Page 148 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 10

Tuesday

I knew going back to reality after spending a day in New York would be hard. But I never expected for it to be this fucking hard.

I wanted to be happy that Isabella had signed the divorce papers.

Instead, I had a loop of “what ifs” going round and round in my head.

Penny had helped calm me down. But she’d left for class and my first class of the day wasn’t until later.

So all I could do was think about Isabella standing in my living room.

And there was only one person I wanted to take it out on. Ian.

But while I waited for him for over an hour, I just got angrier.

I was paying for an extra apartment for him here .

His salary was exorbitant on top of that.

And he’d seriously dropped the ball. I clenched my hand into a fist and then opened it over and over again, trying to let go of the desire to punch someone.

The elevators finally dinged and Ian stepped out. He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off before he could give me whatever excuse he had.

“What the fuck, Ian? I pay you more than any security guard in the country and you let Isabella walk into my apartment like she owns the place? Where the hell were you?”

“I called you as soon as I got the alert on my phone, James. I tried to warn…”

“But where were you?!”

“You said it was okay to drive Jen yesterday. You said…”

“Yesterday! Not all fucking night!” I stared at him. His hair looked a little askew. And his t-shirt was wrinkled. I knew he’d probably been speeding back here this morning. That explained his appearance. Or…it could be something else. “Is there something going on between you and my sister?”

Ian frowned. “No. Nothing. She asked me for a few rides around town and I was just helping out.”

“All night?”

“Well, she’s going through some stuff and we got to talking. That’s it.”

I really didn’t want to hear about this.

I couldn’t deal with whatever drama Jen was having with whatever new idiot boyfriend she had.

I had real fucking problems. But I also really needed to know.

Because if Ian’s head was somewhere else, I obviously couldn’t rely on him.

“Ian, if you’re sleeping with my sister I need you to be honest with me. Right now.”

“I’m not fucking Jen.” He looked a little horrified by what he’d just said. “I mean sleeping with. I’m not. This is coming out wrong. I meant I’m not making love to her. Fuck, I’m not doing any of that, James.”

I laughed. Because this weirdly reminded me of talking to Penny’s dad.

Ian smiled too. “I’m not,” he said.

“Good.”

He nodded. “Good then.”

I sighed. “But what the fuck, man? Isabella broke into my apartment…”

“And I tried to call you several times.”

“My phone was on silent. You calling from hours away wasn’t helpful. Isabella did exactly what you’re supposed to prevent. You were supposed to be here.”

“I’m sorry.”

I took a deep breath. I didn’t need to keep beating this point over his head. He knew he’d fucked up. I sat down on the couch. “It’s just a fucking mess. Before I woke up she told Penny God knows what.”

“Well then look,” Ian said. He pulled out his phone and sat down next to me. “If that’s what you’re actually upset about…”

“No, I’m pretty damn pissed at you too.”

He shrugged. “Well, let’s just see the footage okay?”

Oh. Right. I nodded. I’d been full of this panic and rage that I hadn’t been thinking clearly. Of course I could see what the two of them spoke about. I stared down at the video on Ian’s phone.

Isabella had been sitting alone in my dining room for a long time by herself.

Sitting there so still it barely even looked like she was breathing.

The smile on her face looked like it was glued on.

Nothing about her looked real. Like if she turned her head, her neck might crack.

And it was the first time in a long time that staring at her reminded me of the way she’d been in high school.

But the weirdest part about her sitting there so still was that she was staring directly at the camera. Like she knew it was there. And I didn’t like that at all.

“It looks like she knows about the cameras,” I said.

Ian shook his head. “That’s not possible.”

I knew that. And he knew that. But we both stared at her staring.

“I’ll change the passwords just in case,” he said.

I nodded. That would give me piece of mind.

The tape showed Penny finally emerging out of my bedroom. At first, she didn’t notice Isabella. But then Isabella cleared her throat.

"How did you get in here?" Penny’s voice was barely a whisper. She looked terrified. Did she know who it was sitting there? Probably. She’d looked up pictures of Isabella online.

"I'm his wife."

Well, if Penny wasn’t aware, she was now. I couldn’t think about a more awkward situation. What a fucking mess.

Penny tugged on the hem of the t-shirt she was wearing. It was one of mine. And I could tell how uncomfortable she was. This was exactly the feeling she told me she wanted to avoid. She finally opened her mouth. "I..."

