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The worst part about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies.
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--Isabella--
2 weeks later
I started going to school and coped up with all the classes I had missed. The first three days were really awkward since everyone gave me weird looks. Really weird looks! I didn't see Evan since I came to school. People said that he got transferred to London. Some said he committed suicide (which really got me) while some said he is in jail.
Personally, I don't want him to blame himself completely. He was not the only one to be blamed.
Dave skipped a few classes because he was getting tangled up in office works. When he was not there, I talked to Steve. Him and I have become really close friends. He keeps making me laugh. I found out that we have a lot of things in common. Apparently his dad died in a car accident too and he misses him a lot. We basically went through the same phase. Except that mine was much more worse.
Of-course, whenever I talked about him or talked to him in front of Dave, he frowned and said nothing. He said that he still gets really bad vibes from him.
Today was the shopping day for us so I just wore a casual outfit.
Juliana was extremely excited to go shopping with me. I wanted to do was cuddle up with Dave but he had an important meeting today regarding the project he had been working on for so long. Juliana and I got back from shopping around 1. There were still decoration work going on in the house.
The party was going to be held tonight and I definitely didn't know how I would face such a big crowd judging from the the fact that I am an awkward potato.
I went inside my room and saw Dave already sitting there, waiting for me. He came up to me and kissed me.
"When did you come back?"
"Just now. The meeting got over early." he said and hugged me.
"How did the meeting go?"
"We will talk about that later but first, you tell me, how was your day?" he asked once he pulled back. He sat on the bed and I put his head on my lap. He played with my hair while I played with my nails.
"It was great. Every thing becomes hundred times more fun with Juliana."
"Wow. You make me look boring. Do you not have fun with me?" he said and narrowed his eyes.
"Of-course I do. Will you stop being jealous of your mom!" I said and laughed.
My boyfriend is so possessive.
"Whatever. I love you though." He said and kissed my cheek. I pulled him towards me and kissed his cheeks.
I don't know how long we stayed like that.
He looked at his watch and groaned.
"Ugh. It's 6:00 already. Guests will start coming at 7:00. I don't even want to get up." I gasped.
"It's 6 already? Dave, I told you tell me when the clock hits 5. You are such an ass-hat." I rambled and started to get off his lap but then he pulled me back.
"Do you have to get ready. You can just go down like this. You will still look beautiful."
"Yeah right. I am not like you Dave, that whatever I wear, I will look amazingly hot."
"Did you just-"
"Not now Dave!" I was so not ready to be teased right now. I shouldn't have boosted up his ego at all in the first place.
"Okay fine. But you have to spend the whole night with me as compensation. Deal?"
"Deal. And by the way, there is lipstick on your cheeks. Rub it off." I said, before heading towards the door.
He touched it and then smiled. "It's okay. It's lucky for me." he said and shrugged.
My heart melted. "Where do you find all these lines from? Such a cringe."
"What? It's so romantic. Its one way to tell all the clingy girls out there that I am committed." He said as he placed his lips on mine.
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I wore my gown and applied light makeup. After curling my hair ends I finally exited my room and went down.
I could see a small crowd of people and a few couples entering in fancy looking dresses. I searched for Dave but to no avail. Juliana saw me and came towards me, grinning.
She squealed inaudibly and held my hands.
"You look so pretty. I knew this dress would look pretty on you. You look gorgeous, sweet heart." I just smiled.
"Thank you for this dress-"
"Oh hush. I am going to buy many more dresses for you. Why didn't you call me? I wanted to do your makeup." She pouted.
"Oh, I didn't know you wanted to do it. Sorry." She sighed.
"It's okay. You are forgiven. But I will do your makeup next time and on your wedding too." I blushed.
Why the hell am I blushing?
"Aw. Look at the way you are blushing." she said and places a light kiss on my left cheeks."
"It's still too soon to think about the w-wedding, Juliana." Gosh, I can't even say the word wedding without stuttering. What are the chances of me falling at the alter?
"No. It's not. Okay, let's bet. If you agree to marry within 2 years, then you will do bungee jumping with me. And if you don't, then I will do bungee jumping with you. Yeah?"
"What? That deal isn't even fair." We were still arguing when Dave interrupted.
"Damn. Someone is grabbing everyone's attention tonight." He said to me and kissed my cheeks.
"You look gorgeous, kitten" he said to me. Before I could say anything.
"Uh-huh. Thank you so much. I know that I look beautiful." Juliana said. Dave laughed and hugged her.
"You are the most beautiful in my eyes, mom. Always."
"Aw. Okay, you guys enjoy. I will find my husband and get some compliments too." she turned on her heels and disappeared into the crowd. I looked at Dave and wiggled my eyebrows.
"Are you fine?" he said with concern filled eyes. Yeah, he knows how much of an awkward person I am.
"As long as you are with me."
"I will always be by your side. Whether it is this party or life."
