I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, calming myself down, counting to ten, just like Lance had taught me.
"Sweetheart, you okay?" Adam turned towards me and I nodded at him then glanced at the man in front of me, causing Adam to look at him as well.
He understood something was wrong, and held out his hand towards him.
"Adam Thorne, and you are?" He asked, a cold expression on his face.
"Michael Woods. So good to finally meet you." He said sarcastically then looked at me.
"Isabelle, wow..." He looked me up and down, making me uncomfortable.
"You look beautiful, as always..." He said looking at my eyes finally.
I won't let him break me. He can't affect me, I told myself, and I looked into his eyes confidently, burning inside.
"Are you with him?" He asked, pointing towards Adam and I nodded.
"What relationship do you have with him?"
"That's none of your business." I replied, and Adam gave my hand a gentle squeeze.
"How do you know her Mike?" Milani finally spoke.
"Ah, what can I say. I have some amazing memories of my dear Isabelle." He looked at me, then Adam who had his jaw clenched.
"She's used to be my girlfriend, remember Milani, I used to talk about her all the time?" He asked her, and Milani smirked at Adam, a knowing look in her eyes.
"Oh yes, the one you dated last year. I thought I recognized her blue eyes." She said, looking at me and noticing how uncomfortable I was right now.
Adam Looked at me and noticed my glossy eyes, then tugged at my hand.
"Come on, love." He said to me, kissing me on the cheek, and we turned around when Michael's hand came forward to get a hold of my arm but Adam caught it mid way.
"If you'll excuse us, I have to introduce my girlfriend, to some very important people and we're running late as it is." He said through clenched teeth and shoved his hand away, leading me away from them.
Michael started to follow us and called my name, but when I looked back, Lance, Arthur and Tristan blocked his way, and I stopped in my tracks.
"Turn around Woods, or you'll regret it later." Lance threatened him.
"Come on guys, I just want to talk to Belle." Michael said, smiling nervously.
"I think you've done quite enough, so it would be better if you went back where you came from." Arthur hissed at him and Michael took a last glance at me, then them and went back to Milani.
I suddenly felt really dizzy but Adam held my arm, supporting me.
"Come on love." He whispered to me and led me out of the party towards his car, only to see Michael resting against its hood and smiling at us.
Creep.
"The lovely couple is leaving so soon. Stay for a while, Belle, let's catch up. We have so much to talk about." He came closer to me and I hid behind Adam on instinct.
"I'd suggest you stay away from her if you know what's good for you." He warned him, stopping Michael in his tracks, when I felt someone touch my shoulder and I turned around suddenly, but relaxed when I saw Lance, looking at me concerned.
"It's alright love, it's gonna be okay. Calm down." He came forward and hugged me, relaxing me a little before letting me go and looking at Adam thoughtfully.
"Take her home." He said to him, who nodded in response.
"I'll deal with this scumbag myself." He said looking at Michael then at me, watching as I left with Adam, who opened the door for me and helped me in. Taking a last look at Lance, the car drove away, leaving him behind with Michael.
I felt hot tears running down my cheeks, and I quickly wiped them away, but Adam noticed and handed me a napkin.
"It's going to be alright, sweetheart. Don't worry." He held my hand and drew circles in my palm, letting me relax, and I didn't know when my tears stopped falling because I fell asleep the next minute.
* * *
I woke the next morning wit a slight headache, and looked around to see myself in my room, covered in sweat.
Someone brought me to my room, I thought, and remembered falling asleep in Adam's car.
It must've been him, and my thoughts were confirmed when I saw a note on my bedside table.
'Take some medicine when you wake up and don't work today, just rest for the day. I'll see you tomorrow.- Adam'
The note smelled like him, I thought, putting it back. I looked around and saw a rose on my table as well.
Where did he get this from? I thought to myself, picking it up and smelling it. I loved roses, especially red ones.
Just then I heard a knock on the door and looked up to see Lance coming in, still in his sweatpants and t-shirt.
"How are we feeling love?" He asked me, his eyes full of concern as he gave me a small smile, but it disappeared when a tear made its way down my cheek, followed by a few more.
