The Battle of Will

"Beautiful."

Izabella heard Aleksander even though he whispered the word almost inaudibly. Furthermore, the way he looked at her left her stunned. A trance overcame him.

Izabella knew then how carelessly she had taken of herself. She did not slop out on purpose, though. When Shanda told her about the entire episode in Greece, she lost the motivation to fix herself. It was her way of showing men she was not interested in getting into the relationship—a brush-off to anyone who would try to mess with her.

She immediately thought of that as Aleksander gave her a grateful stare. She could use to add a few extra minutes to try, given that her present morning ritual consisted of donning her lenses, donning whatever clothes she grabbed first—either from the closet or nearby the bed, she wasn't fussy—tossing her hair up on top of her head, and exiting her bedroom. She also never overheard her father grumbling.

No, there's more. She wanted to try. She approved of her current appearance. A lo