She rounded a corner and stopped as she bumped into a handsome man.
“Sorry,” she said.
“No. It was all my fault. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”
“Well, no harm done.” Noelle went to move away, but he stopped her with a hand on her arm.
“Aren’t you in the papers?” he asked.
Shaking her head, she pulled out of his grip.
“I’m sure it’s you.”
“No. I’ve never been in the papers, and I don’t expect to start now. Sorry, you must have me mistaken with someone else.” She passed him and went to the deli section. The encounter had her nerves frayed. When her phone buzzed it provided the welcome distraction that she needed.
“Meet tonight at the hotel. Usual time. I x”
She smiled and responded, agreeing to meet him. Finishing her shopping was a painless process.
When she got home, she unpacked all of her work and went to check out her studio. Pulling open the blinds, she let the winter’s sun penetrate inside the room. She felt like a new woman, so happy and relaxed in the life she’d made for herself.
Running her fingers through her blonde locks, she began organising her art-work, putting the finished pieces into a pile while she collected her half finished work. As the day progressed she became more and more anxious to see Isaac. Her body was burning to feel his touch. Brad didn’t return home when she was scheduled to leave. She decided to leave him a note about the food and her date.
She put on a floral pink dress, a coat, scarf, and hat to protect against the cold, not to hide.
When she pulled up outside the hotel, she paid the man his fee and walked inside the reception desk. The man on duty gave her a funny look as he handed her the key. Not thinking much to his behaviour she made her way to the room Isaac and she shared.
The moment she got to the door she noted it was partially open, and she heard voices coming from the room. Getting closer she listened to the raised angry voices. Her heart pounded as she recognised both of the men inside the room.
“I told you to end it on the one night, Isaac. You’re stringing her along as if she’s one of your notches.”
“Don’t f**king talk about her that way.”
Noelle stared at the two men in the hotel room she reserved for herself and Isaac. Neither turned her way, which told her she’d entered the room too quietly for them to hear.
“You weren’t supposed to start an affair with her. You were supposed to let her down lightly or tell her something to keep her at bay. Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?” Brad asked.
“She’s not your business, Brad. I want her as my own. I care about her.”
“She’s a f**king trophy piece to you. I bet she looks upon you with worship. I asked you to care for her. Why didn’t you listen to me when I asked?”
“Elle wants to be with me, and I want to be with her. I don’t see where you have a problem with that.”
“That’s exactly what my problem is. What will you do when she wants more from you? Can you give her that kind of commitment? She’s scarred, Isaac. She would never fit into that perfect world you live in. End it now, or risk destroying her.”
Noelle had heard enough.
“I think it’s time you both told me what is going on. I seem to be missing something,” she said causing both men to start and turn to face her.
She’d wrapped her blonde hair back off her face. She wished she’d kept it down. The protection it provided would be welcome. They glanced at each other before turning back to her.
“What are you doing here?” Brad asked.
“I got a message to come to the hotel room from Isaac. He’s here, and so are you. And you both seem to know each other. What is going on?” She sounded calm even as her mind was whirling at a mile a minute trying to figure out what was going on.
“This is not what it looks like,” Brad said.
“No? Then please tell me how my best friend and an escort would know each other. Or are you really an escort, Isaac?” she asked. Her hands were shaking. She placed them inside her jacket, her nerves getting more frayed with every passing minute.
“We’ve got to tell her the truth,” Isaac said. “I’m not really an escort.”
“Then what are you?”
Silence met her question. Her nails sank into the palm of her hand.
“He’s my brother, Noelle,” Brad said.
“He can’t be. Your brother is a wealthy businessman. You’ve told me about him. He’s a rake. Not good for anything. The type of guy a woman would hate getting involved with.”
Isaac winced at the description. “Is this true?” she asked her love, the man she’d given her virginity and heart to, the very man who’d asked her to trust him, the same man who’d promised her he would be honest with her.
She waited as he stared at her. He made no move to confirm or deny the accusations. Then all of a sudden, he nodded his head.
It felt like someone was thumping her in the stomach and chest. Unconsciously, she began to rub both as tears sprang to her eyes.
“I can’t believe this,” she said. She turned to look at Brad. “How did you find out?”
He handed her over a paper. Taking it from him with trembling fingers, she opened it up and there in black and white was a picture of her and Isaac seated inside the French restaurant.
Noelle burst out laughing. “You know, a guy stopped me in the supermarket today while I was buying groceries and asked if I was the woman on the cover of a newspaper. I told him he had the wrong woman.”
“I didn’t know we were being followed. I would have done everything in my power to keep this out of the press,” Isaac said.
“Why bother? Who is the scarred woman who has captured Isaac Welch’s attention?” She felt humiliated by the title. The truth of their relationship hit her square in the face.
Isaac tore the paper from her grasp and ripped it apart. “This doesn’t matter. Do you hear me? This is nothing. What matters is what we’ve shared.” He stroked her cheek. The touch was meant to be tender. She understood that, but she pulled away. The thought of his touch repulsed her. The immediate change in their relationship had become too much.
“I’ve got to go,” she said.
“No. You’re not going out here. Elle, listen to me. I love you. This means nothing. I still want that forever we talked about.”
She shrugged him off. “Forever? How come you never said you loved me before this? You were given more than enough time to say the words. Why now? What has changed?”