Chapter 13
1369 Words
IT WAS already past one in the morning when Bella returned to their villa, so she woke up late again the next day. Still groggy, she sat up and stretched before finally managing to get out of bed. It was their last day on the island, so as expected, everyone else was probably out making the most of their stay. Meanwhile, she had no plans of leaving the villa and intended to stay locked inside until it was time to go home.
The truth was, Bella still hadn't fully processed everything that had happened—especially between her and Beast. If she hadn’t been so exhausted the previous night, she likely wouldn’t have been able to sleep at all, considering what had transpired. In fact, she couldn’t even remember how she managed to fall asleep. She had simply taken a quick shower, changed, and then collapsed onto the bed with her eyes shut.
Remembering her cousin, who had already been sound asleep when she got back last night, Bella glanced at the bed and let out a deep sigh. She wanted to talk to her. After what had happened, they had a misunderstanding, and she wanted to fix it as soon as possible. Bella couldn’t bear the thought of having a rift between her and Mara over something like this. Besides, she was innocent—she had nothing to do with the treasure hunt organized by the Danger Zone band.
After a few moments of contemplation, Bella decided to take a shower and get dressed first. She’d call Mara afterward and ask to talk things through.
By the time she was done and dressed, it was almost nine o’clock. She was in the middle of fixing herself in front of the mirror when the door suddenly swung open, revealing her mother and Mara.
“Bella!” they both exclaimed as they rushed toward her, both of them panting heavily.
“Is there something wrong?” Bella quickly stood up, confusion evident in her gaze. “Did you two run? Why are you so out of breath?” she asked, grabbing two bottled waters and handing them to them.
Once they finished drinking, she eyed them with a puzzled look. “So, what exactly happened?”
Mara scratched the back of her head before answering. “Well, it’s because of Tita—she got overly excited. We were having breakfast in the lounge when—”
She didn’t get to finish her sentence as Bella’s mother suddenly cut in.
“Sweetheart, you didn’t tell me you met a handsome man here on the island! No wonder you kept disappearing. You must’ve been having moments with Mr. Handsome, huh? I’m not saying I’m ready to be a grandma, but you know, I wouldn’t mind. You’re at the right age, and just imagine how beautiful and handsome your children would be—”
“Mom!” Bella exclaimed, effectively shutting her mother up. “What are you even talking about? Who’s this ‘handsome’ guy? And what’s all this about kids?”
“Bella, if heaven sends you a man that good-looking, would you really turn him down? And he seems nice too. Very polite. And smells good…”
“Mom, seriously!” Bella shot her an exasperated glare. “And wait—Cliff? Kind and polite? You must be talking about someone else. Or maybe an alien.”
Turning to Mara, Bella quickly pulled her aside.
“Before anything else… I just want to apologize about last night. I swear, I found that bottle the other night, but I had no idea it had any significance. I just thought of keeping it for good luck, but it seems—” Bella closed her eyes and took a deep breath as flashes of the previous night played in her mind. Never mind. Anyway, I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean anything by it. In fact, I even suggested that you be JG’s date from the start, but I was forced to go up there because—”
“Cous, relax. It’s okay. I’m okay,” Mara cut her off with a laugh.
“Huh? Really? You’re not mad?” Bella asked, making sure.
Mara shook her head with a smile and placed her hands on Bella’s shoulders. “I’m not mad. I should be the one apologizing because I didn’t listen to you and let my emotions take over. I acted too rashly. Honestly, I wanted to talk to you last night, but I was too sleepy. I didn’t even realize I had already fallen asleep. And this morning, I didn’t wake you up because I knew you were exhausted.”
Bella smiled back. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She was relieved Mara wasn’t angry anymore. “Thank you, and I’m really sorry.”
“No worries. Let’s just forget about it. But you still have to tell me everything! What’s going on? And last night—what was that all about? Since when did you and Cliff get close? This is crazy! No wonder he seemed familiar to me the first time I saw him.”
Bella let out a deep sigh when the man’s name was mentioned again. That man is really something.
“Oh, right! So earlier, while Tita and I were having breakfast, guess what? Cliff came over! And do you know what he said?”
“What?”
“He said he’d pick us up later for a date. And then, before he could even explain the details, Tita Sandy here got all excited and instantly took a liking to Beast. She totally approves of him! She’s practically ready to marry you two off right now.”
“That man… Is he ever going to stop?” Bella groaned.
“So, what’s really going on, Bella?”
“I honestly want to tell you everything, but it’s such a mess, I don’t even know where to start. Also—wait! What do you mean ‘pick us up’? Why am I included? Wasn’t it supposed to be just you and JG?”
Mara shrugged. “Beats me. But yeah, before I could even ask Cliff, Tita suddenly jumped in. Then, right after that, he got a phone call and had to leave in a hurry.”
Bella sat weakly on the bed, staring blankly into space. She could feel a headache forming from all the stress Beast was causing her.
“I’m not going later, okay? I have no plans of seeing that man again,” she declared seriously.
Mara raised a brow and smirked. “Oh, Bella, I think that’s going to be a problem. Look.”
Bella followed her cousin’s gaze and immediately gaped when she saw her mother rummaging through her clothes.
“Mom! What are you doing?” Bella protested as she hurried over.
No wonder her mother had gone quiet—she had been too busy with something else.
“What else? I’m picking an outfit for your date later!” her mother said excitedly, holding up a dress against Bella. “This one! It looks good on you!”
Annoyed, Bella pushed the dress away and huffed as she sat back on the bed. “Mom, I’m not going anywhere today. And I’m definitely not going on a date with that guy.”
“And why not?”
“Because I said so, Mom! I just don’t want to!”
“No, no, no, no. You can’t ditch that date. I already promised Cliff you’d go. And I can’t break that promise.”
Bella’s jaw dropped. Was her mother selling her off to that man?
“Mom! What promise? Why would you promise something like that? And besides, this is my date! What does this have to do with you?”
Instead of answering, her mother just gave her a mischievous smile.
Groaning, Bella flopped onto the bed and pulled the blanket over her head.
That Beast is really getting into my nerves! He even got my mom involved! And my mom—she looks like she’s ready to sell me off! That man must have some kind of enchantment!
What does he really want?
- Writer
