If Nathan came any closer, if he dared to touch even an inch of her life, then she, Isabelle Montgomery, would be the first woman to strike.
"Get out of here! I don't want to see you here ever again!" Isabelle snapped sharply, her finger pointing firmly toward the door.
Her face flushed, her eyes flashing with anger. But beneath it all, there was fear, pain, and questions left unanswered.
Nathan remained still. His gaze didn't change, calm, flat. But not empty. His eyes seemed to be reading her, analyzing the depth of her heart without saying a single word. As if his silence cut deeper than a thousand explanations.
He didn't defend himself, didn't deny anything, nor did he beg. He only gave a polite nod, then turned to Aldric and Eleanor.
"Thank you for your time. I'll take my leave," he said briefly, calm like the surface of a lake that had just swallowed a storm.
And as the door clicked shut behind him, like a signal that broke all her defenses, Isabelle's tears began to fall. One by one, slowly but surely, they wet her cold cheeks.
Why was he so calm?
Why didn't Nathan react at all? She had yelled at him, accused him, even kicked him out. And Nathan simply accepted it, silent, and left without protest.
Isabelle sat in the nearest chair, clutching the edge of her hospital gown. Her eyes stared blankly at the now tightly shut door.
Does he not remember me?
Back then, I was the one who chased after him in high school. I was the one who let my heart melt for that man. After graduation, I went to Italy and lost track of him. And when fate brought us together again that night, in my previous life, I was the one who approached him first. I was the one who opened the door to love, only to be destroyed from within.
Did all of that mean nothing to him?
Isabelle bit her lower lip. Her wound reopened. Nathan had not only betrayed her in love, but also in trust. That man took control of her company, and in the end, when her car was crushed and her life nearly taken, the last face she saw was Nathan's.
Nathan was smiling. A cold, triumphant smile. With his arm wrapped around Camill's waist, his mistress. They stood behind the flames and shattered glass, like two demons laughing at the wreckage of her life.
Isabelle covered her face with both hands. Her sobs broke out again, deeper this time. She tried to remind herself that this wasn't a nightmare, but it also wasn't an unchangeable reality. She had returned to the past. She had been given a second chance.
And this chance could not be wasted. Even if Nathan now wore an innocent face and disguised himself as a hero, Isabelle knew, she was not the victim.
Nathan was not just an enemy in the shadows, but a devil disguised in light. And this time, she would not stand still until she uncovered the truth.