When The Past Calls
Country: Aurivelle
City: Auremont
Alvara
( A month later)
I sat on my bed, leaning back against the headboard, while Isabella sprawled lazily across the mattress and Mila occupied the chair by the table.
They both had their own rooms.
But somehow…
mine always felt like home to them.
We had just returned from dinner, freshened up, changed into our pajamas, and now we were doing nothing in particular… just existing in each other’s space.
It had been a month.
A whole month since everything happened.
And just like that…
it was over.
No one talked about it anymore.
No whispers.
No side comments.
Nothing.
Not after Mrs Alexia’s warning.
And as for the person who leaked it…
I still didn’t know.
But I had chosen to let it go.
Some things were better left buried.
Life had been… peaceful.
Strangely so.
The constant clashes with Helena, Leonora, and Ally had reduced significantly.
Not because they had changed…
But because something else had.
Status.
Position.
Recognition.
We were no longer on the same level.
Not after I won Designer of the Month.
Again.
A small smile tugged at my lips.
Mrs Hawthorne’s words echoed faintly in my mind.
“I expect to see you win Designer of the Month again.”
And I did.
Though this time, there was no lunch.
Mrs Alexia said she had traveled.
She promised to make it up to me.
But honestly…
I didn’t need that.
What she had already done for me…
It was more than enough.
My fingers traced absent patterns on the bedsheet as my thoughts drifted.
Ever since that lunch…
I had been planning.
Carefully.
Quietly.
Because now…
Everything had changed.
The black card she gave me…
It wasn’t just money.
It was freedom.
Opportunity.
A way out.
With it, I could start my brand.
Build something of my own.
And more importantly…
Bring my family to Auremont.
We wouldn’t have to stay in Cressford anymore.
We wouldn’t have to struggle the way we used to.
For the first time in a long time…
The future felt… possible.
But even with all of that…
I wasn’t stopping.
No.
Winning Designer of the Year…
It was no longer a necessity.
But it had become something else.
A goal.
A statement.
A promise to myself.
And I would see it through.
I had to.
“Did you hear the gossip going around the institute?” Isabella said suddenly, sitting upright like she had just remembered something important.
I groaned, rolling my eyes.
“What gossip? God help you, Isabella, you’re always hearing something.”
“As if you’re not interested,” she shot back, rolling her eyes at me.
Mila only smiled quietly from her chair, as usual choosing to listen rather than interrupt.
Isabella leaned in slightly, lowering her voice like she was about to reveal state secrets.
“So… I heard Ethan impregnated Aria.”
I blinked.
“Who’s Aria?” I asked, then paused. “And wait…where exactly are you hearing all this from? I hope this isn’t one of your cheap gossips. You do know gossiping is basically banned right now.”
She gasped, offended.
“What cheap gossip? This is real. They’ve apparently been dating for a while, and she missed her period. So they snuck out, got a test strip, and it came out positive.”
I stared at her for a moment.
I genuinely wondered where she got all this information from.
“And now,” she continued, looking between us, “the institute has probably found out. Give it a few days…they’ll be expelled.”
I leaned back slightly.
“Well… that’s not surprising,” I said. “I’ve always known those boys weren’t up to any good. I just didn’t expect it to be Ethan. I was betting on Kieran.”
“Same,” Mila added softly.
I glanced at her briefly.
Sometimes I wondered what she would have been like if we hadn’t become friends.
“Honestly,” Isabella sighed dramatically, “to think I almost fell for that asshole.”
I let out a small laugh.
“Exactly! The moment I saw those boys, I knew it was just faces and nothing else. But no…you were busy getting defensive because I spoke rudely to your ‘sweet guys.’”
“I was not angry,” she said quickly.
“Oh please,” I scoffed. “You’d definitely try to deny it now. Who knows? You might have been in Aria’s position if you didn’t have me as a friend.”
“Please,” she scoffed, flipping her hair. “If I was in her position, I would’ve upgraded the situation, not embarrassed myself in public.”
I looked at her…
Then smiled.
Of course.
Typical Isabella.
Always dramatic.
Always confident.
Always having the last word.
Just then, my phone rang.
Mom.
It’s been a while since we last spoke.
I quickly picked up.
“Hello, Mom.”
“Hello, my angel. How are you?” her voice came, warm as always.
“I’m fine. How are you guys? I’m sorry I haven’t called in a while,” I said, guilt creeping in.
“No, it’s fine. We know you’re busy.”
“Still, I should have called,” I insisted.
“It’s okay,” she said gently. “The most important thing is that you’re healthy and doing well.”
There was a small pause before she added…
“We got the money you sent.”
