Deceiving Her Ears: Ignoring Your Call-Chapter 67: Turning Point Countdown 2: Deal with Him
The room was dim.
Natalie could barely make out the face in front of her; only his warm breath lingered by her cheek.
He didn’t support himself over her for long before collapsing at her side.
Natalie immediately sat up, turning to look in his direction.
Isaac was watching her, too.
Their eyes met.
He reached out and held her hand, his voice deep: "Can I kiss you?"
Natalie frowned.
She pulled her hand away.
Isaac let out a soft sigh, his tone tinged with a bit of grievance: "So heartless. I climbed over the wall from all the way across town to see you, and you won’t even give me a kiss."
"Get out."
Natalie pushed him, "Who asked you to come?"
Isaac clicked his tongue, sitting up.
He grabbed her arm, trying to pull her into his embrace.
Natalie struggled and accidentally bumped his knee, making him gasp.
"What happened to your leg?"
She asked instinctively.
Isaac sounded casual: "It’s nothing, just bumped it when I was climbing the wall just now."
But the way he groaned in pain didn’t sound as simple as just a bump.
"Is your family... making things hard for you?"
Natalie said flatly, "What exactly counts as making things hard?"
Isaac was at a loss for words.
He knew he’d asked a blatantly obvious question.
How could they not make things hard?
It’s just that—
He wrapped his arms around her.
Enclosing her from behind, his face pressed to the side of her neck, lips rubbing the skin just beneath her ear.
"Little Ear, give me a bit more time. During this time, promise me, don’t make any rash decisions."
He paused, and then his tone actually turned pleading: "Let’s deal with the problems, not with me, all right?"
As he finished speaking, he kissed her on the ear.
Natalie closed her eyes, whatever she was thinking hidden from sight.
Isaac kissed her ear, then her cheek, then her nose, then carefully pressed his lips to the corner of her mouth.
He was testing, a little at a time.
Testing her response, silently praying she wouldn’t push him away.
And it was as if the gods really did hear his prayer.
He finally got to kiss her lips.
Their breaths tangled together, her hand gripping his shirt, letting him kiss her quietly and docilely.
Isaac’s heart melted in an unbelievable way, but he was still domineering and insistent.
*
And that night, she almost took his life.
*
The next day, before Natalie woke, Isaac was summoned to the study.
Inside, Sebastian Beckett was waiting for him.
Isaac had already been aware that what happened last night could never go unnoticed.
"Is this what The Vaughn Residence teaches you?"
Sebastian Beckett sat straight behind the desk, his tone flat but commanding respect without anger.
Scaling walls in the middle of the night to sneak into a girl’s room.
Spending the whole night before coming out.
Isaac lowered his head, appearing honestly contrite.
Even with his grandfather and father, he’d never acted this obediently.
Sebastian looked at him and, against his will, actually almost laughed.
But soon, his expression turned serious again, worry flickering in his eyes.
This little punk—was he really up to it?
——
Bar.
Franklin Finch slung an arm around Isaac’s shoulders, loyal as hell: "Don’t worry, man. Even if the whole world spits on you, hates you, hurls insults at you, I’ll always have your back!"
Isaac raised his brows, his smile not reaching his eyes: "Thanks, I guess."
"No need to thank me! Bros should stand up for each other!"
Isaac pushed Franklin’s dumb ass away, picked up his drink and took a sip.
"But, Isaac, what do you plan to do from now on? You’re public enemy number one in the scene right now. Maybe not everyone wants a piece of you, but plenty want to curse you out."
Isaac’s face darkened.
He was a guy, thick-skinned, so whatever.
But Natalie...
Women always end up bearing more in things like this than men ever do.
Just then, the door to the private room opened.
Franklin immediately brightened, greeting the newcomers, and nudged Isaac, "But hey, don’t get discouraged. See, it’s not just me—there are still people willing to hang out with you."
Isaac looked up and among the five people entering, recognized a familiar face.
"You are?"
Nina Abbott was caught off guard when Isaac addressed her.
She’d only come along with her cousin tonight; had she known Isaac would be here, she definitely wouldn’t have come.
But now that she was here, she couldn’t just turn around and leave.
"Isaac, you know my cousin?" Nina’s cousin was surprised.
"You’re Natalie’s classmate, right?" Isaac recalled suddenly.
Natalie had hung out with her a couple of times, once with a few male college students; there’d been a guy in a white tracksuit pestering Natalie the whole time.
Nina pouted, "Not anymore. She’s transferred."
The stuff about Natalie and Isaac had already been blowing up all over Janton; even here in Seaharbor she’d heard the gossip. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
She’d hesitated two days before finally working up the courage to call and check on Natalie, only to hear that Natalie was planning to go abroad.
After this time together, she and Natalie had become good friends.
Long-distance friendships are hard to maintain; she was pretty upset about it.
"Transferred?" Isaac frowned at Nina. "Where’s she transferring to?"
No way she’d be coming to Janton, right?
Didn’t she really like Seaharbor University?
"I don’t really know which school, just somewhere overseas." Nina paused, then asked, puzzled, "You didn’t know?"
Weren’t they that close?
Something as huge as going abroad, and Isaac didn’t even know?
Isaac honestly didn’t know.
Yesterday he’d gone to Mount Corvix to see Natalie, and she hadn’t said a thing—not a single word.
He’d held her last night, begging her not to resolve things by cutting him off.
Turns out, she’d already made up her mind to cut him out long before.
