Chapter 30

"Belle! Are you okay?" asked Kara.
She was not aware that she had been staring stupidly at Victoria’s photo for a while.
"H-huh? Yes I'm fine," she answered when she seemed to have woken up as if from a trance.
Frowning slightly Kara asked. "Don't tell me that you are insecure of Victoria?”
She quickly shook her head. She couldn’t blame her for thinking that because of her reaction. “ How old is she?”
“I guess same age as yours.”
"Does she have a boyfriend?”
"I think she doesn't.”
"I thought she likes surfing? But she has white skin,” she commented,
Kara took a sip of her juice before replying. “Maybe she doesn’t surf now. What I know is that she used to like it when she was younger.”
She couldn’t help clenching her fists which were on her lap. She was getting angrier at Luke. If Victoria didn’t surf anymore, why did he bring her to the resort?
"Did Luke text you this morning?" she asked Kara. She saw her husband texted someone before she left the house. She thought he messaged Kara .
"Nope. Why?"
She shook her head with a slight frown. "Nothing. It wasn’t important. We better eat so you can go shopping.”
"Now you are talking!" Kara said happily with a wink.
She smiled back though her brain was working overtime. If Luke didn’t text Kara, who did he sent a message to?
Maybe a business partner? A part of her said.
But she knew that Luke usually called his business partners instead of sending them a message. She almost gritted her teeth. He didn’t want her to hear his conversation with whoever that was so he just sent a text message.
"Belle, you are very pretty and from what I have seen and I have been hearing from his family, my cousin is crazy about you. You are his wife okay? So if you are insecure of Victoria, forget it," Kara said and squeezed her hand which was now on the table.
But she was so pretty too and her boobs were way much bigger than mine. And she had been with him in our resort while I was away. She wanted to tell her but she didn’t. She tried to distract herself by just enjoying her day with Luke’s cousin.
She was on her way home but still there was no text nor call from him. She couldn’t help thinking that he was doing something with someone else. It was almost 4 p.m. when she reached the house. She went straight to their bedroom. She wanted to call him. She wasn’t used to calling him at work because he didn’t like it. But as he said he would be visiting a site so he was not at the office. And besides she was his wife so she had the right to call him in or out of his office. She dialed his number but he didn't pick up her call. She tried calling him several more times but still no answer from him. She finally gave up and stomped her foot in annoyance. She just decided to send him a message.
Babe where are you? What time are you going home? What do you want for dinner? I will cook.
She patiently waited for him to call or text back but ten minutes passed, there was no reply nor call from him. She angrily decided to go out for a coffee. There was a nearby cafe and she could just get a taxi so she didn’t have to ask Mario to drive her. She had to get out of the house because if not, she would go crazy thinking about her husband’s whereabouts and possible companion. She quietly left the house and was glad that no one saw her. Tina and Beth were busy in the kitchen.
Luke frowned slightly when he saw Isabelle’s missed calls. He didn’t hear the ringing since he was at the construction site with one of his clients. She called and sent him a message about fifteen minutes ago. He was about to call her when he saw Joey’s name flashing on the screen. He messaged the female bodyguard to follow Isabelle. He wanted to be sure that she was only meeting Kara as she said. He was still afraid that she would leave him again and he won’t have that. He even kept her passport in his office’s safe not at their home’s. He won’t risk it.
"What is it Joey?"
"I am glad that after your wife came home, I waited a few more minutes in front of your house sir,” she said.
“ Did anything happen?" he asked with a heavy frown.
“She left again and hailed a taxi sir.”
He cursed. "Tell me where she is then you can go. Thank you. I will send you a bonus for doing a great job!”
Isabelle always turned down the volume of her cell phone when she was outside so she didn’t know that Luke had been calling her. She was busy talking to the manager of the coffee shop about their mugs, cups and thermal cups. She would want to get some small gifts for Luke. She decided to buy all the items on display. She hoped that her husband would like them. He always showered her with gifts and she was wishing that he would appreciate her presents. She asked the staff to wrapped them in beautiful paper one by one. She looked for a table as she waited for them. She ordered black coffee and a slice of cheesecake. Then she checked her phone when the waiter left. She was surprised to see Luke’s miscalls so she called him. Before she could say hello, he spoke first. His voice was very cold and he sounded pissed.
