by Holly Martin
‘I have two half-brothers,’ Bella said, quietly.
‘My parents decided to keep it quiet for their sake and for his wife,’ Dougie said. ‘I think a lot of people on Hope Island knew but Sarah lived on St Mary’s so she was spared a lot of the gossip.’
‘That’s why your parents always invited me round for dinner when we were kids,’ Bella said.
‘They adored you. My dad felt responsible for you in some way. Tom wasn’t there so my dad wanted to help. I know he gave your mum quite a bit of money in the beginning,’ he glanced at Lucy. ‘He was quite instrumental in persuading your mum to let Lucy adopt you.’
Bella couldn’t believe it. Dougie was always so protective of her and now she knew why.
‘You knew we were cousins, even when we were kids?’
Dougie nodded. ‘My mum told me when I was very young that I needed to look after you because you were family. I didn’t really appreciate how true that was until I was a bit older. They always referred to you as my cousin. I guess that’s why I started calling you it too.’
Bella couldn’t help smiling. Not only had Lucy and Finn adopted her because they loved her and wanted her but she suddenly had an extended family that cared about her too. She had another cousin, another aunt and uncle who had cared about her. She was loved. She wasn’t unlovable at all.
Immediately her thoughts turned to Isaac. She had been scared by her feelings and tried to protect herself.
‘Oh god, Lucy, what have I done? Isaac told me he loved me and I told him I wanted to break up with him. He’s going to hate me for this.’
‘He’ll be hurt and angry, of course he will, but love is not something you can switch off. Go to him; explain why you felt this way. Don’t be afraid of love Bella; love brought us you and it was the most wonderful thing in the world.’
She looked at Dougie and he nodded. ‘I was in love with the most wonderful woman, still am if truth be told, and I never told her, life got in the way and I could never see a way that we could make it work. I fear now it’s too late but once I move back over here, I’m going to give it a go. Go and see Isaac. Tell him you love him too. Don’t waste time regretting what you should have said or done.’
‘I need to talk to him.’ Bella stood up decisively. ‘I need to go to London and tell him I love him. If nothing else he needs to know that.’
‘I’ll look after Alfie for you while you’re away,’ Lucy said. ‘Take as long as you need.’
She gave her aunt a hug. ‘When I get back, I’m going to change my last name to Lancaster. I’m not going to carry the name of a man that never wanted me. He doesn’t deserve that.’
Lucy smiled. ‘I would love it if you would take our name. But it makes no difference what you’re called, you’ll always be our daughter.’
Bella kissed her on the cheek and gave Dougie a hug then turned to run out of the house. Before she got to the front door, she turned back. ‘Oh cuz, I doubt very much that you’re too late.’
He grinned. ‘I really hope not.’
She ran out the house and down the street. She knew she had to talk to Isaac and, as daunting as it was, it looked like a trip to London was in order. She’d never been on her own before, but how scary could it be?
Bella wanted to cry.
It had taken over twelve hours for her to arrive in London. Once she had arrived in St Mary’s she realised she had missed the last plane out of the Scilly Isles and had been forced to take a three-hour ferry ride to Penzance where she found she had missed the last train and had to wait for the sleeper train, which finally got her into London just after five in the morning. To her surprise she had still found it a bustle of people and cars. Not knowing where Isaac was staying and, knowing his office wouldn’t be open for several hours, Bella had sought refuge in a café for a while. It had felt so different to the warmth and friendliness of Rosa’s. People avoided eye contact with everyone else here, staring into their breakfasts and coffees.
She had already phoned Elsie to explain she wouldn’t be in today. She felt awful but now the fair was out the way and the launch of the egg hunt app was happening tomorrow and all the marketing for that had been taken care of, there wasn’t a lot left to do that couldn’t wait a while.
After nine Bella had set out to find Isaac’s office, using an address she had found online. She had caught the wrong train on the underground and when she had tried to rectify the situation by taking a different train she had made the situation worse and ended up in completely the wrong part of London. People were not friendly here – she had tried to stop several people to ask for directions and they had all side-stepped her and hurried on to wherever they needed to be without even a look back. The place was frenetic, filled with people in suits travelling to important meetings, tourists, people clearly going on holiday with their oversized suitcases.
She had finally found Isaac’s office only to be told that she was at the wrong office and she needed to head over to the other side of London again. Now she was standing in front of what she hoped was the right place, a towering glass building that reached right up into the sky.
It was late afternoon and she had been awake for over twenty-four hours. She was still in the clothes she had worn to visit her aunt the day before, it was raining and she was decidedly damp all over.
She caught sight of herself in the mirrored glass doors: with her blue dress and red Converse, she looked like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, whisked away from the small-town life she loved to a magical land – only London didn’t feel that magical right now. Her hair was a frizzy tangle of curls, the bottom of the dress was torn slightly from getting it caught in the train doors and she was pretty sure she didn’t smell that good. Isaac was going to take one look at her and run for the hills.
Bella had called Isaac several times throughout the night and that day but he hadn’t answered, which was not helping her to keep hope either.
