IV. The Artist.
1271 Words
If paradise had a sound, Bella decided, it was the constant hush of waves pretending nothing complicated had ever happened in human history.
Unfortunately, human history had followed her here.
Specifically in the form of Julian Laurent, leaning against a palm tree at nine in the morning like he had nowhere else in the world to be except exactly where she didn’t want him.
Bella spotted him from across the breakfast terrace. She immediately turned in the opposite direction.
“Running away already?” he called casually.
Several guests glanced over.
Bella forced a smile and pivoted back, walking toward him with the rigid grace of someone approaching a bomb disguised as a person.
“Do you have to announce my movements to the island?” she muttered under her breath when she reached him.
“I just enjoy observing migration patterns,” Julian said. “You’re very seasonal. Mostly seen fleeing.”
“I’m not fleeing. I’m busy.”
“With what? Mentally screaming?”
She shot him a glare that should have burned holes through linen.
Julian looked infuriatingly refreshed — sun-warmed skin, sleeves rolled, sunglasses dangling from his fingers. He looked like vacation had been invented specifically to frame him attractively.
Bella hated that she noticed.
“Don’t you have a yacht to fall off or a staff member to scandalize?” she asked.
“Already did both. It’s barely noon.”
She tried not to laugh.
That was the problem. He made everything feel like a private joke she was unwillingly part of.
“You promised to stay away from me,” she said quietly.
“No,” he corrected. “You told me to. Big difference.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it.
Infuriating man.
“Relax,” he added, softer now. “I’m not here to ruin your wedding.”
“You’re doing a great job anyway.”
His eyes flickered, amused but curious. “Am I?”
Bella didn’t answer.
Because the worst part was…
He was.
And he hadn’t even touched her.
Avoiding Julian became impossible by lunchtime.
The island operated like a beautiful, well-catered maze — every path curved back toward the same pools, terraces, and shaded lounges.
Everywhere Bella went, he appeared eventually.
At the juice bar:
“Hydrating? Smart. You looked overheated earlier.”
At the rehearsal walkthrough:
“Careful on those steps. Wouldn’t want you falling for the wrong Laurent.”
At the beach cabanas:
“That color looks familiar on you. I think I saw it… somewhere memorable.”
She nearly choked on her drink.
He never said anything outright.
But every comment carried a second meaning, wrapped in charm and delivered with a straight face.
Bella began to feel like her skin was too tight for her body.
*
That afternoon, she escaped to the air-conditioned quiet of the main villa and found Alex reviewing seating charts on his tablet.
“Hey,” he said, smiling when he saw her. “I was just looking for you.”
She crossed the room and sank onto the sofa beside him, grateful for the calm presence he always radiated.
“Can I ask you something?” she vaguely said.
“Always.”
Hesitating, she found herself choosing words carefully. “I didn't know you have a brother. You don’t talk about Julian much.”
Alex’s jaw shifted slightly — the only visible sign she’d stepped onto sensitive ground.
“There’s not much to say, i guess.” he replied.
“He seems… a little bit different from you.”
“That’s a polite way to put it.”
Bella studied his profile. “What happened between you?”
Alex set the tablet down.
“Nothing. We grew up with the same opportunities,” he said evenly. “Same education. Same resources. I chose to build something. Julian chose to… drift.”
“He mentioned he’s an artist,” Bella offered. She could feel the sarcasm on Alex laugh.
“Artist? He’s just irresponsible,” He countered. “He avoids commitment to anything — work, relationships, family expectations. He mistakes rebellion for depth.”
There was no anger in his voice.
Just disappointment long since calcified into belief.
“Doesn’t it bother you that he’s here?” Bella asked quietly.
Alex looked at her then, softening. “He’s my brother. I’ll always invite him. I just don’t expect him to stay long — in any sense.”
Bella nodded, heart twisting.
Because she had seen a different side of Julian.
Untethered.
Alive.
She hated that the difference mattered to her.
By the third day, Bella felt like she was losing a private war no one else could see. She started to doubt her life plans like all of sudden they were made of paper.
Every accidental brush of Julian passing behind her sent heat racing up her spine.
Every glance lasted a second too long. Every joke balanced between harmless and dangerous.
“You’re going to snap if you keep pretending you don’t see me,” he murmured once as they stood side by side watching the sunset with a group. His fingers brushed her waist, resisting the desire of holding her tightly.
“I don’t see you,” she muttered.
“Your pulse disagrees. Your irregular breath too, i guess"
She glared at him. “Stop with this. You’re not funny.”
“I’m hilarious, doll. You’re just stressed. But don't worry, you know i can give you the solution to that..."
She looked at him instantly, surprised with his audacity and annoyed at the same time. He showed her a seductive smile, besides he couldn't control his laugh trying to escape. He was so charm Bella was found grinning every time he was near by. Even with his bad jokes. Even with his passional proposals.
*
Relief arrived in the form of a shriek from the dock the next breakfast morning.
“BELLAAAAA!”
Her friends. Bella turned just in time to be tackled in a group hug of sunscreen, perfume, and chaos.
“You didn’t tell us this place was INSANE,” Camila said, staring at the villas. “I would’ve packed RICHER.”
Bella laughed for the first time in days without tension behind it.
For a moment, she was just Bella again. Not fiancée. Not secret-keeper. Just a woman surrounded by people who knew her before all of this.
Julian watched from the terrace, amused.
That was when it happened.
One of her friends — Lila — froze mid-sentence, squinting past Bella toward the bar area.
“Wait,” she said. “That guy… I know him.”
Bella’s stomach dropped.
Lila pointed casually. “He was at the rooftop bar the second night! The hot artsy one with paint on his arms.”
Bella’s vision flickered.
“Oh my God, yes!” Camila said. “He was flirting with everyone.”
Julian, sensing attention, raised his glass in a lazy salute.
Lila laughed. “What are the odds he’s here too? Small world.”
Bella forced a smile so tight it hurt.
“Yeah,” she managed. “Small world.”
Her heart pounded so hard she thought she might actually faint.
Because Lila didn’t remember seeing Bella leave with him. Didn’t remember the beach. The hotel.
The night that had rearranged Bella’s insides.
To Bella's friends, he was just a coincidence.
To her, he was a secret standing in daylight, smirking.
Julian’s eyes met hers across the terrace.
And he winked.
Bella’s breath caught.
Then she realized, the paradise wasn’t mean to be peaceful at all.
It just hid the danger better.
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