"I ran away not because I was in love with him, I ran away from my unwanted wedding because I found my home,"

Isabelle POV

"You are being overdramatic now. You already met them." I glared at him for calling me overdramatic. "You don't have to over think everything."

"That was when they didn't know about our true intentions, not knowing we had acted."

"Who said I was acting?"

"So you weren't acting. Does that mean you were in love with me the whole time?" He didn't answer my question. But he took my hand in his and placed a chaste kiss on the back of my hand.

"You are not helping me."

"Trust me, they love you. If my guess is right, they are happy about your run." I looked at the newspaper which was on the table. The front page is me at the time of my graduation and the headlines say how I ran away from my wedding and how my step-sister, being the younger lady, took the responsibility of tying the knot with Mick to protect my father's reputation.

Yes, Sara married Mick because they knew their reputation was on stage. My father could do anything to keep his reputation. The Whites were agitated and Sara was crying the whole wedding.

She didn't want to marry Mick. On the other hand, Mick seemed very happy that he had married Sara. The world was so interested in me that they came with blind stories. There were a lot of made-up stories on the Internet.

"Are you ready to go, Ma Lady?" Cyrus asked. I gave him a sarcastic smile before holding his hand. We are going to attend an interview before we leave to meet Beth and Pablo. Cyrus said it would be for the best if I gave them my side of the story. It's time the world knew me as Isabelle.

*

"Don't be scared, I'm here." Cyrus gave a kiss on the lips. I nodded my head. "I know." Cyrus got out of the car, came over to open my door. "Thank you."

Cyrus held my hand as we walked towards the entrance. There were a lot of people, stares and hushed words. We went into the studio, spoke with the manager and the director of the show. Cyrus didn't leave my side and his hand was always present on my lower back.

"Hello, Mr Weinburg and Ms Edwards." We shook hands with the lady. She did a quick checkout before throwing a fake smile. I tensed when she ignored me and spoke with Cyrus. She isn't a fan of me. Okay...

Cyrus ignored her. "It would be best if we started the interview. We got less time," Cyrus said.

"Yeah... Yeah... Mr Weinburg." We took our seats, Kate sat opposite us on the single sofa.

"Are you ready, Miss Edward?"

"Yes."

"Okay and here we go." She said, going through her papers.

"Welcome to Kate's show. Today we have Mr Zacharaiah Weinburg and Ms Isabelle Edward." She started her introduction. It went on for two minutes before she focused on the topic.

I smiled at the camera when it zoomed on me. "So, Ms Edward, we have all heard the news. What was the reason behind running away from your wedding?"

"My father arranged my marriage, but I believe everyone should be free to choose their partner. You cannot marry someone without your consent, and you cannot marry someone you do not love. After all, you will be spending your life with that person."

"You are saying that you don't love Mike White?"

"I'm sure I was clear about it in my first statement."

"But who doesn't love Mick White?" She chuckled, looking at the camera. I raised a brow. "Well, I don't." Cyrus squeezed my hand. I looked at him to see him smirking, which made me smile.

"Ms Edwards, you ran away from your wedding because you are in love with Mr Weinburg?"

I shared a look with Cyrus. I gave his hand a squeeze. "I didn't run away, not only because I loved him. I left my unwanted wedding because I found my true home."

"But doesn't it bother you knowing what a womanizer Mr Weinburg is?"

"In my opinion, it takes the right person to truly see another person for who they are. I do not pay attention to what magazines have written about my partner in the past. That was all before I entered their life, and now we are together for a better future. Therefore, it's best for me to not delve into my partner's previous relationships and affairs. It's better for us both to let go of our past and start a new beginning together."

The interview went on for another ten minutes. In the end, she focused on Cyrus. We left the place for good and I plan to stay away from the media.

"We will stop at a cafe to grab something."

"Okay."

*

"You know I never got to know about you personally." Cyrus chuckled. "What do you want to know?"

"Hmm, is your name Zachariah or Cyrus?" We are driving to the estate. It will take us another hour. We stopped for lunch and restroom breaks.

"It is Zachariah Cyrus Weinburg. I go by Cyrus when I'm home." I nod my head in understatement.

"My full name is Isabelle Faye Edwards." He looked at me. "Faye?"

"Yeah, it's my maternal grandmother's name."

"Oh, are you in contact with your maternal grandparents?" he asked. "Hmm, my uncles hated my father. So I never got the chance to meet them."

"They were at my mother's funeral but I don't really remember any memories. My grandparents are no more."

"What happened to your parents?" I took a breath. "I haven't heard of them." Cyrus gave me a sad smile.

"My parents died in a bus accident along with nine others. They were on their way back home and it was raining heavily. The driver couldn't see the road properly and the bus crashed into a heavy truck."

"I'm sorry." I pat his hand. "I was eleven years old when it happened."

"My parents recently started their business in New York and I was staying with my grandparents."

"Tell me more about them," I asked. A smile played on his face as he remembered them. "They were good parents and funny. They were both carpenters and ran a business in it. They were both quite popular in the town."

"You see the furniture in the dining area?" he asked.

"Yeah..."

"It was their work. Most of the rooms were done by them. The furniture, cupboards, beds and everything was done by them."

"Wow, is that why you haven't updated the furniture and everything?" I asked. "Not that I'm complaining."

"Yes... It's the most precious work." He tapped his finger on the steering wheel. "I don't think we would be able to update for years."

"That's nice."

"They wanted to expand their business. It was the right time for them to shift to New York. The business picked up in a year. They bought a garage to take big orders and opened their own shop in Upper Manhattan. My dad had an accident with his right leg. So they had to take a bus. Their time came to an end and we couldn't stop death, could we?"

A heavy sigh left Cyrus. "We mourned for them for years but I knew they wouldn't be happy seeing us sad. We had to start working and keep the shop floating. I didn't go to college because I didn't want their dream to go in vain."

"You took care of the shop and business?" I asked.

He hummed. "As I said, I didn't go to college. Shifted to New York and had to take care of everything. Nonno helped but it was tiring him. I don't want him to stress about anything. But I had to wait for a few years before the business expanded and I was able to hire human resources."

"I'm so proud of you, Cyrus." I kissed his hand. "You have household business and?" I haven't got the chance to learn about his business.

"When I turned 25, we moved towards the transportation business. We weren't sure about it, but thankfully, it worked out well. My grandparents decided to invest my parents' insurance in real estate."

"We bought properties and gave them for lease. When I turned 28, we expanded our real estate in New Jersey, NYC, Connecticut and Washington. Soon, the business grew and the partnership with Xavier turned out well."

We spoke back and forth. I got to know that Cyrus is turning 31 this year and I will be turning 24. There's an age gap, but I don't have any problem with it. Cyrus looks like he is in his twenties anyway.

*

"I missed you."

"I missed you too, Beth," I said, hugging her. "We were so scared when we heard the news." I smiled at her. "It's okay now. I'm here for good." She pulled away. I hugged Pablo, he kissed my forehead.

"Good to have you back, darling."

Everyone came over to greet me. I was getting emotional watching how everyone was greeting me. Lily made my favourite cake for dessert after dinner. Beth and Pablo were understanding and they didn't bring up the fake date.