She took a deep breath and stepped forward towards the revolving doors, just as a man barged past her with a large suitcase, knocking out her knees. She toppled over the suitcase and landed face down on the pavement. In a puddle.
‘Oh my god, I’m so sorry,’ the man said. ‘Are you OK?’
Bella sat up and stared down at her dress, which was now covered in a muddy wet stain. ‘I’m fine,’ Bella lied, trying to keep the wobble out of her voice.
The man offered his hand to help her up and she took it and he pulled her to her feet.
‘Are you hurt?’
Bella touched her cheek which felt sore and looked down at her knees to see one of them was bleeding. She wasn’t going to cry. She just needed to get to Isaac and put right what she had done. ‘No, I’m OK.’
‘I’m so sorry, I just have a flight to catch and I’m running late and—’
‘It’s fine,’ Bella smiled to reassure him. She just needed to get away from him now, because with him fussing all over her, she was going to lose it any second.
She moved off towards the door before the man could apologise or ask her if she was OK again. She pushed her way through the revolving door and went up to the main reception desk, well aware that lots of people in suits were staring at her like something the cat had dragged in.
The pretty receptionist looked up as she approached; she was obviously very professional because her smile didn’t falter at all when she saw the state Bella was in.
‘I’m here to see Isaac Scott,’ Bella said.
The girl nodded. ‘Do you have an appointment?’
‘No, I—’
‘I can’t let you up unless you’re on the appointment list.’
‘I have a meeting with him, I’m very late,’ Bella lied, hoping the girl would be sympathetic to her.
The girl looked down her clipboard again. ‘Are you part of the Oak and Acorn meeting?’
That was the bank she had spoken to while trying to have phone sex with Isaac. She grabbed the opportunity with both hands. ‘Yes, I’m Graham Miller’s assis
tant. I’m new and this is my first day in the job. I’m supposed to take minutes in this meeting but I went to the wrong office on the other side of town.’
‘OK, what’s the name?’
Bella hesitated but if they asked for ID she would only have something with her name on. ‘Bella Roussel.’
The girl consulted her list again. ‘I have an Isabella, is that you?’
Bella nodded, cringing inside. She never lied and now the lies were falling out of her mouth one after the other.
‘Isabella Taylor?’
‘Oh yes, that’s my maiden name. I’m just married,’ Bella added another lie to the list.
The girl didn’t look too sure. ‘I’ll just ring up and check.’
‘Please,’ Bella said. ‘This is my first day and I really need to make a good impression or I’ll lose this job and I really need it. Graham is expecting me and I’m already late. My name is down on your list even if it’s my maiden name. I really need to get to this meeting.’
The girl eventually nodded. ‘The meeting has already started, so you’ll need to check in with the reception at BlazeStar to see if you can be admitted. Take the lift to the twenty-fourth floor.’
Bella nodded and walked to the row of lifts, where several other people in smart suits were waiting. The doors pinged open and everyone poured in, pressing several different buttons. Bella followed them in, knowing she stood out like a sore thumb in her pretty summer dress. She looked down at herself; well it had been pretty at one point.
How was she going to play this? She could hardly walk straight into the meeting and declare her love for Isaac. But at least if she was up there she could wait for him to come out.
The doors pinged open on several floors where people got on or got off. Her heart was racing. Would he forgive her? Would he kiss her as soon as he saw her? Would he just throw her out back onto the street?
The doors pinged open on the twenty-fourth floor and she quickly hurried out.
There was another receptionist sitting behind a silvery desk emblazoned with the BlazeStar logo and Bella had no idea how to play this. She couldn’t give the same excuse she had given to the girl downstairs because she certainly couldn’t just waltz into that meeting like she belonged there, especially not dressed as she was. That wouldn’t look good for Isaac and the Umbrella Foundation, not after the phone sex scandal. She walked up to the desk.
‘I’m here to see Isaac Scott,’ Bella said.
The receptionist looked her up and down. ‘Do you have an appointment?’
‘No, but—’
‘Mr Scott won’t see you unless you have an appointment.’
‘He asked me to come in and see him today. I work for the Umbrella Foundation.’ Bella was relieved that was one thing that wasn’t a lie, though she wasn’t sure how much longer she would be working there when she had taken a day off. ‘He told me to just pop in whenever I could and he would see me.’
‘What’s your name?’
‘Bella Roussel.’
‘I don’t have any record of that name here.’
Bella swallowed down the tears that were threatening to come. She was so tired, her knee was still bleeding and all she wanted was to see Isaac and feel his arms around her.
‘As I said, it was a casual arrangement.’
‘Well he’s in a meeting at the moment so—’
‘Bella?’
She whirled round at the sound of Claudia’s voice but she didn’t seem as happy to see her as the last time she had turned up outside Isaac’s office with Rocket. Clearly Claudia knew that she and Isaac had broken up.
‘What are you doing here?’
‘I really need to see Isaac.’
Claudia stared at her for a moment or two then gestured for her to follow her.
‘Let me see if I can get him out of this meeting for a few minutes,’ Claudia said.
Bella didn’t argue, even though she was sure Isaac wouldn’t appreciate being interrupted in the middle of a meeting.
