Deceiving Her Ears: Ignoring Your Call-Chapter 36: Tired of Me or Is There Someone Else?
The woman’s temples were damp, her face and lips pale. She grabbed Isaac Vaughn’s wrist just to make him wait.
He stopped, and she let go.
"Talk?"
"Are you sure?"
Vivienne Jordan smiled. "I feel much better after throwing up. I just chugged a couple of shots too quickly."
"So you actually know, huh?"
Isaac Vaughn turned and started walking back.
Vivienne Jordan went into the bathroom to splash her face again.
Looking at her own sickly complexion in the mirror, she sighed.
Vivienne came out to see Isaac Vaughn with a cigarette in his hand, about to light up.
Suddenly remembering how unwell she looked, he put the cigarette away.
Vivienne said, "It’s fine, smoke if you want."
"Forget it." Isaac Vaughn sat on the sofa and stretched out his legs. "What do you want to talk about?"
Vivienne brushed her hair aside. "Just the usual—How have you been these past few years?" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
"Pretty good."
Vivienne stared at him, lips parted to say something, when the doorbell rang.
Franklin Finch had brought some hangover meds.
"The ones the hotel gave us don’t work. I use this stuff, works like a charm."
Vivienne took it and gave Franklin a slight smile. "Thank you."
"I’m off."
Isaac Vaughn stood up and walked out ahead.
Franklin told Vivienne to get some rest and said they’d hang out another time, then he left too.
In the elevator.
Franklin sidled up to Isaac Vaughn, grinning cheekily, "So, how was it?"
Neither of them expected to run into Vivienne Jordan tonight.
"How was what?"
"Aren’t you feeling... anything? I don’t buy it."
Isaac Vaughn couldn’t be bothered. When the elevator reached the first floor, he strode out.
——
At lunch in the cafeteria, Natalie Kendall couldn’t help checking the high-speed rail tickets again on her app.
She’d called Isaac the night before. He only said he’d come back after finishing up, but didn’t say when he’d be done.
"Did you delete me as a friend?"
Jessica Vance appeared out of nowhere, straight to the point.
Natalie set her phone down and glanced at her, then kept eating.
Jessica was provoked by her coldness, laughed angrily, and sat down.
She dug out a photo and slid her phone across the table to Natalie.
Natalie glanced at it and froze.
Jessica zoomed in on the photo with two fingers and told Natalie,
"Her name is Vivienne Jordan, Isaac Vaughn’s ex. They only dated for three months, but she was the only girlfriend he ever admitted to. That speaks for itself, doesn’t it?"
"Vivienne just got back, and Isaac went to the hotel with her. Seems pretty likely they’re picking up where they left off."
The words "picking up where they left off" made Natalie bite her tongue by accident.
She remembered how, when she called Isaac last night, he said he was at a hotel with someone. So it was true—he really was at a hotel with someone.
Jessica kept a careful eye on her, clearly dissatisfied with Natalie’s reaction.
"Don’t you have anything to say?"
Natalie answered coldly, "What do you want me to say? Break up?"
"Break up?" Jessica snorted like she’d heard a joke. "You don’t really think you’re dating Isaac, do you? Break up? He’s just messing around."
Break up wasn’t really the word.
To be precise, it should be divorce.
But Natalie didn’t see any need to explain so much to Jessica.
She stood up, carrying her tray, and left.
The meal left Natalie’s stomach aching.
She had classes that afternoon, so she’d planned to tough it out, but the pain got so bad she could only collapse on her desk, face pale, sweating and shaking all over.
Nina Abbott hurriedly asked their teacher for leave and took her to the hospital.
The doctor said it was acute gastric spasm, but she felt much better after some IV fluids.
"Nat, you have a call."
Natalie took the phone from Nina’s hand. Seeing Isaac Vaughn’s number, she didn’t answer.
Isaac was out wandering the mall with Franklin Finch.
He called Natalie twice and she didn’t pick up either time.
"Isaac, check this out." Franklin picked up a bracelet, spun it on his finger. "Girls all like these, right?"
Isaac pictured that bracelet on Natalie’s slim, fair wrist. Not bad, actually.
Leaving the mall, Franklin grinned and asked him, "Isaac, what did you do wrong? You need a thirty-thousand-dollar bracelet to make up for it?"
Isaac tossed the box with the bracelet into his glove compartment.
Franklin was standing by the passenger door, wrestling with it.
Seeing the window roll down, he leaned in and said, "Isaac, what the hell is up with your car? The door’s stuck!"
"Go home by yourself. I’m heading back to Seaharbor."
"What?!"
This was way too sudden!
Before Franklin could say another word, Isaac floored the accelerator and soon disappeared down the road.
*
Isaac made it home before nine.
His plan was solid—quick shower in fifteen minutes, plenty of time till midnight.
Natalie hadn’t said anything outright, but when she dragged him to see that crappy movie, it was just to scare him off.
So he’d indulge her, for now.
Natalie was in pajamas, sitting on the living room rug with her laptop, typing up homework. She heard him and looked over her shoulder.
Eight days since they’d seen each other.
Their eyes met.
She glanced at him, looked away, eyes back on the screen, and said flatly, "You’re back."
All of Isaac’s enthusiasm was doused by her lukewarm greeting.
He walked past the living room straight into the bedroom.
The bedroom door slammed shut.
Natalie lowered her eyes, deep in thought.
Isaac showered, then sprawled on the bed.
He waited and waited, and finally, at half past midnight, the bedroom door clicked open.
Natalie got into bed from the far side, and as soon as she lay down, Isaac pinned her beneath him, hard and fast.
Her body was always his weakness.
Soft and curvy where it mattered, slender where it didn’t.
White as jade, smooth as cream, her waist easily wrapped by his hands.
In the dark, Isaac stared at her face.
"So desperate for me, but still putting on a show, huh?"
His voice was cold. "Totally spoiled."
But suddenly, something felt off.
Natalie was pale, pushing him away hard.
He tried to hold her down but failed.
"Slap!"
A sharp smack.
They both froze.
Isaac’s face turned thunderous.
He rolled off and got out of bed, naked, and walked straight into the bathroom.
Natalie tugged the blanket around herself and, hearing the shower run, felt an ache in her chest, icy cold inside.
A few minutes later, Isaac came back, whole body chilled.
He’d taken a cold shower.
He got back into bed, but now there was a gulf between them.
For a long time, Isaac spoke in a frosty tone: "You were perfectly fine when you left. Now that I’m back, you give me attitude. What? Don’t want me home? Tired of me, or is there someone else out there?"