The event continued and after an hour, Daniel got on the stage.
"Attention everyone." We all looked towards the front.
"I hope you guys are enjoying the party so far. I express my heartfelt thanks to each one of you who joined us tonight to be a part of our happiness. Its an an honor to have you all before us. We arranged this party for two reasons. First reason being my one and only son. I want to declare that he will be taking over the company very soon and he earned his first million dollar. And due to his project, The Simpsons have decided to collaborate with our company." The whole crowd cheered for Dave and congratulated him. He just stood beside me and smiled at everyone when they looked at us.
"Oh my god. Congratulations. Why didn't you tell me before?" I said before hugging him.
"I wanted to give you a surprise. I have another surprise for you."
"Really? What is it?"
"You will get to know." He said. We drew our attention back towards Daniel.
"This was originally a housewarming party for Bella who is living with us as our daughter now. Recently she got into a car accident so we couldn't get a chance to welcome her. So, now that she is back, we decided to arrange this welcome party for her." He said before pulling me towards the center along with him.
Isabella, you have got this! Imagine them as tortoises. Yeah, this should work.
"After we lost Elena, we lost a part of ourselves. But then god gave us this angel to probably fill up those gaps. Nobody can take her space but Bella gives us so much happiness that it makes up for the remorse we had in her heart. We are so lucky to have you in our lives, Bella." he chuckled and then continued. "Especially my asshole of a son. Oh yeah! From that I remember, Bella, now we can bitch about him all we want. I remember promising you, when I came to your house." The crowd of tortoises started laughing but I only had tears in my eyes. I turned towards him and hugged him. It was after a long time that I felt like I was hugging my dad.
I shed a bit more tears before I realized all the tortoises was looking at me. This time it was not one of those stares that creeps the hell out of me. They were all smiling and that gave me the strength to speak up.
I took the mike from Daniel's hand. I wiped my tears and spoke.
"8 years back, I lost my father in an accident. I was shattered but I at least had my mom. But she left me too. The past 7 years of my life had been hell. I thought everyone in my life is meant to leave me so I pushed everyone away before I got too attached to them. That was, until I met Dave. He taught me how to love. I never believed in anybody because I thought all men are like Owen. He made me realize how wrong I was."
"Because of him I have a family today. I am getting so much love from this family. Something I could only imagine in my dreams. I have Daniel, who is like my dad. I have Juliana, who is more than a mother to me. And in the end, I have Dave. My life. My world. If I am standing in front of you tort-people, it's only because they give me the courage to. This perfect life is all I could ask for. And I got it."
I looked at Daniel and then at Juliana. She had tears in her eyes which was trying to hold in.
"Okay, okay. Stop making me cry. I have to hold back tears otherwise my makeup will get spoiled and then I will look like a panda." Juliana said. We all laughed as Dave came and put a hand around my waist.
The music started to play and we all had a dance. Dave held on to my waist and I held his shoulders as we gave in to the music. The lights were dimmed and I rested my head against his shoulders.
"What was the second surprise?"
"Have patience, kitten."
After half an hour, we went to the garden. Apparently, Dave wanted some fresh air. I saw a lady standing in the garden, looking at the moon.
She turned around and started to come towards us as soon as she saw us. She was wearing a beautiful black gown along with a beautiful mask. She came and stood in front of us. She was the same height as me. Glad to know that I ma not the only one short. I looked at Dave who was staring at the lady with a poker face. I looked back and saw tears in her eyes.
"Ma'am? Is something wrong?" she sniffed and then reached the back of her head to remove the mask. As soon as she removed the mask, I gasped and took a step back.
"Mom?" It was a question more to myself, not being able to believe my own eyes.
I placed a hand on my mouth and looked at Dave. "This was your surprise?"
"Yeah." Suddenly all the memories of my childhood came running back. In front of me, stood the woman who had no dignity, no love for her child.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" I shouted.
"Bella-" she said as she came front to hold me but I stepped back.
"Don't you dare touch me. You lost the right to touch me the minute you left me in that devil's hands. Do you know it feels to wait for someone who isn't even going to come back to you? How did you even dare to come back in my life and act as if nothing happened?" I said and sobbed.
"I know I did wrong Bella. But I was compelled to do what I had to-"
"Oh my god! Avery? Is that really you?" I heard Juliana say as she came towards us.
"What happened? Why is everyone crying? Did Tom Holland die?" she asked when she saw me crying.
"How do you know her?" I asked.
"Well, we met in Paris. She was a model there and we met in a fashion event. She showed Daniel and I the whole of Paris"
"Oh! Paris? That's where you escaped to? Wow, you must be living a great life without me. Don't worry. I did too. You must have read the news, right?" I said with sarcasm.
"Wait, what? Holy mother of hippos- She is your mother? Avery? She was the daughter you were talking about?"
My mother just looked down and sobbed. She wiped her tears.
