The moment Arabella stepped out of the elevator into the gleaming marble lobby of King Enterprises, everything went silent.
Heads turned. Conversations halted. The clack of her heels echoed with authority. It had only been a week since she'd last walked these halls—but everything had changed. She wasn't the invisible assistant anymore. She wasn't the hidden wife. No, today… she had returned as the woman who held secrets, the woman they once overlooked—and she had come back with purpose.
Arabella adjusted her blazer, her chin held high, and approached the front desk. The receptionist, a young woman with trembling hands and wide eyes, forced a polite smile. "M-Mrs. King… we weren't informed you'd be coming in today."
"I know," Arabella replied smoothly, offering a slight smile. "Is Nathaniel in his office?"
The woman nodded quickly. "Yes, ma'am. He's in a meeting, but I'll—"
"No need," Arabella interrupted. "I'll wait in his office."
She walked past the stares and whispers, her posture confident, though her heart pounded in her chest. It was strange—how quickly fear transformed into power when you stopped running from it.
Inside Nathaniel's office, the familiar scent of cedarwood and cologne wrapped around her. The room hadn't changed, but she had.
She stood by the massive window, arms crossed, gazing out at the city below. How many times had she stood here silently, watching him work, waiting for a glance… a word… his warmth?
But today, she wasn't here to beg for his attention.
She was here to reclaim her voice.
---
The door clicked open behind her.
She didn't need to turn to know who it was. The air shifted. Nathaniel's presence filled the room like a thunderstorm rolling in.
"What are you doing here?" His voice was low, cautious—almost surprised.
Arabella turned around slowly, meeting his gaze with calm determination. "I needed to see you."
His eyes scanned her face, searching for a crack in her armor. "After everything that happened, you just walk in here like nothing changed?"
"No," she said. "I walk in here because everything has changed."
A tense silence stretched between them. Nathaniel's jaw tightened. "You disappeared on me, Arabella. Do you have any idea what that did to me?"
"I did what I had to do," she replied. "I needed time—to think, to feel again. To understand what was real and what was manipulation."
He took a step forward. "So, what did you figure out?"
Arabella's lips twitched in a bitter smile. "That this marriage—this arrangement—was never what either of us thought it would be. And yet, here we are… still bound together by secrets neither of us fully understand."
Nathaniel's expression darkened. "You still think I was using you?"
"I think we were both using each other," she answered. "But I'm not here to fight. I came back because I deserve answers. And I'm not leaving until I get them."
---
He looked at her for a long time. Then he motioned toward the couch. "Sit."
Arabella stayed standing.
Nathaniel sighed and moved behind his desk. "You want answers? Fine. Ask."
She didn't hesitate. "Who was the woman in the photo Elina showed me? The one you claimed meant nothing."
Nathaniel flinched slightly, but recovered quickly. "Her name is Cassandra Grey. She's… part of my past. Before you."
"But not completely in the past, is she?" Arabella's voice wavered just slightly. "You went to see her while we were still married. You lied to me."
"It wasn't like that," Nathaniel snapped, then softened. "I only saw her because she threatened to leak something about me. Something from years ago. I didn't want it affecting you—or the company."
Arabella folded her arms. "And you thought I couldn't handle the truth?"
"I was trying to protect you."
"Don't protect me with lies," she whispered. "It hurts more than the truth ever could."
Nathaniel came around the desk, slowly approaching her. "Arabella, I made mistakes. I was trying to control everything, including you, because I was scared. Scared of losing you… scared of what it meant to feel something real again."
She blinked, caught off guard. "You… felt something real?"
"From the moment I married you," he said, voice low, "I tried to pretend you were just part of a deal. But every day… every glance… you undid me. And I didn't know how to deal with that."
For the first time, her walls cracked.
She looked away, swallowing hard. "Then why didn't you say anything?"
"Because I don't know how to love someone without breaking them," he confessed.
Arabella's eyes shimmered with emotion. "Then maybe it's time you learn."
---
The silence between them turned thick with unsaid words. Nathaniel took her hand gently, and to her surprise, she didn't pull away.
"I'm not asking you to forget everything," he said. "But give me a chance to make things right. No more secrets. No more running."
She searched his face for a lie but found none.
Her voice trembled as she spoke, "You have one chance, Nathaniel. That's all."
He nodded. "Then I won't waste it."
Arabella took a deep breath and allowed herself to sit.
The woman who came back was no longer the same girl who once begged for love in the shadows. She had scars now—scars that made her stronger.
And this time, she wasn't afraid to be seen.
Nathaniel's hand hovered over the door handle for a moment before he finally turned it and stepped out into the cool night air. The city skyline blinked in the distance, glowing like the chaos inside his chest. Arabella's return hadn't just shaken him—it had destroyed the fragile sense of order he had painstakingly built after she vanished.
