Chapter 11 ~ Isabella #2
I settle in the big lounge chair and open my book. Rose brings me tea and some cookies, and I try to immerse myself in the book, but my mind keeps trying to figure out what he’s doing.
I knew that I would have to go to social events with him.
I've always known this. So why am I so annoyed at him for buying a stupid dress? I just feel irritated. Alexander’s buying me a dress to attend this event with him makes me feel.
.. trivial and slightly inadequate. As if he needs to improve my wardrobe in order to be seen with me on his arm.
On our wedding night, he called me beautiful. I didn’t believe him then, and I don’t even believe him now.
Now he's bought me a dress and flowers. I should be more open to his efforts to be nice instead of sitting here wondering if he's really trying to make peace or if it's all a set-up.
I bite my nail and blow out a puff of air.
The problem with accepting his... whatever he is trying to do, is that it is only a matter of time before he loses his temper with me.
I need to make the right moves on the board, and right now, I'm too pissed off to figure out his game.
I shake my head, Oh, get over yourself, Izzy. You’re leaving anyway, so play along. What does any of it matter, anyway? I prop my book up on my knees, finding the spot where I left off reading.
A buzzing noise makes me lift my eyes from the page, and I look around. I hear it again, and I look up, catching the red blinking light that is now facing me on the camera on the patio ceiling.
Someone is watching, making sure I don’t run away or drown myself in the pool. I giggle in my head; I’d like nothing more than to wave or give them the middle finger like Anna would, but if it’s Danny, I don’t want to be mean. So, I’ll just go back to reading, he's only doing his job.
Supper comes and goes. I bathe, put my sleep shorts and t-shirt on, and hug my knees while I watch out the window running my finger down the cold glass. This game is becoming mentally harder than I had thought.
Every hour, every second, he has me at a disadvantage. As hard as I try to keep my thoughts straight and read the chess board, he moves another piece I hadn't calculated in the game and I get confused.
Tomorrow I’ll have to keep my shit together for this event. My stomach flips at the thought of seeing Sebastian if they invited him. We left it all on the dance floor, but I haven’t seen him since, and I want to be his friend if we can.
The glass fogs up when I blow my breath on it.
Drawing a scrolled A in the mist, I watch as the water droplets trail down, distorting the image and slowly disappearing.
I’m so tired, just tired of it all for one day.
My head throbs and my chest hurts so I crawl under the covers and curl up, hugging my pillow.
I’ll take tomorrow one step at a time.
The sun is beaming in my face as I wake up, rubbing my eyes as I look at the table. The shadow is close to the fireplace which means I slept in, not by much but it's later than I usually do.
I sit up and rub my face. My stomach growls and I want a coffee, my stomach gurgles again 'need coffee now'.
"I know, I'm getting it, god." I rub my poor belly and twist on the couch looking for the breakfast tray, and I don’t see it. Empty. That’s weird. I get up and use the washroom. I come back out, and still no breakfast.
Okay, we are all off-schedule today.
So I grab my clothes for the day and shower, get ready, and sit on the couch and wait. Something’s up. The hair on my head is tingling, and I've picked my thumb nail so short it hurts. Sasha should have been here by now.
Five minutes later, Sasha taps quickly and opens the door, stepping part way in. “You have to go to the dining room for your breakfast today.”
I look over the back of the couch, my face scrunching up in confusion as I looked at her. I wasn’t expecting any company, and nobody told me I should expect any.
Maybe it’s Anna. My excitement grows as I stand up and walked toward her. Maybe I will finally get to see Anna.
Sasha is holding the door open, and I scoot underneath her arm, dashing down the hall.
In my eagerness, I hop down the first set of stairs.
Grabbing the post with my arm, I swung myself around the banister and jogged down the second set of stairs, heading towards the dining room.
I’ve missed her so much, I can’t wait to see her.
I step through the door and freeze.
The room is eerily quiet. Shivers run up my spine as the door slowly closes behind me with a resounding click. For the first time, this place truly feels like a prison. My arms break out in goosebumps and I rub them.
My place setting is set, and I look over at the end of the table and see that Alexander’s place setting is sitting there.
This means that I won’t be seeing Anna. Alexander is here, and he will join me for breakfast. Is this another one of his tactics? He makes me join him so he can play with me, knocking me off balance.
I move closer to the table, my hands gripped in front of me as I pick my tender thumbnail.
For some reason, I’m afraid to sit down.
This room holds no good memories for me.
Every time we sit alone together, it ends up in an argument.
Putting my hands on the back of the cold wooden chair, I hesitate to pull it out to take my seat.
Grab your courage, Izzy. Just play the game.
With a heavy sigh, I pull out the chair and sit down. There’s no getting out of this now. Reaching for the coffee pot I pour a cup and add my sugar and cream. I’m just taking a sip when the door flies open and Alexander comes striding into the room. I swivel in my chair to watch him.
That’s one thing about Alexander: he dominates a room when he enters, each stride so confident and sure. Like the world is his.
He comes over to the back of my chair. I jump as I feel his large hands gently sweeping my hair off my shoulders, laying it down my back. Then he bends over and kisses my temple. The combination of musk and vanilla in my nose, combined with the coffee, is a heady concoction.
“Good morning, Isabella.” He breathes in my ear.
The warmth of his body so close cools my back and makes me shiver once he stands up and moves away to take his seat. What the hell is this? I curse myself for jumping at his touch. I just showed my hand, damn.
