King of Pride

Facing the latest developments in the media and Kai’s fake date with Clarissa, Isabella has reached another period of writer’s block. Her mother’s birthday is less than a week away, but Isabella is still a few chapters short. While working from Alessandra’s one day, Isabella’s phone dings with the CEO vote results.

Kai meets Dante at Valhalla Club for a boxing match to decompress. Their match is interrupted by the arrival of Isabella, whose face reveals all that Kai needs to know about the vote: He’s lost. Isabella tells Kai that a man named Russell Burton won the position. Kai is shocked, as he’s the candidate Kai would have least expected to succeed. Isabella comforts Kai as he grapples with the loss of his family’s company—and their legacy.

Three days pass, and Kai attempts to accept his loss and the wound to his pride. During a drink at the Valhalla Club after work on Friday, Kai is approached by Victor Black. When he attempts to mock Kai for losing the CEO vote, Kai tells him to worry about his own company, which will fall soon enough due to the defamation lawsuits that Kai intends to bring against the National Star. Victor becomes angry and accuses Kai of thinking of himself as smarter and generally better than everyone else—including Victor and Russell Burton. In his anger, Victor slips up and reveals that he might have a personal connection to Russell. After Victor leaves, Kai mulls over the conversation and the details of Russell’s position, wondering if his sense of superiority has indeed blinded him to what’s in front of him. Kai notes that Russell seemed too shocked—like someone acting out surprise—when he was told the CEO vote results. All at once, Kai realizes the truth and calls Tobias.

Isabella arrives in California to visit her family with an unfinished manuscript. When the siblings give their mother, Perlah, her birthday gifts, Gabriel makes a big deal of Isabella presenting her finished manuscript. Isabella is forced to admit that she still has a few chapters left to write, and the awkward silence afterward all but confirms Isabella’s fear that her family is disappointed in her. 

Felix speaks with Isabella afterward and comforts her by assuring her that she’s on the right track. Gabriel arrives to speak with Isabella next. He reminds her that she has a year left to settle into a career and receive her inheritance, according to the written clause. He encourages her to move home and allow them to figure it out together. Isabella stands up for herself and insists on staying in New York and figuring things out on her own.

Kai meets with Christian Harper and asks him to do a clean job for him without engaging in any illegal or immortal activities. He tasks Christian with digging up dirt on Russell and Victor’s machinations that rigged the CEO vote for Young Corporation. Christian quickly finds the information Kai needs. He reveals that Russell hired private investigators to follow key board members and senior executives for months. They compiled all the information that Russell needed to blackmail his way into the CEO position.

When she returns to New York, Kai visits Isabella at home looking cheerier than he has since the CEO vote results came out. He reveals all that he’s learned about Russell and his blackmail schemes. Among the competitors, he focused on taking Tobias and Kai down since they were his biggest competition. Russell then focused on blackmailing certain board members into splitting their votes among the remaining candidates while leaving Russell slightly in the lead. 

Isabella tells Kai about her trip to visit her family. She admits that she didn’t finish her manuscript in time, but he assures her that it doesn’t mean she has failed and that it wasn’t a hard deadline. Isabella blindsides Kai by breaking up with him, claiming that they are not a good match for each other, as his mother has said, and telling him that they should see other people. Though Isabella loves Kai, she is punishing herself for failing yet again and is pushing him away as a result. Kai begs her to reconsider, but Isabella doubles down and asks him to leave.

Kai attends the CEO transition ceremony in London. Every Young Corporation executive is in attendance. When Russell begins his acceptance speech, servers begin passing papers throughout the crowd that detail everything Kai has uncovered about Russell’s scheming. Kai interrupts the speech by verbally detailing Russell’s actions to everyone in attendance. The reveal renders the CEO vote null and void, and Kai’s mother expresses pride in Kai’s actions. Russell, in his anger, admits that he believed the vote to be unfair from the start, as Kai was bound to get it purely because of nepotism. The executives agree to have a second CEO vote in two weeks to replace Russell.