“Where the hell are you?!”
He was mad. Joey said that his wife was at the coffee shop near their house but it pissed him because she left the house without telling anyone. If Joey didn’t decide to wait a few minutes more before leaving, he would never know that she went out. It wasn’t a big deal for others probably but it was a big deal for him. He was still lucky that he wasn’t far away from where she was now. He could get to the café in no time.
Isabelle chewed her bottom lip. She had an idea why Luke was annoyed. She didn’t hear her phone ringing. She knew that he would be angrier if he knew she was not at home and what was worse was she took a taxi alone which was a no-no. It was about twenty minutes on foot so she had no choice but take a cab.
"I AM ASKING YOU WHERE YOU ARE!" he furiously asked.
Maybe due to nervousness, she told him that she was at home. When she saw the waiter coming with her order , she tapped the mute so Luke wouldn’t hear the server when he gave her the cheesecake and coffee.
"Thank you, “ she quickly said to him.
Luke cursed. His wife was lying to him. He ended the call.
She let out a sound of frustration when he hung up. She dialed his number. At first she thought that he won’t answer.
"What?!I am driving!" he hissed and she bit her bottom lip.
She was aware that he was using a hands-free phone so he could talk while driving. He was in a black mood because she wasn’t able to get the call immediately.
"Why are you annoyed babe? I have been calling you but you didn’t answer,” she told him.
"I was busy talking to my client for Pete's sake! And it was noisy at the area because there is an ongoing construction! I really wanted to go home so I cut the meeting short! I even turned down his invitation to dinner!” he rasped.
She felt guilty. Because of her insecurity with Victoria, she went out instead of just cooking dinner for him. If she did the latter her husband wouldn’t be angry with her and she didn’t have to lie to him.
"B-Babe how far are you from the house?" she asked him so she would know if she had to go back home immediately.
Maybe she would have to ask the staff to just wrap everything together instead of individually. She wished that she would be home before Luke.
"Why are you asking?" came his question and there was a trace of doubt in his voice.
"N-nothing. I just want the food to be ready when you arrive so we can eat immediately,” she lied.
She chewed the inside of her cheek because she was lying again. She had to talk to the staff so she rose from the chair. She really needed to go home.
“Still a bit far,” came Luke’s reply. But he was actually just five minutes away from the cafe.
His reply made Isabelle halt. She went back to her table and decided to drink her coffee quickly. She didn’t want to waste it. She had been wanting to taste their coffee anyway.
"O-okay I will see you later. Drive carefully," she said before hanging up.
She hurriedly paid the bill and got the stuff she bought after having her coffee. She then walked to the door. It opened before she reached it and Reed came in.
"Issa?" he called her sounding really surprised.
"H-hello. Why are you here?” she asked and she regretted it. She felt that it was such a stupid question. She was caught by surprise. This was her first time to see him after Luke hit him at her in-law’s house years ago.
He smiled as he stared at her. "You look…different, " he commented as he ran his eyes on her without answering her question.
She was wearing a skimpy top under a denim jacket and she had a pair of dark blue shorts on. She released a small smile.
Reed sort of shook his head a little as if to clear it before saying. "To answer your question, before Luke and I parted ways, we used to often have coffee here. I like their brewed coffee."
Her forehead creased upon remembering the rift between the cousins.
“I’m sorry because of me you and Luke had a big misunderstanding.”
He shook his head, "No Issa. It's not your fault. Your husband just have a dirty mind and he's paranoid, " he said.
They were very near the entrance door so when two teenagers opened it while running and laughing, Reed had no choice but to hold her arm to pull her to the side with him. When they were out of harm's way he smiled widely at her.
"Did you see Kara today? She told me she was meeting you,” he said and she nodded with a smile.
***
The coffee shop had large glass windows so Luke could clearly see them. His wife and Reed were together. His face felt numb with what he was seeing. Isabelle was talking to his cousin. She was smiling at him. Reed’s hand was on her arm.
“Shit!” he cursed.
He hurriedly parked his car in front of the coffee shop and furiously got off.