Chapter 301

Isabella stepped out of the building only to remember her car had been impounded for repairs.

It would take days before she could get it back.

She pulled out her phone to call a ride when a sleek black sedan pulled up beside her.

The window rolled down to reveal Oliver’s excited face beaming from the backseat.

“Mommy! Get in, get in!”

Both Nathaniel and Oliver were inside.

Isabella’s lips pressed into a thin line. They came to pick her up? How did they know about her car?

She scanned the area cautiously before slipping into the vehicle.

Oliver had already claimed the window seat. That left the middle spot open—right next to Nathaniel.

“Sorry, Mommy,” Oliver said with an innocent shrug. “I get carsick. I need the fresh air.”

Isabella almost laughed. Since when did Oliver get carsick? And in a car this luxurious with perfect air circulation?

Nathaniel’s calm voice broke through her thoughts. “Did everything get resolved?”

“Thanks to you, it did,” she replied, offering rare praise.

Oliver clapped enthusiastically. “Daddy’s amazing! So amazing! Mommy, what are you giving Daddy as a thank you?”

Isabella hesitated. She had planned to find a gift later, but now they were here.

“How about a five percent stake in the Gray Diamond Empire?” she offered. “As a token of gratitude.”

“I don’t care for material things,” Nathaniel said smoothly. “And you don’t owe me anything.”

Nothing? He’d mobilized hundreds of employees, even pulling a retired executive out of maternity leave. That was far from nothing.

“Nathaniel,” she said firmly, “I don’t like owing people. If you helped me, I will repay you. Name your price. Anything.”

“Anything?” he repeated, his voice low and intentional.

She nodded. The fewer favors between them, the better.

“Then marry me.”

Isabella choked. “Nathaniel Blackwood! That’s unreasonable!”

“You said anything,” he countered, his tone deceptively mild.

“Mommy, you always say we shouldn’t lie,” Oliver chimed in. “You have to keep your word!”

She coughed awkwardly. “I—I meant anything within reason! Not something this serious!”

Nathaniel thought for a moment. “Then a kiss. Three seconds. That should be reasonable, shouldn’t it?”

A kiss? Three seconds?

Before she could protest, Oliver cheered. “That’s so easy! Daddy and Mommy kiss all the time! You can’t say no this time, Mommy!”

Isabella froze. If she refused now, what would Oliver think?

Fine. It was just three seconds. It wasn’t like they hadn’t kissed before.

She leaned forward, looping her arms around Nathaniel’s neck.

Her lips met his.