He pulls out his chair, taking his seat at the head of the table. He snaps his napkin open, placing it on his lap. Grabbing the coffee decanter, he pours himself a cup, sits it back down, adds his sugar and stirs quickly and sets his spoon down as he looks at me.
“Did you have a pleasant sleep?” He picks up his coffee and takes a sip.
I just nod and do the same.
“Sasha tells me you’ve been a very busy girl this week. You spent a lot of time in your studio working. Is there a particular piece you’re working on?”
I am literally staring at him right now. His tone is soft, and his speech pleasant. Narrowing my eyes, I look him over. I haven’t seen him in a week and he’s sitting here being really nice. That makes me more nervous than when he’s mad.
I blink a few times as he nods his head, an indication that he is waiting for me to answer.
I clear my throat. “Yes, it’s a personal piece.” I sip more coffee and stare at the wall opposite me.
He picks up his cup, mirroring me.
“May I see it?” He speaks over his cup.
I twist my lip to the side. “I just started it. It’s not quite ready yet. I would prefer to have it finished before anyone looks at it.”
He smiles widely, those damn dimples popping out, making my stomach flutter. Why does he have to be so bloody sexy?
“Well, I can’t wait for you to finish. It’d be interesting to see.”
He moves his fork slightly to the left of his plate. Is he fidgeting?
“Have you received my gift?”
I can feel my cheeks turning red. I’m not exactly sure which one he’s talking about, but both of them are still sitting in my room, neglected. Irritation rises and I swallow it down. This is his game, I know he’s playing with me now.
I set my cup down. “Yes, but I will open them later this afternoon. That really wasn’t necessary.”
I occupy myself by rearranging my cutlery and putting my napkin in my lap while waiting for breakfast to arrive, which can’t come soon enough. I just want to get this over with and go back to my room.
I can imagine what tonight’s going to be like. I’ll have to spend hours and hours with him by his side, pretending and dodging his every calculated move.
Rose opens the far door and brings our breakfast trays in.
She nervously puts one in front of Alexander, and as she sets the plate down, the lid clanks.
She walks up to me, sets down my plate, and takes the lid off.
I grab her hand to thank her, and to tell her that the cookies were great and so was the tea.
She smiles and leaves the room quickly and I wish I could go with her. Alexander looks at me like he doesn’t understand what I’m talking about with the tea and cookies. I smirk to myself, I guess maybe Danny doesn't tell him everything.
Black Knight to F8: It’s a simple move, but it still feels better than taking the hits and doing nothing.
I look at my plate and nausea rolls in my stomach.
Guilt washes over me once again. Poor Rose, she has gone out of her way to cook for me and make me feel special.
I feel horrible that it’s such a waste of food.
I take a bite of toast, set it back on my plate, and take another sip of coffee while staring at the wall.
Alexander is watching me like a hawk. I feel like I'm a science experiment with every move I make. He never looks at his food as he cuts it up and shovels it into his mouth. Rather, he looks at me as he eats.
His eyes roam over me, studying me. Again, that little voice in the back of my head that wants to give him a chance pokes her head up but I shut it down. Alexander has proved himself wrong so many times. My body is a testament to that.
“We don’t have to attend the event for long. There’s dinner, then the auction, and a dance after. Anytime you’re ready to leave after dinner, just let me know and I’ll make our excuses.” He shoves a fork full of pancakes into his mouth.
I can feel my eyebrows drawing together so hard that my forehead hurts. What’s he playing at? I’m confused now. He likes nothing more than to see me squirm and sweat. Is this his chess move? Break down my walls? Get me to soften up so he can attack?
I straighten in my chair, push my shoulders back and pick up my toast.
“I’ll be fine. No need to worry.” I take a bite and chew, looking at the wall again.
He sets his fork down, smiling at me. “This is the most I’ve ever heard you talk, Isabella. You have a lovely voice. Have I ever told you that?”
I arch one eyebrow, give him a side look, and shake my head.
My body tingles and I can feel it run down my spine.
He is gearing up. I can see it on his face, so I put my toast down on my plate.
I’m not playing this round or running away in tears this time.
He’s just warming up so I'll end the game before it goes too far.
I stand up and place my napkin on the table.
“If you would excuse me, I left my paints open. Thank you for breakfast.”
His mouth curves up into an arrogant smile as he looks at me.
“I like your voice quite a lot, actually.” He wipes his mouth with the napkin, slowly setting it on the table beside his plate. “Especially when it screams so close to my ear when you fall apart in my arms.”
I cringe and squeeze my eyes tight. He will remind me of that every chance he gets and he’s going to throw that in my face. The one moment I allowed myself something just for me.
White Knight to C8, he takes my black bishop. Well played Mr. Russo.
I turn from the table and pull the door open, turning the corner to the stairs to head up to my room, just as I reach the top of the second landing. He yells up the stairs.
“See you promptly at seven, Isabella. Don’t make me come looking for you.”
I stop and fist my hands. The entire house probably heard that.
I move forward and jog up the last step, going to my room.
I want to slam the door, but I won’t give him satisfaction.
He meant to goad me and push the boundaries until I cried or showed anger.
It was bad enough that I closed my eyes in shame at his words and ran away.
I plop down on the couch and put my feet up. That’s what I feel now; shame. I’d taken something for myself, thinking I could move on and be numb to the aftermath of emotions from the fallout. I took his queen that morning with my sharp declaration and he’s going to make me pay.