★★★
"Dear diary, today is my best day because momma said she will take me to Disneyland on my tenth birthday, which is next week. I am so excited and this weekend I will go shopping and buy everything in pink."
After 13 days;
"Dear diary, welcome me. I am back from my dream place. How do I express my happiness? It was one of my best gifts and I am thrilled. I have a lot of pictures and I am going to paste them onto this page, so whenever I will open this page, I'll recollect my memory."
Every picture was telling Isabella's happiness. Either she was on Mickey Mouse or her father's shoulder. Her pose was different in every picture except for her bright smile, which brightened up the picture and the person who would see it.
Alexander couldn't stop himself from looking at those pictures again and again. And she is now different from the past. Looking at those pictures one last time, he turned the page and saw it was blank, then went to the next page. It was blank again, but then he found a folded page after turning a few pages. As soon as he opened it, one word was written: "Forever shattered."
Alexander closed the book and threw it again in the drawer in irritation, but there was no explanation why. He has a sudden mood swing after seeing the word.
He dialed his assistant's number. "Send me our marketing script." The call ended, and the voice was cold enough to shiver the other person on the phone.
"Yes, boss," the assistant gulped his saliva and answered, looking at the black screen.
★★★
At Isabella's house, Bethany and Danny wear Isabella's old sleepwear, as they had suddenly planned this, and after they come down, they help Isabella's father. However, her father had almost finished cooking. They were doing the dishes, so after dinner, there wouldn't be a huge pile of dishes left to wash.
"Sunny, dude, how are you? Do you know a coincidence?" As the voice questioned Sunny, who was making the dinner table, turned his face towards the person.
"Every time we are here, the person whom we meet is you," Bethany said and walked out of the kitchen, at the same time wiping her hand with the cloth.
Isabella was drinking water, but she choked upon hearing the flatness of Bethany's words. She put down the water bottle and came outside to them.
"Sunny, how are you? Thank God, father has called you to come. It was a long time since we haven't met each other. How is your job?" Isabella said with a smile. She was quick, not wasting a single time she rained on sunny with questions.
Bethany tousled her hair and rolled her eyes at Isabella's exaggerated concern for the boy and sat down.
"I'm great, Bella, and the job is great. Yes, today Uncle Bernard called me and it's my pleasure to have dinner with you all," Sunny answered Isabella, then turned to Bethany.
"How are you, Bethany?" Sunny's sudden question not only stunned Isabella as well as Bethany. They didn't think Sunny would talk to Bethany of his own accord.
"I am good," Bethany answered, and her tone softened a lot. Obviously, how could she talk rudely again when the person acted so generously?
"By the way, Sunny, do you have a girlfriend?" Danny asked as she exited the kitchen, holding a pot. Her eyes looked at Sunny then shifted to Bethany, who was busy decorating the salad, but her this doing didn't miss Isabella's eyes.
"Umm! Difficult to answer because no woman likes me and I am also searching," Sunny answered with a gentle voice; he was the perfect definition of a gentleman.
"Sunny, my boy, it cannot be possible that women don't like you. It's just they are waiting for your approach," Isabella's father, Bernard, commented. He was wearing an apron with two big bowls in both hands and came to the table.
"Ah, my sweet home is crowded because of you guys. My girl isn't like you. Sometimes I feel lonely here. I request you to come to my home often and make my house happy and full," Bernard said with a smile, but couldn't help himself from expressing his median loneliness.
"Finally, uncle Bernard, you said something we have long wanted to hear. I thought we had troubled you a lot that's why our Isabella doesn't ask us to come her home frequently, but now I guarantee, you will see us all the time, whether your daughter likes it or not," Bethany responded lightly, tapping the table, showing her firmness and then Danny joined, "Definitely, we will come. Once we earn, we will give you rent for living here."
"Haha! Lovely. I must count the days from today," Bernard said and his hand reached to the plate as he was about to serve when Isabella stopped him.
"Let me, you are tired, Papa," Isabella said and was worried because she could see that her father was sweating.
"No! I'm not tired. I'm not old. Besides, can't you see how happy I am?" Bernard replied to his girl as Isabella's voice was showing unnecessary concern. He was overjoyed, having a satisfying meal he was craving. Especially after the loss of Isabella's mother, whatever food the father and daughter ate always felt unsavory.
Because they miss a person whenever they sit at the dining table, especially looking at the chair where she used to sit.
"Isabella is right, uncle Bernard. We asked you for just one dish, but you've cooked a lot. You shouldn't. We're absolutely fine with one dish," Bethany adoringly complained. They love uncle Bernard like their father.
"It's okay, sweetheart. Anything for you, girls. Let's eat before the food becomes cold," Bernard proposed, and everyone's cutlery started performing, especially Danny and Bethany's, they are literally gobbling the food.
Sunny was a bit amused seeing Bethany. The way she was eating was a little funny. He asked, and why it came to his tongue he didn't know, "Seems like you didn't eat today, Bethany."
The spoon on Bethany's hand stopped, and she raised her head towards the voice while her mouth was stuffed with food, and could not let out a single word.
"Hm," a faint tone with rapid nodes only answered Sunny's question. While Danny and others laughed out loud.
"Yes, we didn't eat today because Isabella created a mess in the canteen, haha… Oops!" Danny shut it after revealing the truth. Her eyes looked at Isabella, who just tilted her head. Bethany choked on the food as she opened her mouth to say something, and seeing this, Sunny stood and poured water on the glass and sent it to Bethany.
"Thank you," Bethany said, looking toward Sunny, and he just sent her a nod.
"Okay girls, can you please enlighten me on what Bella did in the college?" Bernard asked with a calm face. It was very rare for him to know that her daughter did something, and for this reason, his curiosity piqued.
"Nothing, Dad," replied Isabella, while her fork poked the mushrooms on her plate, showing precisely her reluctance.
"Bella, tell me. Have you got a boyfriend?" Bernard said, although he knew it wasn't right, his daughter had a unique choice when it's to making a partner because he had been seeing her since high school. At every prom, Bella used to get a lot of proposals, but in the end, she went to the prom with the girls who did not get a partner.
"No uncle, if it is about the boyfriend, then we would celebrate tonight. Actually, our college has a new President, and he is also the owner of our college which we know today, and with a new president, there are a lot of rules that have changed. While we were in the canteen, that new president came and they discussed shutting Rachel's canteen.
Our Bella got angry and in anger, she pushed a table in front of the president. Later that day, the president summoned her, and this is the entire story." Danny cleared everything in one breath and drank a glass of water.
"Dang! Bella, I am proud of you. Finally, you have turned on your Lioness," Bernard's reply struck everyone in the head. They looked at Isabella's father as if he was joking, but they were flabbergasted at seeing the cheerful smile.
"Give me a high five, uncle Bernard. We said the same," Bethany said, and high five Bernard.
"Did he punish you for that?" asked Bernard, turning to his daughter.
"No, just warned me," answered Isabella and finished her eating and everyone finished as well. The dinner was sumptuous. Sunny thanked everyone, especially Bernard, and hugged him.
"Bye, Son. Come home often. Our unfinished chess was still procrastinating, don't forget," Bernard said and hugged back Sunny.
"Bye everyone," after saying this Sunny opened the door and exited. That's when Bethany's eyes caught a wallet on the sofa.
"Whose wallet is that?" asked Bethany, picking up the wallet.
"Sunny's, the damn boy has forgotten his wallet. Go give it to him, he is not gone yet," ordered Bernard and headed to the kitchen while Danny yawned and Bella followed her father to the kitchen before Bethany could make an excuse.
"Fuck you," Bethany stridden out while cursing the two.