Chapter 53 Could Steve be Isaac?
Isaac hung up the phone. He was clearly annoyed.
He was planning to drive to the office.
But then his phone rang again.
It was Grandpa calling.
He quickly adjusted his mood and answered the phone.
"Grandpa."
"I heard Nora got hurt last night. How is she?"
"The wound has been treated. It's not terribly serious; the doctors say she should recover in about a week."
"I heard she was stabbed in the chest. How can that be okay? I can't just stand by; I need to see her myself. Come with me!"
Isaac frowned.
Visiting her with Grandpa meant he would have to reveal his true identity.
Isaac felt it would be awkward to see her pretending to be someone else at this point.
"If you don't come and pick me up to visit Nora, I'll ask Mortimer to go with me!"
Isaac's expression darkened. Through gritted teeth, he replied, "Wait for me; I'll come to get you right away."
Edmund said with satisfaction, "Good!"
---
At noon, while Nora was debating whether to go out for lunch or order delivery, the doorbell suddenly rang.
Peering out, she saw it was Edmund standing there, and she quickly opened the door.
"Grandpa, what brings you here? Couldn't you have called me before coming over?"
Edmund chuckled as he delivered the message, "Isaac mentioned you got hurt at the party last night. He wanted to come check on you but figured it'd be awkward, so he asked me to tag along."
It was only then that Nora noticed Isaac standing behind Edmund.
Her face paled instantly at the sight of him.
However, in Edmund's presence, she quickly composed herself and smiled as if nothing was amiss. "Thanks for coming to visit me, Grandpa. Please come in."
She had no intention of exposing Grandpa's white lie.
Edmund stepped in alongside Isaac, who was carrying an assortment of tonics and gifts that the old man had requested he pick up.
Nora gestured for Edmund to take a seat and was about to pour him a glass of water when she was stopped.
"You're injured; don't move around. Let Isaac take care of it," Edmund advised, then directed a stern gaze toward Isaac. The warm expression on his face had vanished, replaced by a hint of disdain, "What are you still sitting there for? Help Nora with a glass of water, and why don't you whip up a couple of dishes for us? It's already noon."
Isaac rose silently and went to the water dispenser to pour a glass.
After that, he made his way to the kitchen.
"Grandpa, there's no need for him to fuss. Let's go out to eat or order some delivery," Nora suggested.
Edmund simply laughed. "It's fine; let him do it. He's got nothing else to be doing."
Nora fell silent, resigning herself to small talk with him in the living room while sounds of cooking wafted from the kitchen.
Isaac was a skilled cook.
Back in the days when they were living together and in love, he never let her do any household chores or cooking.
He'd taken care of everything himself.
To take better care of her, he'd even taken lessons from a chef.
Memories of the past brought a sour taste to her heart.
Isaac spent over an hour making several dishes.
Aside from two that Grandpa was fond of, the rest were Nora's old favorites.
She stiffened suddenly, her gaze lifting to Isaac.
What was he trying to do?
Their eyes briefly locked. Isaac's expression remained calm and unchanged, seemingly oblivious to her astonishment.
He set the table with ease, every move flowing naturally as if by habit.
Nora began eating in silence.
Halfway through the meal, her phone buzzed twice with a message alert.
She pulled it out and glanced at the screen. It was a message from Kalista.
"Nora, you're shameless! How could you reveal the messages I sent you to Isaac? That was supposed to stay between us. Why would you drag him into it? You keep insisting you don't want to reconcile with Isaac. If you're genuinely over him, then why are you sharing those messages in his presence? Are you seeking sympathy?"
Nora frowned upon reading the text.
She had never mentioned to Isaac that Kalista had been messaging her.
The only person she had shown those texts to was Steve last night.
Could Steve have gone behind her back and told Isaac?
A surge of anger rose within Nora.
Steve had promised to keep her secret, not to breathe a word to anyone.
How could he just go and blab?
And of all people, why did he have to tell Isaac?
Nora was livid.
She immediately sent a message to Steve, "Steve, why did you tell someone about what I shared with you last night?"
Just as she sent it, she heard the buzz of a phone from Isaac's pocket across from her.
Nora glanced at him but didn't think much of it, assuming it was a coincidence.
She continued to text Steve, "You promised you'd keep a secret. How could you break your word like that?"
There was another buzz from across the table.
Still, Nora didn't connect the dots.
She sent another message, "Why on earth would you tell Isaac of all people?"
The familiar vibration again.
Nora's brow furrowed, suspicion coloring her gaze as she observed the man seated across from her.
Why did Isaac's phone consistently buzz each time she texted Steve?
It felt like too many coincidences.
Isaac's expression stayed composed, yet a bead of sweat betrayed his calm demeanor.
Why did she have to send that text now?
And he had forgotten to silence that other phone.
She continued to scrutinize him, her suspicion growing more apparent.
Indeed, Nora began to suspect something.
It was too coincidental. With three texts, each one is followed by a vibration from Isaac's phone.
A chilling hypothesis crept into Nora's heart.
Could Steve be Isaac?
The thought startled her, yet it seemed increasingly plausible.
Steve's build was almost identical to Isaac's.
And every time she got close to Steve, something felt familiar.
She had more than once remarked on the uncanny resemblance between Steve and Isaac.
Furthermore, Steve's ability to pull strings with Century Square's manager had raised her eyebrows.
Steve knew Harold.
If Steve was Isaac, everything would make sense.
Nora's face darkened, a chill of dread spreading within her core.
She clenched her phone tightly; her eyes weighed heavily upon Isaac.
"I need to use the restroom," Isaac declared abruptly, setting down his silverware and rising from his seat to make his way toward the bathroom.
Her gaze followed his retreating figure as her fingers pressed the call button for Steve's number.
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