STAINED BY DESIRE

Chapter One The rain had been falling since dawn. It drummed softly against the windows of the small two-bedroom apartment, washing the city in shades of grey. Inside, the only light came from an aging desk lamp that cast a warm glow over a dining table buried beneath blueprints, financial reports, unpaid bills, and a laptop that had not been shut down in three days. Isabella Hart rubbed her aching eyes and leaned back in her chair. The muscles in her neck protested immediately. She ignored them. Pain had become familiar. Her gaze drifted to the email on her laptop screen. Dear Ms. Hart, Thank you for your proposal. After careful consideration, we have decided to move forward with another company whose experience more closely aligns with our current requirements… Bella let out a slow breath and closed the email. Rejected. Again. That made three this month. Three opportunities. Three carefully prepared presentations. Three polite ways of saying the same thing: Your company isn’t good enough. She reached for the notebook beside her and crossed out another company name from the list she had been chasing for almost six months. Only four names remained. Four chances to keep Hart Creative Solutions alive. Outside, thunder rumbled across the sky. Inside, the silence felt even louder. Her eyes wandered to the stack of envelopes scattered across the table. Electricity bill. Office rent. Internet subscription. University tuition. She picked up one envelope, stared at the red letters stamped across it FINAL NOTICE and quietly placed it back where it had been. For a brief moment, she allowed herself to imagine what life would have been like if her parents were still alive. Would she have become the architect she had always dreamed of being? Would her father still be teasing her for working too hard? Would her mother still remind her to eat before every deadline? The thoughts disappeared as quickly as they came. Dreams didn’t pay bills. Reality did. Or at least, it tried to. A delicious smell drifted from the tiny kitchen. A second later, light footsteps echoed down the hallway. “Bella?” Anna’s gentle voice broke the silence. Bella didn’t look up immediately. “I’m working.” “That’s exactly what worries me.” Bella smiled despite herself. She finally raised her head just as Anna appeared, balancing three bowls of steaming noodles while Joanna followed behind carrying a tray of freshly sliced fruit. Joanna stopped in the doorway and narrowed her eyes. “Don’t tell me you’ve skipped lunch again.” Bella looked genuinely offended. “I had breakfast.” Joanna blinked. “Bella… it’s almost seven in the evening.” Bella glanced at the wall clock. “Oh.” Anna sighed, setting the bowls on the table. “You forgot again.” “I didn’t forget.” “You absolutely forgot.” Bella pressed a hand dramatically against her chest. “I prefer the word… delayed.” Joanna laughed. “Only you would rename starvation.” For the first time that day, Bella laughed too. A real laugh. The kind that softened the exhaustion in her eyes. Only her sisters could do that. Anna handed her a fork. “No emails.” “No proposals.” “No pretending you aren’t hungry.” Bella accepted the fork with exaggerated reluctance. “Both of you have become very bossy.” “We learned from the best.” Bella smiled. She looked at the two young women sitting across from her and felt the familiar ache in her chest. People often told her she had sacrificed everything for her sisters. They were wrong. Anna and Joanna had never been a burden. They were the reason she kept fighting. Bella had barely finished the last mouthful of noodles when the sharp knock on the apartment door echoed through the living room. Three knocks. Quick. Confident. Joanna looked toward the door and grinned. “That has to be Clara.” Bella frowned. “Or the landlord.” “I prefer my answer,” Joanna said. Anna stood first. “I’ll get it.” The door swung open. “Miss me?” Clara Benson stepped inside wearing a cream blazer over black trousers, her long curls bouncing as she walked. She carried two glossy shopping bags in one hand and an infectious smile on her face. Without waiting for an invitation, she hugged Anna, pinched Joanna’s cheek, then turned dramatically toward Bella. “My hardworking CEO.” Bella folded her arms. “My overly dramatic best friend.” “I’ll take that.” Clara’s gaze swept across the dining table. The scattered bills. The laptop. The empty coffee mug. The proposal files. Her smile faded. “You’ve been working all day again.” Bella shrugged. “The proposals won’t write themselves.” “No.” Clara’s voice softened. “But they also won’t disappear because you skipped meals.” Bella looked away. “I ate.” Anna and Joanna exchanged a knowing glance. “Barely,” Anna muttered. Clara sighed before setting the shopping bags on the sofa. “I didn’t come here to argue.” Bella raised an eyebrow. “You never come here without an agenda.” “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.” Joanna burst into laughter. Anna shook her head. Bella pointed toward the bags. “Explain.” Clara rubbed her hands together with excitement. “Gladly.” She reached inside the larger bag and carefully lifted out a stunning emerald evening gown. The fabric shimmered beneath the living room light. Elegant. Timeless. Not flashy. Simply beautiful. For a few seconds… Nobody spoke. Joanna was the first to whisper. “Oh…” Anna’s