Chapter 58: Chapter 58
Isabella's pov;.
On the way to UK to attend Ethan's wedding,
"Are you still mad at me?" Asked while walking beside me into the airport.
I ignored him and dragged my travel bag into the airport.
At the reception, he got boarding passes for both of us and sat beside me.
Mr Martinez asked, "Why are you still mad? We're going to your brother's wedding. You should be happy right now."
I ignored him and stuck earphones into my ears and started listening to music.
We boarded the flight after many passages and took our seats. But our seats were far away from each other. There was a guy beside me instead of Mr Martinez who was supposed to be there.
I gave a stare at him and said, "Sit with me." And walked back to my seat.
Mr Martinez looked at that guy and asked him, "Can we change seats? My seat is over there. Can you go and take.that seat?"
"Why do I have to? I like this seat and there's a girl beside me who looks hot. Why should I change seats, dude?"
I stared at Mr Martinez.
He pointed at me and said, "We came together, Sir. We would like to sit together. Can you please give up this seat?"
That guy turned to me and asked, "Do you know that guy over there?"
I shook my head and turned to look outside the window and smiled to myself.
Mr Martinez said, "She knows me. She's mad at me, that's why she's being like this. Can I take this seat to make up with her?"
I said to that guy, "Enough, leave."
He stood up and took his seat and left.
Mr Martinez took the seat beside me and asked, "How did he listen to you when you only used the word 'enough?' how did you make him go?"
"It was an act. I asked him to speak like that to you."
"And, may I know the reason, Ms Garcia?"
"I wanted to see you plead so i did it but you don't look good when you do that so i ended the act."
When the flight started to take off, I held Mr Martinez's hand tightly and squeezed it while closing my eyes tightly.
After the take off, he patted me saying, "You can let it go now."
I opened my eyes and looked outside. We were flying in the sky already.
Mr Martinez said, "I bet the blood supply to my hand would have been cut by now." And made fun of me.
I asked him, "How many days will it take to reach London?"
He laughed and said, "Not days. It'll only take 11 hours 16 minutes to get to London."
"Really? I thought it would take days to reach London. How far is London from Cali?"
"Flight distance is 3672 miles between California and the UK."
"What if you travel by car? How many days will it take to get to London from Cali?"
"206 hours so… approximately 8 days."
"Huh? 8 days? Good god you are rich otherwise how will we go to Ethan's wedding." And laughed.
He came closer to me and whispered, "You can sleep now, if you don't want to be tired when we're getting off the plane."
"Okay. "
I closed my eyes to go to sleep.
When I woke up, my head was on Mr Martinez's shoulder.
"Why did you wake up? There's still time for our destination."
"I'm all awake. I feel hungry. What will they provide in flight?"
"What do you want to eat? Like a meal or beverage or snacks?"
"Do they provide all these in the flight?"
He nodded and said,"Yes, can I order snacks for you. You don't look like you can eat the meal now."
After I gave a nod, he asked the attendant to bring snacks for us.
"Why are you looking at it like that?"
"It looks beautiful."
He let out a chuckle and said, "Dig in and start eating."
I nodded and started the food on my plate.
After finishing eating, I asked him, "How many hours are still here?"
"4 hours."
"It's so boring to travel in flight. If I look outside, all I can see is the vast sky and clouds. Inside, I couldn't even stand in my place.
He opened the case and turned on the television in front of me and gave me headphones and said, "Do you like to watch?"
I took the headphones from him and looked at the screen in front of me. There were movies listed in a row. I picked one and started seeing it.
After the movie ended, I leaned back and said, "It was so good. I like the storyline and cast so much. I miss going to the movies."
"Do you go to the movies?"
"Yup! With my friends and with my mom very often. I love seeing movies on a bigger screen."
"Then I'll install a home theatre for you in the house."
"A theatre in the house? Wow! It would look so good. I love it."
He patted my head and said, "I know you will like it."
The flight stopped at London. We got off the flight and walked to the airport.
"Give me your bags." And took my bags and dragged it along with him.
I walked backwards in front of him and asked, "Mr Martinez, why are you carrying my bag too?"
"Don't walk like that. You would bump into someone."
"Even if I bump into someone, don't you apologise for me, Mr Martinez?" And continued walking in the reverse.
Like he said, someone bumped into me but I fell on Mr Martinez and hugged him accidentally.
"I'm sorry."
I started walking beside him quietly.
Mr Martinez said, "I don't mind if you walk in front of me." And made a smirk.
"Stop teasing me."
