Chapter 77: The Divergent Guest.

Oliver spent the day immersed in a dense melancholy, wishing that everything that had happened was just a nightmare. When night began to fall, DK went to Oliver's room, after unsuccessfully searching for Rebecca and not finding her. He also noticed that none of his subordinates were around. Walking through the house, he came across the servants still busy cleaning up the remains of the previous night's party. In the kitchen, Nona, the housekeeper, approached him:

"Bambino, would you like something special to eat? It's still a holiday, and there's a lot of food left over from the party." DK thought for a moment before answering:

"Prepare lunchboxes and ask some of the men to deliver them to a hostel." He paused, looking around.,

"Have you seen Rebecca or Oliver?" "Oliver is sleeping in the guest room, but I haven't seen Miss Rebecca since I arrived at noon." DK frowned. 

"She must have gone to another party." Puzzled, DK went up to the guest room and knocked repeatedly until Oliver, with a haggard expression, finally opened the door.

“Boss, do you need something?” he asked, his voice still hoarse from sleep.

“My God, you look terrible. Do you know where Rebecca is?”

“Yes, I do. She left.”

“Left? Without saying anything? Didn’t even say goodbye to me?”

“Said goodbye to me.” Oliver yawned, trying to mask his obvious pain.

“And you’re okay with that?”

“No. But it was her choice. What could I do?”

DK gave his friend and advisor a suspicious look.

“Is there something I should know?”

“Nothing, boss.”

“Okay. Go back to sleep, we have a lot to do tomorrow.”

While DK returned to the kitchen to eat something prepared by Nona, in a luxurious beachfront hotel, Rebecca was already settled in, recovering from the  day’s turmoil and everything that happened. She picked up her cell phone and made an essential call. 

“can talk."

" Dean. How are the plans to finish Bella ?”

“I’m looking at possibilities that won’t put me at risk or hurt me.”

“Do it quickly. The tables have turned, I need to speed up our plans.”

“What happened?”

“I was at a nightclub and I ran into Johnny Iverson. Someone took pictures of us and sent them to Oliver, who kicked me out of the Kicher house.”

“You got lucky.”

“I know. What an idiot! For a moment, I thought he was going to turn me in to DK. But anyway, find a way to eliminate Bella Hahn.”

Meanwhile, in New York, Bella accepts Carter’s invitation for another date. They chose a charming coffee shop, with the winter cold enveloping the city, but no snow. As soon as the doctor saw Bella, he smiled warmly.

“Always punctual, huh?”

“Thanks! I’m glad you made time for me in your schedule,’ Bella teased, with a playful smile, referring to Christmas, when Carter had to rush out to see a patient.

“Guilty! I’m sorry about that day, it was a real emergency.”

“It’s okay. I’m just teasing you.”

Carter laughed and said,

“I have news. Starting on the 28th, I’ll be on vacation for 15 days.”

Bella raised her eyebrows excitedly.

“Interesting. It’s the same day Theo and I are going to the Bahamas. Do you want to come with us?”

“With an invitation like that, how can I refuse?”

That night, Bella arrived home and found Theo eating dinner with Susan. As soon as she saw her boss, Susan stood up hurriedly, trying to justify herself.

“Sorry, Miss Hahn. Theo was hungry and asked me to keep him company.”

Bella smiled, waving her hand for her to sit down again.

“Don’t worry, Susan. Continue your meal.” Turning to his son, she asked: “And you, Theo, why didn’t you come and talk to me? Didn’t you see that I had arrived?”

The boy sighed and replied coldly:

“Yes, I did. I just thought it wouldn’t make a difference to you.”

“Why are you talking to me like that? I’m your mother, you know?”

Theo put his cutlery down on the table and looked at his mother.

“When it suits you, do you remember that you have a son.”

Without finishing dinner, Theo got up and left from the dining room, going straight to his bedroom. Bella stood there for a moment, surprised by his attitude. Susan, a little uncomfortable, explained:

“He waited for you for over an hour to have dinner. I think he’s mad about it.”

Frowning, Bella shook her head and went to her son’s room. She knocked firmly on the door and said:

“Open up, Theo. We need to talk.”

The boy opened the door with a frown.

“Talk about what? About you leaving me for your new boyfriend?”

Bella took a deep breath, trying to stay calm.

“Listen, son, I have the right to move on with my life. I want to get to know Carter better, and that’s what I’m doing. But I apologize for keeping you waiting. How about we making a fondue with chocolate, strawberries and marshmallows? I know you love it.”

For a moment, Theo kept his face frowning, but soon a sparkle appeared in his eyes. He jumped out of bed and went to the door, saying:

“Hurry up, Mom!”

In the kitchen, the two began to prepare the fondue. Bella melted the chocolate while Theo washed the strawberries and got the marshmallows from the pantry. When everything was ready, they took everything to the games room. There, they sat in front of the TV and chose a movie to watch. Between laughter and being invested in the chocolate, Bella took the opportunity to bring up a delicate subject.

“Son, remember I told you about wanting to get to know Dr. Carter better?”

Theo sighed deeply and answered, without looking at her:

“I remember. So what?”

“Don’t do it like that, Theo.”

“Speak soon, Mom.”

Bella sat up on the couch, nervous.

“I invited him to go with us on the trip to the Bahamas.”

The boy paused, looked at his mother and, to her surprise, shrugged.

“Okay. And when are we going to travel?”

“On December 29th. We left the main airport at 8 a.m.”

“Understood, Mom.” He went back to focusing on the fondue, as if nothing had happened.

What Bella didn’t know was that, when he retired to bed, Théo had other plans in mind. In the silence of the room, he picked up his cell phone and made a short but crucial call. The content of this conversation, although simple, promised to change the course of events.

The day of the trip

On the agreed day, Bella, Théo and Susan were waiting for Carter at the airport. He arrived running, late, gasping for air looking for, but with a smile on his face.

“Did I take too long?” he asked, panting.

Bella smiled.

“It’s okay. After all, it’s my plane, and it only takes off with me on board.”

They all laughed, minus Theo, and started walking towards the boarding gate. Suddenly, the boy pulled his mother’s hand, getting her attention.

“Wait, Mom.”

“What’s wrong, Théo?”

“Someone’s lacking.”

Bella looked around, confused.

“Who?”

The boy pointed to a man approaching.

“My guest. Look at him over there.”

Bella followed her son’s gaze. As soon as she saw who it was, her heart raced. Her breathing became heavy and a wave of heat rose through her body.

“Hi, brunette.”

She almost lost her breath.

“Holy shit.”