She followed Claudia down a corridor and then she opened a door and walked in. Bella held back when she could see that it was a meeting room and Isaac was sitting with his back to the door listening to someone talk. Her heart soared. Finally, almost twenty-four hours after leaving Hope Island, she had found him.
Claudia bent to whisper in his ear and immediately he turned in his chair and his eyes found hers. He was on his feet a second later and in two big strides he was out of the meeting room, closing the door behind him.
It was just the two of them in the corridor now and he seemed frozen to the spot, not moving towards her, not saying anything either.
She didn’t know what to say but her body took care of that when she suddenly and inexplicably burst into tears.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Isaac took her by the arm and guided her into the room next door, a little canteen with soft chairs and tea and coffee making facilities. He encouraged her to sit down then he grabbed some kitchen towel from the roll, wet it and knelt down to dab at her cut while she sobbed so hard she could barely breathe.
‘What happened Bella; are you hurt?’
‘I needed to see you and I took the ferry to St Mary’s yesterday and I’d missed the last flight out and had to take the boat to the mainland and the sea was really rough and then I had to take the sleeper train to London and I ended up sharing a cabin with some lady called Brenda who glared at me the whole time and I was too scared to fall asleep. I got into London at five and I sat in a café where no one spoke to me and then I tried to find your office and I got lost and then ended up at the wrong office and then came here and got mowed down by some idiot with a giant suitcase and landed in a puddle. Then the lady at reception wouldn’t let me up here to see you and I had to lie and say I was Graham Miller’s assistant and I never lie and I called you several times and you never answered and…’ she trailed off, knowing she sounded like a blubbering idiot. Isaac was staring at her in shock but he still hadn’t done or said anything that gave her any hope and the big romantic reunion Bella had had in her mind had clearly fallen by the wayside.
Isaac grabbed the small first aid kit off the wall and pulled out a plaster which he placed with great care over the cut on her knee. ‘I think my phone is still at your house, it must have fallen out when I was there.’ He looked up at her. ‘What are you doing here, Bella?’
Just then Claudia walked into the room. ‘Sorry to interrupt but they need you back in the meeting, Isaac.’
Isaac stood up and pushed his hand through his hair, clearly torn. Was this it? She’d had her one minute of time with him and instead of grabbing him and telling him she loved him she had spent the time crying and blathering on about her ridiculous journey. Clearly the tiredness was getting the better of her.
‘Claudia, can you ask Marcus to take Bella back to my hotel.’ He fished his wallet out of his pocket and handed Bella a black key card. ‘I’m in the Lunar Suite. Order room service, have a shower, I’ll be back as soon as I can.’
Bella nodded numbly and Isaac moved to walk out the room.
‘Wait.’ She quickly stood up, grabbed a fistful of his shirt and kissed him. He didn’t kiss her back and tears welled up in her eyes again. She pulled back slightly. ‘I love you; I came to tell you that I love you.’
He nodded. ‘I’ll see you soon; we can talk about it then.’
With that he walked out of the room and Claudia went with him.
This wasn’t what was supposed to happen at all.
A few minutes later Claudia reappeared. ‘I’ve just called Marcus, Isaac’s driver. He’s waiting for you outside. I’ll escort you down.’
She numbly followed Claudia back to the lifts and Claudia walked in with her. They were alone so as soon as the doors closed, Bella turned to her.
‘Did Isaac tell you what happened?’
Claudia nodded. ‘He was heartbroken. I told you before that he has problems with trust. He trusted you with his heart and I don�
��t know if there’s any way back from this.’
Bella had no words. Had she really ruined everything between them?
The lift doors pinged open and Claudia escorted her out. She walked up to a large black car that was waiting outside and a man got out and opened the back door.
‘Good luck, Bella,’ Claudia said, softly.
Bella nodded her thanks, feeling empty inside. She climbed in and the man shut the door. She saw him talking to Claudia for a moment before Claudia walked away and Marcus climbed into the driver’s seat.
He didn’t say a word as he drove through the busy city streets to a tall building next to the Thames. Once at the hotel, he opened the door for her and escorted her inside. One of the porters came rushing over and Marcus spoke to him.
‘This is Bella Roussel, a good friend of Mr Scott’s. Can you escort her up to the Lunar Suite? She already has a key.’
‘Of course, Miss, if you’d like to come this way,’ the porter said.
Bella turned to Marcus. ‘Thank you.’
He nodded and flashed her a brief smile before walking away.
The porter escorted her into a lift and up to the top floor where there were only four doors. He directed her to the one in the corner clearly labelled the Lunar Suite and then left her alone.
She used the key and let herself in and immediately Rocket came tearing across the room to greet her, leaping up and barking excitedly. At least someone was pleased to see her. The room had a large seating area and even a large kitchen off to one side. There was a bedroom leading off the lounge and a wonderful view of the Thames and the city beyond which dominated the room. She scooped Rocket up in her arms and sank down onto the sofa, staring out on the view. Claudia’s words echoed in her head. I don’t know if there’s any way back from this.
