Chapter Three- Facing the pasts

Isabella's point of view

I promised myself I would call Gilbert immediately, I called everything here to order. For now, I was stuck in the warm embrace of the tiny cinnamon roll that was my mother. Her simple scent of spices and freshly baked bread sent me down a tunnel of memories.

“I had no idea you would choose to honour the letter.” she whispered, her voice just as tiny as I remembered. “I just wanted you to get the message before someone else beat me to it.”

Mom held unto my hand even after I broke away from the hug. She pinched my cheek with her other hand, her grip as tight and painful as ever. It almost seemed a shame that we had missed five years and some more of the other life. Memories and moments we would never get back.

“I am happy you’re here.” she said simply.

If I was being honest with myself, mom didn’t look any different. Sure, she had added bangs, and her hair was longer now. Her eyes also seemed to have gone a shade lighter than the original sea blue I had spent hours staring at, trying to understand why mine were nothing but plain, murky brown.

I leaned into the warmth of her touch. “So it is true then? Dad never solved it like he promised.”

The sudden gasp she released was answer enough. I had no desire to know anymor, so I pushed Cameron to the front, silently apologizing for turning her into a buffer between the woman I called mom and myself.

“This is my best friend and roommate. Cameron.” I started, my mind anywhere but here as I watched some butterflies move to the flowers at our side. “She is the kind of designer who helps me with work projects and stuff.”

And like I had predicted, my mom picked up a profound interest in the short haired beauty, pushing me to the side as she basically questioned her about the most bizarre of things.

Surprising Cameron did not seem to mind, she blew a raspberry at me, her cheeks filled with colour before turning back to give her full attention on my mom.

It gave me some time to show actual grief for my dad without anyone watching from the sidelines.

To think about why he practically abandoned me in a city where I had no one but an aunt who got sick of putting up with me when the checks stopped coming.

The sound of the water from the kitchen sink made a plitter platter sound that complemented the sound of the seconds hands of the clock moving. Mom was the only one here with me, her hands wrapped around a ‘world best mom’ mug that I had gotten to her more than seven years ago. She took a sip from it every two minutes like she had all the time in the world.

“You must marry him.” mom said the moment I told her my thoughts on the situation. “He is rich, and you were betrothed already. I have no idea why you left suddenly.”

And I was in a huge amount of debt already. If I did not marry him, then I was to compensate the Newman’s family quite heavily, in figures I was yet to earn. And because the whole stuff had been kept under the carpet for such a long time….

Mom dropped her mug and walked to me, her eyes tired and bloodshot. How much coffee was she taking every day? Had it become an addiction she was unable to control.

She took my hand in hers. “I have no idea why you won’t marry Zachary,” she shook her head, her lips spread wide in a bitter smile. “But he loves you. He came here every day this last year, helping me around with the chores and whatnot. And before that, was his brother helped your dad find you…”

I could see the physical toil it took on her to actually talk about dad. She was fighting something stronger than me. The loss of a companion that was supposed to be with you till your dying breath. The quick glances she made to look at the one portrait of all of us at the beach, our lips spread out in a wide grin, sand in our hair.

But we were happy. The calm before the storm.

And Zachary’s brother helped them keep an eye on me. Zachary had only one brother. And he loathed everything about me.

I nodded. “I don’t need to get married. I would find a way to get it annulled.”

She said nothing after that, just wrapped her hands around me, enveloping me with her familiar scent of spices and warm baked goods. The hug brought a sense of calm into me.

The rest of the day was spent in my dad’s stuffy office that smelled of dust and old books. I guessed the cleaning contract with Zachary never included this room. I combed through the contract dad had signed all those years before, concerning my betrothal, making sure I sat far away from his favourite red chair at the other side of the room.

Cameron popped her head in once in a while, asking me continuously if I needed anything while letting me have my space. A true friend. I still had not called Gilbert, who may very well hate me very much for all the money he had to spend to make a large hall for his proposal.

"Talk to your boyfriend yet?" I asked her when it became obvious that my search was futile. I had the urge to tear it up and burn it to ashes.

She took a sip from my coffee to make sure it was perfect before sliding it over to me. There was a time I found it annoying, but now, I barely even noticed it.

"Yeah, I forgot to mention to him last night that I would be going on a fun little trip with you and apparently," The smile on her lips became even wider than should be humanly possible. A girl in love. "He wanted us to go on a date this evening, but since we were on a super important mission, he agreed to wait till I came back."

A loving boyfriend. A soon to be husband.

"That's cool," I swallowed the rest of the coffee and pushed the mug aside, "I'm really happy you're happy, Cam, really."

Cameron had never been the luckiest when it came to love. She always got the douche, broke boys who were ready to suck her dry, and spend all her money on themselves and their real girlfriends. She had met him at a party her mom threw.

"I'm pretty sure the date is going to be epic and I would hear each and every detail about it," I said, "Even the sexual details that aren't meant to be shared," I added the last part sarcastically.

Cameron giggled, "You need to live through me since you're...…”

Someone rang the doorbell outside, in three quick successions like some sort of fucking code or something.

I looked Cameron in the eyes and said, "Get behind me and if you need to run, run."

The town had always been safe. I had no idea if all that had changed with the short time I spent away from here, but I wasn’t going to take chances with any of my loved ones.

Cameron rolled her eyes in defiance but at least, she had half the brain to listen to me. The person knocked next, harder than I expected.

"Who's there?" I called out, my eyes searching around the room for what would be classified as a weapon.

I wasn't ready to see him.

I had no intention of ever seeing him but it seemed the universe had other plans for me because he was the person on the other side of the door.

I sighed out in annoyance, "Didn't your mother ever teach you the first thing about knocking? You're supposed to reply when asked who's there and state who you were."

The cheeky grin on his face just got wider, "Well then, it wouldn't be a surprise if I yelled out my name," He turned to Cameron, "You understand my point right?"

"Who're you?" Cameron asked, moving farther away from my shield of protection.

He did a tsk sound with his tongue on his teeth, giving me that infuriating grin again, "I thought Isabella here would have told you everything about me.” he turned back to her. “I am Zachary Newman, Isabella’s soon to be husb