Chapter 214
CHAPTER 15
Graham groaned inwardly, dragging a hand down his face as the
weight of his mistake settled on him. A thousand reminders, a million
opportunities to plan this better, and he’d still blundered through it
like a bull in a china shop. What was he even thinking? Of course, Isla
-a nineteen–year–old, fresh out of her teenage years–would have
completely different expectations.
She wasn’t one of the polished, worldly women he was used to
dealing with, the kind who knew the rules of his game and played
along without complaint. No, Isla was young, idealistic, and no doubt
still clinging to the dreams every girl her age harbored: a prince
charming riding in on a white horse, sweeping her off her feet with
grand gestures, sunsets, and proposals on the top of the Eiffel Tower.
And he’d given her…this.
A frown tugged at his lips as he glanced at her from across the table.
She was sitting stiffly in that ridiculous fluffy hotel bathrobe, her hair
still a mess from sleep, her cheeks flushed–not with the softness of
shyness, but with the heat of anger. Isla’s energy was practically vibrating with indignation, her blue eyes sparking like lightning. She
wasn’t just upset; she was furious, and rightfully so.
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Chapter 214
Graham shook his head, the weight of disappointment settling heavily in his chest–not in her, but in himself. How had he managed to botch this so spectacularly? He was supposed to be suave,
composed, a man who could command any room he entered. But here,
with Isla, all of that had unraveled.
He had forgotten who she was, forgotten that she wasn’t the kind of
woman he could steamroll over with his usual no–nonsense approach.
She wasn’t sophisticated or worldly; she was young, untouched by the
cynicism of his world, and still clutching at the fragile strings of her
own dreams. Dreams he hadn’t even paused to consider.
Graham’s jaw tightened as he glanced at her again, slouched in her
chair and pulsating with furious energy, still half–asleep and caught
off guard by the bombshell he’d dropped on her. He’d handled this all
wrong. If he had been thinking, he would have taken her out
somewhere special, treated her the way she deserved–with candlelit
dinners and slow dances, with compliments that made her cheeks
bloom and gestures that made her heart race.
Instead, he’d bulldozed through her dreams with his arrogance,
acting as though she should simply fall in line because he was
Graham Lancaster.
Taking a deep breath, Graham tried to soften the sharp edges of his
pride. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and fixed her with an expression that was equal parts apologetic and
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Chapter 214
determined.
“I’m sorry, Isla,” he said, his voice quieter now, lacking its earlier
steel. “I didn’t think this through, and I see that now. I handled it
poorly, and you deserve better than this.”
Her eyes narrowed at him suspiciously, as if she couldn’t decide
whether he was truly apologizing or just trying to placate her.
E
“Will you give me another chance to make this right?” he asked, his
voice tinged with an unfamiliar humility. “Let me take you out
somewhere–anywhere you’d like. We’ll talk about this properly. I
want to do this the right way.”
He hesitated, his gaze flickering over her robe and messy hair before returning to her eyes. “Why don’t you go change into something else?
Something that makes you feel beautiful. And then we can go out and
talk about this–like it should have been done in the first place.“:
Isla stared at him, her expression unreadable, and Graham felt the
strange sensation of being entirely at her mercy. It was foreign and
deeply uncomfortable, but he forced himself to hold her gaze, to wait
for her answer. He was Graham Lancaster, and he wasn’t accustomed
to waiting or groveling. But for her, he would. Because he needed her
to see that despite all his flaws, he was willing to try.
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Isla’s heart pounded like a trapped bird, erratic and desperate. She
stared at Graham, her mind a swirling storm of confusion, suspicion,
and fear. Why on earth would he want to marry her? The question
burned in her chest, unspoken but insistent, refusing to let her find
peacé.
Just three weeks ago, she had seen him with Vanessa–the stunning
redhead who was everything Isla was not. Sophisticated, worldly, and
perfectly at ease in Graham’s universe of power and wealth. Vanessa
had been on his arm, his equal in every way. And now, here he was,
sitting across from her, talking about marriage as if it were a business
transaction.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
