Fooled Me Twice Novels & Stories

Chapter 46 • The Guardian 'I fell again for his perfidious act… I became a fool again. I fell into the same trap. I thought he changed. I thought he meant it this time but no… He doesn't… He's doing the same thing to me again… Repeatedly telling me that I… am… a… fool. No I'm not… I'm not…' She thought as she used her fist on a tree in the forest. She kept hitting her fist on the tree as she shouted.

The only truth left after stripping away all the excuses and lies I spent years feeding myself. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly before nodding. “I understand that now,” I say, meeting Grandpa’s gaze. “Don’t worry. Hunter won’t be able to talk his way back into my life this time. As they say, fool me once...But fool me twice?” I shake my head. “Now that’s nearly impossible.” Grandpa smiles and cover my hand with his, squeezing it gently. “That’s my girl.” The lovely moment lasts exactly three seconds.

I conclude. Michael's eyes widen in shock as he finally looks up at me, but I can tell he's not ready to back down yet. "You lie, Mr. West!" he protests, trying to sound convincing. "I did no such thing!" I take a step closer, my eyes locked intensely on him. "Fool me once, that's on me. Fool me twice; that's a joke on you," I say in a low voice. I could tell that he was unable to maintain eye contact.

"What would you advise, then? We have been talking to each other for over a few months. You've never hesitated to provide me with your excellent advice." She shrugged to herself. "You sound young. You shouldn't give up all the fish in the sea for one failed catch." The minute the words left her mouth, she realized she had made a blunder. What if the person suspected she wasn't herself, because she had mentioned her assumption based on his voice over the phone? Fortunately, the person failed to capture her error, and then he continued, "Since you say that I shouldn't give up all the fish in the sea, would you be willing to be my fish?"

It's been three days since Nathan’s prank. He has been trying to talk to me, but I am completely ignoring him. I was stupid enough to fall for one of his pranks, I'm not going to fall for another one. As the saying goes, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. He has contributed to aggravating my trust issues.

“No. No, he wouldn’t. He loves me. He would never—” I was at the door. She was still going, raving and screaming, describing in graphic detail the things Lucas had done to flatter and deceive her and the ways he’d mocked me behind my back. She screamed herself raw. None of it touched me. The last five years: two people had deceived me. Now one of them would never see daylight. The other was floating in the wind. My time and energy were worth more than a second thought on either of them. I got to the car and buckled in. Two knocks on my window.

The elevator doors opened with a ding, but I never made it inside. Paige yanked me violently toward the stairwell. I was already weak to begin with, so I was no match for her strength at all. "Let go of me! Are you insane?" I struggled desperately. "Ahh!" Paige let out a sharp cry. Then, she drove her knee hard into my lower abdomen while shoving me forcefully with both hands. The door to the stairwell was wide open. A sensation of weightlessness rushed over me, and for a split second, I saw the viciously triumphant smile on Paige's lips.

Even before I finished, Paul slapped me across the face, knocking me to the floor, leaving a clear red palm print that soon swelled. "Are you crazy?!" He bellowed at me. "Lily is like a sister to me! Did you think everyone is as cheap as you, flirting with every man you see?!" The fiery pain jolted my muddled mind awake. I snorted as I slowly turned towards him, "You're right." I was being cheap. That was how Paul had me wrapped around his finger, treating me like a clown for his own amusement. Still, he soon realized what he had done, and panic showed in his eyes, "Jessica, I wasn't—"

I was a fool to think that not much had changed between us in the five years that we had been apart. After her betrayal, my perception of her shifted. I would now be more alert and careful when I dealt with her. I wouldn't be able to trust her as easily, if at all. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. And still, I hesitated to tell Caleb the truth. I hated that it was so easy for her to lie to me and I still was loyal to her.

I said to him, enraged as he laughed. “Believe me, he is fucking foolish. The dumbest guy I've ever seen actually. And he's going to keep being dumb, and I am going to make it that way. I can't believe you two tried to play a stupid trick on me. You really thought it was going to work? I was going to fall for your stupid manipulation. No, I would not. You both are so funny. Makes me confused on how to act,” I continued.