Chapter Three- There's no way in hell I'll marry him

Isabella's point of view

I promised to call Cameron's boyfriend the moment I had the time. Now I was stuck in a hug with my mother.

"I honestly thought you wouldn't come when we sent the letter, it was your foolish cousin's idea," She said into my hair and even when we weren't hugging anymore, she held unto my aunt.

None of my foolish cousins were out though.

She held unto my cheek and pinched it a bit, "I'm happy you're here," She said.

The words were at the tip of my tongue honestly but I couldn't say them out. Shell shocked from the fact that I actually have not seen my mom for the past five years.

My mom didn't look much different though, her hair was longer and she even added bangs that brought out her cheekbones and made her more beautiful. She was a bit shorter but perhaps it was because I was older now and a bit taller too.

"Mom," I choked out the words, "Is it true?" I asked scared of the answer though I could feel it was true.

Was dad dead?

My mom nodded, the smile on her face changed into a frown, "He died last week, car accident. We had a small private funeral a few days after he died, just a few family members," She stared at the house for a few seconds before she turned around to look at me.

The tears didn't come like I thought, I just did a little weird nod kind of thing before I turned to Cameron whom just stood aside and allowed us have the moment.

"This is my best friend Cameron and my roommate, she's also a designer and helps me with work and stuff"

Cameron must have felt like this was some sort of auction because honestly that was the way I would have felt if I was the one but she took it with a smile and excitedly shook my mom's hand, careful not to bring her into a hug.

The walk to the house was filled with chatter between Cameron and my mother, they became instant friends and started talking about things that I wouldn't even think about discussing with Cameron.

I mean who the fuck exchanged knowledge on the type of spices that were best in what dish and how does one even talked about such things when there was no food in the midst.

It gave me space to grieve though.

****

"You must marry him," Mom shouted the moment I showed my disinterest in the continuation of the arranged marriage with Zachary Newman.

I raised my eyebrow, "Dad's dead already mom, I doubt my wedding to Zach would bring him back" I added an eyeroll to emphasize my point of not giving a fuck about the whole situation at this point in time.

Mom however, stared at me like I had grown two heads.

I was glad Cameron decided exploring the nook and cranny of my old room was the best way to spend her free time. Perhaps she was having a chat with her boyfriend who would so pissed off at this point in time. I half hoped we weren't the only ones who disappointed him.

Mom moved closer to me, "Your dad ended the deal with the wrong person and so it was null and void, the lawyer said it doesn't work that way because it's supposed to be unbreakable or something like that" Her cold palms found mine and held unto them, "I tried paying them off but the business your dad started came from the Newman's family,"

"So now we're in debt and there's nothing we can do about it" I ended the rest of her sentence.

My family wasn't the wealthiest but we could afford the basic amenities and sometimes the expensive stuff. And now, they were dead broke.

"I can pay them off, I'm sure," My brain was scrambling for ideas of things to do to get out of this mess.

I wasn't interested in getting married to anyone, least of all Zachary Newman.

"Perhaps my lawyer should have a look at this contract and see what we can do about it," Trying to see the positive in every situation was now my new motto, "I'm sure some sort of loophole must be there, something that won't make me get married to that man."

This was something I thought had been settled years back. I couldn't even mourn my dad in peace apparently because I would be too busy trying to fight for my freedom.

But my mom. My mom was fighting a different kind of loss.

Dad was her constant companion after I disappeared. I didn't leave them with any way of getting in contact with me.

I raised my head up, "How were you able to send that letter? How did you get my address?"

Mom looked down as blood rapidly rose to her cheeks in the form of a blush, "About that," She started, "A year after you left, your dad enlisted the help of Zachary Newman to search for you. He couldn't live with the fact that he didn't know where his baby girl was after everything."

"But once your business started becoming popular, we did not need Zachary anymore and just kind of stalked you by ourselves." She added.

The words sent a warm kind of feeling to my chest. The idea that my parents watched after me even when we were miles apart and I decided to go on a silence rampage.

I squeezed her hand a bit, "I'm here now and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," I promised her.

"Even after what we made you do?"

I nodded.

This time, the hug from my mom felt natural and I sank into it all the way. Her scent gave me a sense of calm.

"Now where are those cousins of mine?"

I spent the rest of the day combing through the contract my dad had signed those years back, desperately searching for something that would annul it without spending a single dime in payment to those bastards.

I sent a picture of it to my lawyer while Cameron made a cup of coffee for me. She hadn't been here for even a half a day and she already knew my kitchen better than I did.

That explained why she was the better cook. Her boyfriend would be so lucky to have her as a bride.

"Talk to your boyfriend yet?" I asked her when it became obvious that my search was futile. I had the urge to tear it up and burn it to ashes.

She took a sip from my coffee to make sure it was perfect before sliding it over to me. There was a time I found it annoying but now, I barely even noticed it.

"Yeah, I forgot to mention to him last night that I would be going on a fun little trip with you and apparently," The smile on her lips became bigger, "He wanted us to go on a date this evening but since we were on a super important mission, he agreed to wait till I came back."

A loving boyfriend.

"That's cool," I swallowed the rest of the coffee and pushed the mug aside, "I'm really happy you're happy Cam, really."

Cameron wasn't the luckiest when it came to love so I was glad she met someone like her boyfriend. I needed to stick his name to my brain at this point in time.

"I'm pretty sure the date is going to be epic and I would hear each and every detail about it," I said, "Even the sexual details that aren't meant to be shared," I added the last part sarcastically.

Cameron giggled, "You need to live through me since you're......."

A knock on the door put a halt into the rest of Cameron's sentence. My mom was asleep already and so were the so called cousins, two cheeky brats who wanted to stay for the weekend. I didn't really have friends here.

I looked Cameron in the eyes and said, "Get behind me and if you need to run, run."

We weren't really in the safest of neighborhoods and every once in a while when I still lived here, there was always a theft.

Cameron rolled her eyes in defiance but at least, she listened to me. The person knocked again, harder this time.

"Who's there?" I called out.

I wasn't ready to see him. I had no intention of ever seeing him but it seemed the universe had other plans for me because he was the person on the other side of the door.

I sighed out in annoyance, "Didn't your mother ever teach you the first thing about knocking? You're supposed to reply when asked who's there and state who you were."

The cheeky grin on his face just got wider, "Well then, it wouldn't be a surprise if I yelled out my name," He turned to Cameron, "You understand my point right?"

"Who're you?" Cameron asked, moving farther away from my shield of protection.

He did a tsk sound with his tongue on his teeth, giving me that infuriating grin again, "I thought Isabella here would have told you everything about me. I'm Zachary Newman, your friend's soon to be husband."