He lit a cigarette—a habit he'd long abandoned—and took a deep drag, the bitter smoke filling his lungs like the regret clouding his thoughts.
He had never truly stopped thinking about her.
Every woman he had dated after Arabella had been a poor substitute. None of them had the fire in their eyes, the bite in their voice, or the stubborn heart she carried. She had left a gaping hole in his soul when she disappeared, and now that she was back, she brought with her not just answers, but more questions. And secrets.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, interrupting his spiraling thoughts. He glanced at the screen.
Elina.
He hesitated but answered.
"Elina?"
"Nathaniel, thank God you picked up," her voice was urgent, threaded with panic. "Arabella left my apartment without telling me where she was going. I've been trying to reach her, but she's not answering. Something's wrong, I can feel it."
Nathaniel's pulse quickened. "When did she leave?"
"An hour ago," Elina replied, "She said she needed air. But she took her purse, and her phone's off."
"I'll find her," Nathaniel said without hesitation. "Just stay put in case she comes back."
He hung up, already heading to his car. Arabella walking alone in the city—especially after everything—was dangerous. She had changed, yes, but she was still vulnerable. Especially now.
He tried tracking her location through the security measures he'd quietly reinstated the day she came back, but her phone had been off too long to ping.
"Damn it," he muttered, gripping the steering wheel as he sped into the city.
---
Arabella's POV
The night breeze brushed against Arabella's face as she walked down the familiar streets she used to know so well. But everything looked different now. The lights were brighter, the noise louder, and the people more indifferent.
Her heart ached.
She didn't know why she had left Elina's place so suddenly. Maybe she just needed to escape the walls pressing in on her, or the memories that seemed to stalk her everywhere she turned. But more than anything, she needed to breathe.
The conversation with Nathaniel replayed in her mind.
His voice.
His eyes.
His pain.
He hadn't hidden it well. The anger. The hurt. The disbelief.
Arabella closed her eyes, her steps slowing as she reached the small park she used to visit when things got too much. The same swing set sat untouched, creaking softly in the wind. She sat on one of the swings and let the night silence cradle her thoughts.
She wanted to believe that returning was the right decision. That she could face her demons and walk away with her head held high.
But the truth was, she was terrified.
So much had changed. Nathaniel had changed. And deep down, she feared that the damage between them might be beyond repair.
As she sat there, a pair of headlights cut through the darkness. A sleek black car pulled up beside the park, and she knew who it was before he even stepped out.
Nathaniel.
He walked straight toward her, his strides long and urgent, eyes locked onto her with a mixture of fury and relief.
"Do you have any idea how worried I was?" he snapped, his voice low but trembling with barely restrained emotion.
Arabella stood slowly, unsure how to respond. "I just needed some air."
"You disappeared," he growled. "No one could find you. Elina was frantic. I—" He stopped, swallowing thickly, struggling for control. "You can't just vanish like that again, Arabella. Not now."
Her eyes shimmered under the moonlight, emotions churning inside her. "I didn't mean to scare anyone. I wasn't thinking clearly."
"Clearly," he echoed bitterly.
A long silence fell between them.
Then she added, "I'm not used to being... watched over. Not anymore."
Nathaniel's jaw clenched. "You're not alone now. Whether you like it or not, you're back in my world—and I'm not letting anything happen to you."
Arabella looked away. "And what if I don't belong in your world anymore?"
Nathaniel stepped closer, so close she could feel the heat of him. "Then I'll make space for you. I'm not letting go again. Not after losing you once."
Arabella blinked, her breath catching. She had expected anger, resentment, maybe even hatred. But this... this fierce protectiveness—it broke something inside her.
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she fought them back.
"You make it sound so simple," she whispered.
"It's not. But nothing worth fighting for ever is," Nathaniel said gently.
And with that, he reached out and took her hand.
Arabella didn't pull away.
---
Back at the Mansion
Arabella walked into the guest room Nathaniel had prepared for her. Everything looked untouched, pristine, like it had been waiting for her all this time.
She sat on the edge of the bed, Nathaniel standing at the doorway, watching her.
"I can leave if this is too much," she said softly, unsure.
Nathaniel shook his head. "Stay. At least for tonight."
She nodded.
But as he turned to leave, her voice stopped him.
"Nathaniel?"
He looked back.
"I didn't just disappear. I was taken. And there's more to the story than you know."
His expression hardened. "Then start telling me. From the beginning. No more secrets, Arabella."
She met his eyes. "Tomorrow. I promise."
He gave a tight nod. "Tomorrow, then."
As the door closed behind him, Arabella leaned back on the bed, heart thudding.
Tomorrow, everything would change.
Again.