Sweet Flash Marriage with the Restrained Tycoon (Isabelle and Damien) novel Chapter 308

Chapter 308 Damian Collapses From Stress

He caught his breath and slowly lowered himself back to his knees.

Isabelle let out a cold laugh, convinced it was all an act.-

She rose to her feet, ready to walk away.

Without even looking up, Damian reached out and caught her wrist.

He knew if he let go now, this woman would be gone for good.

“Let go of me,” Isabelle demanded, trying to pull away.

Gritting through the sharp pain, Damian held on tightly.

The ache in his chest was just as fierce as the one shooting through his knees.

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“Can’t we… just not go through with the divorce?” he asked again, his voice low and strained, heart feeling as though it were cracking apart.

Isabelle glanced sideways at him, her eyes lingering on the damp patch darkening the back of his black shirt.

It was hot outside, but the air conditioning indoors certainly wasn’t enough to make someone sweat like that–strange, she thought briefly.

Shoving the observation aside, she replied coolly, “I’ll move out tomorrow. Whether we divorce or not… we can talk about it later.”

With that, she shook his hand off.

Damian’s hand fell empty, her warmth gone.

He stayed kneeling on the floor, unable to move for what felt like a long time, until the bedroom door slammed shut with a heavy thud–and something inside him shattered along with it.

He didn’t know how much time had passed before he braced both hands against the nearby sofa and pushed himself up unsteadily. Even sitting down, he could feel the throbbing in his knees and the pull in his back.

But none of that mattered. Right now, he was sure Isabelle was hurting even more than he was.

Upstairs, she had buried herself under the covers, crying silently until her pillow was soaked in patches.

How could Damian have done something like that?

She didn’t want to believe it, but after seeing those photos and videos, she couldn’t just brush it off. Putting some distance between them was the only thing that seemed to offer a little relief right now.

Outside her door, Damian stared at the firmly shut door. He knew he couldn’t stay—he was barely holding himself together

Slowly, he rose and dragged his heavy steps down the hallway.

“Mr. Cross,” Alfred said softly, seeing the man hunched over and struggling to walk steadily.

Damian didn’t respond. A suffocating weight sat in his chest, making it hard to breathe.

James hurried over to support him, but the moment he took hold, Damian’s legs gave out.

He had passed out cold.

*****

When Isabelle woke, the whole house was unusually quiet.

Then again, it was still early–just past six. Most people wouldn’t be up at this hour.

“You’re up early, Mrs. Cross,” one of the housemaids remarked, a little surprised to see Isabelle coming downstairs.

It was only a little after six, and she was already dressed. A pregnant woman usually slept in–most days she didn’t come down until eight or nine. This was probably the first time she’d been up this early.

“Heading back to the studio?” Regina asked.

“Yes, Diana can’t handle everything alone. We’ve taken on a lot of orders lately, so I should go help out.” She paused, then added

‘ll probably be busy for a while.”

And won’t have time to visit.

She couldn’t bring herself to say that last part out loud.

Back in the day, she and Regina had been close, like sisters who shared everything.

Regina knew about Isabelle’s family situation, so whenever they were together, they’d avoid talking about family—not wanting to stir up painful memories.

Now that they were family, with all this suddenly happening, Isabelle was even more reluctant to bring up the word home.

“Let me drive you. It’s hard to get a cab around here,” Regina said, taking a few steps forward to close the distance between them.

Noticing her slightly unsteady hands, Isabelle couldn’t bring herself to refuse. If she said no or slipped out quietly, she knew more people would come knocking later, trying to convince her to stay.

She didn’t want to see anyone–didn’t want to face anyone from the Cross family right now.

“Alright,” she agreed quietly.

Regina let out a soft breath of relief, stepped forward, and linked arms with her–just like they used to when going shopping–and the two walked downstairs side by side.

Along the way, Regina wanted to say something, but each time she noticed Isabelle’s distant expression, she held back.

Isabelle didn’t ask where Damian had slept last night.

In a house this size, there was always somewhere he could have/settled in just fine.