Chapter 39

Isabella’s POV

I’d heard a saying that if life wanted to screw you up so quickly, it had a million and one ways to do so. But you know the intriguing part? It would never be in the way or manner you expected.

When I’d first heard it, I found it super weird, and that was solely because I simply didn’t believe it. But now—now that I stood in the literal face of death—I wasn’t sure if my previous sentiments still held water.

I was cooked, and in more ways than one.

Shit.

That was the only word my brain had been able to produce in the last ten minutes. The cogs in my brain spun, and even at an unnatural speed, they still couldn’t come up with a suitable comeback, or even a response.

I snuck a glance at the man in front of me. From the moment he’d walked into this room, I didn’t for one second doubt how serious he was. However, as I stared at him one more time, I realized details I had actually missed earlier.

His stoic expression had been