The Billionaire's Pretend Wife (Isabella)

Jacob scoffed as Isabelle narrated how she thought Seth was the one who helped her with the interview. Had he gone through all this trouble to give her a fair shot at the job only for her to think it was another man who helped her? She must think really highly of the guy.

"Did he tell you that?" he asked, crossing his arms across his chest. At that point, they were just standing in the middle of the alley, immersed in their argument.

"No," she replied, blowing away stray strands of hair from her face. "But it makes sense. Nobody else at the company knows me personally, so he's the only one who could have spoken for me against Ann. He's a head designer, so I think he's close to the vice president. Plus, he comes from a powerful family. He probably has some influence around here."

The more she talked about the guy, the more Jacob's irritation grew. Did she say he was her senior? Did she have a crush on him or something? Just because he was not her lover didn't mean she wasn't interested in him. From the way she smiled and looked at him when they were talking at the front of the building, to how she was vehemently defending him now...

"Oh please," he sneered. "His family is not powerful enough to influence the company's decisions."

He wasn't even sure what family the guy was from, and that was a clear sign that they were nowhere as powerful as the Garcias. Holding? No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't recall anyone impressive enough with that last name to have a sway over the Larson Group.

Isabelle frowned at him. "How do you know that?"

He blinked and looked down at her. "What?"

"It's not like you know his family or anything about the Larson Group. So how do you know that he doesn't have any influence on the company's decisions?"

Jacob pressed his lips into a thin line as he looked down at her. Damn, he should have thought twice before talking. But he had been so caught up in making her see that her precious prince charming wasn't the superhero she thought him to be.

He cleared his throat. "I have a friend who works at the Larson Group, and he talks a lot about the big bosses over there. If your little friend mattered, I would have heard his name at some point." "That doesn't sound like a very reliable source of information to me," Isabelle muttered, then turned away and started walking.

Jacob blew out a blast of air through his mouth before starting after her. He was just going to have to give up this argument. It wasn't like he could tell her the true reason he knew it wasn't her college friend who helped her out.

As he fell into step with her, he said, "Anyway, you still need to keep your distance from other men. We agreed on that."

Isabelle came to a halt and turned to him. "I already told you, we are just coworkers. I'm not attracted to him if that's what you're thinking." She closed her eyes briefly and when she looked at him again, it was with a look that suggested she was done fighting over it. "I don't know why you keep reminding me that when I already told you that I won't be involved with anyone as long as I'm your wife. If you can't trust me, there's nothing I can do about it. Seth and I just happened to leave work at the same time, it's not like we are planning on hanging out like you assumed."

As she gave her little speech, Jacob couldn't help but feel like a jerk. Maybe he had overreacted... He shouldn't have taken what Jason had reported to heart. Besides, Isabelle was making it clear that she wasn't interested in the guy. It wouldn't make sense to punish her for whatever intentions Seth had.

"Okay," he told her.

She lifted an eyebrow. "Okay? I don't want to have to go through this argument again. I know what I got myself into, Jacob. And I'm well aware of my responsibility here. This would all be so much easier if we trusted each other."

Jacob swallowed, and then nodded, as he looked into her eyes, letting her soft words wash over him... A few minutes ago, she was fiery after he provoked her, but now, she was giving him the softest look ever, and her voice sounded like the most soothing sound he had ever had.

Now, he felt stupid for not trusting her from the beginning.

When his hand came up to her face, it wasn't something he thought twice about. It was just something he wanted to do at the moment. As the back of his fingers brushed her face gently, she instantly flushed and stepped away.

Clearing her throat, she began walking again. "How about we take the subway home?"

Jacob was a little bothered that their moment was over, but it didn't matter. At least they were back on good terms. "Sure," he agreed. A few seconds later, he commented, "I wouldn't have expected the eldest daughter of the Cruz family to be so frugal."

He never would have guessed she used the subway. In fact, he would have expected her to have a car of her own. And if not, it would have made more sense if she hailed a cab. He had never met a wealthy family's daughter who took the subway.

"Oh, you know," she began, waving her hand flippantly. "I was a bit extravagant last month, so I have to watch my spending this month."

Jacob wasn't sure whether to believe that. He recalled the argument she had with her mother and sister and wondered whether that had anything to do with her shortage of money. "How are things with your family?" he asked, watching her face closely.

"All good," she replied, slowing down at a light behind a group of people waiting to cross the road. The entrance to the subway station was on the other side of the road. Jacob noticed how she glanced at the light and then at the traffic as if hoping they could keep moving soon. Clearly, she didn't want to stand around and talk about her family.

On the day he had shown up at her home, she had acted as if the argument with her family hadn't been serious. But it was clear to him that she likely didn't get along with them. Maybe she was embarrassed to admit it to him. Wanting to set her at ease, he decided to let it be.

Hoping to lighten the mood, he reached into his pocket and produced his wallet. "Good news, I made some money at my part-time job today," he told her, showing her the bills in the wallet.

Isabelle looked down at the wallet and looked up at him. He wished he could know what she was thinking at that moment. If she was having a cash problem, surely, this would make her feel better, right? "Oh my God, are you guys taking the subway?" A familiar voice suddenly reached them. "Isabelle, you must really be living a poor life if you can't even afford to take a taxi."