Isla’s POV
The rain came down harder now, a steady, unforgiving downpour soaking through my clothes and making everything around me seem darker and colder. I stayed hidden in the alley, leaning against the damp brick wall, trying to regain some semblance of composure. But my thoughts kept spinning in circles, each one more chaotic than the last.
I had no idea where to go. I just needed to clear my head, to get away from the suffocating walls of the mansion and the harsh, unforgiving reality that my marriage had become. But the rain, it seemed, had other plans.
As I shivered against the chill, I noticed a group of men approaching from the far end of the alley. Their footsteps were heavy, their voices rough, and their laughter carried in the air like a bad omen. I tried to ignore them at
