Chapter 15: A Secret Exposed

As Isabella stared at this unknown person, she suddenly had a flashback of the night she tried to get James to change her scores from a failure to a passing grade. She remembered rushing out with her dress not yet well arranged as she bumped into someone who was also coming to see Professor James. He seemed to be a newbie at the university, and Professor James had tried his best to help him. 

As Isabella tried to stand up and leave, he stopped her and slowly helped her clean a stain of lip gloss from her face. “Next time, if you want to do anything, any bad thing with a lecturer, try to be very careful and come out well-prepared. Nobody is rushing you,” she remembered the guy saying to her.

She was unable to even speak and just stood there as Alex looked at her with concern. “Why are you just standing there? Come and sit down,” he said to her as she continuously looked at him until she finally took her seat. He stood up and extended his hand for a handshake, and she wasted no time in accepting it. But he had a smirk on his face, which clearly meant he remembered her.

He quickly covered up the smirk with an innocent smile turning to his brother. “So is this your girlfriend you have always told us about? The girl you plan on settling down with?” he asked.

“Yes, John, she's the one. And I have told you so many times; I've sent you a picture so many times. Why do you still ask?” Alex said jokingly to John, who sat down laughing. 

“It's just that I'm kind of curious, though. She doesn't look like someone who wants to settle down with you; she looks like someone who would want to have fun and flex in every possible way. Mostly sexually, don't you think?” John said as Isabella became even more tense. She held the hem of her dress, trying her best to calm down her nervousness, but that only made it worse with Alex's reply as he looked directly at Isabella.

“She can't do something like that. We talked about it. She will settle down with me, and it's going to be that way. You don't have to worry. All we have to do is just get past university, and we'll get married. Right, Isabella?”

Isabella was unable to utter a word as all their gazes and attention were on her. She gulped before speaking. “Yes, of course, it's the both of us against the world,” she commented, which made Alex's mother laugh.

“That is a good thing. I like the fact that you two have decided how you want your future to be. I just wanted to have this dinner with all my children; almost everyone now is in university. I only have Esther by my side, and very soon she will be leaving me to come to the same university. I am just happy Alex is able to watch over everyone. And I am also sorry, Isabella, that you didn't get to meet Alex's father. He couldn't make it on time, so I told him not to hurry. You guys can meet next time. He's also working at Alex's university,” she uttered as Isabella covered her mouth before realizing she had made a huge mistake by reacting in surprise. 

She placed her hand back on her lap, trying her best to remain calm as she felt like her head was about to explode. Everything around her began to spin in confusion. *What had she gotten herself into?* It seemed as though everyone from Alex's family was, one way or another, in the university. How would she even be able to avoid all of them now? 

She realized that this dinner was the perfect way for her to know everyone's face. But now, looking at John, she knew for sure that he had something in mind. He would definitely threaten her, but she did not know how she would escape that. 

After the little discussion between them, dinner was served, and Isabella was not even able to swallow the lumps of rice at ease because she was in total tension. While Alex was so busy chatting with his family that he did not give any attention to Isabella, she became so bored and stood up.

“Excuse me, please. I need to take a moment. A little fresh air. I feel congested. I'm sorry; I've been feeling a bit ill,” Isabella explained as Alex's mom looked at Alex, and Alex just nodded before she walked away. 

She wanted to go and take out the gifts she had for Alex's mother while also trying to breathe in air that didn't involve any of Alex's family. She rushed outside and held her chest, breathing in and out frantically. *I cannot even imagine this. How can this even be happening to me right now? Why? Why is it that when I decide to have my own fantasy to myself, to have the kind of fun I always imagined, when I finally was able to get what I have always yearned for, does Alex's family have to come and haunt me right now?* she thought to herself. 

Just then, her phone buzzed. She brought it out, and it was from Professor James again. She opened the message, and he was questioning how her night was going. 

“Oh,” she groaned as she placed the phone back inside her purse. *I don't know what else to do anymore. How can I even answer Professor James? How do I let him know that I am in a dedicated relationship and I don't want to jeopardize it after I have come to love him so badly?* 

“Oh my God,” she muttered to herself as she walked towards the car. Just as she was about to open the boot, she was almost shocked to death by who was standing there smoking. 

It was actually John, and he was smoking at such a young age. “Oh my God! You scared the heck out of me,” Isabella said to John as he smiled and threw his cigarette away.

“It’s nice we get to meet personally. Do you plan on hurting Alex this way? Is this how you want to continue your charade? Because it's not going to work. How can you be sleeping with the professor and still be sleeping with my brother? Don't make him dumb. Please don't lay a curse on him by doing something as stupid as that,” John said to her. 

Isabella was unable to utter a word in this situation. She was not even able to think straight. She didn't know what else to say or how else to react to what John had just asked her, but she was definitely going to cover it up.

“What do you mean by I am doing something bad to your brother? Do you really know what went on that day? Why are you saying it like I'm sleeping around with the professor? Please do not let James or anyone else hear something like this from your mouth. You are going to cause huge problems between the both of us. Please know your limit,” Isabella pleaded, but John did not back away. 

“Who said I am giving you a chance for a plea? I am telling Alex tonight.”