"Don't embarrass yourself. I know all about you, Penny. I like to keep track of who my husband is currently screwing."

Penny glanced at the bedroom door, probably hoping I’d wake the fuck up too. I wish I had.

Isabella pulled a manila envelope out of her purse and set it on the table. "Don't flatter yourself. James definitely didn't mention you the last time I saw him. He was occupied by other, more pressing matters."

Oh fuck you, Isabella.

Penny didn’t say a word.

"Oh, did he not tell you? You were together at the time, weren't you?

It was only a week ago." She put her elbows on the table.

"I know exactly how he works. I know exactly what he wants.

And clearly you can't give him what he needs.

If you could satisfy him, he wouldn't have come crawling back to me. "

"He did tell me."

"So let me guess," Isabella said, ignoring Penny’s comment. "You've given him quite the chase. Or is the fact that you're a student enough?"

"What do you mean?"

"He only wants what he can't have. You must see that. As soon as you say you'll stay, he'll leave you."

That wasn’t true. Okay, fine. Maybe it used to be true. I loved the chase. But my life was different now. I was different now. And I wasn’t fucking going anywhere.

But Penny had nothing to say to that. Isabella’s lies were manipulating Penny. Just like Isabella’s lies in the tabloids had. And I hated witnessing this shit.

"You do see it,” Isabella said. “I can see it in your eyes. You just realized that this..." she waved her hand around the apartment, "...is all a lie."

"I don't think you know him as well as you think."

Isabella leaned forward and raised her eyebrow. "Is that what he told you?"

"He didn't need to."

"I've known him since we were kids. I know him better than you ever will. And if you'll excuse me, I need to talk to my husband in private." She stood up.

"I think you should go,” Penny said.

That’s my girl. One of the reasons why I loved her. She was shy and sweet until suddenly she was fiery as anything.

Isabella laughed. "Penny, I'm doing you a favor. Trust me, you don't want anything to do with him."

"If he's as bad as you say, then why haven't you signed the papers?"

Isabella put her hand on top of the manila envelope. "I'm actually here to discuss that."

Penny just stared at the envelope.

"You look relieved. You shouldn't be. I can tell that you're just as addicted to him as he is to you. That would be sweet in any other situation, but not in this one."

Oh, fucking hell.

"What are you talking about?" Penny asked.

"He really hasn't told you?"

Why was Isabella such a bitch?

"Told me what?" Penny asked.

This was about what I’d expected. I was ready to come clean tonight to Penny. But this guaranteed it. This was what Penny had been asking me once Isabella left.

"I think you already know,” Isabella said. “You just don't want to believe it. Besides, James is bad at hiding his shortcomings."

"We love each other. That's all that matters."

Damn right.

"How old are you, Penny?"

I shook my head. Isabella already knew the answer to this. She was just being a bitch.

"Right. You're young. You don't know what love is. Have you ever even been in a serious relationship before? Can you even tell when someone is lying to you?"

"He's not lying to me."

"Withholding information is just as bad as lying. It's something that you should know. You did that to him, did you not?"

How the hell does Isabella know all this?

Penny glanced at the bedroom door again. Begging me to wake the fuck up. “If James didn't talk to you about me..."

"He has his sources and I have mine," Isabella said, cutting Penny off. "So how about you get to class. What I need to discuss with him is none of your business."

"It is my business."

Isabella sighed. "Remember that I tried to warn you. But fine, we'll do this your way. "James!" she called. "James, get the hell up!"

I hit the pause button on the video. “That’s enough.”

“I kinda want to see the rest,” Ian said.

I glared at him.

He cleared his throat and shoved his phone back into his pocket. “Well…tell me happened after that then. I’ll help you come up with a solution.”

“You’ll help me like you helped me keep Isabella out of my apartment?”

“Take it out on me all you want. But you were going to have to tell Penny the truth about your past eventually.”

I sighed, leaned back on the couch, and stared up at the ceiling. “Isabella signed the divorce papers.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“So shouldn’t we be celebrating?”

“I don’t know.” I turned back to him. “I thought I’d feel relieved once it was over.

But all I can feel is this dread in my stomach.

Penny wants to know what I’ve been hiding from her.

I told her I’d tell her everything tonight.

Isabella signing the papers should have made today one of the best days of my life. But tonight could make it the worst.”