The Ties of the Soul (The Ties Book 1)

5: The Morning After

Isabella

I wake up around 8:30 a.m. with a pounding head. The spot beside me is empty and cold, meaning Mateo is long gone. I sit up and grab my phone to see just how mad Daniel is.

20 missed calls, 9 texts, 3 missed FaceTime calls, and 4 voicemails.

Oh, he’s probably pissed. The first thing I have to do is listen to the voicemails. I need to see what kind of mood Daniel is in.

You have four new voicemails. New message:

“Hi mommy. I mish you. I juss wanted to tell you good night. So... good night, mommy. I wuv you.”

Ahh, my sweet Benny. I miss him and Maya so much. Okay, so that’s a very sweet thing to hear first thing in the morning after cheating on your husband. Oh, s**t! I slump down after realizing last night really happened. I better listen to the next one.

New message:

“Bella baby, please answer. I’m starting to worry.”

Aww. Daniel actually sounds a little concerned. I haven’t heard that tone from him in a while. I listen to the next one.

New message:

“For f**k’s sake, Isabella, if you don’t answer your phone, I will lose my mind! Are you okay? Why are you not answering my calls? Answer the f*****g phone, dammit!”

That sounds normal. Daniel still sounds a bit anxious, but also angry. I can only imagine what the next one sounds like.

New message:

“What the f**k are you doing that you can’t answer my calls? You better have a damn good reason for not answering! If I don’t hear from you by tomorrow evening, I’m taking the kids to your mom’s and coming to Vegas to find your ass! Call me back!”

He gritted his teeth. He’s pissed and this is very bad. I pull up his contact info to call him back, but a knock on my door interrupts me.

Knock, knock, knock. “Room service!”

Room service? I toss my phone to the side. I didn’t order room service. Whatever! Maybe they’ll have coffee packets. I need something for this hangover. I open the door and to my surprise, there’s a young lady with a food cart full of several breakfast platters.

The young lady smiles and pushes the cart inside my room. “Compliments of Mr. Mateo. He wasn’t sure of what you liked, so he ordered everything we have to offer to ensure you have a satisfying breakfast.”

Wow! I’m astonished. Not only did he make love to me and cuddle afterward, but he also provided breakfast? He sure is one hell of a man. I thank her and pull the cart to the bed. There are so many choices. I sit on the bed in awe and completely indecisive. Do I want eggs and ham or eggs and bacon? Eggs and sausage sound good too. Well, there are bagels. I could make a bagel. Another knock on the door breaks my thoughts.

“Bells, it’s me. Open up!”

I should’ve known the first person I would see this morning besides the hotel staff would be Annabelle.

“Hold on, I’m coming,” I yell, rolling my eyes while walking to the door.

“Hurry up! I need all the deets now! Oh, and don’t worry, I’ve got coffee,” she exclaims.

Well, at least I will get my coffee. I open the door and she runs into my room, grabs some food from the cart, and sits on the bed.

“Tell me everything!” She shoves a piece of bacon in her mouth. “And don’t hold back either! I heard you screaming his name last night,” she grins and waggles her brows at me.

She heard me screaming his name? How embarrassing. Not only did I cheat on my husband with a stranger, but my sister heard it too!

“Well, first off, why did you let me take that many shots last night,” I shriek at her. “This feels like a hangover from hell! Second, how could you let that stranger bring me to my room and be alone with me? Anything could’ve happened! He could’ve killed me! And, there’s no way you heard what was happening in my room.”

My guilt overtakes me. I can’t believe I broke my vows last night.

“Please don’t be mad, Bells,” Annabelle says with remorse and grabs my hands. “You’ve been miserable this entire trip and for the past two months. I just wanted you to feel good, and look at you; you’re glowing. And yes, I heard it all. He f****d the s**t out of you, didn’t he?”

I can’t help but laugh. She’s right. Besides the hangover, I’m feeling quite rejuvenated. I hate it when she’s right.

“And don’t worry about Daniel,” she adds. “He called me last night. I told him you were in your room sleeping.”

“What?! He was so worried that he called you? He called me twenty times, facetimed me three times, and left four voicemails. Well, one of them was from Benny.”

“Damn! He only called me four times and that was four too many.”

We laugh, munch on our food, and sip our coffee. As we continue talking, my mind wonders about Mateo. Despite my guilty feelings, I can’t get him off my mind. I grab my phone and there’s a text from Daniel.

DANIEL:

Bella babe, please tell me you’re okay. I love you.

I need to call him back. I don’t need him coming to Vegas looking for me.

“Anna, I need to call Daniel back now,” I quietly tell her.

“Oh, please! He’s fine! No one cares about his workaholic ass, anyway.” She smacks her lips. “He didn’t even want you to come!”

“Anna, stop it. Daniel left a few angry voicemails last night. I really need to call him back.”

“So what he left angry voicemails? It’s fine. I told you, I told him you were sleeping.”

“No, he needs to hear from me. He hasn’t heard from me in twenty-four hours.” I add a little firmness in my voice to let her know I’m serious and the look of annoyance she gives me makes me laugh.

“Fine, but I’m coming back in a few hours so we can have another spa day. After the night you had, that type of relaxation will be the cherry on top. You better be ready. And thanks for the food!”