"Please listen to me Bella. I had a reason behind what I did."
"Don't call me Bella. Only my loved ones call me that. Not people who wants to see me suffering." I said.
"How can you say that? I am your mother-"
"A mother who took my twin brother and all my happiness of the world away from me." I shouted. I heard Juliana gasp. I was panting by now and had tears continuously flowing down my cheeks. Dave was holding my arms from behind and consoling me.
"Did you ever think of my dreams? While you were living your luxurious life in Paris, did you ever think about your daughter? Did-"
"I thought about you every single day Bella-"
"I said don't call me that. It's only Isabella, for people like you." I said while gritting my teeth.
"I-Isabella. I went under the state of depression at one point. Owen threatened me that if I don't give you to him, then he would kill all of us. He promised me that he would keep you alive if I go away from his life. So I had-"
"So you decided to run away with my brother? Why didn't you let him kill me? That would have been much better than dying everyday. Every single-" I sobbed and took a deep breath.
"Every single day, I waited on the staircase. I didn't care whether it was a chilly night. I would always get sick because of that and there would be no one to take care of me. I had to cure myself. I used to run away from home in search for you. I went to sleep every night, thinking that the next morning I would see you. I can't believe I did all that for the woman who didn't give a fuck about me but only cared about her son."
"No she didn't" I saw someone's shadow and as it approached towards me I started to realize who it was.
"Steve?"
"No. Zayn. Your brother" He said. He came and held my mother after wiping her tears.
"No. how is that possible? My brother didn't look-"
"I had to do a plastic surgery. Owen appointed a few of his men to beat me up. Mom decided to do a plastic surgery since the condition of my face was really bad. Moreover, Owen's main target was me. So he wouldn't be aware of my new face anywhere. I changed my identity too."
He came forward and hugged me tight. Though I had met him before, it felt like I am seeing him for the first time.
"You are really my brother?" I asked and he chuckled.
"Yeah. I am that same brother of yours who used to annoy the fuck out of you. Who used to pull your hair every time. Who used to miss you every single day of his life when you weren't around him." He pulled me back from the hug and looked into my eyes.
"I know she is to blamed for what happened to you. But he compelled her. He would have killed all of us. She was helpless at that time. I have seen her spend sleepless night. Every single day, she spent blaming herself for what happened. She had cried every night. I blamed her for what she did but I slowly realized that she was not entirely wrong. If you can-"
"If you are going to ask for forgiveness on her behalf then please don't. This shit is more complicated than you think. I cannot forgive her. Never whole-heatedly at least." I looked at my mother and saw her wiping her tears and then smiling at me.
"It's okay. At least you don't sound angry anymore. I can be happy with that. I just wanted to see you smile. I saw how happy you were with Juliana and Daniel. It made me happy too." my mother said and I scoffed.
"Surprised to hear that, mother. Or do you even deserve to-" she ignored the way I behaved and continued-
"Yes, it really made me happy. You got what you deserved. But remember that I will always be your mother no mater what. And I will make up for my mistakes and prove that I love you the most in the world." she said and hugged me.
I didn't hug her back. I removed her hands from around my body, gently and moved back. She looked hurt but, in my eyes, she deserves it. She deserves worse. She immediately got rid of the hurt look and smiled again.
"I will meet you tomorrow evening. Bye bel- Isabella." She looked at Juliana and bid her goodbye. She started to walk off but then fell. She got up, looked around and started to walk off as if nothing happened.
Dave chuckled. "She is just like you."
I glared at him while he suppressed his laugh.
"Wow. This world is so small." Juliana said as she shook her head in disbelief.
"Let's get inside kids. The party is going to get over. After this, we guys can sit and talk." Zayn came with us since I insisted. I wanted to catch upon so many things.
After the party was over, Dave looked a lot more relieved than ever.
"Thank god you are her brother." Dave said.
"Why?" Zayn asked while eating his pudding.
"I felt so insecure when you were around her. Now that you are her brother, I can sleep in peace." Zayn smiled smugly and then pulled me onto his lap.
"Oh really? What if I would have done this when you didn't know we were siblings? What would you have done?"
Dave's eyes widened and he pulled me away from him to make me sit on his lap. "You still can't do that, you fucker. She is mine." Dave said as he held me protectively and kissed my bare neck, all the while looking at him.
I just kept laughing at how tensed up he gets when another man is near me.
We all talked about how we used to irritate each other when we were kids. Soon, it was 11 and Zayn went back home. he told me that it was 15 minutes' drive so he would visit often. After he went home, I said goodnight to Juliana and Daniel. I started to head towards my room before Dave pulled me back.
"Where to?"
"Sleep." I shrugged
"You promised me something. Remember?" I smiled. He picked me up bridal style and led me to his room.
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This chapter is honestly my favorite one.
Isabella's mom^
Love
Samreen💋💋