After dinner, Jake and Katrina invited everyone to the mini-cinema available in the mansion. They played a documentary of their parents' past, from childhood until their marriage, while narrating and sharing stories.
The atmosphere was warm, except for Hunter, who kept watching Sarah, who appeared very close to Davin. Davin even kissed her cheek several times. Hunter was genuinely upset, seemingly jealous, especially since his wife was fully focused on watching and listening to his grandfather's stories.
"I think I need some fresh air," he said, getting up with his cane.
Isabella quickly stood as well, supporting Hunter's back, not forgetting that she had to act as if Hunter couldn't walk properly.
"It's okay, you should stay here with them," Hunter whispered.
"But..."
"It's fine, I'll just be on the terrace," Hunter said again.
"Hunter?" Jake frowned, noticing Hunter was about to leave.
"I just want some fresh air," Hunter said with a smile. "Don't worry, I'm fine. You should stay here, tell my wife about our family," he continued.
"Alright... Be careful."
Isabella sat back down on Jake's right side, watching Hunter pretend to struggle with his cane. She glanced at Davin and Sarah, who were sitting a bit farther away from her, while the others sat behind them.
'Could all of this be because of Sarah? If he didn't like her anymore, he shouldn't care about Davin being with her, right? Maybe he still likes her and is jealous of her being with Davin!' she wondered silently, unable to deny that tonight felt like it was burning.
...
Hunter continued walking with his cane until he reached the living room, where he sat on the couch, unable to stop thinking about Sarah's beautiful face and how Davin kept kissing her.
'Why does she always have boyfriends who hate me as if she wants to make me feel defeated? Is this her way of paying me back for the pain I caused her? Doesn't she realize the danger she'll face if she keeps loving that jerk Davin?' he clenched his fist and exhaled sharply.
After some time, Hunter glanced at Sarah as she left the cinema room, heading toward the guest bathroom.
"Sarah!" he called.
Sarah stopped immediately, then turned around, seeing Hunter get up from the couch with his two canes. She swallowed hard, her heart pounding as she watched him.
"We need to talk," Hunter whispered.
"I don't have time to talk. I need to go to the bathroom," Sarah replied, turning away, but Hunter grabbed her hand, causing one of his canes to fall. She froze, not daring to pull her hand away, fearing Hunter might fall. "Please..." she pleaded.
"This isn't about us," Hunter whispered coldly, leaning closer to Sarah. "But it's about you... You need to listen to me!" he hissed.
Sarah shook her head.
"Please..."
"You don't need to worry about me anymore. I can take care of my own life. When it ended between us, even before it truly began, you no longer had to be involved in my life," Sarah said, her brown eyes sharp with anger toward Hunter. "I don't want anything to do with you... It's exhausting!" she continued, slowly pulling her hand away.
"Please, let me go... Or I'll pull hard, and you'll fall!" she warned.
"I won't let you go until you listen to me!"
"Hunter, you have a wife!" Sarah said softly.
"So what if I have a wife? I just want to talk to you, nothing wrong with that!" Hunter insisted.
Sarah sighed, looking at Hunter with irritation, occasionally glancing at his right hand, which still held his cane, while his left hand gripped hers tightly.
"What happened?"
Their attention was immediately drawn to Isabella's question as she came. Hunter quickly released Sarah's hand and pretended to struggle as he tried to pick up his fallen cane, but Isabella quickly helped him.
Sarah hurried to the bathroom as if she didn't want to talk to either of them.
"I thought you weren't interested in her anymore," Isabella murmured, frowning.
"Of course, I'm not," Hunter snapped.
"You're lying!"
"Why would I lie? I grabbed her hand because I wanted to force her to listen to me! I don't want her anymore, that's crazy!" Hunter insisted.
Isabella stayed silent, watching Hunter, searching for honesty in his eyes.
"Hey..."
"Okay... Sorry... I shouldn't have interfered with this," Isabella said hesitantly. "Besides... I'm not your wife," she added before walking over to the couch.
Hunter frowned, watching Isabella, who seemed so angry that he wasn't sure whether it was a good or bad thing.
'Is she jealous? If she's jealous, does that mean she has feelings for me?'
Grumbling, still thinking about holding Sarah's hand, Isabella took her phone from her small bag and saw a flood of messages from Joe.
Are you busy?
I want to talk...
I'd like us to meet next week... I might be in Brooklyn for business.
Before she could finish reading all the messages, her ex-boyfriend called. Glancing at Hunter approaching her, she answered the call without worrying about him getting upset.
"Joe?"
Hunter immediately frowned upon hearing Joe's name.
"Um... Maybe we can talk later. Don't worry," Isabella said, turning away from Hunter. "I really can't talk right now because I'm still at Hunter's grandfather's mansion," she continued.
"Oh... You two seem like a real married couple, so close to the family," Joe replied, sounding relaxed but with a hint of sarcasm.
"No... I mean... It's, it's just something we have to do to make everything look real," Isabella whispered anxiously, realizing Hunter was eavesdropping. She was even more shocked when her husband suddenly took her phone and ended the call.
She immediately turned to him with a sharp look.
"How dare you!" She tried to grab her phone, but Hunter held it back.
"What?" Hunter asked. "You're the one being daring to me, talking to another man right in front of me? Don't you care about my feelings?" he whispered, occasionally glancing around at the empty surroundings.
Isabella sighed, looking deeply into Hunter's eyes.
"I do care about you. Maybe I was wrong for holding her hand... But that doesn't mean you can repay me by showing concern for that jerk!" Hunter whispered firmly, his eyes glaring. "I'm your husband... And this is my grandfather's mansion. Watch your behavior... Don't let Davin or anyone else find out about this, or... I'll be mocked again. They'll call me a pitiful man!" he continued.
Isabella stood up. "You're the one who started this!" she said before walking away.
"Isabella!" Hunter called after her.
Isabella kept walking, ignoring his shout.
'What is this? I'm not allowed to talk to my ex, but he can talk to his? Why is he being selfish when he's never given me any certainty about our relationship, even expecting me to pretend to suffer with him in front of his mother!' Isabella fumed silently, walking until she reached the terrace.
Hunter got up from the sofa with his cane after putting Isabella's phone in the pocket of his blue jacket and walked out of the mansion, pretending to limp.
Sarah, who had just come out of the bathroom, watched Hunter hurrying out of the mansion.
'Does he still care about me? But why? He should hate me... He's married.'