“Bell, wait,” he pleads. Using his nickname for me makes me soften and turn around. “We all have secrets. I know you have yours, and I have mine. It’s better if I don’t tell you some things, believe me, you wouldn’t want to know.”
I stare at him, unsure of how to respond to his statement. We all have secrets. Yeah, ain’t that the truth. I pull out one of my photography business cards from my purse and walk towards him. I hold it out to him and he just looks at it confused.
“This has my cell number on it. If you change your mind about being honest, call me.”
Instead of grabbing the card, he grabs my wrist and rubs his thumb along my skin. He stares down at my hand for a while before lifting his head and looking straight into my eyes.
“I really wish things could end differently Annabella, just know that, okay?”
He then takes the card from my hand and puts it in his pocket before he brushes past me to walk off. I turn to watch him leave, unsure if I’ll ever see him again. He stops and turns his head.
“Goodbye, Bell.”
***
I drive home completely lost in my own thoughts. I’m not even sure how I made it back in one piece because I barely remember the drive. I can’t wrap my head around everything Lucas said, or didn’t say for that matter. I was hoping he would fess up and tell me that he was following me, and that he’d have some sort of reason for it. I just didn’t know what that reason could possibly be. Should I fear him? Should I not have given him my phone number? I know if Julian found out, he’d be pissed, but he’s doing a lot of shit that’s pissing me off too, so I try to shrug it off. I’m sure Lucas will never call anyway.
I walk into the house in a daze. I throw my stuff down on the entryway table and make my way to the kitchen and start making myself a drink. I’m pouring the clear liquid over some ice when I hear a bang upstairs. My head snaps up and I’m instantly alert. Julian shouldn’t be here, but then again, I was in such a daze I didn’t even notice if his car was outside or not. I pull a knife out of the kitchen drawer and slowly make my way upstairs. When I get to the landing I can hear some noise coming from my bedroom. Whoever it is is still in there. I panic and wonder if maybe I should just go back downstairs and leave, but at the same time, curiosity gets the better of me and I want to know who the hell is in my house and why.
I creep down the hall, trying to stay on the side where the floor doesn’t creak. I have my back pressed up against the wall and I make my way to the bedroom door that is partially open. From where I’m standing, I can only see the part of the room and nobody is there. I slowly make my way to the crack in the door and peer into the other side. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. It’s Julian and he’s going through my drawers.
I stand there watching him for a while. What the hell is he doing? Why is he going through my things? It seems like he’s looking for something, but what the hell could he possibly think I’m hiding in my sock and underwear drawers?
Right as I’m about to step inside and confront him, his phone vibrates and he takes it out of his pocket and answers it and I listen to the one sided conversation.
“Yeah?” he answers.
“No, I haven’t.” There’s a pause and he moves from the nightstand to the dresser and continues looking in there.
“I’ve looked! I haven’t found anything,” he says heatedly.
“No, I don’t know where the fuck she is.” The way he spits that out doesn’t sound anything like the Julian I know.
Another pause as he listens to the voice on the other side of the phone.
“I told you I’ll handle it and I’m going to. Now leave me the fuck alone so I can finish up before...” he trails off, probably getting cut off by whoever is on the other line. “Right. Bye.”
He tosses his phone onto the dresser and straightens up to look at himself in the mirror.
“What the fuck am I doing?” he asks himself in a whisper.
It’s then that his eyes widen in the reflection and he turns around, looking at the bedroom door.
“How long have you been there, Annabella?” he asks, and there’s nothing but irritation in his tone.
I push open the door the rest of the way and take one step in.
“Long enough,” I answer.
He doesn’t say anything but I see his eyes drop to my hand where I’m still clutching the butcher knife from the kitchen. His eyes meet mine again and he gestures with his head towards the knife. “What are you doin’ with that?”
I look down at it and then back up at him and just shrug my shoulders. “I thought I might need it.”
He raises his eyebrows in surprise. “Why would you need it?” His voice is low and calm, but his caramel colored eyes are intense.
“I just thought maybe somebody had broken in, so I came up to check it out.”
“We live in a safe neighborhood. Nobody has break-ins around here, why would you think that? Why wouldn’t you think it was me? Unless you knew it was,” he says and lifts one eyebrow.
“What are you talking about Julian?” I ask. “Of course I didn’t know it was you, I didn’t notice your car outside when I came in. I thought somebody else was in the house.”
“And you were just willing to come up here with that knife and do what exactly?”
“I don’t know! I guess I wasn’t really thinking, I just grabbed it and came to see what the noise was that I heard.”
“Why didn’t you think to leave or call the cops? That would have been the smart thing to do, instead of coming up here with that big ass knife.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t and it was you anyway so stop with the lecture, I’ll make sure to remember to run and hide next time,” I declare.
He nods once. “Good, because you aren’t a killer, are you Bella?”
I don’t really think he’s questioning me, because he’s saying it more like, I know you don’t have it in you. He continues to regard me and I realize that maybe he is waiting for an answer.
I shake my head. “No Julian, I’m not a killer.”
