Victor's car purred like a predator as it pulled up in front of the research institute. Isabella, dressed in a simple grey hoodie and black jeans, stepped out of the passenger seat, her hand gripping the strap of her backpack.
Victor had insisted on driving her himself.
"I could've taken a cab," she had said flatly when he'd appeared in front of her dorm that morning.
"I don't like cabs," he'd replied. "Besides, what kind of fiancé would I be if I didn't see you off properly?"
She'd given him one of her famous blank stares, but in truth, she hadn't hated the gesture.
The security guard at the gate immediately recognized Victor and bowed. "Young Master Blackwood. Miss Lin."
Isabella gave a small nod, then walked ahead without waiting. She didn't need anyone opening doors for her. Not here. Not in the world she had built for herself.
Victor walked beside her in silence, not bothering to hide the way his eyes scanned her profile.
"You know," he said as they passed through the main lobby, "you're surprisingly quiet for someone who runs circles around international medical conferences."
"Quiet doesn't mean weak," she replied, eyes fixed ahead. "It just means I don't waste words."
Victor smiled. "Touché."
They reached the elevators. He pressed the button for her floor.
"I have a meeting in ten," she said, glancing at him. "You don't have to wait."
"I'll wait."
Her lips twitched. A half-smile, brief and reluctant. "Suit yourself."
When the elevator dinged open, she stepped in, but before the doors could close, Victor slid a small box between them.
"What is this?" she asked, eyeing the white ribbon.
"Breakfast," he said. "You skipped it again."
"I'm not hungry."
"Lie better next time."
She took the box wordlessly, and the doors closed.
—
Victor leaned against the wall of the hallway outside the research floor, arms folded. He wasn't stalking her. Not exactly. He just… wanted to be close. To see her in her element.
From the observation window, he watched her enter the lab and speak to the assistants. Her presence shifted the energy in the room. Calm, commanding, cool.
He'd dated countless women before—models, heiresses, even royalty. But none of them held a candle to her. Isabella didn't try to impress. She didn't flirt. She didn't even acknowledge her own brilliance.
And maybe that was what fascinated him most.
"Sir?" A voice pulled him from his thoughts. A young man in a lab coat, clearly nervous. "Are you… waiting for someone?"
"Yes," Victor said simply.
The man nodded quickly and retreated.
Victor looked back into the lab. Isabella was moving between workstations, reviewing reports. The lab team treated her like a legend. They didn't know the full extent of what she could do—but they knew enough to respect her.
And still, she carried herself like a ghost.
Unseen. Unreachable.
Until now.
Victor smiled faintly. He had no intention of letting her slip away.
If she was the storm, then he would be the only one standing in the eye of it.
Unshaken.
And absolutely hers.
—
Next Chapter Teaser: Victor makes a bold move that leaves Isabella questioning everything—including her ability to keep her distance.