Chapter 3
Isabella, being a Montes, was used to getting whatever she wanted. She only had to snap her fingers before someone appeared with every kind of drink imaginable in my apartment.
We sat across from each other at the dining table.
Maybe it was my imagination, but Isabella seemed to be thoroughly surveying my place.
Finally, she casually opened a bottle of red wine.
“Cheers to your newfound single status.”
I paused, then realized that with Isabella’s connections, finding out about my divorce would have been ridiculously easy.
Still, her behavior was a little out of character.
Was she scheming something?
Especially with those eyes of hers, full of a mischievous glint that practically screamed she had something up her sleeve.
Just then, the doorbell rang again.
I frowned. I had just moved in, and hardly anyone knew where I lived. Why were there so many visitors already?
I opened the door and found Saraphina Dubois standing there.
For some reason, her eyes were red.
She reached out as if to grab me.
“Alex Thorne, come back with me.”
I didn’t understand what was going on. Instinctively, I stepped back and avoided her touch.
“We’re divorced, Sarah. You shouldn’t be grabbing me like that. We need boundaries.”
Saraphina clenched her jaw.
“I know. But I have no choice. My grandfather is sick. He’s in the ICU. He always liked you the most. Please, I’m begging you. Go see him. It might help him recover.”
Mr. Dubois had always been kind to me. In fact, our marriage had happened largely because of his efforts.
But according to the original plot, he wasn’t supposed to get sick at this point.
What was happening?
Could it be that the news of my divorce from Saraphina had upset him?
Saraphina seemed to guess what I was thinking and nodded heavily.
“Yes. It’s exactly what you’re thinking. But no matter what, just come with me now.”
I hesitated.
On one hand, I didn’t want any more ties to my ex-wife.
On the other hand, I didn’t want to disregard an old man’s kindness.
Before I could respond, Isabella appeared behind me. Without a word, she wrapped her arm around mine and playfully nudged me.
Then, as if deliberately staking her claim, she said, “Saraphina, you’re divorced from Alex now. Is it really appropriate to be clinging to him like this?”
Alex.
The way she said my name was a little too intimate, wasn’t it?
Before I could react, Saraphina noticed Isabella, and her beautiful face instantly darkened.
“You, Isabella Montes? Why are you with Alex Thorne? And why are you being so intimate?”
Saraphina clearly couldn’t make sense of it. This man she had always looked down on seemed to have undergone some drastic transformation.
Isabella kept provoking her, boldly tracing circles on my chest.
“Why, a man and a woman alone in an apartment, having a candlelit dinner late at night? What do you think, Saraphina?”
Saraphina looked as if she had been struck by lightning.
She froze, utterly stunned, then turned and stumbled away.
Devastated.