Chapter 121

Julian usually showed up early, and she never really knew exactly when he left. Most of the time, by the time Isabella woke up, he was already gone. "Ran into a small hiccup, but it's all sorted now, nothing to worry about," Julian said, a flicker of something unreadable flashing in his eyes as he recalled how close Theodore had come to exposing him. Isabella didn't think too much of it—honestly, she kind of wished he'd run into more problems. Ideally, he'd be so swamped he'd have zero time to keep tabs on her. That way, she might actually get the chance to contact Theodore—maybe even sneak away to see him. "I got a villa around here. You're moving in the next couple of days. Stay there and wait for me," Julian said suddenly, holding her close. "No." The word slipped out before she could stop it. "Why not?" His tone turned colder. With his status, he wasn't used to hearing "no"—especially not repeatedly. Had he been too soft with her lately? Let her think she could push boundaries just