She grabs more food from the cart and crams it in her mouth while scurrying out the door. Now I need to deal with Daniel. I feel dreadful because I hate dealing with him when he’s angry. My heart is pounding. I call him and he answers after the first ring.

“Hello? Isabella? Babe, are you okay,” he asks calmly.

“Yes, my love, I’m fine. I apologize for not answering last night. I had too many drinks and wasn’t feeling well.”

“Yeah, Anna told me you were drunk and probably sleeping, but you still didn’t call to say good night. You always do that.”

Oh no, he’s right. That’s why he was calling me last night. Any time I’m away from home, which isn’t often, I always FaceTime him and the kids before bed. Damn, I f****d up big time.

“I passed out early,” I sigh. “Danny, I’m so sorry.”

I don’t know what to say. He sounds pretty calm, which scares me. He’s unpredictable when he’s mad and sounds calm. I don’t know what he’s thinking.

“Listen,” he sighs, “I was so worried about you. Don’t do that s**t ever again, do you f*****g understand me,” he scorns.

He’s definitely pissed. When he speaks in a calm but threatening tone, he’s ready to punch something and it’s always best to avoid him.

“I’m sorry Daniel. I promise it’ll never happen again,” I say, trying to keep him calm.

“Now Bella baby, I’ve been thinking.” He pauses for a few seconds. “When you get back, I want us to sit down and have a long conversation.”

“Huh? What do you mean? Where is this coming from?”

“Look,” he sighs, “I don’t wanna get into it over the phone. Just be ready to have a much-needed conversation tomorrow. I love you and see you tomorrow,” he says earnestly before hanging up.

Despite how the conversation began, Daniel telling me loves me sounds very genuine. For the past three years, I haven’t been so sure. This trip just keeps getting more and more interesting.

~ Four Hours Later ~

Annabelle texted for me to meet the girls on the strip at one, but none of them are here.

“Ohh Mateo.... don’t stop.”

“I won’t, my sweet Isabella.”

Fuck! These flashbacks are too much. I need to occupy my mind. Where are these women? I’m ready to be pampered. I pull out my phone to text Annabelle.

“There’s no need for that. We’re right here, Bells,” Annabelle shouts, waving as she and the girls approach me.

“Took you guys long enough. I’m ready for my pampering,” I scoff.

“What’s the matter, mami? That hot guy didn’t pamper you enough last night,” Jessica jokes.

“Oh Jessi, he did more than pamper her, am I right Bells,” Annabelle laughs and nudges my shoulder.

“Shut up, Anna,” I seethe at her.

“Now, now, Bella. You have to spill all the details now. I saw when you guys left. He was yummy looking. If he hadn’t left with you, I might’ve taken him for myself,” Jessica says.

“I doubt it. He was acting like I was the only woman in the room.”

“Ooo,” gasps Marisol.

Great! Even Marisol seems interested in what happened last night.

“Fine. I’ll tell it all, but can we please go in the nail place,” I sigh.

“Yay,” they all exclaim.

These women are too much. I tell them everything while getting our nails done. They give me their undivided attention.

“Oh my, I wish I would’ve stayed. I would’ve loved to have seen this hot guy last night. He sounds perfect,” Marisol says.

“Mari, you have no idea how perfect he was,” I say, smiling.

“Look at her! She’s blushing,” Annabelle teases.

“Wow, he was that amazing, huh Bella,” asks Jessica.

“Yes, he was. Nothing mattered when we were together,” I reply with a sigh.

“Aww, how romantic. Too bad you’ll never see him again. And even if you did, you’re married,” Marisol says.

Marisol is such a sucker for romance and passion, but she’s right. Too bad I am married and too bad I only had one night with him. We head towards the massage parlor.

“What do you think, Bella? A final facial and massage before we head back tomorrow,” Jessica asks me.

“Sure,” I agree and smile.

~ Fifteen Minutes Later ~

I shouldn’t have agreed to get a massage. Flashbacks hit me soon as the masseuse massages my body. I was okay when getting my nails done and my facial. Mateo didn’t even cross my mind like that. Probably because I was too busy blabbering at the mouth about him and laughing. However, with this massage, I’m imagining Mateo rubbing and caressing me. What the hell did he do to me? My body is hot, and my p***y’s getting wet. I have to get out of here. I end my massage early, thank the masseuse for their service, and leave.

“Bells, what’s wrong,” Annabelle questions. I didn’t even know she followed me.

“Nothing. I just need to take a cold shower and go to bed.”

“Oh, having flashbacks, huh? I’m so happy he f****d your brains out,” she laughs and it annoys the f**k out of me.

“I don’t understand how you’re so giddy about this. I still cheated on my husband, Anna. It doesn’t matter how good he f****d me. I broke my vows. Bueno, dime que vamos a hacer en la mañana (Tell me what we’re doing in the morning),” I say sternly.

Her smile immediately straightens. “Check-out is at 10 a.m. and we plan on leaving at 10:30,” she frowns at me.

“Okay, then. See you tomorrow.”

“Good night, Bells,” she yells while I storm off.

Honestly, I’m ready to leave Vegas. We return home tomorrow and I’m more than ready to see my babies. Not too excited about seeing Daniel. I feel like our conversation when I return home will be a disaster.

Even though I’m dreading facing Daniel, I know my family will take my mind off Mateo. At least that’s what I hope. I better try to get some sleep. Between the drive back and my talk with Daniel, tomorrow will probably be a long day.