"Bella! Alex!"
When we looked in the direction of the sound, I saw Ethan standing and waiting for us.
I ran to Ethan and hugged him. He took me in the air and spinned me.
I got down and asked, "Where's Helen?" I searched for her but couldn't find her anywhere and asked him, "Didn't she come with you?"
"Yeah, she's in the wedding hall. They're still discussing cutlery."
I smiled and said, "She must be nervous, I guess."
Mr Martinez asked, "Am I invisible?" Which broke me into laughter.
Ethan said, "How are you brother?"
"I never thought you would run away. It was a bit of a shock for me."
"Didn't Bella say that to you?"
I gave a stare at Ethan and asked, "Who said to keep the promise?"
"I thought you would share everything with him. Well, follow me, we have to get to the wedding hall quickly before Helen notices that I'm not there." And walked in front of us.
Mr Martinez asked me, "Do you know?"
I nodded and smiled nervously and said, "He told me to keep it a secret."
We arrived at a house. It looked enormous and modern. I was amazed by looking at the house.
"Do you like the house?" Ethan asked me.
"Yeah, it looks so beautiful and modern. I love it!"
Mr Martinez asked Ethan, "When is your wedding?"
"Um, tomorrow."
"What!?"
"Actually, Helen is leaving the day after tomorrow to her regarding her business proposal so we gotta plan our wedding quickly."
I said, "I can understand why she's nervous now."
After we entered the house,
Ethan said, "Since we invited our friends to stay, Alex and you have to take the same room. Is that fine?"
I said, "Totally fine. It's not like we haven't slept on the bed together yet." And walked to the room she showed me.
"Huh?"
I flicked his forehead and said, "Hey! Stop thinking about dirty stuff."
"How do you know I was thinking about that?"
"Because you and I think the same."
"So did you also think dirty stuff?"
I turned to Mr Martinez who was walking silently behind us and asked, "Is your brother always like this? So nosey."
Ethan said, "Who's really the nosey one here?" And poked my cheek.
"Ack! Don't touch my face."
He touched my cheek and said, "Why? What would you do if I touched your cheek?" And continuously touched my face here and there which made me fall on the floor.
Before I fell, someone held me from falling on the floor. When I looked at that person.
He gave a smile at me and said, "You gotta be careful, there's a raised platform here."
"Oh, thank you." And smiled at him.
Ethan placed the bag on my head and said, "Why are you acting so polite suddenly?"
Mr Martinez took the bag from my head and walked past us and headed to the room.
"May I know the pretty lady's name?"
I smiled and said, "It's Isabella Garcia. You can call me Bella."
"Enough with the introduction. Let's go." Ethan dragged me to the room.
"Wait, I didn't ask his name yet."
That guy shouted, "It's Alan!!!"
In the room,
When I entered the room, Mr Martinez was arranging the bags in the room.
I dropped on the bed and asked, "Mr Martinez?"
"What?"
"I don't know what to wear for the wedding. Can you suggest an outfit for tomorrow?"
He gave a nod and said, "Go and take a shower."
"No, I feel so tired. You can have a shower first."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yeah, go on."
After some time, I heard the sound of the door opening.
Mr Martinez was standing with a towel in front of the mirror and was dying his hair using the dryer.
I closed my eyes and said, "How could you come in front of me like that?"
"What's wrong? It's not like I'm naked."
"But you're still half naked."
"Go and shower." And threw a towel on my face.
I walked to the bathroom while closing my eyes and bumped into furniture.
He held my hand and said, "Let me help you."
I asked, "Are you still naked?"
He said, "In your terms, halfnaked."
"Argh! Why are you doing this to me?"
When I touched the door, I rushed into the bathroom and closed the door behind me and shouted, "Get dressed!"
After I'm done with the shower, I wrapped the towel around me and when I was about to open the door, I realised I wasn't the only one who's inside the room.
I shouted, "Mr Martinez?"
He shouted back, "I got dressed up. You can come out."
"It's not about that. Can you go outside the room?"
"Why?"
"I didn't bring any clothes with me."
"Okay. I'll wait outside the room."
After hearing the sound of the door closing, I opened the door and took a look around the room. After making sure that he wasn't in the room, I walked out of the bathroom.
I opened the bag and searched for pyjamas. Where was it? Where did it keep it?
I shouted, "Mr Martinez? Where are my pyjamas?"
"It's below the…"
"I can't hear you."
He opened the door and walked in with eyes closed and said, "It's below your t-shirt."
"Oh, okay."
