Ezekiel's POV.

I froze as soon as I heard her words. My hands paused mid-wash, and I slowly turned to look at her. I was trying to make sense of what she had just said, wondering if she really meant it. But she didn’t waver. Her gaze stayed locked on mine, steady and full of confidence. There was no hesitation in her eyes, no trace of doubt. Then, without another word, she turned and walked out of the kitchen, leaving me standing there, stunned.

I stared after her, my mind racing. First, she s*ck*d my fingers without hesitation, and now she’s giving me this… proposal? My heart pounded in my chest as I turned off the tap. Does she even realize what she’s saying? I squeezed my eyes shut for a second, trying to steady myself.

How could she even say something like that? I leaned over the sink, feeling the weight of the situation settle over me. Kathrine wasn’t home, leaving just the two of us alone in the mansion. The reality of it hit me hard. I felt like the air had gotten heavier, making it harder to breathe. I turned the tap back on, splashing cold water on my face, hoping it would clear my thoughts.

Isabella was bold—bolder than I’d ever expected. But even so, I didn’t think she’d take it this far.

I took a deep breath, steeling myself, and slowly stepped toward the stairs. As I climbed to the second floor, my mind was in a whirl. When I reached the top, my gaze instinctively drifted to her room. The door was slightly open, just like she said it would be. She hadn’t locked it.

I pressed my lips together, stopping in my tracks, frozen at the sight.

I arched my brows, feeling a sudden rush of urgency, and quickly walked toward my room. I needed to clear my head, get some distance from the situation. Once inside, I locked the door behind me and sat on the edge of the bed, my chest rising and falling as I tried to steady my breathing. I reached over and turned on the AC, letting the cool air wash over me, but it did little to calm the storm of thoughts raging in my mind.

I ran my hands through my hair, frustration building. Isabella’s words kept echoing in my head, replaying over and over. What did she mean by that? It didn’t make sense—none of it did. I sighed heavily, grabbing my phone in a desperate attempt to distract myself.

Scrolling through my contacts, I stopped at Kathrine’s name. I needed to talk to her. I dialed her number and waited, the ringing sounding painfully loud in the silence of the room. But she didn’t pick up. I frowned, my frustration growing. Why isn’t she answering? I couldn’t understand what was going on with her lately. She hadn’t been responding to my calls or texts, and now, of all times, I needed her to answer.

I threw my phone onto the bed in defeat and lay down, my gaze drifting to the ceiling. The silence felt suffocating. All I could do was hope Kathrine would come home soon.

But as my thoughts swirled, exhaustion finally crept in, and before I realized it, I drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, after finishing my exercise routine, I collapsed onto the sacco chair, trying to relax. I took a long sip of water, feeling the cool liquid run down my throat. Suddenly, I heard Isabella’s voice behind me.

“Good morning!”

I turned, startled. There she was, looking half-asleep, rubbing her eyes as she walked over to me. My heart skipped a beat as memories of last night rushed back.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” she asked, her voice still thick with sleep. “I thought we’d do exercise together.”

I forced a smile, trying to mask the discomfort her presence stirred in me. The memory of what she’d said last night still lingered, making me unsure of how to act around her now. That’s why I had deliberately avoided entering her room this morning.

Isabella, however, seemed completely unfazed. She plopped down in front of me, her casual demeanor making it seem like last night had never even happened. She yawned, stretching a little, her sleepy movements oddly mesmerizing. For the first time, I found myself really noticing her—her tousled hair, the soft glow of her skin. She was beautiful, but I hadn’t allowed myself to think of her that way until now.

She smiled up at me, her expression warm and curious.

“Are you okay?”

Her question caught me off guard. I straightened up quickly, hoping to hide any trace of the confusion I was feeling. “Yes, I’m fine,” I answered, standing up abruptly, needing some distance.

Isabella gazed up at me, a little surprised by my sudden movement, but I didn’t give her a chance to ask more. “Go freshen up,” I said quickly. “I’ll make coffee for you.”

She smiled, a soft, almost knowing smile, but didn’t press the issue. I walked out of the room. I needed space—somewhere to clear my head, somewhere away from her. Avoiding her was the only solution I had for now.

I quickly made the coffee and headed to the hall room. As I stood there, I called out her name, “Isabella!”

She came downstairs, still yawning, clearly not having freshened up yet. Her hair was messy, and she looked as though she’d just rolled out of bed. I placed the coffee on the table and was about to slip away when she spoke, stopping me in my tracks.

“Where are you going? Come, sit! Let’s have coffee together.”

I hesitated, unsure of how to respond. Part of me wanted to escape, to avoid any more of the awkwardness lingering from last night, but the way she looked at me—casual, almost carefree—made me second-guess myself. If I left now, she might think I was avoiding her, and that would make her sad. Judging by her face, she seemed completely normal, which meant I was probably overthinking everything.

I nodded slightly and sat down, but I made sure to keep some distance between us.

Isabella took a sip of her coffee and looked at me thoughtfully. “Did my mom call you?” she asked.

“No,” I replied.

Her brow furrowed, and she sighed. “It’s been three days. She’ll come back, right?”

“Yes, Isabella,” I reassured her.

"As she said, she’ll come today."

Isabella nodded, but the sigh that followed revealed a hint of worry. I could see the uncertainty flicker in her eyes, but before she could say more, I got up, needing to cut the conversation short.

“Okay, I’m going to take a shower,” I said abruptly.

“What, now?” she asked, looking up at me with raised eyebrows.

“Yeah. Don’t we need to go to university?”

She arched her brow, confused. “But it’s already so early.”

I pressed my lips together, trying to think of an excuse. “Isabella, I have a project to work on. I need to catch up on it.”

She studied me for a moment, as if weighing my words. “So, I’ll just wait then?”

I smiled, avoiding any further questions. “Yeah, just wait. I won’t be long.” Without giving her a chance to respond, I turned and headed upstairs, relieved to escape the intensity of the moment.

As I climbed the steps, I could feel the weight of her gaze on me, but I didn’t look back.