Chapter 43 Cracks In The Facade

• (POV: Isabela)
• The days crawled by. One bled into the next in a monotonous cycle of numb dread, punctuated only by the quiet delivery of meals and the heavy presence of the guards outside my door. The wedding kept creeping closer—just over a week now. Every time I thought of it, I felt that cold, sharp edge of the guillotine at my throat, waiting to fall. My escape plans felt like foolish childhood fantasies now. Camila's precious information about the North Gate felt useless; security around the entire estate had become an iron wall since the parking garage attack, and Mateo’s return seemed to intensify it further. There was no 'window', no 'blind spot' anymore. Just walls, literal and figurative, closing me in.
• The knowledge of the rumors Rena had 'shared' added another layer of anxiety. Had Mateo heard them? Did he believe them? Was his occasional chilling stare across a silent room filled with disapproval, or just his usual possessive assessment? The not knowing was torture. He remained infuriatingly unreadable, his control absolute, his interactions with me minimal, impersonal, yet charged with unspoken ownership.