"Belle?" Arthur looked at me with a huge smile on his face before walking up to me and pulling me into a bear hug.
"Can't-... Breathe..." I mumbled against his chest when he loosened his grip on me as I put a hand on my chest to calm myself.
"The hell Art! Are you trying to kill me?" I looked at him when he fake-gasped.
"I would never!" He said feigning hurt when I rolled my eyes.
"Idiot." I mumbled but he heard me and hugged me again, thankfully not choking me.
"I missed you too baby sis." He cooed when I pushed him away with a small smile playing on my lips.
"Come on, Tristan's this way with Lance." He said and grabbed my hand, leading me towards a meeting room where everyone was.
"Nice to see you again sweetheart." Lance came and hugged me, planting a kiss on the top of my head and I smiled at him, making eye contact with Tristan who was standing behind him and was beaming.
"Hey Tris." I hugged my brother who kissed my forehead and wrapped his arms around me.
"It's so good to see you. I missed you so much." He said sighing when I pulled away.
"I did too." I said, my eyes wandering when they landed on my dad who was talking to... Adam's dad?
"Dad?" I said confused when both men's heads turned to me, my own father beaming when he opened his arms and walked up to me, effectively pulling me into a big hug.
"Oh my sweet, sweet girl." He said when I kissed his cheek, relishing in the warmth of his embrace.
"How have you been?" I asked him when we pulled away and he smiled.
"I've been better, but I'm fine. Although I really miss our game nights." He said with a sigh and I nodded.
"Me too dad." I said when he smiled.
"And how are you? How's Adam treating you? Did he hurt you? Tell me and I'll give him an ass whooping." He said threateningly, making me and my brothers laugh as I shook my head.
"I don't think you need to do that dad. I'm happy. Really happy. And Adam's absolutely amazing. He takes care of me a lot and makes me feel safe and protected." I reassured my dad who seemed to be satisfied with my answer.
"Good. Because you, my sweet girl, deserve the best." He said giving my hand a gentle squeeze when suddenly I was hugged from behind.
"Guess who it is." The deep voice came, making me roll my eyes as I turned around in the man's arms to come face to face with my nemesis.
I know I'm being dramatic.
"Gareth." I acknowledged him, keeping my face void of any emotion and he did the same, his cold eyes giving me a once over before his lips pulled up into a sinister smirk.
"Isabelle." He mocked me, both of us staring at each other with such coldness before his lip twitched, making us both burst into a fit of laughter.
"Oh my god, you should've seen your face. You were giving me all those crazy boss lady and cold CEO vibes." Gareth said wiping a fake tear from his eyes as my brothers rolled their eyes at our antics, a habit Gareth and I had since we were kids.
A classic, I tell you.
"And yet after all those years of practice, you couldn't pull off the face and like always, end up looking like a clown." I stated and saw him roll his eyes before I was pulled into his arms.
"Yeah, yeah. We both know you love me too much." He said, making me smile into his chest as I hugged him back when a throat was cleared behind me, effectively pulling us apart.
"Oh, hey Adam, long time no see. When was the last time we saw each other? Oh yeah, when you found Belle and me asleep on the couch together, remember B?" Gareth mused innocently, looking between me and Adam with amusement dancing in his eyes.
Adam pinned Gareth down with a cold glare while I chuckled at the two of them and Gareth's attempt at making Adam jealous.
Idiot.
"Stop it Gare." I playfully scowled at him, causing his smirk to widen as he placed a chaste kiss on my cheeks, winking at Adam before sauntering off to god knows where.
"Trust Gareth to ruin relationships." Arthur chimed in, earning a chuckle from all of us as Adam's dad came towards me.
"Isabelle dear, good to see you again." He said giving me a quick hug.
"You too Mr. Thorne." I said giving him a smile when he nodded.
"And I see you've been keeping my son in line. Has he been bothering you?" He asked with a teasing smile as I glanced at Adam, a calculating gaze on his face when I grinned at the two men.
"Not at all, but I'll let you know when he does." I gave him a sly smile, hearing Adam's scoff as I watched him folding his arms across his chest from the corner of my eye.
"Good." His father beamed, pulling my dad with him to talk business, most probably.
"So why are yo all here?" I turned to my brothers, raising an eyebrow at them in curiosity.
"To fix the problem." Tristan said.
"And you?" I pointed at Gareth who smirked.
"I'm head of security, baby." He said, making me roll my eyes as a smile pulled on my lips.
"Well, I've got work to catch up on so I'll see you later, yeah?" I asked the four men who nodded simultaneously.
"Sure. Have fun." Lance said before he was called along with Arthur and Gareth by someone.
Tristan gave me a small wave before going towards dad. I finally brought my gaze towards Adam who was still watching me closely.
"And what are you looking at?" I asked him when he raised an eyebrow at me.
"My girlfriend." He said with such confidence, my grin growing wider as I shook my head and walked closer to him, watching as he balled his hands into fists and his jaw clenched.
Glad to know of the effect I have on him.
"Right. And how's everything going? Did you solve the problem?" I asked, standing hardly a foot away from him when he blew out a frustrated breath and shook his head.