I dug in and found my pyjamas. "Found it!"
"Okay, I'll wait outside."
"It's fine. You can be here. I'll go to the bathroom to get changed."
After I came out of the bathroom, I saw Mr Martinez was lying on the bed. I took the hair dryer and came out of the room thinking that the sound of the dryer would wake him up.
I was drying my hair in the hallway.
"Hey!"
When I turned, I saw the guy… What was his name? Ah! Alan.
"Alan, is it?"
"Yes. Are you friends with Ethan?"
"More like a sister. How about you?"
"I studied business school with him."
"You're from the UK?"
"Yeah, How about you?"
"I'm from California, USA."
"Oh! Sorry for asking, how old are you?"
"Nineteen."
"No wonder when you look young. And who's the guy you came along with?"
"He's my boss. Ethan's big brother."
"Ohhh. Alexander?"
"Yeah, he is."
"Aren't you feeling uncomfortable being in the same room with your boss?"
"Am I supposed to?"
"You sound like you two… wait, don't tell me that you two are dating."
"Why?"
"I don't know if you heard about this, let me tell you, He has Haphephobia. Do you know that?"
"What's wrong with that?"
"You're asking me? It's the fear of being touched or to touch. I bet he's a virgin. What if he jumps on you in the middle of the night? You can stay in my room though. Even though we're two boys, there's some space for a girl in the bed. Do you wanna join?"
"Good god. He's asleep. A guy tried to raise a hand against me back in Cali, do you know what happened to him after that? Alex beat him to a point where no one couldn't recognise his face. You should have seen that. There's a beast living inside him. And that beast wakes only for me. Do you want to see that?"
After hearing that from me, he walked away from me. I finished drying my hair and came into the room.
Mr Martinez was sleeping peacefully. I laid down beside him and looked at him. Suddenly, He turned towards my side and laid facing me.
"I called you Alex in front of that guy. I didn't know how it came out of my mouth. When I said your name, it felt different. It felt like we're closer than just being boss and employee. I don't know why I got mad when he talked bad about you. He said you might be a virgin because of your phobia. Are you really a virgin? Haven't you kissed or touched any girl? If you didn't, that means I'm your first kiss like you're my first kiss?"
I turned away because of the embarrassment and fell asleep somehow.
On the next day in the morning,
The lights from the outside beamed on my face, making me wake up from sleep. When I opened my eyes, I saw Mr Martinez so close. When i looked at us, Mr Martinez was hugging me like a pillow and i was hugging him back like hugging a teddy bear. What happened last night?
I slowly picked Mr Martinez's hand from my shoulder and tried to get up but he turned towards me and hugged more. It looked like we're cuddling with each other.
I whispered, "Mr Martinez, please wake up. Wakey! Wakey! The sun is already out."
Why wasn't he waking up? What should I do now? I poked him on his cheeks and tried to wake him up but he was sleeping peacefully.
I poked him on his eyes accidentally and when he rubbed his finger, someone opened the door suddenly. I kicked Mr Martinez out of the bed and he fell on the floor.
When the door opened, Ethan walked in and looked at us and said to Mr Martinez, "Brother, I didn't know you were so kind that you gave Bella the entire bed." And looked at me and said, "Both of you be ready. We'll be starting the ceremony shortly."
After I nodded he left.
I got up from the bed and walked to Mr Martinez and kneeled and asked for forgiveness.
He stood and touched my head and said, "Don't act. Stand up."
"I'm really apologising, Mr Martinez."
While he was walking to the door, he let out a sound "Ack!"
"What happened Mr Martinez? Are you alright?"
"That was a strong kick."
"I'm sorry. Do you want me to apply something for the pain?"
"I have to shower. Get your clothes and be ready." And went into the bathroom.
I looked at the clothes Mr Martinez picked up for me. A wine colour velvet designer frock.
I kept it on the bed beside his outfit. There was a tux with a touch of purple streaks on the shoulder line. Where's the shirt and pants? I think he took it along with him in the bathroom after what happened yesterday.
After some time, he came out of the bathroom wearing a white shirt and pants.
"Where are you looking? Go and take shower."
"Yes, Mr Martinez."
After the shower, I came out of the bathroom and Mr Martinez wasn't there. I changed into the frock he brought for me, combed my hair and decorated with some accessories and walked out of the room.
In the wedding venue,
I saw Mr Martinez standing on the altar. The outfit he's wearing looks like he's the groom today. His tux suits him very well. While I was walking in the aisle, everyone looked at me. Is something wrong with my dress? I walked to Mr Martinez and stood in front of him and asked, "How do I look? Does the dress looks good on me?"
