"I love you." Dylan had said to Isabella before leaving her house that evening but she had been reluctant to say it back. She felt guilty.
"You, too." She had replied lowly. And Dylan concluded it was probably because she was jet lagged so he didn't count it as anything.
Afterwards, Bella had collapsed on a nearby sofa and released a breath she didn't even know she had been holding.
"See? That went well... He won't know as long as you do not tell him." One part of her mind pointed out, the voice assuring and firm. Strictly rebellious.
Bella rubbed her forehead and sat up on the sofa before grabbing her phone, wanting to check on her personal assistant.
"I need to ask her if she has submitted those documents." Bella muttered to herself as she opened her phone.
Then she saw the message.
'So, will you tell him about it?' The message read.
"Oh my God! No!" Bella screamed in horror and her phone slipped from her hand, out of shock.
"What is that message? Who sent it?" She asked the questions as if someone else was in the room with her. Someone who could provide answers to her questions.
Slowly, she picked up her phone from the floor and recheck the message.
"This is from a private number. Who could have sent it?" She gritted her teeth and tightened her hold on the phone.
For a moment, she was quiet, lost in deep thought of who could send the message.
"That man doesn't have my number, does he?" She asked and her face contorted in anger as she got no response to her question.
"That is no possible. He can't." She said, clenching her fists. She was frustrated and upset.
"My wedding is tomorrow, for God's sake. I shouldn't be dealing with this right now. I am supposed to be getting ready for my big day..." She stated exasperatedly and tears stung the corners of her eyes.
Afterwards, she inhaled and exhaled sharply.
"Let's calm down. This message might not even be for me. Maybe somebody mistakenly sent it to me. More so, it doesn't seem anything like what happened to me." She concluded and exhaled sharply.
The idea seemed to calm her nerves a bit.
"This won't ruin my big day, not at all. I an going to get married to the man of my dreams without any problem." She affirmed.
"I need to get this out of my mind. Let me check the pictures of my wedding dress, that will definitely lighten my mood." She said and that indeed brought a smile on her face.
As she checked through the pictures of the dress, showing different angles of it, she gradually forgot about her torment and for a while, she was back to the happy bride-to-be who was so excited.
"Em, I just noticed that my dress has some golden designs at the waist. Would you believe that I never noticed that until now?" Bella said to her best friend over the phone.
She had put a call through to Emily in the moment of her excitement.
"I see someone is really excited and can't wait to get married." Emily said, chuckling. Bella also chuckled.
"And you didn't notice it because you were being disturbed by phone calls from work while we were checking out the dress." Emily added, reminding her how she had not really paid attention when they went to choose her wedding dress.
Bella was that career-driven. She never joked with her business even though she was already successful.
"You can't blame a woman for trying to be diligent. That is what put food on my table." Bella replied to her friend and smiled.
"Well, you don't have to try or push yourself too much now that you are getting married into the Almighty Reed's family." Emily pointed out.
Bella rolled her eyes at that. The light conversation had slowly turned into a serious one.
"Em, you know I don't care about the status of the family. I am with Dylan because I love him and he loves me too. I know people think I am with him because of his family and that really annoys me." Bella responded.
"Of course, I know that more than anyone else, Bella. And I know you are currently dealing with pressures about merging your life with that powerful, influential family." Emily divulged.
"Em..." Bella muttered. She knew Emily knew everything about her and she was grateful for the gift of her.
"Now, listen to me, you silly overthinker! No matter how powerful and influential they are, they are actually the lucky one here, as an intelligent woman like yourself is coming to join their family." Emily said to her, her voice persuasive and encouraging yet sharp.
Bella heaved a sigh. Emily continued talking.
"You are doing well for yourself already. Everybody knows Isabella Carter is a very successful woman. I am proud of you, girl and I am certain the Reeds would be proud of you. So, stop harboring such insecurities and let people say whatever they have to say. People will always talk." Emily told her firmly.
"Thank you, Em." Bella stated, appreciatively.
"What will you do without me?" Emily joked and Bella laughed knowingly.
"I know, right. That's why you are my best friend, my confidant." Bella said, all smiles. She could remember how Emily had helped her overcome her deep-seated insecurities about love and commitment when she newly met Dylan.
She had been reluctant to fall in love with the handsome, ever caring Dylan who would stop at nothing to show his love for.
"Now, girl. Go and sleep. Your day is going to start early tomorrow." Emily told her and they ended the conversation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bella had just laid in bed after showering, when her phone beeped.
"That would be Dylan!" Bella thought excited and picked her phone. But all colors drained from her face when she saw the message.
Her whole body trembled in fear.
'I know what you did.'