A tiny light peaked through the curtains and blinded her into waking up for the day. She rolled over and groaned loudly, as if making noise would rid her of the immediate hangover she fell into. Isabella rolled over again and stuffed a pillow over her head; the world was spinning, and her stomach was churning faster than she could have imagined. Before she could coach her breathing into a steady pace, she felt the bile slowly rising and made a mad dash out of bed.

Whether it was her disorientation or the early morning, but the step off of the bed was much larger than it ever was. She fell face first wrapped in the satin sheet, the vomit still rising steadily at the back of her throat. Bella ran blindly to the bathroom and barely made it to the porcelain bidet before everything came spewing from her mouth.

She tried to aim as best as she could, but she was suddenly recreating the gross screen from The Exorcist.

Her whole body heaved with the effort to empty her stomach.

Isabella hugged the corner of the toilet and rested her head against it, silently thanking Maria for being an impeccable cleaner. Her entire body broke into a cold sweat as another roll of nausea ran over. She was barely conscious but knew she was butt naked- how she got that way, she would never know. But if she wasn't already stripped down she would have in that moment.

It felt like her whole body was on fire.

"Isabella!" He hissed her name like snake would talk to its prey.

She didn't have to lift her head to know whose voice that was.

He was the only person on the planet that talked to her like that.

Even if she wanted to look up at him, her head felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. And… she wasn't capable of moving just yet.

"Estupida." He muttered darkly.

"Fuck off." She was proud of herself for being capable of mumbling at all. Everything was so loud all of a sudden and it split her head open wide.

"You're bleeding, Isabella." He said her name with that darkness again- she might have found it sexy at any another time but for now it was just annoying. "I'm going to pick you up- dios!" He barked when she started puking again.

Where was she bleeding from? Everything all over her body was sore and felt like a nightmare.

When she simmered down, she felt him pick her up and walk her a few feet to the shower where he turned the steam on and sat her down. She finally opened her eyes despite the painful fluorescent lighting and looked up at him. He stood in the shower with her, both of his arms on either side of her holding her upright. As she looked around, Isabella realized she wasn't in her restroom at all.

Her bathroom was light pastel colors and stainless steel- this one was a mix of dark colors and white porcelain. Was she not in her room? "Where am I?" She groaned throatily and closed her eyes again.

"We're home." He grumbled back.

Home?

Would a place like this ever be a home to her?

It was more like an empty luxury museum than an actual home.

"Ow!" The sound of her own screech made her head ring again. Did he put his finger right in her cut on purpose?

"I'm trying to stop the bleeding, Bella." The pain slowly ebbed as the water washed over her and she opened her eyes again. He was standing before her, fully clothed and soaking wet.

As her delirium slowly slipped away, she became painfully aware of their predicament. She was stark naked with wet vomit down her chin, a bleeding cut on her elbow, and she wanted him. What the hell was wrong with her? Flashes of the night before came to her and she promised to never look at his sports car the same again.

He either didn't notice her sudden embarrassment or decided to spare her the shame, but he maneuvered her shoulders so that she was right under the shower head again.

"Did you poison me?" She said it only half joking.

Eduardo scoffed as he rubbed at her back with the loofa. "I haven't seen a return on my investment yet- why poison you so soon?" Of course he was going to mention that.

Isabella moved her gaze as far as she could and gave him a side eye look. "Now isn't the time to be cocky. I'm dying."

She felt Eduardo laugh softly behind her and it brought a small smile to her lips. Not that she'd ever show him. "My confidence has always been a gift. I wouldn't be a millionaire without it."

Isabella rolled her eyes at him and turned back around, lapping in the relaxing way his fingers were rubbing the tension out. "You paid almost 200k for me. I wouldn't say you're that smart of a businessman."

Eduardo leaned right into her ear and breathed. All of the hairs on Isabella's body stood at attention when he was that close to her. "I would have paid double."

She had no idea how to respond to that.

I would have paid double… his words played over and over in her head as he washed her down and then dried her. She pushed it out of her mind that she was naked, and he was doing a poor job of acting normal- he didn't normally say weirdly sensual things or even wholly acknowledge her. And yet here he was, taking care of her.

"Can you act like a normal girl and lay in bed until you feel better?" He barked out. "I don't need you falling and breaking your neck in my home. You've given me enough of a headache."

Isabella snatched the towel from his hands and wrapped it around herself. "I'm fine now, thanks." She said stiffly. He stared down at her, saying nothing. It felt like he was waiting for her to say something in particular. The scrutiny made her feel uncomfortable- and when she wasn't in her comfort zone, all she knew to do was snap. "Don't you have someone to terrorize or blackmail today?"

Eduardo's jaw worked as he fought the urge to say something else. She looked up defiantly at him, waiting for the opportunity to spar with him again. As aggravating as their arguments were, it was better than the cold indifference he was capable of. Instead, he spun around and slammed the door behind him.

She wanted to let it go, she really. But she simply wasn't built that way.

Isabella hugged the fluffy towel tighter to her body and chased right after him. "Eddie!" She screeched, halting him in his steps. "You can't just slam fucking doors on people! I'm not your staff! Why am I even here?"

There he did it again- he tensed his muscular jaw to keep from exploding the way she did. He stared her down, almost challenging her to keep going.

