Vanquished (The Encounter #3)(41)

Julien hadn’t even seemed fazed for a fraction of a second when he witnessed Isobel kissing me. It was as if he had expected that, as if he couldn’t be bothered at all, which simply shocked me to be quite honest.

Left to our own devices, I wanted to let out one thing that had been on my mind and required hashing out as soon as possible.

“I will have to set up a fund that will be directly deposited to an account for Isobel and the children’s welfare.” They would want for nothing. Everything I owned was theirs. We simply had to figure out a way to hide it well.

Chagrined, Julien threw me an offensive look. “Please don’t insult me in such a way. I have offered my help, my services, and I will provide it. You could possibly save that as a trust fund for their future. As for their expenses, we both know you have nothing to worry about other than your dear pride, old friend.”

Well, cheers to that. He knew me too well. Pride would surely be one unsavory morsel I would be swallowing each time I was reminded of my offspring and not being able to fully provide for them. Such a life.

“You’re doing too much for me, Julien. I don’t know how to even begin to thank you.”

He smiled, seeming thoughtful. “I would have expected the same treatment should it have happened to me. I may not know what is going on, but I think I know enough. After Louise’s autopsy report and how truly shaken you were then, something didn’t add up. I didn’t ponder much about it until Isobel confessed that she was pregnant. After that, I had to dig through reports just to understand what had happened to Louise.

“When I stumbled upon your uncle and his woman killed in a precise, disturbing manner, it was too uncanny to miss. Yet your father didn’t file any claims or charges; there was no investigation, nothing, as if he simply accepted that his brother’s fate and that the man was murdered for whatever reason. After learning about those, there was no doubt in my mind what I had to do to protect Isobel, because it seems as though babies were purposely being targeted and killed in such a way that the mother wasn’t going to be able to survive. It’s brutal and an act of pure evil.”

There was too much to be said, but I chose not to linger upon the images that flashed before my eyes as he spoke about what he had found out.

“I’m in your debt. If there’s anything you need, anything at all, I’ll grant it without thought.” I was grateful for a man like him to willingly protect me and my family without hesitation. He was a one of a kind friend, and I would never forget it. “Keep them safe at all costs.”

“I know, Hugo. That sentiment is a given. We’re brothers. Maybe not my blood, but we’re brothers. You are family. I’m prepared to sacrifice anything to protect family.”

Thanking him would not have been enough, so instead of words, I stood up to give him a grateful hug. He was right. We were family. And the moment he became my children’s father, he would officially be a part of that.

We would get the ball rolling tomorrow, and the rest would eventually come through. I had promised I would stay in town up until the wedding day. For that, I swore I wouldn’t be in the same country, let alone the same continent. They were set to marry in four weeks’ time in a secret ceremony at a location I didn’t care to know in fear that I might be tempted to go and cause chaos and stop it from happening. In my demented mind, I wouldn’t put it past myself. Jealousy was such a prick to be dealt with, and I wasn’t taking any chances.

Julien offered to stay the night before he took Isobel back so I could have a little more time with her. It was a very grand and kind gesture, but I declined it. It was better that way. I had to start putting distance between us, though it was f*cking me inside out. It had to be done, so I might as well do it quickly.

I avoided a long, rigorous good-bye with Isobel and simply opted for a hasty one. It was cowardly and selfish, but I just didn’t have the wherewithal. I was wounded, and the wound was still bleeding … And it would not heal until I stayed away from her and started to regard her as Julien’s soon-to-be wife.

I chose to stay another night, chasing the ghost of my past and present away, reminding myself that tomorrow was another day. Four more weeks … Then I could fly to wherever the f*ck life took me.

Anywhere but here …





Chapter Twenty-One


Isobel





Julien’s villa, though not as massively grand as Hugo’s, was still a huge, prime property on the coast. He didn’t add on more security cameras like Hugo had done in the chateau, but he had hired an extra team of six men to shadow me everywhere I went. Their mission was to protect me at all cost.

If I had thought the two details I had in the States were serious, this pack of men took it to another level. They had the appearance that they would kill whoever dared to simply look my way. It was brilliant because it would serve as great protection for me, but they made me uncomfortable. I supposed I would get used to them in time.

The society magazines made it seem as though it was a passion-fueled love affair when they scattered our relationship across their front pages. That we had gone behind Hugo Xavier’s back was quite the fodder in gossip rags. I had turned myself away from such rubbish since it made me sick to my stomach wondering what Hugo might be thinking when he saw such madness.

Julien and I had been constantly talking about the impending wedding and how it would play out in the press. He wanted it to be splashed everywhere to distract the public from what we were really hiding. He stated it was better off that way—to control the media so we had a hand in what was being published out there instead of the other way around, which could prove disastrous to our cause.