His Spoiled Reborn Bride

15 Two Phone Calls

At breakfast, she noticed that there wasn’t any coffee on the table. Howard sipped green tea, and she had a glass of fresh pressed orange juice. She nibbled at her toast and picked at the melon, but she wasn’t very hungry. As she ate, Howard looked at her and occasionally scooped more food onto her plate.

In the middle of the meal, Howard’s phone began to ring. He glanced at the number, scowled and answered it. The person on the other end said something and Howard passed the phone to her. She looked at the screen and recognized her own home phone number.

With a sigh she lifted the phone to her ear, “Janet?”

“No, it’s your Uncle Lawson,” the voice said.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“That’s no way to speak to your uncle,” he said. “I’ve been worried sick about you. I tried calling your phone, but none of my calls got through. Are you okay?”

“My phone is broken,” she said, shooting a glare at Howard.  

“I see,” he said. “Well, I’m glad to hear that you’re well. I’m calling because we never got to celebrate the wedding as a family, and I want to invite you and Howard to our home for dinner tomorrow.”

She frowned and looked at Howard, “If my husband is okay with it, I’ll come. But he’s very busy, and I don’t know if he can make it.”

“Hmm, well what about lunch?” her uncle asked.

“I’m not his secretary,” she said. “I don’t know his schedule.”

“Okay, okay,” her uncle said. “I get it, he’s a busy man, but I hope you’ll come.”

“I already said I will,” she said.

“Good,” her uncle said, his voice dripping with fake concern. “You know, I know the wedding was a mess, but we’re family and we can get through this. You and Janet are more like sisters than cousins and the last 48 hours have been really hard on her. Can you please ask Howard to forgive her for what happened?”

Isabel wanted to laugh. How could her uncle possibly think she’d beg Howard to forgive Janet when she was still begging him to forgive her. Even if she could, she wouldn’t.

She forced her voice to sound cheerful, “Don’t overthink it, Uncle. It was just a small thing and really not worth mentioning.”

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay,” she said and hung up the phone.

“What was that about?” Howard asked reaching to take the slim phone.

“My uncle wants us to visit tomorrow,” she said. “I’ll tell him you’d probably be busy, but I think he expects me to go.”

Howard’s forehead wrinkled, “I’ll come with you.”

“It’s really okay,” she said. “They wouldn’t dare say anything to anyone if you didn’t come.”

“I said I’m coming with you,” he said.

“Okay,” she said. “I’m going to watch TV.”

Without another word, she stood and walked out of the dining room and across the hall into the lounge. She sat down on the sofa, grabbed the remote and began flicking through the channels. She scrolled through all the channels without noticing what was on and began again.

Beyond the sparkling windows, the July morning was bright and full of promise but her thoughts were gloomy. She had free range of the house, but she was still a prisoner. Long before Howard had even proposed marriage, she’d planned to spend the summer vacation jetting around Europe with Janet’s group of friends. Once they got back, she’d enroll at whatever college or university had accepted her—preferably one in the United States.

Once Howard had proposed marriage, all of those plans had vanished. One time, she’d suggested to Janet that she apply to college as a backup, but her cousin had just laughed and asked what for. Isabel had to admit, her cousin had a point. Her grades were below average and her SAT scores were hopeless. If she wanted to go to any college, her uncle would have to pull strings.

She sighed. What was the point in having a second chance, if that chance started too late? Sure, she was free from Noah and his abuse, but being Howard’s pet wasn’t any better.

“What are you thinking?” Howard asked from the doorway.

“Nothing,” she said.

“It didn’t look like nothing,” he said. “Anyway, I have something for you.”

“What is it?” she asked.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a rose gold phone. He offered it to her and she took it carefully.

“Your old phone is broken, so I thought you should have this,” he said. “I know you have a lot of friends and you’re not used to sitting around by yourself.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“It has the same SIM card as your old phone,” he said.

She turned the phone on and tapped the smooth glass screen. Her contacts list popped up and she scrolled through the familiar names. When she got to “H” she paused. Someone was saved in her contacts as “Honey.” She clicked the name and Howard’s number appeared. Her hand trembled and she fought the urge to throw the phone onto the floor. He was only giving her the illusion of freedom—but no matter what she was still his.

“That’s very thoughtful,” she said, trying to control the rage in her voice.

“I have a lot of work today,” he said. “If you need anything ask one of the servants.”

“Of course,” she said. “Don’t worry about me.”

Howard nodded and exited the room. As he left she saw Levi hovering beside the door and wondered if he’d asked Levi to spy on her. She sighed, stood and went upstairs to her room. While they’d eaten, someone had made the bed and pulled the curtains open.

She sat on the small sofa near the window and looked through her contacts. She wanted to call her stepmother or Samuel, but their numbers weren’t there. She must have deleted them. She sighed and scrolled to “S” looking for her childhood best friend, Sophia Wells, but her name wasn’t there either.

“Why was I so cruel?” she whispered. “I cut them all out of my life just because Janet told me to. What an i***t!”

Hot tears welled in her eyes, and she shut them. After she’d gone to prison, her stepmother Maria and her brother Samuel had been the only people who contacted her. Maria even encouraged her to fight the charges. Though she’d put them through so much suffering, they still cared about her. The tears spilled over and dripped down her cheeks. She had ignored her father’s dying wish and ruined the lives of the people who loved her most. Even if she could fix some of that now, she’d never forgiven herself.

Her phone buzzed and she looked at the name: Noah. She knew she should ignore the call, but a burning curiosity seized her. Had Noah escaped? Had Howard freed him? Why was he calling? She clicked answer and raised the phone to her ear.

“Oh my god, you answered my call,” Noah whispered. “Oh thank god.”

“What do you want?” she asked.

“I can’t believe you have your phone,” he said. “I was sure Howard would have taken it from you.”

“How are you calling me?” she asked.

“The guards didn’t take my phone,” Noah whispered. “I couldn’t believe it when I found it in my pocket this morning. Anyway, the battery is low and I’m worried someone might hear me, but I want to apologize for everything I said yesterday.”

She couldn’t believe her ears, “You want to apologize? No, you don’t. You’d do it all again, if you could. Tell me what you want or I’m hanging up.”

“No, don’t,” Noah said his voice pleading and weak. “I swear, I only said that stuff because Howard’s men had me there and I’m no match for them. I’ve called the police, and they’re coming for me. Will you come with me?”

Isabel held the phone so hard she wondered if she’d snap the thin device. A part of her was tempted—would Howard really defy the police? But then she thought about the dozens of employees roaming the grounds and changed her mind. Escaping from the estate was impossible.

“Isabel, are you still there?” Noah asked. “Why don’t you say anything?”

“Go f**k yourself, Noah,” she said.

“What?” he asked.

“Listen you bastard,” she said. “I told you it’s over. There’s nothing between us, and I’d rather die than go with you.”

“Isabel,” he pleaded. “Please stop, you’re breaking my heart. I love you still, and I’m sorry we got caught, but we won’t let them get us again.”

“Noah, you’re a selfish asshole,” she said. “And I don’t love you. Maybe the old me did, but she’s gone now. Now if you don’t have anything else to say, I’m hanging up.”

“Wait,” he said.