Chapter 11
1074 Words
William
The second Bella walked away, the atmosphere in the private room changed completely. The tension she left behind clung to the walls heavily, suffocating almost, and for a moment, nobody spoke.
I stared at the doorway she had disappeared through, my jaw tightening slightly. If I hadn't been here to witness it all, then I would have been able to convince myself that I was overthinking things, or maybe even hallucinating.
Like the whole ordeal wasn't pleasant enough, something about the look in her eyes before she left unsettled me deeply.
It wasn't anger, but it wasn't sadness either. This one had been worse. She looked cold and detached, like she had finally stopped caring.
“William?” Elisa’s soft voice finally broke through my thoughts.
I blinked once and turned toward her. She still stood near the table, her brows furrowed with concern while the others shifted awkwardly around us.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “Did I upset Bella somehow? I didn't mean to. I was just …”
I didn't let her finish as I shook my head, gently cutting her off.
“No.” I exhaled slowly, forcing myself to relax. “This isn’t your fault.”
And it wasn’t. Bella had always been sensitive whenever it came to comments from other people. Usually, she stayed quiet and avoided conflict, but today, today had been different, and I had no idea why.
“She’ll calm down,” I said finally, more to myself than anyone else. “I’ll talk to her later.”
The words comforting enough, but Elisa still looked uncertain.
“But she seemed really hurt,” she murmured softly. “Are you sure? Maybe I should go apologize…”
Before I could answer, Jason let out an awkward sigh from across the table.
“Well…” He leaned back slightly. “To be fair, Bella’s got a pretty serious temper, and it's not nice.”
A few people laughed quietly under their breath, but it wasn't all that funny.
“Jason.”I frowned faintly. “Don't say that.”
“What?” He lifted both hands defensively. “I’m just saying. We were joking around and suddenly she storms in looking ready to kill somebody. And she was eavesdropping too, was that right on her path as well?”
“She overreacted a little,” someone else muttered.
“Exactly.” another person chimed in and this time, I stayed silent as the conversation continued around me.
Normally, Bella ignored comments like that. After that accident, she'd grown s tough skin and said it made no sense to respond to people like that. She hated causing scenes, which was why tonight caught me off guard too.
Still, the memory of her pulling away from me earlier flashed through my mind again. I remembered how sharp it was, more like a reflex action, and the rejection? That had to be the worst of it all.
Something about it sat wrong in my chest.
Elisa glanced toward me before speaking carefully.
“They weren’t trying to insult her,” she said softly. “Everyone was only worried about you.”
“Exactly, she gets it.” Jason nodded immediately. “That’s true.”
“You’ve done a lot for Bella,” another person added. “Honestly, without you, would she even be sitting in that position now?”
I frowned slightly at that, not because I necessarily disagreed, but because the wording sounded harsher than intended. I had made some sacrifices for Bella, but s part of me actually thought she'd done the same too.
Still, before I could say anything, Elisa spoke again quickly.
“They didn’t mean to criticize her,” she said. “Everyone just cares about you.”
I rubbed a hand slowly across my jaw before finally reaching for my phone.
For some reason, unease continued pressing at the back of my mind so I dialed home almost immediately.
The call connected after two rings.
“Hello sir?” Lina answered politely.
“Has Bella returned yet?” I asked and there was a brief pause before she answered.
“No, sir.” Her voice was low. “The Luna hasn’t come back yet.”
“What?” My brows pulled together instantly. “She’s not home?”
“No.” A strange feeling settled heavily in my chest after that. Bella rarely went anywhere alone, especially after getting upset. Her one stop was usually to be curled up in a ball in our room, so what had changed this time?
“Alright,” I muttered quietly before ending the call.
“She’ll be fine,” Jason noticed my expression immediately as he said casually. “Where else would she go?”
I didn’t answer right away..Instead, I pulled up Bella’s contact and pressed call.
The phone rang once, then the call disconnected.
I stared at the screen briefly before calling again and this time, she declined it almost immediately.
My frown deepened.
“She hung up on you?” Jason looked surprised.
“That’s new,” someone muttered.
I ignored them and tried calling again, but it was declined, again. A small flicker of irritation mixed with concern inside me.
Bella had never ignored my calls before, not once. So why now?
“She’s definitely angry,” Elisa said carefully while I exhaled sharply and slipped the phone back into my pocket.
“She just needs space,” I said finally, but even so, something still felt off. Bella was emotional sometimes, yes, but she always came back eventually.
Always, because no matter what happened between us, she still loved me, and besides, where else could she possibly go?
“Don't think too much about it, man.” Jason echoed again as I took my seat next to Elisa. She gave me another small smile,one I just had to return. “She'll be fine. It's Bella. She'll definitely come around.”
“She's just throwing a fit.” Another person chimed, and this time, another round of laughter spread around us. “You know how women are.”
Their words settled in my mind then, and I realized, they were right.
Bella had built her entire life around me and I knew her better than anyone. She would cool down, return home, and tomorrow, we would talk properly, then everything would go back to normal.
Yes, that was it.
- Writer