He stares at me a while longer before I remember what I overheard.
“Why were you going through my things Julian, and who were you talking to? And just remember, I heard your whole conversation.” I put one hand on my hip while the other still holds the knife down at my side.
Julian’s eyes flick towards the knife and then back at me. He shifts his body and opens his mouth like he’s about to say something but then quickly snaps it shut.
“I don’t have time to talk about this right now. I need to get back to work. We’ll talk later.”
He walks towards me trying to get through the door but I don’t move.
“Oh, we most definitely will talk, and I think we have a lot of things to discuss.”
He looks at me for a few seconds before walking off and making his way out of the house.
After Julian leaves, I sit on the edge of the bed and drop my head into my hands and sob. I cry for my marriage that has taken this unexpected turn. I cry for my family because I still miss them. I cry for me because I lost myself all those years ago, I just let the tears fall until I have nothing left. I don’t know what’s happening in my life, I feel like it’s spinning out of control and I have no idea why or what to do to stop it.
I force myself to get up so I can jump in the shower and wash my face that I’m sure is completely stained with mascara. When I get out, I throw on some sweats and tank top and make my way downstairs to make myself something to eat. I grab my phone from my purse and see that I have a few missed calls and texts. I have a text from Jade telling me about her and Jackson’s most recent date. I have a text from Michelle asking me if I want to go out with her this weekend. I respond to them both.
Me: Hey Jade, I’m glad your date went well; we’ll have to talk soon! Did Michelle invite you out this weekend? I think we should all go. I need to get out.
Me: Hey Michelle, I am so down to go out!
I check the mis
sed phone calls and both of them are from blocked numbers and they didn’t leave a message. Guess it wasn’t important.
I put the phone down on the end table next to the couch and go to the kitchen and start rummaging through the fridge and pantry to see what I can eat that’s fairly quick. I end up just grabbing a bowl of cereal and take it into the living room. When I sit down my phone starts ringing and when I look at it, I see that it’s Michelle.
“Hello?”
“Whoo!! Girls night!” Michelle yells into the phone.
I laugh at her excitement. “Yes! I can’t wait, when are you thinking? Let’s go Friday!”
“Friday works for me. I need to get away from this husband of mine as soon as possible or I might kill him.”
“Uh oh, no killing allowed, although I’m right there with ya. I just need to go let loose a little bit,” I say before shoving a spoonful of cereal into my mouth.
“Are all the husbands having their periods this week or what?” she asks with a laugh.
I laugh along with her, trying not to spit my cereal out. “Yeah, I think so.”
“Fuck em then!” she yells. “We’ll all go out and get drunk and have a good time. Just plan on coming to my house and then we’ll take a cab out together.”
“Okay, sounds good to me.”
“Alright chick, I’m gonna call Jade now and make sure she’s coming. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay, bye!” I say before hanging up and finishing my cereal.
I start looking forward to Friday so I can go and try to forget about all the drama and craziness going on in my life right now. I’m sure Julian won’t mind me being gone. He’ll probably just snoop through my underwear drawers again or some shit.
After I finish my cereal and put my dishes away, I grab my kindle and go curl up on the couch and get ready to escape reality for a little while. I sit there completely enthralled in my book about a woman trapped in the house of a controlling, yet sexy millionaire. I read for a couple of hours before I finally decide to put it down. I look up at the clock and see that it’s five o’clock, Julian will be getting off work soon and I need to prepare myself for the fight I’m sure is going to happen.
After I throw a load of laundry into the washing machine, I hear my phone going off in the living room. I go and pick up the phone and see that the texts are from Julian.
Julian: I’m going to be late. I have things to handle first.
Julian: Sorry
I scoff. He’s just trying to avoid having the conversation about what the fuck he was talking about earlier. I don’t respond to his texts. I have nothing to say to him right now anyway.
Chapter Fourteen
I don’t even know when Julian decided to bring his ass home last night. I ended up going to bed around ten and he never contacted me again after his initial texts. There was no reason for him to be coming home that late, I don’t know what the hell he is up to, but I do know that it can’t be anything good.
When I woke up, he was just leaving for work, or at least I assumed it was work. Who knows anymore. What I do know, is that I can’t continue living this way. I’m determined to badger him with questions when he gets home.
I spend my day doing some shopping, a little cleaning, talking to Jade and Michelle about our girl’s night out, and editing some pictures to give to my clients. All in all, the day is pretty mundane, but it seems to pass fairly quickly and for that I’m grateful. It’s about four thirty when I receive a message from Julian telling me to meet him in the city for dinner. I almost respond saying I don’t want to, but I’ll take what I can get at this point. This may be my chance to get some information out of him. He tells me a place and time to meet him and I instantly start getting ready for the evening. I choose a strapless, hi low, cocktail dress. The top has black lace on top of white satin, and a black ribbon goes under the bust. The rest of it is a white, sheer material. I pair the dress with black, five inch heels.
