Out of the Ashes

Isabella's POV The key turned in the lock. Finally, I can’t wait to see his face. I’d picked up double shifts at the Carter estate all week just to buy Henry a birthday dinner. A sharp, breathless laugh echoed from the bedroom. Then a low, masculine groan. The air left my lungs. I walked down the hall, the floor groaning under my weight. The bedroom door was wide open, casting a mocking sliver of light across the rug. "Henry, harder," a voice gasped. It was Naomi. My childhood best friend. I stopped at the doorway. The paper bag slipped from my fingers, hitting the floor with a dull thud. Takeout containers scattered. Henry’s bare back was to me, his shoulders rising and falling rapidly as he pinned her down. Wrapped tightly around his waist were Naomi's pale legs, her fingers digging red tracks into his skin. Naomi's eyes snapped over his shoulder. The breathless smile on her lips froze, but she didn't try to hide under the sheets. A flicker of panic crossed her face before smoothing over into pure, vicious amusement. "Isabella?" Naomi gasped, sensing the shift. He twisted around wildly, his face turning an ash-gray as he scrambled off her, clutching the sheets. "Bella, wait. It’s not what it looks like." "You’re in our bed, Henry," my voice was hollow. "With Naomi." Naomi sat up slowly, entirely unbothered by her nudity as she draped Henry’s shirt over her shoulders. "Isabella, let's be realistic," Naomi said smoothly, her voice dripping with pity. "Look at yourself. You’re a plain, broke maid. Did you honestly think Henry was going to spend the rest of his life clawing at a body like yours when he could have someone like me? I did you a favor." The words hit like physical blows. I looked at Henry, waiting for him to say something. Anything. He couldn't even meet my eyes. He just stared at the mattress, his silence confirming everything. He had used me to pay his rent while crawling into her bed. A cold, hard hand wrapped around my heart. "Keep him," I said, my voice sharper than it had ever been. "You deserve each other." "Bella, wait—" Henry called out, swinging his legs over the bed. "Don't you dare touch me," I snapped. I slammed the bedroom door shut, grabbed my purse from the counter, and walked out into the pouring New York rain without looking back. Two hours later, the storm was relentless. I had nowhere to go, no money, and my parents back home were counting on every penny I earned. On pure autopilot, my feet brought me back to the grand, imposing gates of the Carter Estate. I slipped through the servant's entrance, desperate to hide in the locker room until morning. As I walked down the dim corridor, I noticed the heavy double doors to the grand library were wide open. The scent of premium bourbon and cedarwood rolled out into the hall. I stepped inside to close the doors, but froze when I saw him. Sebastian Carter, the ruthless billionaire CEO, was slumped in his leather chair. His expensive suit jacket was on the floor, his white shirt unbuttoned, and his dark hair completely disheveled. A half-empty crystal decanter sat on the desk. He was heavily, visibly drunk. "Who's there?" he demanded. His voice was a low, dangerous growl. "I'm sorry, Mr. Carter," I whispered, backing away. "I was just leaving" Sebastian turned his head. His piercing dark eyes locked onto mine. The cold armor he always wore was completely shattered, replaced by a dark, predatory hunger. "Isabella," he murmured, standing up. He swayed slightly, his towering frame instantly trapping me in his shadow. "Don't leave." "Sir, you're drunk. Let me call your butler." "I don't want Thomas," he growled. He closed the distance between us in two heavy strides, his large hands slamming onto my waist, dragging my plus-sized frame firmly against his chest. My breath hitched. "Mr. Carter, please..." "Just shut up," he groaned, his forehead resting against mine. He smelled like liquor, rain. "Just help me forget today. You work for me, don't you?," He said with a dark grin. Before I could speak, his mouth crashed onto mine. It was a bruising, chaotic collision. Henry’s betrayal had left me hollowed out, desperate to feel wanted, and Sebastian was running from a pain I didn't understand. "Look at you," he growled against my lips, his grip tightening, his palms mapping the heavy, lush curves of my hips with a brutal possessiveness. "So much hidden under that pathetic uniform. Did you think I didn't notice? I've been monitoring you, Isabella. Watching every shadow you move through in this house." "Mr. Carter—" I gasped out, my voice caught in my throat at the dark confession. "Every single shift," he whispered hoarsely, his thumb tracing my lower lip before digging in, forcing my mouth open. "And tonight, you’re mine to ruin." His long fingers ripped at the buttons of my maid uniform, sending them flying across the hardwood floor, and leaving my n*****s against the cold air. He lifted me effortlessly, slamming my hips back onto the massive mahogany desk. Papers scattered around us unnoticed as he wedged himself between my thighs. I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist, pulling his heavy, muscular frame closer. His mouth dragged down my jaw, biting fiercely at the column of my throat, leaving dark, possessive marks. "Sebastian, please," I whined, my hands anchoring into his thick hair. "Say my name again," he commanded, his voice a dark, rough friction against my skin. He grabbed my thighs, lifting them higher onto his shoulders. "Tell me who owns this beautiful, soft body tonight." "You," I gasped, the friction between us turning blindingly hot. "Ugh, Sebastian, you." "Good girl," he growled, and then he drove his c**k into me, hard and deep, shattering the last of my control. I let out a sharp cry, arching off the desk as the sheer size and heat of him filled me completely. He didn't give me time to breathe. He hit a brutal, punishing pace, his chest heaving sweat against mine. "Look at me," he choked out, pinning my wrists above my head, forcing my eyes to meet his dark, obsessive gaze. "Tell me you feel how perfect you fit against me. Tell me." "I feel it," I sobbed out, my head tossing back as the pleasure coiled tight and heavy in my lower stomach. "It's too much. Sebastian, I'm going to—" "c*m for me, Isabella," he ordered, his voice raw, his thrusts turning fast and merciless, driving straight into the center of my core. "Take all of it. Let me ruin you." The tension snapped. A violent, white-hot wave of release crashed through me, my walls clamping tightly around him. Sebastian let out a low, guttural roar at the sensation, driving deep one last time before his entire body locked up, spilling his heavy warmth inside me. He collapsed against my chest, his breath hot and ragged against my neck as the storm raged outside. I lay frozen on the leather sofa, the cold air hitting my bare skin. Slowly, carefully, I lifted his arm off me. My body ached from the sheer intensity of the night. I scrambled off the sofa, my eyes locking onto the wreckage on the floor. My maid uniform was completely ruined. I grabbed his discarded charcoal suit jacket from the floor, throwing it over my shoulders to cover myself, and retrieved my purse. I slipped out of the library, creeping through the silent mansion, and ran out through the gates into the crisp morning air, leaving Sebastian and the Carter Estate behind.