Chapter 3 Let Me Hug You

The black Bentley rolled to a stop in front of a villa.

Kolton carried Isabelle out of the car and placed her into the wheelchair before pushing her toward the house.

From behind her dark sunglasses, Isabelle quietly took in the view of the house before her.

This was the home she had once shared with Kolton after their wedding, the place where they had lived before her coma. She hadn't seen it in five years; it felt like an entire lifetime had passed.

"Belle, we're home," Kolton whispered affectionately into her ear. "Can you smell it? The tulips you planted for me are still here. I've taken good care of them."

Isabelle's eyes fell on the rows of tulips blooming in the front garden. They stood tall and luminous under the moonlight, as lovely as when she first planted them.

Back then, she had planted every bulb herself, simply because Kolton had once said tulips were his favorite flower.

At that time, she had hung on his every word, never stopping to question why he liked tulips, even after filling the entire garden with thousands.

After she was trapped in her vegetative state, Joelle visited her with a bouquet of tulips, whispering with a cruel smile, "Isabelle, you don't know yet, do you? Tulips are my favorite flower. Thank you for planting so many of them in the garden. They make me happy every time I visit your home with Kolton."

...

Isabelle felt a pang of hatred. She reached down and snapped the stem of a tulip in half with a violent twist.

She didn't regret the years she'd spent loving Kolton, but he had no right to trample on that love.

Kolton wheeled her up to the front door.

The villa had been Isabelle's design. She had chosen everything, right down to the biometric lock on the front door.

As the wheelchair stopped, her hand instinctively reached out to press the lock, but Kolton's firm palm stopped her.

His hand was damp with sweat. He was nervous.

"Belle, let me do it," he said softly.

Isabelle smiled faintly and bitterly as she suddenly realized that he had gone so far as to delete her fingerprint from the lock.

She held back the bitter laugh burning in her throat. The pain was too heavy to release.

She slowly withdrew her hand, watching quietly as Kolton leaned in to unlock the door. Just before the latch clicked, a slender, manicured hand pulled it open.

Joelle stood there in the doorway, poised and confident, like she was a part of the family.

Isabelle clenched her fists on her lap, the rage burning inside her.

Had Joelle lived in this house all along? Slept in her bed? Taken her husband? Stolen her children during these five years?

Joelle pulled the door open with a smile, but the moment her eyes landed on Isabelle sitting in the wheelchair beside Kolton, she froze in place.

"Kolton, why aren't you taking me inside?" Isabelle spoke suddenly.

Out of the corner of her eye, reflected faintly in the mirror on the wall, she saw Kolton make a small gesture to Joelle to stay silent.

Realizing Isabelle couldn't see her, Joelle quietly stepped aside, allowing Kolton to wheel her through the doorway.

Behind her sunglasses, Isabelle's eyes turned icy as they landed on Joelle's hand resting against the doorframe.

"Kolton, I feel a bit cold," she said sweetly. "Could you get me something warm and cozy?"

"Of course. There's a blanket on the sofa. Wait right here," Kolton replied, moving toward the living room.

Joelle's eyes followed him unconsciously, giving Isabelle the opening she needed. She slammed the door shut with great force.

Joelle's hand, too slow to pull away, was crushed painfully in the frame. She bit down on her lip, smothering the scream in her throat.

"Kolton!" Isabelle cried out, feigning panic, her arms flailing like she was reaching blindly. "I tried to close the door, and something got caught! I'm so scared!"

Kolton headed toward Joelle to check on her, but was caught by Isabelle's frantic grasp. He had to soothe Isabelle first.

"It's nothing, just one of the kids' toys. Don't worry. You can't see right now, Belle, so let me handle doors from now on."

His tone was calm, but Isabelle caught the flicker of irritation in his eyes.

"Kolton, where are Jim and Emmy? Where are my babies?" Isabelle asked urgently.

She had picked out names for her twins long before they were born. Right now, she couldn't wait to see them and hold them in her arms. As for that shameless mistress, she couldn't care less.

Her love for her babies had been her only anchor through these tough five years.

"They have school in the morning," Kolton said softly. "They're already asleep. Don't worry, Belle. You'll see them soon once your eyesight is better."

Behind the cover of her glasses, Isabelle's eyes dimmed.

She couldn't appear too eager, or Kolton would become suspicious.

But just as she was about to speak again, small footsteps pattered down the staircase. She turned her head instinctively and saw Emily and James descending together, hand in hand.

They were dressed in matching pajamas, slippers shuffling quietly against the floor-Emily in pink, James in blue.

Isabelle almost broke into tears of excitement.

"Dad," James called when his eyes fell on Isabelle in the wheelchair. He seemed to sense who she might be. His little hand gripped his shirt tightly as he hesitated, nervous.

Emily, however, gazed up toward Joelle, her eyes shining with affection.

She parted her lips as if to call out to her, but Joelle shook her head firmly. She obeyed and shut her mouth without question.

"Are those Emmy and Jim?" Isabelle asked, her voice trembling as she opened her arms toward them. "I'm your mommy. Come here, let me hug you."

Emily shrank back, retreating in fear. James lingered uncertainly before finally inching toward Isabelle.

He reached out a small hand and brushed her cheek, as though to confirm she was real. "Are you really our mommy?"

"Yes, sweetheart. I'm your mommy, and Emmy's too," Isabelle whispered gently.

Her whole body ached to scoop him into her arms, but she held back, afraid of frightening him.

To them, she was little more than a stranger who had slept through their lives.

"Alright, it's late," Kolton said, stepping in. "Jim, take your sister back to your room. Tomorrow after school, I'll explain everything to you both about your mother."

James hesitated, glancing back at Isabelle again and again as he started guiding Emily upstairs.

Isabelle called out desperately, "Sweetheart, can I hold you?" Her voice cracked, a tear slipping from under her sunglasses.

James paused, torn, about to turn back when Kolton said in a firm voice, "Jim, to your room."

He placed a hand on Isabelle's shoulder, his expression gentle. "The children lost you for years, Belle. They need time to adjust."

Isabelle's heart twisted in agony. Kolton was doing this deliberately. He didn't want her to get close to them.

James tugged Emily along, obediently retreating upstairs. Emily glanced back, not at Isabelle, but at Joelle, blowing her a little kiss.

The gesture stabbed Isabelle's chest like a blade. She shut her eyes, crushed under the weight of betrayal and grief.

She could discard Kolton, but she would never let anyone steal her children.

When the twins were gone, Kolton wheeled Isabelle into their bedroom and set her on the bed.

Her eyes darted to the wall. The wedding photo that had once hung proudly was gone, tossed aside into a corner, half-covered by a cloth that concealed her face.

A bitter laugh rose inside her.

So much did Kolton hate her now that even her photo couldn't be tolerated.

"Belle, rest early. I need to finish some work in the study," Kolton said softly.

She gave him a calm smile. "Alright."

The moment he left and the door shut, her smile faded.

She didn't believe for a second that he was going to the study.

With effort, Isabelle swung her weak legs down to the floor. Bracing herself against the wall, she forced her frail body upright and began the slow journey to the window.

Every step felt like torture.

What should have taken seconds stretched into five agonizing minutes, her body drenched in sweat by the time she reached the glass.

And there, beneath the pale light of the moon, she saw it-Kolton and Joelle locked in an embrace.