Caught in His Web

Chapter 2: The encounter

Isabella turned slowly, sniffling, and saw a tall guy with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, casually dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans, holding two bottles of beer. The city lights behind him made his features stand out, sharp and effortless. “You’re not going to jump, are you?” he asked again, his voice calm, as he extended a bottle toward her.

“Thanks,I really needed this” she muttered and took the bottle. They both stood in silence for a couple of minutes as they sipped the beer.

“I wasn't going to jump,” Isabella finally said.

“You sure about that?” He laughed.

“I mean, the thought crossed my mind,” she shrugged. “But my pain tolerance is pretty low.” For the first time that day, she laughed.

“I know a quick and painless way, if you want,” he chuckled.

“No thanks. I’m not giving anyone the satisfaction of me dying,” she said, a small smile forming. “I’ll just keep being the thorn in their shoes.”

“I like that… but what's your story?” He asked curiously.

“My story” she repeated “Well my best friend got pregnant for my boyfriend”

“Damn… that’s wild,” he said, shaking his head, “but hey, it’s their loss, okay? A cheater and a backstabber? They deserve each other.”

“Thanks, that’s… comforting.” She turned to look into his eyes, then smirked mischievously. “Hey… want a one-night stand?”

“Excuse me?” he blinked, caught completely off guard.

“I’m sorry,” she quickly covered her mouth, cheeks flaming. “That didn’t come out right. I guess I was… thinking out loud.”

He grinned, teasing. “Let me get this straight … we haven’t even properly introduced ourselves, and you’re already offering to jump in my bed? Don’t you at least want to know the name you’ll be screaming?”

“Oh my gosh, stop!” Bella laughed, burying her face in her hands. “You’re making me more embarrassed than I already am.”

“You look cute when you're embarrassed,” he smiled.

“Doesn't mean you should keep teasing me” she glared at him playfully.

“I won't do it again I promise” he chuckled and then glanced at his phone “I’m sorry but I've got to go now” he looked at her apologetically.

“Really? Can we at least do the introduction now?” She pouted.

“That’ll ruin the fun” he smiled mischievously, “I'll tell you my name …. if we're destined to meet again”

“That’s not fair”

“Nothing is fair in this world”he ruffled her hair. “See you later Miss One night stand” he laughed and turned to leave.

“It's Isabella Carter” she yelled but he was already gone.

She sighed and turned her phone back on, noticing multiple missed messages from Mike and her other best friend, Tina. She took a deep breath and dialed Tina’s number.

“Girl, where the hell are you?!” Tina’s voice came through, sharp and frantic.

“Tina… I’m okay,” Bella chuckled weakly.

“I didn’t ask how you’re doing! I asked where the hell you are! And what’s with the muffled voice? Have you been crying?” Tina pressed, worry threading her words.

Bella inhaled deeply, trying to steady herself. “Holly is… pregnant. For Mike.”

“Holly… what?!” Tina’s alarm was obvious.

“Yeah. Now you can go on and say I told you so,” Bella sighed, a bitter edge to her words.

Isabella and Tina had been friends since childhood. They’d met Holly in high school, and after Bella had saved her from bullies, the three had formed a tentative friendship,but Tina really never liked Holly.

“Girl, I told you she’s a pretentious brat!” Tina fumed. “She’s only hanging with us because we’re rich. And after you saved her from bullies, bought her new clothes and shoes… this is how she repays you?and literally helped her acting career—got her brand deals— Ungrateful doesn’t even cover it!”

“Enough about them, Tina, now I've finally decided to run away” Bella said cheeky.

“Run away? Instead of putting those two idiots in their place?” Tina asked curiously.

“No I'm running away because my family is forcing me to marry the Ravenwoods younger son?” She explained.

“Oh my God” Tina exclaimed “you mean the Ravenwoods? The most powerful family in this country? I'm so happy for you”

“Did you not here the part about me being forced” Bella rolled her eyes.

“Right, sorry your happiness comes first, so where are you going to and what about your modelling career?”

“Right now I just need to hide from my family, I'm going to Seattle,will call you when I get there” . They said their good byes and Bella got into a cab headed

to the airport.

Isabella boarded the plane with her hoodie pulled up, carrying nothing but her phone and credit cards.The flight passed in a blur, and by morning she was in Seattle,

She checked into a hotel that was not well known to prevent her family from finding her.

That evening as she stood on the balcony and sipped coffee,she heard a familiar voice

“Miss One night stand”.

She turned and and saw the familiar blue eyes staring at her from the balcony on the room to her right.

“What are the odds” she smiled.

“Seems like fate to me” he replied, returning the smile.“Meet me on the beach in fifteen minutes”

“Ok”she nodded.

Fifteen minutes later, Isabella spotted him sitting in the sand, hair falling loosely over his forehead. She sat beside him.

“So,” she said, “can we do the introductions now

“I'm Jason” he introduced with a smile.

“I'm Isabella”

“I know” he chuckled. “ I heard you last night”

They both sat silence for a while, just staring at the stars.

“Do you believe in fate?” Jason asked.

“Fate?” Bella scoffed “Nope I just think it's a stupid thing we say to convince ourselves to feel better”

She glanced at him, and for a split second something felt off,she felt like Jason was wearing a mask and he was not really who he was portraying himself to be.

“Are you stalking me?” She jokingly asked.

“That should be my question” he laughed, brushing it aside.

“Why are you here?” She pressed again.

“Family drama,” he shrugged. “Needed a break.”

“Seems like I'm not alone in this” Bella sighed.

They parted soon after, each retreating to their rooms.

Around 8am in the morning, Bella heard a knock on the door and woke up groggily to open it. Her eyes went wide, and she quickly wiped the drool of her face after seeing that it was Jason.

“Good morning sleepyhead” he grinned.

“Good morning” She muttered.

“Want to go sightseeing with me?”

She hesitated, then nodded. “Sure. Give me an hour.”

Once the door closed, Isabella rushed to the mirror.She felt her knees go weak, after staring at her appearance in the mirror. “Oh my God, this is how he saw me?” She yelled, wishing the earth would just open up and swallow her. “Calm down Bella, you just need to look hot and sexy after this embarrassment” she calmed herself and quickly hit the shower and got dressed.

An hour later, she stepped outside to find Jason talking to security.

“Hey,” she said, tapping his shoulder.

He turned, eyes lingering just a second too long. “Your boyfriend is an i***t for cheating on you.”

“Ex-boyfriend,” she corrected, smiling.

“Noted.” He took her hand gently. “Let’s go.”

They spent the rest of the day wandering through Seattle, talking about everything and nothing. Isabella found herself laughing more than she had in weeks, the heaviness in her chest slowly easing. With Jason, she didn’t feel like a Carter, a runaway bride, or a betrayed girlfriend–just a girl enjoying a day she hadn’t planned. By the time they returned to the hotel, she realized something unsettling.

She trusted him.