He stepped down from the altar and came closer to me and whispered, "I should have bought you a less attention seeking outfit."
I smiled and said, "What?"
"You look so beautiful in this dress. You look great today. I don't know how many are going to look at you."
"This is the first time you're complimenting me on my appearance so I feel shy."
He touched my ears and said, "I thought you're lying about being shy but your ears are damn red. You're really shy."
When I looked at him, his ears turned red too.
"Mr Martinez, your ears…"
He kept his finger on my lips to stop me from talking.
"Alex and Bella!!!"
When I turned, I saw Ethan standing along with his friends. He shouted, "This wedding is for Ethan and Helen and not for Alex and Bella." Which made me chuckle.
I shouted back at him, "Understood!"
Mr Martinez tapped me on the shoulder and signalled me to sit along with others. I walked back and sat among people who were invited to the wedding.
After some time, the wedding ceremony began.
The wedding officiant started speaking, "Friends, family and relatives have invited us here today, in the presence of God, in celebration of their marriage…"
While he was talking, I looked around to look for Olivia but I couldn't see her anywhere. I messaged Mr Martinez and asked where Olivia was. He replied that it looked like Ethan didn't invite her.
Even though he hated her, she is still his mother, right? How could he do something like this to his mother?
After opening words ended, the bride and groom's love story was told by Helen's Friend and the ordained minister asked the question of intent.
"Ethan Rodriguez, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?"
Ethan answered, "I do."
"Helen Roberts, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, in sickness and health as long as you both shall live?"
Helen answered, "I do."
After that they repeated along with the ordained minister and exchanged their rings. Following that blessing words and ended with closing words.
Finally, he presented them, "It is my pleasure to present to you Ethan Rodriguez and Helen Roberts as husband and wife.
Everyone cheered for them and clapped their hands.
In the after-party,
Mr Martinez was speaking with others while I was rummaging what to eat.
After looking at those drinks, I controlled my urge not to drink today and moved on to the food section.
"You look sexy."
When I looked at him, it's Alan.
"Thank you." And continued searching for the food.
"What are you looking for?"
"Something delicious to eat."
He pointed to one food and said, "It tastes good. Trust me and have a taste." He took the plate from my hand and placed it in smaller amounts and said, "Try it."
I took a first bite and chewed in my mouth and said, "It's delicious."
"Told ya. Come with me, over there, they serve the tastiest steak."
After taking a bite of the steak, "Wow! It's not rubbery and easy to chew. It's juicy and delicious."
"Do you love food?"
"A lot! Especially expensive foods."
He laughed and said, "Since you came to the UK, you should try Yorkshire pudding, it is one of the popular desserts in the UK." And placed one on my plate.
After tasting, "Yummy, I thought it would be sweet after hearing the name of pudding but it gives a little bit of pancake taste but not very similar."
"Yeah, some eat it with roast meat. It serves as a great companion for savoury dishes like gravy dishes."
"You sound like someone who knows about food better than just eating it. A blogger? a chef? a critic? What are you?"
"What do I look like?"
"Handsome. But with a lousy mouth."
He laughed and said, "Some say I have a sharp tongue."
"They're not wrong though."
"Hey! Do you like your boss?"
"Huh?"
"It was obvious when you boasted about him yesterday."
"He's my boss. I was supposed to speak for him. That doesn't mean that i…"
"That you???"
I pushed him back and said, "He sees me as his employee."
"Do you wanna test it?"
"How to do that?"
"Spike his drink."
"No way! I'm not going to spike my boss's drink."
"Do you want to really know?"
"Yeah, but not that way. Fine, how to do it?"
He gave me something and said, "Mix it in his drink… Listen carefully, ten minutes. After ten minutes, take him away from here."
"You're not a drug dealer, right?"
He laughed and said, "I bought it to have fun with my friends."
"Why are you giving it to me?"
"Aren't you my friend?"
I smiled and said, "Thank you. But I'm still scared to do something like this. Does it have any side effects? What if he knows that he's drugged?"
He started walking away from me saying, "Ten minutes."
I looked at the substance he gave me and looked at Mr Martinez who was still talking with the people who came to the wedding after-party.
I took a glass of wine and poured the mixture into it and walked to Mr Martinez. I gave him a glass of wine saying, "Give me company." He took the glass from my hand and clicked it with mine and started drinking it.
I sat at a table and looked at the time. Waiting for ten minutes to get over.