It was half past eight in the evening. The fluorescent lights cast a sterile glow over the nearly empty office, but Bella was still working. Papers littered her desk, and the hum of her computer was the only sound that broke the silence.
Amy was also ready to leave. Her steps halted at the doorway when she noticed Bella still working. She walked over to her desk. "How long will it take?"
Bella, a determined glint in her eyes, offered a smile. "Almost done. Another hour or two, tops."
"It's getting late. You can do the rest of the work at home. But come early tomorrow."
"I'll leave once I finish it," Bella asserted.
"Okay. Email me the report before you make the PPT." With that final instruction, Amy left.
Bella's fingers flew across the keyboard, her focus firm on the screen. The clock ticked relentlessly.
After another hour of meticulous work, she completed the report and drafted an email to Amy. She then began working on the presentation.
Within an hour, the presentation was ready. Bella stretched, rubbing her stiff neck, her stomach growling loudly in protest. She had been so engrossed in her tasks that she had skipped lunch, and now hunger gnawed at her.
A glance at her wristwatch made her eyes widen in shock. It was ten. "Bridget will come looking for me," she mumbled, hurriedly packing her belongings. Springing to her feet, she dashed out of the office.
Unbeknownst to Bella, a shadowy figure approached her desk stealthily. Olivia quickly turned the system on, and her gaze fleetingly moved around, checking if anybody was there. Her fingers danced across the keyboard. Bella's presentation, the culmination of hours of work, materialized on the screen. With a click, Olivia deleted it.
"You are doomed, Bella," she muttered with a malicious smile on her face. "Tomorrow's meeting is very important. Mr. Hudson won't forgive you."
Leaving the office plunged back into silence, Olivia made a call, a triumphant glint in her eyes. "It's done," she said. "The stage is set for tomorrow's show."
Half an hour later...
Bella finally stumbled into the house. "I'm back," she croaked out, collapsing onto the welcoming embrace of the sofa.
"Hey there, you made it," Joe greeted her from the kitchen, his voice warm with concern. "Seems like you ladies had a long night. Bridget just got back too."
"Oh!" Bella was surprised. Bridget had a fairly relaxed schedule at the restaurant. She had never stayed late at work before. This wasn't normal.
As if reading her mind, Joe explained, "There was a birthday celebration in the restaurant. All the staff was quite busy tonight. Go freshen up. I'll serve the food."
"Give me a minute," Bella mumbled a response, sinking deeper into the cushions, too weary to get up and walk. Her body ached for a shower, her stomach rumbled for food, and her eyelids threatened to slam shut.
"Oh, by the way," Joe's voice cut through her fading consciousness, "your personal phone rang a couple of times. I didn't answer the call." After a brief moment of pause, he added, "It is not Mrs. Green. Perhaps it's your stepfather. Maybe he is out of jail." He walked up and handed her a phone, concern evident on his face.
Bella's eyes snapped open, a flicker of wariness replacing exhaustion. She snatched the phone and glanced at the number, her heart sinking with various possibilities.
Could it be her stepfather back from jail? Or worse, what if it was the loan sharks? The thought of them weaseling their way into her new life, creating trouble for her, chilled her to the bone.
She needed to repay the debts. Now that with fifty million in her bank account, she could easily pay the debts. Hiding her inner turmoil, she forced a smile as she met Joe's gaze
"Thank you, Joe. I got this."
He gave her a look filled with unspoken understanding. "Let me know if you need anything. Now go freshen up, dinner is almost ready." With that, he retreated back to the kitchen.
Bella let out a weary sigh. Just as she was about to go to her bedroom, her personal phone rang. It was the same unknown number. The blood drained from her face. Her heart was threatening to burst from her chest. With trembling fingers, she answered the call.
"Hello?" Her voice trembled slightly.
"Hey, love, come on. Dinner is served," Joe's cheerful voice boomed from across the room.
On the other end of the phone, Theodore froze. The words he had rehearsed caught in his throat. His eyebrows creased with disbelief. The word of endearment, 'love,' rang in his ear with heavy implication.
'She's living with a man,' a single thought hammered in his head, resonating a jolt of unfamiliar pain.
The image of Isabella with someone else, someone who could be a boyfriend, or a husband, sent a wave of nausea crashing over him. He felt suffocated, a pressure building in his chest, constricting his breath. It was as if an invisible hand was squeezing the life out of him.
Across the line, Bella tentatively asked, "Hello? Who is this?"
The silence continued, heavy and unnerving. Bella grew anxious.
"Hello?"
Theodore disconnected the call, the phone clattering to the desk. A bitter cocktail of disappointment and anger churned in his gut. What a fool he had been, clinging to feelings for a woman he barely knew! How naive to believe she would wait for him.
Of course, she would find someone. Why would she develop feelings for a stranger? She owed him nothing. She had been a kind stranger, a rescuer, but not a potential lover.
Theodore cursed himself. He had wasted his time, chasing a fantasy. Fury coursed through him, hot and consuming. With a jerk, he pushed himself to his feet and stormed out of the office,
Bella, on the other hand, gaped at the phone, stunned. "Maybe it's a wrong number." Shrugging off the unsettling feeling, she went into her bedroom.
In the late hours of the night, Bella was deep in slumber when her phone rudely interrupted her peace. Annoyance prickled at her skin as she fumbled for the phone, too tired to even open her eyes.
"Who is calling me at this ungodly hour?" she groaned.
"Hello?" she croaked, not bothering to check the caller ID.
"Mrs. Reid, you need to go to the club. Sir is drunk," a voice rushed out from the phone.
The drowsiness fled Bella's mind like a startled bird. 'Mrs. Reid?' her mind screamed. "Who is this?" she managed, regaining some semblance of control.
"This is Skyler," the voice replied with a touch of urgency. "Mr. Reid is drunk, and he needs you."
"Why does he need me?" Bella pushed back, a flicker of defiance sparking in her chest. "Surely, you can handle him? I'm not coming. It's late."
"You are married to him, remember? You have to be by his side whenever he needs you. The contract made this clear. Come down here quickly. Don't anger him."
Beep
The line went dead.
"Huh?" Stunned, Bella gaped at the phone. A frustrated sigh escaped her lips. "These rich people are really annoying," she muttered under her breath, tossing the phone on the nightstand.