Isabella works extra hours with Alessandra following the breakup with Kai. While at a cafe with Alessandra, Sloane, and Vivian, she asks Vivian about the CEO transition ceremony. Vivian describes Kai outing Russell and reclaiming his spot as CEO frontrunner. When checking her email inbox, she discovers an unread email titled, “Your book submission to the Atlantic Prose Agency” (307). Though Isabella never queried any literary agencies, she opens the email and discovers a revise and resubmit notice from Jill Sherman—“one of the biggest thriller agents working right now” (308). Isabella realizes that Kai must have researched literary agents and sent out the first chapters of her unfinished manuscript for her, knowing that Isabella wouldn’t have the confidence to do so herself. 

Receiving an email from a high-profile agent filled with optimistic feedback renews Isabella’s confidence, motivation, and inspiration. Within the next week, Isabella finishes the final chapters of her novel and revises the entire thing before resubmitting it to Jill. After the submission, Isabella goes out with Vivian, Alessandra, and Sloane to celebrate. While at a cocktail bar in Brooklyn Heights, Isabella is surprised to see Kai out with Clarissa.

Isabella is upset at the revelation that Kai might be dating Clarissa and escapes to the bathroom. Unfortunately, Clarissa unknowingly follows her inside, and the women share an awkward meeting. Clarissa riles Isabella up by criticizing Kai, which prompts Isabella to defend him, proving that she still cares about him. Clarissa is amused and states that she and Kai are just friends and that he misses her sorely. Isabella recognizes the necklace around Clarissa’s neck as belonging to her brother Felix, who was featured in the Saxon Gallery exhibition that Clarissa has worked on. The necklace reveals to Isabella that Clarissa is dating her brother. 

Clarissa pretends not to feel well and deserts the bar without telling Kai. Rather than leave him stranded without a clue as to where Clarissa has gone, Isabella is forced to interact with Kai in order to inform him. Isabella uses the opportunity to thank Kai for sending her manuscript to an agent and shares that she has finished and resubmitted the novel.

Isabella invites Kai somewhere quieter to talk. They walk to the Brooklyn Bridge, and Isabella asks him when the next CEO vote is. Kai tells her that it’s tomorrow. Isabella apologizes for everything, and Kai forgives her. Isabella asks Kai the question he promised to answer for her the night they participated in interactive art at the creative community. She asks if Kai sees a future for them; Kai admits that he loves her unconditionally and has complete confidence in their future together. They kiss and agree to continue their romantic relationship.

The next day, Kai takes a vacation day from work to stay home with Isabella. While playing board games, he receives a call from Richard Chu to congratulate him on receiving the CEO position by majority vote. Kai video calls his mother afterward to share the news and is both surprised and appalled to discover her in bed with his father. They’ve supposedly reconciled after a decade apart, and Kai discovers that Leonora’s decision to pursue their romance again is her reason for leaving the company. Kai likewise reveals that he and Isabella are back together. His father supports the union, and Leonora surprisingly does not disagree.

Two years later, Isabella travels to a local bookstore to see her erotic thriller, Mistress in Waiting, sitting on the shelves. She celebrates the release with Kai and her friends. Upon resubmission two years earlier, Jill Sherman loved it and offered representation before selling it to a small but well-respected publisher. Though Isabella is no longer working at Flora Designs, Alessandra has built a great team in her absence, and the small business is thriving despite her rocky relationship with Dominic. Isabella receives a video call from her brothers and mother, who are excited to see her published book in stores. Everyone, including Gabriel, expresses pride in Isabella’s accomplishment and dedication to her career as an author. 

Kai and Isabella travel to meet Isabella’s family for their annual get-together in February. They play Scrabble, and Kai joins Isabella in playing a piano duet for the family. Kai then brings Isabella outside to a makeshift wall of paint-filled balloons to recreate the experience from their first unofficial date. When Isabella misses her target as expected, she draws a scrap of paper from the jar filled with questions. The paper asks her to marry Kai, and he lowers to one knee to propose.