eyes widened. “Bella…” Bella herself simply stared. “Whose dress is that?” Clara smiled. “Yours.” Bella blinked. “No.” “Yes.” “No.” “Absolutely yes.” Bella laughed. “You’ve lost your mind.” Clara walked over and held the gown against Bella. The emerald colour brought warmth to Bella’s skin, making her dark eyes appear brighter. Anna smiled immediately. “It suits her.” “It really does,” Joanna agreed. Bella stepped backward. “I am not wearing that.” “Why not?” “Because people who wear dresses like that attend events I don’t belong at.” Clara folded the gown over her arm. “And what kind of event do you think this is?” Bella looked at her suspiciously. “What are you planning?” Clara reached into the second shopping bag and produced an elegant cream envelope sealed with gold wax. She handed it over. Bella frowned as she opened it. Her expression changed. “…The Vale Foundation Annual Charity Gala?” She looked up. “This is tonight.” “Exactly.” Bella laughed in disbelief. “Clara…” “No.” “I can’t.” “You can.” “I won’t.” “You will.” Bella rubbed her forehead. “There’ll be politicians, CEOs, investors… people who spend more on one dinner than I make in three months.” “And?” “And I don’t belong there.” Clara stepped closer. “Who told you that?” Bella opened her mouth. Nothing came out. “You’ve spent months trying to get your company noticed,” Clara continued quietly. “You’ve worked until midnight.” “You’ve sacrificed weekends.” “You’ve been rejected over and over again.” “And yet every morning…” She gently tapped Bella’s chest. “…you still get up and fight.” Bella lowered her eyes. Clara’s voice became even softer. “If anyone deserves to stand in that ballroom tonight…” “It’s you.” Silence settled over the room. Anna reached across the table and squeezed Bella’s hand. “You always tell us opportunities don’t knock twice.” Joanna smiled. “Maybe this is yours.” Bella looked at the invitation again. Then at the unpaid bills. Then at her sisters. Her company wasn’t failing because she lacked talent. It was failing because nobody knew it existed. Maybe… Just maybe… One evening could change that. She released a slow breath. “If I embarrass myself…” “You won’t.” “If I panic…” “I’ll rescue you.” “If I step on someone’s expensive shoes…” Joanna laughed. “Run.” The room erupted into laughter. Bella shook her head. “I can’t believe the three of you planned this.” Clara grinned. “Oh, we’ve been planning it for a week.” “A week?” Anna looked guilty. “We may have helped.” Bella placed a hand dramatically over her heart. “I’ve been betrayed.” “You’ve been loved,” Anna corrected gently. The teasing faded. Bella looked at the three women standing before her. Her family. The people who never stopped believing in her. No matter how often the world said she wasn’t enough. A smile finally spread across her face. “All right.” Clara gasped. “Really?” Bella nodded. “I’ll go.” Nearly two hours later… Bella stood beneath the glittering lights of the Grand Meridian Hotel. Luxury cars lined the entrance. Uniformed attendants welcomed guests with practiced smiles. Women in designer gowns glided across the marble floor while photographers captured every arrival. Bella instinctively reached for Clara’s arm. “I suddenly have a brilliant idea.” Clara smiled knowingly. “You want to go home.” “I absolutely want to go home.” “Denied.” Bella sighed. “I knew you’d say that.” The ballroom doors opened. Warm golden light spilled into the hallway. Crystal chandeliers sparkled overhead. A string quartet played softly in the distance. Everywhere Bella looked, there were conversations. Business. Politics. Investments. Influence. She felt very, very small. Clara leaned closer. “Remember.” Bella swallowed. “I’m here to represent Hart Creative Solutions.” “And?” “I’m just as capable as everyone else in this room.” Clara smiled proudly. “That’s my Bella.” For the next hour, Bella spoke with investors, marketing directors, and entrepreneurs. At first, her voice trembled. Then her confidence returned. She spoke about branding strategies. Customer trust. Digital growth. Building businesses from the ground up. People listened. Not everyone. But enough. Enough to give her hope. Enough to hand her business cards. Enough to remind her she hadn’t been fighting for nothing. As she stepped away from another conversation, Clara caught her eye from across the room and gave her an enthusiastic thumbs-up. Bella laughed softly. Maybe… Maybe tonight really was different. She accepted a glass of red wine from a passing waiter. Turning toward the balcony for a quiet moment, she didn’t notice someone approaching from the opposite direction. The collision happened in an instant. The wine glass slipped from her fingers. Red liquid splashed across an impeccably tailored silver-grey suit. The glass shattered against the polished marble floor. Gasps rippled through the ballroom. Conversations stopped. Bella’s heart sank. Slowly… She looked up. Broad shoulders. A perfectly knotted dark tie. A face carved with quiet authority. Piercing eyes met hers. Cold. Unreadable. Powerful. She recognised him immediately. Not because they had ever met. Because everyone in the business world knew his face. Michael Vale. For one endless heartbeat… Neither of them spoke. The ballroom seemed to hold its breath. And Bella had the unmistakable feeling that her life had just changed forever.