The Billionaire I couldn't hate.

Isabella Hart used to believe that losing everything happened loudly.

She thought it would come with police sirens, reporters at the gate, neighbors whispering as they peered through their curtains. She imagined chaos, public shame and a dramatic end.

Instead, it happened quietly.

One day, her house was warm and full of light. The next, the gates were locked, the furniture sold off piece by piece, and her father sat in silence at the dining table, staring at nothing.

That was how Isabella learnt the cruelest truth of all...

Some disasters don't announce themselves, they just erase you.

Now, two years later, she stood in front of a mirror that didn't belong to her, adjusting the sleeves of a blouse she had ironed three times to hide how worn it was.

"Just smile," she whispered to her reflection. "You'll be fine."

She wasn't sure who she was trying to convince.

The small apartment smelled faintly of detergent and old books. It was nothing like the home she grew up in; no marble floors, no sweeping staircases, no sunlight pouring in through tall windows. But it was clean, quiet, and affordable.

Affordability really mattered now.

Isabella grabbed her bag, checked her phone, and sighed. No new messages, no missed calls, that was normal these days.

Her father barely spoke anymore.

She locked the door behind her and stepped into the morning air, pulling her coat tighter around herself. The city moved fast, indifferent to her thoughts, her losses, her carefully hidden fears.

She moved with it, and by the time she arrived at the address sent to her the night before, her nerves were already tight.

The building was... unexpected.

Tall, tasteful, and quietly expensive.

Isabella paused at the gate, rereading the message.

Private tutoring needed. One child. Evenings only.

Nothing about the place suggested "simple tutoring job." Everything about it whispered money; the kind that didn't need to announce itself.

She swallowed.

"This is fine," she murmured. "Just another job."

But as she rang the bell, something shifted in her chest. A strange awareness, as though she had stepped onto a path she wouldn't be able to leave easily.

The door opened, and for a second, Isabella forgot how to breathe.

The man standing before her was tall, well over six feet, with dark hair that looked effortlessly styled and eyes that were calm in a way that felt unsettling. He wore a simple black shirt and slacks, yet nothing about him felt ordinary.

He didn't look surprised to see her.

Instead, he looked... curious.

"You must be Isabella," he said.

His voice was smooth, deep, unhurried.

She nodded quickly. "Yes. I'm."

"The tutor," he finished, stepping aside. "Please, come in."

The house was just as understated as the exterior. Minimalist, clean, no clutter, and no warmth either. It felt controlled.

"Thank you," Isabella said, stepping inside.

Nathaniel watched her carefully, though she didn't notice. He had a habit of observing before speaking, listening before reacting.

"You're early," he said.