“Oh…” I hesitated.
“Wasn’t it too much? I know you have plans to start your brand.”
“I have plans for that, Mom. Trust me.”
I didn’t tell her about the card Mrs Hawthorne gave me.
That… was going to be a surprise.
“Seems you guys are really enjoying yourselves,” Leo’s voice suddenly cut in, just as I was about to ask about him.
I smiled instantly.
“Leoooo, I’ve missed you so much.”
And I really had.
“Guess someone finally knows my worth,” he said teasingly.
I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn’t see me.
“Relax. I just needed someone to get on his nerves.”
“Wow,” he scoffed. “So I’ve been promoted from ‘younger brother’ to ‘emotional punching bag’?”
“Don’t act like you weren’t born for this role.”
“I’m hanging up.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Watch me.”
I smirked. “You miss me too much.”
“Okay… maybe a little,” he admitted.
I smiled.
“Thought so.”
“Wait,” he said suddenly. “You said you missed me. Are you sick?”
“Leo.”
“Or did something happen? Did someone offend you? Do I need to come over and cause problems?”
I laughed softly. “Please, you? Cause problems?”
“I can be very dangerous, thank you.”
“To who? To games?”
“Wow. Wow. This is disrespectful.”
Isabella’s laughter echoed beside me.
“See?” I said. “Even Isabella agrees.”
“I’m being ganged up on,” Leo muttered.
“This is unfair.”
“You love it.”
“…Maybe a little,” he admitted again.
There was a brief pause.
Then his voice softened.
“But seriously… Are you okay?”
I leaned back, staring at nothing.
“I’m fine.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, Leo.”
Another pause.
Like he didn’t quite believe me.
“Okay,” he said finally. “But if anything’s wrong, you tell me. I’m your favorite person.”
I snorted. “In your dreams.”
“I’m hurt.”
“You’ll survive.”
“Barely.”
“The small boy who thinks he’s all grown!” Isabella shouted from behind me.
I laughed and put the call on speaker.
“Wow. I’m 20,” Leo protested.
“Yes, 20…but still a baby. And you always will be,” Isabella shot back.
“You know, I wake up every day thanking God you both left,” he said dramatically.
“It’s obvious you came into this world to torment me. I thought Alvara was bad…then you showed up.”
“Is that Bella?” Mom’s voice came from the background, laughing.
“That’s the troublemaker,” Leo replied.
“I can hear you!” Isabella shouted.
“Whatever,” Leo muttered.
There was a shuffle, and then Mom was back on the phone.
“Bella, darling, how are you?”
She’s the only one who calls Isabella that.
“I’m fine, ma’am. How are you?”
“We’re doing great. I hope you girls are coping well?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I know you both will make us proud,” she said warmly. “You always have.”
“We will,” Isabella replied.
“Alright, you need to sleep now. Goodnight, darlings.”
“Goodnight, Mom.”
“Goodnight, ma’am.”
We answered at the same time.
I smiled.
“Goodnight, Leo.”
“Yeah, yeah… goodnight, troublemakers.”
The call ended.
After a while, Isabella and Mila left, leaving me alone in my room.
But for some reason…
I wasn’t sleepy.
So I picked up my phone and started scrolling.
Then…
A thought crossed my mind.
I don’t know why I listened to it.
But I did.
I searched for a name.
Adrian Vale.
His pictures appeared almost immediately.
The face of the man who broke me.
The man who took something from me I could never get back.
My chest tightened…
But then something else caught my attention.
My name.
Trending.
In Eldoria.
For the past two months.
My fingers trembled as I clicked on one of the articles.
And then…
I froze.
I was dead.
The article claimed Adrian had killed me.
Because I called him out.
Called him out?
Confusion slammed into me.
Then I noticed a link beneath it.
I clicked.
A video opened.
And my heart dropped.
It was mine.
The recordings.
The ones I documented for months.
Even parts of my diary.
No.
No, no, no…
Memories crashed into me all at once.
Everything I had buried.
Everything I tried to forget.
The pain.
The fear.
The helplessness.
I gripped my phone tightly.
Something wasn’t right.
I lost this phone.
At the hospital… or at least, that’s what I thought.
So who has it now?
Mrs. Whitmore?
The doctor?
A stranger?
Someone who had been watching?
My breathing slowed as one thought settled in.
Clear.
Cold.
Certain.
The person who has that phone…
Is the same person who sent us the money to escape.
And if everything happening over there continues…
It’s only a matter of time.
Before Adrian finds me.
And when he does…
He won’t be coming to confirm if I’m alive.
He’ll be coming to finish what he started.