The Billionaire's Revenge Bride

A Dangerous Proposal

Isabel watched from behind the counter where coffee was made, her hands paused on the espresso machine. Dominic Bellamy had just entered the Cozy Cup. He had been a regular visitor since the day they first saw each other again, two days ago. Every single day since then, he had come in, always choosing the same private booth at the back.

They hadn’t spoken on that first day. The shock of seeing each other had left them both frozen. Isabel had quickly pulled herself together, thanked him politely for his patronage, and walked away while he stared after her with those intense eyes.

He walked to the booth that now seemed like his favorite spot. His assistant, Harry, followed at a respectful distance. Isabel turned back to her work, trying to ignore the way her heart beat faster whenever he appeared.

One of her four employees, Mariam, approached her. “Someone wants to see you at the counter, Ma’am.”

“Thank you, Mariam. I’ll be there shortly,” Isabel replied, wiping her hands on a clean towel.

She stepped out from behind the counter and saw Harry standing there politely.

“Good day, Ma’am. My boss would like to have a word with you,” Harry said, sounding like a well-trained messenger.

Isabel’s heart skipped a beat. What could he possibly want? It was supposed to be a one-night stand. He shouldn’t expect anything more from her. She almost wanted to decline right away, but what if it was something about the service or an important customer request?

“Hello,” she greeted as she entered the VIP booth. Harry had already retreated to another seat farther away.

“Good afternoon,” Dominic replied. He gestured toward the empty chair opposite him, as if he owned the entire café.

Isabel sat down, determined to reject whatever inappropriate request he might make. She kept her posture straight and professional.

“I trust there’s nothing wrong?” she asked, wanting to get this over with quickly.

“Nothing wrong,” Dominic said, not wasting time. His eyes studied her carefully. “I just haven’t been able to get you out of my mind since that night.”

Isabel gulped. She had been right. He was just like the others. “Well, Mr… It was just a one-night thing, and I was going through a situation which I’m still yet to get over,” she said, already standing up. “If that’s all, I’ll take my leave.” She forced a polite smile across her face.

“Is that why you shed a tear while you slept?” Dominic blurted out.

Isabel froze in shock. She hadn’t realized she had cried in her sleep that night. She sighed heavily and turned toward the exit when his voice stopped her again. This time it was softer, gentler than she expected from a man like him.

“You seem like an interesting person,” he added quickly, “respectfully. And I want to know what happened. I had a feeling you weren’t a prostitute…”

“And you still left money after,” Isabel interrupted, turning back to face him. “Which, by the way, I didn't take.”

“Please sit. Let’s talk,” he said. His eyes took on a softer glow that surprised her.

Isabel felt strangely compelled to sit back down. She did.

“What do you want to talk about?” she asked quietly.

“Why did you cry?” he asked directly.

“Why are you so interested in my tears?” she questioned back.

“It stirred something in me. Like you needed help.”

After a long, heavy silence that stretched over thirty seconds, Isabel finally spoke with her head down.

She told him everything — about walking in on her fiancé with her younger sister, the cold way Harrison had ended things, and how she had only gone with Dominic that night because she was drowning in sorrow and alcohol.

“Is your fiancé Harrison Crane?” Dominic asked.

Isabel lifted her head. Tears had gathered in her eyes. “How do you know?”

“I read about it somewhere. Your name wasn’t mentioned, but I was able to put one or two things together.”

Dominic could see the fresh sadness his words brought back. He wasn’t a saint himself. He had done his share of ruthless things in business and in life. Yet something about Isabel’s pain pulled at him. Was it the tears? The night they shared? Or simply the fact that she didn’t deserve any of this betrayal? Whatever it was, he felt an unusual urge to take away her sadness.

Just then, his phone vibrated on the table. Harry had texted him a reminder that they needed to be back at the office in ten minutes for an important meeting. Dominic gritted his teeth. He had asked Harry to remind him, but he still cursed the timing in his mind.

“I would very much like to talk to you again. How about tomorrow?” he asked, standing up.

Isabel said nothing. She only sniffed, her eyes looking down at the table.

He wanted to stay longer, but he couldn’t miss the meeting. “I will see you tomorrow,” he said before walking away with his usual long, confident strides.

She watched him leave, just as she had watched him arrive.

--------------------------

Dominic continued frequenting the Cozy Cup for three days straight. On the first of those days, Isabel avoided him completely. On the second day, they talked — short, careful conversations that slowly revealed small pieces of each other. On the third day, she sat with him and cried her heart out while he listened quietly. He could feel how deeply the breakup had broken her. The pain still lived inside her like an open wound.

On the fourth day, Dominic walked into the Cozy Cup like a man in a hurry to deliver news he could no longer keep to himself. This time, he came alone. He walked straight to the counter and asked Mariam to call Isabel, then returned to his usual booth with those purposeful strides.

A few minutes later, Isabel entered the booth. She immediately noticed the air of anticipation around him, like he carried a secret he was eager to share.

She wasn’t even fully seated when Dominic asked suddenly, “Would you like to get revenge on your sister and your ex-fiancé?”

Isabel was taken aback by the question. Revenge had crossed her mind in the days after the betrayal. The sadness had slowly turned into anger, but she couldn’t imagine any realistic way to make them pay for what they had done.

She stayed quiet, her mind racing through every possible scenario of how Dominic could help her get revenge.

“What do you mean?” she finally asked.

“Just answer the goddamn question,” he said, leaning forward with narrowed eyes that couldn’t hide his excitement.

“I would very much like to get revenge for the pain those two caused me but… How?” she asked.

Isabel’s eyes widened at Dominic’s next words. In all the scenarios she had imagined in her head, this was something she had never once considered.

“Then, marry me, Isabel.”