When I am pulling up to the restaurant, I instantly spot Julian standing outside and he looks unbelievably handsome. He’s wearing a black vested suit that fits his body just right and he has his hair slicked back in a way that makes him look classically handsome. I sigh and pull into a parking spot, and before I can gather my purse, my car door swings open and Julian has his hand there to help me out of the car. He sure is pulling out all the stops.
I take his hand and step out of the car and he closes the door behind me.
“You look beautiful, Annabella,” he says and kisses me on the cheek.
“Thanks, you clean up nice yourself,” I respond and he lets out a chuckle.
He holds out his arm and I place my hand in the crook of his elbow and we walk to the restaurant together in silence.
This restaurant is simply amazing. It’s called The Signature Room at the 95th and it’s located atop the John Hancock Center with dazzling views of the skyline. The floor-to-ceiling windows show off the stunning Chicago skyline and gives you 360° degree views of the entire city. It’s absolutely breathtaking.
We take our seats at a table near the window and there is a small arrangement of flowers already on the table. Stargazer lilies and white roses, my favorites. I look over at Julian and he has a sheepish smile on his face.
“You arrange this?” I ask him, pointing to the flowers.
He smiles and nods. “I did. Do you like them?”
“Of course, they’re beautiful. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
We take some time to look over the menu without speaking about anything besides what we want to eat. Julian decides on a roasted rack of lamb and I choose the petit filet. There was already a bottle of champagne chilling at our table when we arrived. I assume he arranged that as well.
After we place our order with the waiter, we sit there in an awkward silence, taking sips of our champagne and I keep my gaze looking out onto the sparkling lights of the city.
Julian clears his throat and I turn to look at him.
“Annabella, we need to talk.”
Oh God, here it goes. What is he about to lay on me? I hope it’s nothing I can’t take. I continue to stare at him, waiting for him to continue.
He clears his throat again. “Well, I guess I should ask you if you have any questions or anything you want to say first.”
Julian picks up his glass and takes a long sip of his drink. I know I have questions, lots of them, I just don’t know where to start.
“Well, Julian,” I state, trying to sound confident. “I want you to know that I have overheard a couple of your conversations.” I pause after saying that to let it soak in and watch him. His face doesn’t change, he stays stoic and doesn’t say anything. He finally nods and waits for me to continue.
“Yeah, well, I heard you say “she can’t find out” to the guy at the door, oh and how you could barely look at me. Funny, considering you had just fucked me.” He flinched a little at that comment. “I also saw you going through my things and saying “I don’t know where the fuck she is”. So I would like to know what all that means?”
I take a drink all while keeping my eyes on him and then place it down and continue to stare into his eyes. It feels like minutes before he responds.
“Annabella, you remember the new case I’ve been talking about?” he asks, and I nod in response.
“That new case involves a woman,” he says and then looks at me as if he’s waiting for me to react.
“Okay,” I drag out.
“I just need to keep track of her and gather information on what she’s doing, where she’s going and stuff like that, but it seems like I lost her. I haven’t seen her around lately and I’m afraid she might have been aware that she was under surveillance. So when I said “she can’t find out” and “I don’t know where the fuck she is” that’s who I was talking about. Not you.”
I take that in for a minute. It seems like it could be true, but for some reason, I don’t believe it.
“Okay, s
o why were you going through my things?” I ask.
He stiffens and reaches for his drink. Without making eye contact with me he says, “Oh, I, uh, I was looking for one of my ties. I couldn’t find it and thought maybe it had gotten thrown into one of your drawers.”
Mmhhmm. I seriously doubt that. I look at him skeptically and he looks at me briefly before taking a drink.
“So why did you tell whoever you were talking to that you looked but didn’t find anything?”
“I was talking about the case, Annabella,” he says, slightly exasperated.
I knew there wasn’t anything that he was going to say that would placate me. I knew he wasn’t going to be forthright and he knew he wasn’t going to be honest with me. Right as I was about to tell him that he was completely full of shit, his phone went off. Of course.
He pulled his phone out and read the text but didn’t respond.
“Work again?” I ask.
“Yeah, work.”
“Are you going to respond?”
“No, it’s not too important.”
Just then the waiter comes out and brings us our food and it looks and smells delicious. As he’s placing our plates down in front of us, I hear Julian’s phone go off again. He taps the screen and reads the message. He instantly tenses and begins looking around, so I look as well.
“Everything alright?” I ask him.
“Yeah, I just gotta go to the bathroom real quick. I’ll be back.” Then he rushes off.
“How does everything look, ma’am?” The waiter asks.
“Oh, perfect, thank you.”
Once he walks away I begin looking around the restaurant to see if I can spot Julian anywhere. There’s a doorway that leads out of the dining room and I can see a few people on the other side but they all look the same; men in nice suits. I keep my eyes trained on the doorway and one of the men turns slightly and I can see that it’s Julian. He’s talking to one of the guys that are standing there and his face is stern. Julian shifts his body and looks to his right and it’s then that I notice there’s another man that he’s talking to that is standing beyond my line of sight.
The Secrets That We Keep Page 9