And that's exactly what she did. "Why the fuck do you have me here? You wanna just fuck? You want just a babysitter? You want me to give you attention for your little ego?" Isabella grew more enraged with every word, her feet taking her to stand right in front of him without even realizing it. He still said nothing, relying on his green orbs to scare her off. Daggers were coming from them, but she would deal with that another day. "Do you think I like being cooped up in this… this lavish prison?" Isabella huffed. "You're rich, I get it. I'm impressed. You're the king, you win. Is that satisfying, Eddie? Is that what you want?"

"Lower your voice." He warned her coolly.

Isabella bit her lip to keep from telling him to suck her dick.

"You didn't seem so "cooped up" last night at the bar." Eduardo reminded her sourly.

She made a frustrated noise from the back of her throat and threw a hand up. "Do you really think I want to get drunk with strangers by choice? I'm stuck in a city I don't know, with nobody that knows me! You act like a dragon, how am I supposed to have company over?" Isabella expertly omitted the part where she had been pissed seeing him on a magazine with another woman.

"Company?" Eduardo parroted. He looked at her with a blank expression on his face, refusing to let anything slip. She didn't need to know what irked him. Women were dangerous when they came to know you too well. "I was explicit that no one is permitted on this property-"

Isabella shut him up with a raised hand. "Yeah, yeah I remember." He had made her sign some kind of NDA, promising to keep things to herself and being threatened by fines and legal ramifications if any media or publications got ahold of privy information and/or photos. She wasn't allowed to have people over, she wasn't allowed to tell anyone why she was there or what she did, and he was very explicit in warning her to stay in the villa at almost all times except when chaperoned by his security. It was a stupid rule, even he knew that! "You also tried to ground me and keep me in my room for the next four months!"

Eddie growled in response and snatched her hand. "Every inch of this ten-bedroom villa is yours, I told you that! There is a pool, a chef, a garden, the library- you have access to all of it. It's hardly a prison." He threw her choice of words back to her. "I pay handsomely to keep my privacy as well as Sebastian's- it's not just pictures I worry about. There is the matter of safety as well, Isabella." She softened at the mention of his son. Eduardo knew she would never do something to put him in harm's way! "Valencia is beautiful, but it is also dangerous."

Isabella looked away from his hard eyes, snatching her hand out of his with disdain. "I know." She grumbled back.

"Oh, do you?" He tilted her face up with one finger, his green eyes lingering on the hanging hem of the towel. It was the only barrier between his fingers and her supple skin, and he could have easily ripped it and had a repeat performance of last night right there in the hallway. But he needed to get his point across, and it would only happen if Isabella kept fabric on. "I am not your warden, Isabella- I understand that this does not impress you." He gestured around his house.

She almost flinched at the way his tone hilted every so lightly when he said that. Of course, this impressed her! She would be lying if she said otherwise. This kind of blind exorbitance was grander than any property her parents ever owned. And he did this all by himself- she didn't see any portraits of rich grandparents or any traces of a trust fund since she'd been there.

He carried on without missing a beat. "You are used to partying with socialites and shopping luxury boutiques- I am not asking you to change these habits." Isabella wanted to scream at the messed-up version of herself he saw. Luxury boutiques? Socialite parties? He was mistaking her for Rosalina, like everyone else did! "If you need to pick up a dress or do lunch with company," he spat out the word, "simply tell my driver and he will take you wherever you need to go. I won't even be told, unless you have Sebastian with you." He made a point of arching one of his eyebrows, letting her know that he already knew she had taken Sebastian for a joyride without his permission.

Isabella took a deep breath and relaxed against his hand. "You must compromise with me, Eduardo." She watched his guarded eyes for any kind of reaction. When he had none, she continued. "I respect that this is your home, but you brought me here. If it works out better, I can rent a room somewhere near and travel each day-"

"No." He snapped at her.

"Then." Isabella said waspishly. "Compromise, Eduardo." She put her hand over his for just a second before thinking better of it and removed his hand from her face totally. "I won't go into the city alone late at night, I will be safe about how I travel. Especially with Sebastián." Isabella took another deep breath. "But you must consent to me having guests over. They will be cleared with your security and won't be around Sebastián at all. Nothing overnight, and your son won't be neglected because of it."

He stared her down, contemplating what move he needed to make. Eduardo could completely shut her down if he wanted to. He knew how to break people and bend them to his will, especially someone in a precarious situation like Isabella was. Eduardo knew she was bound here not just by a contract but also because of her loyalty to her brother and his reputation. He could easily break her spirit and say no. But then again, he ran the risk of her bolting in the middle of the night, and she'd be gone halfway across the globe again.

Eduardo pinched the bridge of his nose to ward off an oncoming tension headache. "Okay, Isabella. I will compromise with you." When she smiled in return, he knew he had made the right decision. No, he didn't want to break her at all.

"See?" She twisted her shoulder ever so slightly. "That wasn't so hard, wasn't it?" He sent her a look to warn her to stop while she was ahead. But did Isabella ever do what she was supposed to do? "Also, I have some copies of a deed to a home I own in Peniscola. I was hoping you could look at it and translate some of it for me. If you're not too busy."

Eduardo cocked his eyebrow. "Purchasing property in a language you don't speak?" Isabella glowered in response. He didn't need to know her whole story, and he could think whatever he wanted for all she cared. "Leave the documents in my office and I will take a look."

She nodded appreciatively. There were plenty of things she wanted to say but suddenly, she didn't have any of the right words. They just stared at each other in the middle of the quiet hallway, both of their gravitational pulls sucking each other closer together.

Say something, Bella. Say anything.

She finally broke away from his gaze and cleared her throat. "Also, stop sending me gifts. They're unnecessary." And with that, she trotted down the hallway in the direction of her private suite on the other side of the house.