Lance and Taylor were with me when Michael left me heartbroken. They were there with me every step of the way until Lance had to go to England, but he still called everyday to check on me, and Taylor used to visit every other day to help me move on from that asshole.
"I'm going to kill that bastard." He grunted and hugged me, patting my back.
"It's going to be okay love, I'm right here with you." This made me calm down and I pulled away from him after a while, wiping my tears.
"Come on, why don't you freshen up and join us for breakfast downstairs?" He asked.
"I'm not hungry." I told him and looked away.
"Come on B, for me?" He looked at me with puppy eyes, making me smile and nod my head at him causing him to laugh.
"Come on, I'll stay home with you today, okay?" He said, still smiling.
"No, you should go to work. Don't take off for me. I'm fine, really." I told him.
"Okay, but then I'll call Taylor and she'll come here, okay?" He said and I nodded my head, still distracted. He glanced at the rose and the note in my hand, and sighed.
"About last night, with... Adam..." I started to speak but he held up his hand and shook his head.
"Not now Belle, we have other things to worry about at the moment. We'll talk about this later." He told me and I nodded my head, watching him rise from the bed and leave my room silently.
This isn't going to go well...
I can only imagine the glares he and Adam are going to share in the office today.
Pushing my thoughts away I got up and took a nice warm bath, longer than usual, until I felt more relaxed, then changed my clothes and stayed in my room the rest of the day, reading or listening to music.
The sun was setting when I heard a soft knock on my door, and looking up from my book, I saw Taylor come in with a small smile on her face.
"Hey." She said softly and hugged me.
"You okay?" She asked me concerned, pulling away and I nodded my head, giving her a small smile, but already feeling tears prickling at the corners of my eyes.
"No." I whispered and felt a tear fall down, then another, and another. She wiped my tears and hugged me again.
"Hush now, it's going to be okay. I'm gonna kill him for you if he shows his face again. Okay?" She said firmly.
I nodded, chuckling a bit, already calming down and wiping my tears with the back of my hands. Taylor always knew how to calm me down and lighten my mood.
I was very grateful to her for helping me come out of my dark place and looking out for me all the time. She was a year older than me, but still acted like my mother.
"Look what I got you." She gave me a box of cupcakes - my favorite ones.
"I'm not really hungry." I said.
"So I've heard... Mr. Baker told me you haven't eaten anything since yesterday. When was the last time you ate?" She asked me, her eyes full of worry.
"I...I don't remember. I had lunch yesterday, I guess. Then we went to the party and I had a small snack there and a few drinks." I told her honestly and she just sighed deeply.
"B, listen to me. Whatever happened between you and... you know who, it's all in the past. You can't let him affect you because it's all done now, it's gone and it won't come back, okay?" She made me look up and I nodded, knowing full well she was right.
She always was.
"Now look at you, your eyes are red and you look like you haven't eaten anything for days." She opened the box and took out a cupcake.
"Come on, eat it." She gave it to me, and took one for herself and took a bite, telling me to do the same. I ate the cupcake, rather slowly, thinking of everything that happened, when a knock on my door drew me out of my thoughts, and Mr. Baker came in, carrying a bouquet of roses.
Red roses.
"Ms. Edward, someone came and dropped these for you saying they were from Mr. Thorne." He said and put them on the table beside me and left.
"Wow, they're so beautiful. Look Bee, there's a card here too." Taylor handed me the pristine white card and I noticed something written on it.
"Saw these on the way to work and they reminded me of you. I hope I can see you again soon when you feel better. - Adam."
I read the card aloud with a slight blush on my face, a smile tugging at my lips as I looked at Taylor's awestruck face.
"Wow, he really knows how to impress a woman. I think he's got a thing for you B." She looked at me smiling and I smiled even wider, a real one, looking at the flowers and the note, making my heart flutter with happiness.
"Yeah, this is so nice of him." I thought, still smiling and then remembered last night at the party.
"Shit!" I gasped and put my hand on my mouth.
"Why? What's wrong?" Taylor asked, suddenly confused.
"I...I kissed him... I kissed Adam Fucking Thorne!"
* * *
It was only a fake kiss, right? Adam seems to have a new side to him... But why is he so afraid to show it?
Keep reading on to find out!
Question of the Day: What is your favorite flower?
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