Chapter 41: Unbelievable
Bella’s first instinct was to shut it down. "There’s nothing worth telling."
But the words felt too abrupt, too defensive. She softened her tone. "Besides, you already know my name and I’m working for you. Isn’t that enough?"
His lips quirked faintly, but he didn’t answer. He only watched her, as though waiting for her to fill the silence with something more. "Is it? I want to know more," he said, cocking his eyebrows up.
Bella looked at him and her pulse quickened. Something didn’t feel right. The atmosphere. The questions. She sitting across from him and having lunch.
Could this be.....
The thought crept in slowly, unwelcome but persistent. What if there was no meeting? What if he had set this up, right from asking her to cancel his appointments, driving them here himself, choosing this restaurant — just to have her here, across from him, forced into conversation?
Her fork hovered above her plate, her mind racing. Couldn’t be. She thought and then narrowed her eyes, suspicion hardening into words.
"Mr. Stones..." she said carefully, "there is an important person coming, right?"
His expression didn’t change as she asked that. Not even a flicker. And that only made her doubt him more.
She sipped from her glass of water as she looked at him, waiting to hear whatever he had to say.
"Of course there is..."
"I didn’t figure you for the type to lie and not take responsibility for your actions," Bella cut, clearly not buying whatever lie he’d wanted to tell. "Just spill the truth or I’ll leave."
For the first several minutes, Jake remained composed, hands resting lightly on the table as though he had all the patience in the world. But when Bella’s chair scraped softly against the floor — her clear intent to move to the next table — his calm cracked and he sighed.
"Fine," he said, his voice lower now, the polished control faltering. "There’s no meeting. There’s no important person. I set this up because I wanted to talk to you."
Bella froze, her hand still gripping the back of her chair. Slowly, she turned to him, her forest green eyes sharp. "You’re unbelievable."
She snatched her bag from the chair and swung it over her shoulder. "I’m leaving."
Jake’s gaze hardened, a flicker of challenge sparking in his eyes. "Why? Because you’re shy of sitting and having lunch with the man who took your virginity?" he said, cocking his eyebrows in a teasing manner.
Bella’s throat dried instantly. Her heart slammed against her ribs. The words cut the air, shocking her so much she nearly lost her balance.
So he knew all along and just kept going back and forth about it.
Jake saw it — the surprise that flickered across her face before she tried to mask it with indifference. His lips curved faintly, but his voice was steel. "Did you think I didn’t know?" he drawled.
She opened her mouth to speak but realized no words were coming out. She cleared her throat and tried again.
She found her voice, strained but steady. "If you knew... then why did you pretend otherwise? And why are you just saying it now?" she asked, looking him over.
Now that it was confirmed he knew, she’d have to do everything to make he never found out about Timothy. She told herself.
"Because I was waiting." His gaze didn’t waver. "Waiting for you to confess. But since you won’t, I decided to tell you myself."
Bella’s chest tightened. "Well, now you have. Congratulations." She turned again toward the door. "We’re done here. Let’s go."
But Jake leaned back, crossing one leg over the other with infuriating calm. "Not yet, Isabella Howells. I mean, we’re already here and having lunch so why the rush? Or do you mean to tell me you’re really shy?"
She whipped around, meeting his gaze head-on. "I am not shy. I just don’t want to sit here with you any longer."
"But I want to." His voice was soft but commanding. "Sit down, Isabella and let’s talk. Or..." His eyes glinted as he leaned forward. "...I’ll stand up and kiss you right here and right now."
Her pulse stuttered, her body tense but she tried not to let it show. "You wouldn’t dare."
His hand moved before she could stop him. He cupped her face gently, thumb brushing along the curve of her heart-shaped lips.
The contact sent a jolt of electricity down her entire body and memories from that night came flooding back. She gasped, eyes widening as warmth surged through her, unbidden and unwelcome.
Not here. Not now and certainly not with him.
Quickly, she grasped his wrist, pulling his hand away. "Fine," she hissed, lowering herself back into the seat. "I’ll sit. But there’s nothing I want to talk to you about."
Jake’s mouth curved into something dangerously close to a smile. "Are you sure there’s nothing? Or is there something you’re hiding?"
Her heart stumbled. What? Did he know more? Had he also found out about Timothy? No, that can’t be. If he had, he wouldn’t bring her to lunch before asking her about it.
"Why would I be hiding anything? And what exactly could I be hiding from you?" she asked after taking a deep breath.
His laugh was quiet, but it unsettled her. "That morning," he said softly. "Why were you crying?"
Bella stiffened. In an instant, she was back there — five years ago, standing just outside that hotel room, tears burning her cheeks while her world crumbled.
She swallowed hard. "Because that morning," she whispered, "I lost my mother."
Jake’s expression shifted. The arrogance slipped. "Bella..."
She continued, voice trembling but steady. "I had sold myself for money. Enough for her second surgery. I thought I could save her. But she died that morning, before I even returned. Just after I got the money."
If she’d known, then maybe she wouldn’t have been so bent on repaying him when he’d offered to give her the money for free.
Perhaps, she would’ve been able to save her mother. She thought and then shook her head. All that was in the past now.
For once, Jake Stones was silent. He lowered his gaze, his hand curling loosely against the table. "I’m sorry," he said finally, his tone stripped of its usual sharpness. "I didn’t know."
Bella forced a small, sad smile. "It’s past now. Nothing to change."
His eyes lifted, more piercing than before. There was something else he needed to know. "Why did you use Chloe’s account? After that night, I felt guilty. I tried to find you, to make things right. But the Chloe I traced wasn’t you."
Bella exhaled. Although she’d prefer not to talk about the past anymore, somehow it seemed talking about it was giving her a certain kind of peace she hadn’t experienced.
"I used it because I had to hide my identity and mostly because I had to protect the money. My ex-fiancé..." her lips twisted bitterly, "...he duped me. Every last coin I had in my account was gone because I trusted him. So I wasn’t about to risk losing what I’d earned for my mother."
Jake’s jaw tightened. "Bella..." His voice broke slightly, a rare crack in his armor. "I’m sorry. I had no idea you’d been through all of that."
Who was that animal that would take a woman’s money that way? He’d find that idiot and when he did, he’d make him pay double of whatever he got from Bella.
Bella looked away, blinking rapidly to keep her composure. "It doesn’t matter now. I survived. That’s enough."
The rest of their meal passed in uneasy silence, the tension softened now by threads of something unexpected — his regret, her reluctant honesty.
When Jake paid the bill and they rose to leave, Bella clutched her bag tightly, already bracing herself. Outside, the late afternoon sun painted the pavement gold. She inhaled deeply before speaking.
"I hope," she said firmly, "you don’t pull this trick again."
Her words were meant to be sharp, and to serve as a warning in a way. But as she walked ahead, she found herself asking silently why she had told him so much. Why she had let him see beneath the armor she had built for years.
And why — despite everything — part of her wasn’t entirely sorry she had.
Having told him about her past, she knew that somehow the dynamics of their relationship was going to change and she didn’t want that.
Letting him closer in would expose Timothy and she didn’t know what would happen when he found out about him.
She couldn’t let that. She’d make sure their relationship didn’t progress from here. Too much was at stake—her son and the little reputation she had.
Keeping him at arms length was what was best. For her. For Timothy. For everyone.
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