"No. Still working on it. No luck as of yet." He said, making me frown.
"Don't worry Adam, I know you'll figure everything out." I said reassuring him when he sent a faint smile my way.
"Thank you my love, it means more than you know to hearing you say that to me." He said gratefully while I gave him a smile, both of us standing awkwardly.
"I'll be going now. I'll see you later." I waved at him a bit before walking off when I saw him nod once, heading towards the floor below because I needed some designs from there.
"Belle!" I heard my name being called and turned around, watching as Liam and Emma walk over to me with smiles on their faces.
"Hey guys." I hugged them both.
"Hey, long time no see. How are you?" Emma asked me.
"I'm good." I answered and looked at Liam.
"And how about you? How are you holding up with the recent crisis?" I asked, recalling how I'd seen him running around with files the other day.
"Eh, it's been tough, but obviously, I mean, it was a huge loss and it's really heard to find out who the culprit is." He said and I nodded.
"Where are you headed?" Emma asked me with a smile as I pointed towards the newly acquired designs in my hand.
"Just got these from here, I've got to work on them." I said and she nodded in understanding.
"Well you can join us in the cafeteria and work there if you'd like." Liam offered with a kind smile and I nodded eagerly.
"That sounds nice, sure." I said and we all walked towards the cafeteria, which looked less crowded and more empty than usual.
"It's not our lunch break yet so that's why it's so quiet." Emma pointed out when she noticed me looking around.
"Oh. And are the others here too?" I inquired when she nodded, gesturing towards a far off table near the windows where a group of people sat. We walked over to them, their faces brightening once they saw me.
"Hey Belle, long time no see." Jose said shaking my hand and Ayla gave me a hug.
"Yeah, it's been a while." I said as I settled on a seat between Liam and Ayla, shaking hands with Dave as well.
We started catching up while we worked on our laptops, occasionally talking in between and laughing with each other.
"And then he goes 'get out'." Liam says, trying his best to impersonate Adam from the other day and we all laugh at him.
"It was both a lovely and fearful sight." He said sighing when I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Lovely and fearful? How so?" I asked him when he shook his head with a grin.
"I meant that it was scary to watch him explode like that all of a sudden, and especially when he snapped at us to get out. But it was lovely because you guys looked so cozy and adorable with each other." He said, making me blush.
"And she's blushing too!" Ayla exclaimed as I swatted her accusing finger away with a laugh.
"Isabelle!" I heard the loud voice ring out through the cafeteria and all of us froze in our places, our smiles dropping as the people in the cafeteria looked around and settled their gazes on our table. More specifically, me.
Here we go again.
I sighed and got up from my seat as a familiar pair of footsteps padded on the marble floors furiously before stopping right behind me.
"Yes, Adam?" I asked stepping closer to him, frowning when I saw his furious eyes, his hard expression and his clenched jaw, his fists clenched shut and a vein nearly popping on his forehead.
"Adam? Are you okay?" I asked softly, getting closer to him when he released a shaky breath and pulled his arms out, reaching for me and in the next moment I was engulfed in his warm embrace.
"Oof!" I exclaimed as I landed on his chest, his arms wrapping around my waist possessively and tightly while he buried his face in my hair, taking a deep breath before exhaling shakily.
"Adam?" I called out to him, but he didn't reply and only kissed the top of my head.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for barging in here like that but I just... I just had to see you. I had to touch you." He muttered as I slowly wrapped my arms around his neck and sighed.
"It's okay." I whispered, running my hands through his hair when he nuzzled his face in my neck, leaving a kiss there before moving to my ear.
"I love you baby, so much. You know that right? That I love you?" He whispered nervously, my heart beating faster suddenly and a creepy smile forming on my lips as I kissed his cheek and pulled away to look into his eyes.
"I know, I know you do." I said and pecked his lips before turning around in his arms to face my friends with an apologetic smile on my face.
"I'm really sorry guys but..." I trailed off, watching Adam who looked completely out of it while my friends nodded in understanding.
"It's okay Belle. Do come again soon." Emma said standing up and I nodded.
"I will. Bye guys." I waved to the people in front of me before taking Adam's hand and leading him out of the cafeteria and into a secluded corner.
"Adam? Adam, sweetheart, look at me." I cradled his face in my hands when he finally looked into my eyes.
"Are you okay? What happened?" I asked him worriedly, placing a hand on his forehead and flinching slightly when I felt how warm he was.
"Adam, you're burning up. Have you eaten anything?" I asked but he shook his head.
"Okay, well, let's get you home, yes?" I asked when he frowned.
"But I have work to do here." He said, his voice coming out weak when I sighed.
"I'll tell Lucas to take care of it with Lance, okay? We need to get you home sweetheart." I said and dragged him outside after calling Carter who said he was already out.
"Where to Miss Belle?" Carter asked me as I strapped Adam's seat belt.
"Home, please." I said, watching as he nodded before driving, my hand joined with Adam's as he slowly intertwined our fingers, holding our hands up and kissed mine sweetly.
"Home?" Adam asked me and I nodded with a smile.
Let's go back home.