Chapter 32: I Like You, Bella
Bella sat in the cafeteria with her tray untouched, the sandwich in front of her going stale as she picked idly at the crust.
Around her, the room buzzed with the midday rush — laughter, clinking cutlery, hurried conversations about deadlines and clients. But none of it reached her. Her thoughts were too heavy, as her focus was too tangled elsewhere.
Chloe dropped her tray onto the table with a soft thud before sliding into the seat across from her. She glanced at Bella’s distant expression and frowned. "Okay," she said, unwrapping her salad with deliberate slowness, "you’ve been staring at that sandwich like it insulted someone dear to you. What’s going on?"
Bella blinked out of her daze and sighed. "It’s Jake."
Chloe’s brows rose immediately. "What about him? Did he snap at you again? Or pull one of his ’are you confessing or not’ routines?"
"No," Bella muttered, leaning her chin into her palm. "That’s just it. He didn’t. He hasn’t said a single word to me all morning. Not when I dropped off his coffee. Not when I stood by his desk waiting for instructions. Nothing. Even when we went for meetings and all. He’s barely even looked at me today."
Chloe tilted her head. "And that’s... a problem because?"
"Because it’s not normal," Bella said flatly, her voice edged with frustration. "Normally, he always has something to say. A comment, a critique, some little jab that makes me want to strangle him. But today? Nothing. Just silence. Like I don’t exist. It’s just two days but honestly? I’m not okay with this new character of his."
Chloe stabbed her fork into her salad and took a bite, chewing slowly as she studied her friend. "And that bothers you?"
Bella rubbed her temple. "Yes, Chloe. It’s unsettling. Silence can be louder than words, Chloe. What if he’s planning something? What if he’s building up to something worse?"
Chloe rolled her eyes, leaning back in her chair. "Or what if — and I know this is hard to imagine — he just woke up this morning and decided not to make your life miserable and that he doesn’t exactly care if you admit it or not? Wouldn’t that be a good thing? You can finally work without feeling like you’re walking on eggshells."
Bella twisted the cap of her water bottle, staring at the table. "I thought that’s what I wanted. But instead, it just feels wrong. Like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop."
Chloe smirked. "You overthink everything. Take the win for once, Bella. Peace and quiet isn’t a trap, it’s a blessing."
Bella didn’t answer right away. Her chest was tight, her mind spinning between relief and unease. Maybe Chloe was right — maybe she was being paranoid. But deep down, she knew herself. Jake’s silence wasn’t peace. It was... something else. And she hated that she couldn’t read it.
Before she could voice her thoughts again, a shadow fell over the table. Both women looked up, and Bella’s stomach dipped when she saw who it was.
Raymond stood there, tray in hand, offering a smile that looked casual but didn’t quite reach his eyes. "Mind if I join you two?"
Bella froze, her fork hovering over her untouched sandwich. Chloe blinked, caught off guard, but quickly masked it with an easy shrug. "Sure. Sit."
They both knew he wouldn’t ask if not for what happened the previous day.
Raymond slid into the chair beside Bella, setting his tray down. For a moment, he didn’t say anything, just glanced at her with a kind of quiet intensity that made her shift uncomfortably in her seat. The air around them seemed to thicken, the conversation they’d just been having now a ghost between them.
"You don’t have to stop talking just because I’m here," he said lightly, though his voice carried a hint of something else — something that suggested he’d noticed the shift in Bella’s posture, the way her eyes seemed to avoid his.
Bella tightened her grip on her water bottle, staring at the condensation dripping down its sides. She felt Chloe watching her too, silently gauging the tension that hung in the air.
Raymond leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice. "Bella... there’s something I want to tell you. I think it’s time I told you already."
Her heart gave a small, traitorous jolt. She glanced at him, finding his expression serious, his gray eyes fixed on her like the rest of the cafeteria had faded away. For a moment, she forgot to breathe.
Chloe’s gaze flicked between the two of them, her fork suspended mid-air, as if she’d walked straight into a scene she wasn’t supposed to witness.
Bella swallowed hard, her unease sharpening into something else entirely — anticipation.
Chloe caught the shift in the air the moment Raymond leaned in toward Bella. She gave Bella a meaningful look, one that said ’I’ll leave you to it,’ before pushing her chair back.
"I’ll go grab something from the vending machine," Chloe said casually, even though her tray was still half full. She stood, slung her bag over her shoulder, and offered Raymond a polite nod before slipping away, leaving the two of them alone at the table.
The cafeteria noise dimmed around them, like the world was politely stepping aside. Bella kept her eyes on her sandwich, though her appetite had long since vanished after Raymond came.
Raymond cleared his throat softly. "Bella..." His tone was quieter now, steadier. "I like you."
Her head snapped up, eyes wide. "What?"
She’d thought she could start keeping her distance from him before he tried to confess. Why now? What happened?
"I like you," he repeated, holding her gaze with startling calm. "I know it hasn’t even been long. Two days, if we’re counting. But it’s possible, Bella. It’s not something I can just ignore."
Bella’s lips parted, stunned. "Raymond... two days isn’t—"
"I know," he cut in, not defensive but insistent. "I wanted to wait. To let you know me better first. To show you that I’m more than what people say, more than Jake’s brother. But after everything—after losing the company, after losing to him again—" His jaw tightened, then relaxed. "I don’t want to lose this too. I don’t want to lose you to silence. I don’t want someone else to take you away while I’m still trying to bid my time. So instead of keeping it bottled up, I’m telling you now. You don’t have to answer me yet. I just... needed you to know."
Bella sat frozen, her pulse racing in her throat. His words rang with raw honesty, with a kind of vulnerability she hadn’t expected from him. And for a fleeting second, she almost wished she could return it. Almost.
But she couldn’t.
Her fingers curled around the edge of the table as she forced herself to speak. "Raymond... there’s no need to wait."
He stilled, gray eyes searching hers with a flicker of hope.
"I like you," Bella said carefully, her voice steady but soft. "But not in that way. I can’t. I just can’t. We can be friends—good friends—but that’s all."
The hope in his eyes dimmed, but it didn’t vanish. He let out a breath, leaning back in his chair, as if absorbing the weight of her words. Then, slowly, a faint smile curved his lips — not one of mockery, but quiet resolve.
"Then I’ll wait," he said simply.
Bella blinked. "Raymond—"
"I’ll wait until you change your mind," he interrupted, his voice low but unwavering. "Even if you think you never will. I’m not giving up that easily."
The determination in his tone rattled her more than his confession had. Bella’s chest tightened, a mix of frustration and unease tangling inside her. She wanted to protest, to tell him not to waste his time — but looking at him, she knew it wouldn’t matter.
Raymond had already made up his mind.
And that unsettled her more than anything else.
She stared down at the untouched food on her tray, her thoughts whirling. If things were different — if she wasn’t carrying the shadow of Jake in her past, if she wasn’t always fighting to keep Timothy’s paternity buried, maybe she could have let herself consider Raymond. He was kind in a way that caught her off guard, vulnerable in ways that reminded her he wasn’t just Jake’s younger brother but his own person, desperate to prove his worth.
But her life wasn’t simple. It was a web of secrets, carefully guarded walls, and responsibilities that left little room for risks. Letting someone in — anyone — meant exposing everything she had fought to protect. And that, she couldn’t do.
So instead of answering, instead of softening, Bella lifted her chin, swallowing the ache in her throat. "I hope you don’t waste your time waiting for something that isn’t going to change."
Raymond’s faint smile lingered, stubborn, as though he hadn’t heard the warning at all.
And Bella couldn’t decide if that persistence made her pity him... or fear what it might mean for both of them.