THE DISGRACED HUSBAND IS A HIDDEN PRINCE

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten: The First Stand

Alexander Petrov’s POV

Alexander stared at Isabella. She stood in the doorway of the side room, chin raised, shoulders back. Her emerald dress was torn at the hem from running through the warehouse. Her hair had come loose from its pins. But her eyes were steady.

“What did you just say?”

“I said I’m not leaving. You can’t make me disappear. I’m staying.”

“Isabella—”

“No.” She stepped forward. “You don’t get to make this decision for me. You married me for strategy, fine. But I just watched your sister try to kill you. I just saw you nearly die. And now you’re going to walk into the Circle of Crowns gala—into the most dangerous room in Europe—and announce to the world that you’re alive.”

“That’s exactly why you need to leave. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

“I know.” Isabella’s voice was firm. “But I also know that you can’t navigate the Circle without me. You don’t know their politics. You don’t know who to trust. You’ve been playing the refugee for three years—you have no allies in those rooms.”

“And you do?”

“I’ve been attending Circle meetings since I was eighteen. I know every family. Every alliance. Every grudge. You need me, Alexander.”

She was right. And he hated that she was right.

Alexander exhaled slowly. “This isn’t a game, Isabella. My uncle will come for you. The Ghost might have agreed to help, but that doesn’t mean everyone in his organization will follow. Elena will try to kill me again. And if they find out you’re helping me—”

“Then we make sure they don’t find out until it’s too late.” Isabella crossed her arms. “I’m not some damsel who needs protection. I’ve been managing Circle politics my entire adult life. I can handle this.”

“You don’t know what you’re signing up for.”

“Then teach me.”

They stared at each other. Alexander’s mind raced through scenarios. Risks. Probabilities. Ways this could all go catastrophically wrong.

But he also saw the determination in Isabella’s eyes. The same determination that had kept her upright through three years of an empty marriage. The same strength that had walked her into a combat zone tonight because she thought he was in danger.

“If you do this,” Alexander said quietly, “there’s no going back. Once you stand with me at that gala, you’re declaring yourself my ally. My wife. Not just on paper anymore.”

“I know.”

“The Summers family will disown you.”

“I know.”

“Viktor will report everything to my uncle. They’ll know you’ve chosen a side.”

“Good. Let them know.”

Alexander studied her face. Looking for hesitation. For doubt.

He found none.

“Alright,” he said finally. “But we do this my way. No improvising. No heroics. You follow my lead.”

“Agreed. With one condition.”

“What condition?”

“You answer my question from earlier.” Isabella’s voice softened slightly. “In three years of marriage, did you ever feel anything real for me?”

The room was quiet except for the sound of Dmitri groaning from the other room and Katerina’s fingers flying over a keyboard.

Alexander looked at Isabella. Really looked at her.

The woman who’d stood silent while her family tore him apart. The woman who’d hesitated over divorce papers at midnight. The woman who’d driven into a warzone because someone told her he was in danger.

“I told myself not to care,” Alexander said quietly. “I told myself you were just cover. Just strategy. That caring about you would be a weakness my enemies could exploit.”

“And?”

“And I was wrong.” He took a step closer. “Watching Viktor try to manipulate you at that dinner made me want to put a bullet in his head. Seeing your name on those divorce papers made me realize I didn’t want you to sign them. And tonight, when Elena’s gun was pointed at me and you walked through that door…”

He stopped. Swallowed hard.

“I wasn’t afraid of dying. I was afraid of you getting hurt.”

Isabella’s breath caught.

“So yes,” Alexander continued. “Somewhere in the last three years, you stopped being strategy. And that terrifies me more than any war with my uncle.”

They stood there, two feet apart, the weight of three years of silence and pretense hanging between them.

Isabella moved first. Stepped forward. Closed the distance.

“Then we’re even,” she said softly. “Because watching you let my family destroy you night after night made me want to scream. And I hated myself for not saying anything. For being too much of a coward to stand up for you.”

“You weren’t a coward. You were surviving.”

“No. I was hiding. Just like you.” She looked up at him. “But I’m done hiding now. So tell me what I need to know. Tell me how to fight.”

Alexander’s lips curved into something that might have been a smile. Might have been something more dangerous.

“First lesson: In the Circle, information is power. You already know the families. Now I’ll teach you how to weaponize that knowledge.”

“When do we start?”

“Now. We have two weeks until the gala. That’s not a lot of time to turn you into a weapon.”

“Good thing I’m a fast learner.”

Behind them, Dmitri’s voice called out: “Are you two done having a moment? Because James needs actual medical attention and I’m pretty sure Katerina just found something important.”

Alexander glanced back. Then looked at Isabella again.

“This is your last chance to walk away.”

“I’m not walking away. I’m walking forward. With you.”

“Alright then.” Alexander held out his hand. “Partners?”

Isabella took it. Her grip was firm. Steady.

“Partners.”

END OF PART ONE

The war is coming. The prince is rising. And the Circle of Crowns is about to learn that the refugee they mocked for three years is about to burn their entire world down.

To be continued…