Chapter 8

• ISABELLA'S POV
• Shaun drives me crazy, The arrogant fool thinks he can control me. I hated how flawless he made our relationship look in public. It irked me.
• He pretended to be a knight in shining armour in front of Camilla and didn't let me give her a piece of my mind. I didn't want to play damsel in distress. I wanted To stand up for myself once, but he ruined that.
• The jerk didn't even let me rant before he pulled the "do you want your family seeing us arguing?” card.
• My nostrils flared, and my head buzzed; a bolt of pain shot through me as I settled in the car; I shut my eyes, not wanting to give a reaction that would cause questions.
• The pain lasted for a while when the sudden jolting of the car woke me up. I fluttered my eyelids trying to make up the image in front of me.
• …
• Right now we're at the opening of one of his associates' galleries. A function too important to him because the associate is his close friend.
• Whatever that was, how was that my business? Why did I have to follow him? I smothered invisible creases On my dress for the umpteenth time.
• The gallery is a renovated industrial space, wide with white walls interrupted by abstract, minimalistic, colourful paintings. It took every restraint in me not to wait and adore each one.
• The scent of paints and flowers filled the air, coupled with the string music above the murmur of the elegantly dressed guests.
• He had been parading me as his beloved fiancé, who he couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life with. Each time he said it made me want to burp because I barely even liked him, not to take away the fact that I would be gone in a few months.
• But the thought of spending forever with him did make my heart flutter a bit; I was still shocked at how well he played his role. He could as well star as an actor in a movie and eat up the role.
• I wasn't performing my role well, I kept shifting my weight from foot to foot and looking around with my hands trembling. He seemed to notice this as he withdrew his hands from my waist leaving the lingering warmth from his touch. Strangely, I wanted his hands back there, it made me feel secure.
• He slowly laced his fingers with mine, giving me a warm smile as if to soothe my nervousness. My breath hitched, unsure if this was truly him. But just as quickly, his smile turned to a familiar scowl, a reminder that it was for a front; he didn't give a flying fuck.
• I tried to jerk away in an unstoppable way that seemed to become noticeable to him, earning a growl.
• “Would you stop that? It's becoming annoying.”
• He growled between closed teeth.
• I tried to stifle my laughter when the sight of the two individuals in front caught my attention. There she was radiant in her simple red dress with her hands clutched to the tall man’s elbow beside her.
• A decade hadn't changed much about her, the sharpened jaw, the deep-set green eyes, the slightly lopsided smile when she teased. My breath caught.
• She was the girl from secondary school, the one who would pick up her books when they were knocked off by my bullies, the only one who had defended me. Back then, she had been my only friend, but only for a while.
• I could see the flash of confusion on her face then a flicker of recognition,
• “Oh my God, Isabella it's really you.”
• “Yes, it's me, Sofia,” I said as she engulfed me in a big hug. She smelled like roses and the beginning of spring.
• “I'm so happy to see you,” she said.
• Shaun and the man in front of her exchanged a look of confusion as they looked from me to Sofia.
• Sofia interrupted the awkward saying with her evergreen bubbly attitude. “Babe, this is Isabella, the friend I told you about before we moved to the States.”
• I could not wrap my head around the word friend. I did consider her my friend at that moment, but never actually, in my wildest dream, did I think she would consider me her friend.
• He smiled; he and Shaun shared the same body build, which one would have mistaken them for brothers. In contrast to Shaun's stoic face, he smiles more, and his amber eyes light up the room. He looked like one of the men who could enter a space filled with tension and dissolve it with a joke.
• “I'm George, the only friend of this man besides you and the husband of this lovely woman,” he stared at Sofia's face, sharing a look of affection with her.
• Shaun sneered at the comment “we are only business partners” he chimed.
• “Keep deceiving yourself and deny the relationship we have had for over a decade,” George retorted, fist-bumping Shaun.
• Shaun only smiled a genuine one that I had never seen Him give. He and George could really pass as best friends. They complimented each other, a cold and a warm one.
• “Why did you not tell me your fiancée was this beautiful? Were you hiding her from the world with the sudden wedding announcement?”
• My handles trembled a bit; the wedding announcement had come up again, shocking and surprising to everyone because even though I was recognized as the bastard child, my pictures weren't out there, but with the announcements and the press, the tabloids were plastered all over with my pictures.
• “Georgie had told me his friend was coming with his fiancée, I never imagined it would have you. It's such a small world,” Sofia said, giggling.
• She pulled her hands away from her husband and interlocked them with mine.
• “Come, let's have girls talk while the men do their thing,” she said as she wheeled me away from Shaun.
• We find a quiet corner to talk to, and I can still see both Georgia and Shaun turning to take a few glances as they chat away.
• “I can't believe it's really you, I had it in mind to look for you when I decided to move back to London with Georgie l,” she said, smiling warmly.
• Sofia still has her kind heart. “You are the one who is glowing the States has really been good to you.”
• “It's been a wild ride. I never forget those days when it was stuff and you managed to stand your ground, I'm glad to see you are more confident and out of your shell now, Izzy.”
• Her words hung between us, warm but unfamiliar. I have a practiced thin smile, hoping it looks genuine.
• “Girl, you have to tell me how things went down with Shaun, I hear there was an open declaration of intent and played Plus the sudden engagement.”
• “W-We just didn't want to delay the wedding or hide our relationship anymore, I guess.” My lips trembled as I stuttered and lied with a straight face.
• “Wow, that's beautiful. I never quite pictured Shaun the romantic type with the way he looks at you, you can tell he is in love.”
• I almost snorted but covered myself with a brief laugh. If Sofia could see love in Shaun's cold glances then he deserves an Oscar.
• We continue to chatter and talk about the old days like old friends that rekindled when George interrupted.
• “You two look like you are planning a rebellion.”
• “Babe, of course not. We are just catching up on the old days, and I wish the day wouldn't end.” Sofia’s eyes lit up as George gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
• I tried to avoid the sight as I placed my eyes on Shaun.
• “I hate to break the reunion but we have to leave, the gallery is almost empty.”
• “Aww, I will make sure we have brunch together one of these days, Izzy,” Sofia replied belatedly.
• I gave her a smile, glad it was finally time to go home. I enjoyed Sofa's company, but I couldn't keep up with her bubbly energy and lying to her.
• She pulled me in for another hug, her perfume brushing over my senses like nostalgia. “You two are just perfect together,” she whispered, for the third, no, fourth time today. I held the smile on my face like a mask made of porcelain, afraid it might crack.
• As Shaun and I rode in the car and passed by the sparkly streets of London I couldn't help but feel a strange mix of hope and dread that I didn't have much time left to enjoy as it swirled in me.