Page 87 of Liberating Bells
Bells’ clear sapphire eyes meet mine, and she frowns. “Actually, no. I turned my phone on this morning, and I had a lot of missed calls from my parents and Jules. And a nasty-gram from his mom about all the money I’m wasting. But nothing from him.”
“That’s…concerning,” I respond. Given his track record, I would have thought Mark would be on a full rampage trying to find her. Or get to me to follow through on the threat he was holding over her head.
“I know. It’s almost worse this way. I don’t know what his angle is.”
I clear my throat and consider my next words carefully. “Do you think he’s plotting something?
“I don’t know. He sounded like he meant it when he said he would hurt you if I didn’t follow his rules. That was finally whathelped me realize I needed to get out. I shouldn’t beafraidof the man I’m supposed to marry.”
“In every situation, life is asking us a question, and our actions are the answer,” I say softly. Izabel raises an eyebrow. “Another quote from my book,” I tell her. “But it definitely applies.”
She chuckles. “That book is proving to be more beneficial than I thought it would be. I just picked it up as an excuse to see you.”
I smile, the admission making my heart swell. “Well, I’m glad you did.”
“Me too,” she whispers, her eyes sparkling as she gazes at me. Then she turns and flips her French toast to the other side.
I still don’t feel like this is real life. This domestic scene has me feeling all warm and fuzzy. I hope I get to experience a lifetime of this: Izabel making breakfast, talking about our future, being pregnant with our babies someday. It’s a dream come true.
Standing up, I walk over to her. I press her back into my chest and wrap my arms around her. She stiffens briefly—something which makes my heart ache—but then relaxes into my embrace. The knowledge that Bells is going to have to face this trauma one way or the other nags at me, but I don’t push the issue today.
She flips a few pieces of French toast onto a plate and then offers it to me. I take it with a grateful smile. “Breakfast is served.”
I find my syrup in the pantry and then sit back down and dig in. Izabel works on finishing the rest of the toast and then comes and sits beside me with her own plate. She takes a few small bites but doesn’t finish hers.
“You sure you’re feeling okay?” I ask, concerned.
She gives me a reassuring smile. “Yeah, I think it’s still just the aftermath of everything. I’m fine.” Izabel laughs at my expression. “Really, Ryan. I’m not going to break.”
I clear my throat and try to change the subject. “So, what’s the plan here?”
“How do you mean?” she asks.
“Well, I assume you’ll be wanting to move in. I can stop by a furniture store and get you a better dresser for your room. And a mirror or something. It’s pretty bare in there.”
Izabel looks down at her fingers and picks at her cuticles. “I think it’s fine. Do you want me to look for a different place? I don’t want to infringe on your privacy.”
“No,” I say quickly. “I want you here.”
“Okay,” Izabel responds with a smile, and for the first time in a really long time, I feel fully content.
The rest of the weekend flies by. I spend a lot of quiet time with her. We snuggle on the couch, watching old movies while stuffing our faces with popcorn, playing board games, or just talking. We take it slow. I often catch her looking at me longingly, but she never takes things further.
I keep catching her apologizing to me for the littlest things, and it breaks my heart. Or I reach up to brush a strand of hair behind her ear, and she flinches away from me, wincing. It’s like she’s walking on eggshells around me without even realizing it. As if she’s waiting for the next ball to drop. Every time I check in with her, she brushes me off and tells me everything’s fine. It’s not fine, though. That much is obvious. I wish Mark would show up, just so I could clock him in the face for doing this to Bells.
Juliet and Liam come by on Sunday afternoon with Ashton. Juliet wraps her arms around Izabel tightly and tells her how proud she is. Liam stands beside me, holding their son. He claps me on the shoulder approvingly, but doesn’t say a word.
“How was everything after I left?” Izabel asks her friend quietly.
Juliet frowns. “Well, Mark’s mom completely lost her mind. She was screaming at the wedding planner, and then got into a pissing match with your dad.”
“My dad?” Bells questions.
“Yeah, Mark’s mom was really railing on you, going on and on about nothing. I think your dad finally had enough and stood up for you, saying that he supported whatever decision you made.”
Bells’ lips curve up into a soft smile, but then it drops from her face. “What about Mark?”
Liam and Juliet look at each other uncomfortably, and Liam clears his throat. “Mark didn’t react. He just stared after you as you ran out with a dark expression on his face. Then he left. We haven’t heard anything from him since.”
