Chapter 26: Torn Between Two Lovers

It was soon nighttime as Alex waited in front of Isabella's hostel, hoping that she would return. He had seen Rachel pass by, and Tricia had also come back, but Isabella still did not show up. He was furious as he tapped his hand on the car, anxiously waiting for her. Just as expected, he saw her rushing toward the hostel. She looked tattered, and even her makeup appeared rushed compared to what he had seen in the morning. 

He stood there for a while, continuously watching her, amazed that she could actually do something like this and still keep up with the lies. But he decided to give her the chance to explain herself as he watched her get closer. She soon realized that he was there and was surprised as she hastened her steps. She rushed toward him and gently tapped on his shoulder.

"Where have you been?" Alex confronted her immediately, his tone sharp as Isabella tried her best to mask her shock with a laugh.

"Oh, I was just running some errands for school and lectures. You know how busy it can get this time of year," she tried to lie.

"Which stupid time of the year? Rachel has been back three hours ago. Tricia, who is the nasty one among you guys, has been back two hours before you. Where were you? I waited; I called you, but you never picked up. How am I supposed to believe you? How else would I believe you when you don’t even tell the truth anymore? You just keep lying to me, and you think it’s fun," he exploded.

"Why are you doubting me, Alex? I am telling you the truth! I was busy with all those things. Of course, we are in the same university, but that doesn't mean we are studying the same course. Try to understand. We are two different people. Everybody has what they want, and you know that even me and you are not doing the same course. We just happen to have similar lectures. Simple. Can you just stop this doubt of yours?" 

"I don’t doubt you. Why do you doubt me?" she tried to make a point, but it only pissed Alex off even more.

"Can you stop this? Just stop this pretense already. It’s getting too much, and it is suffocating me at the moment. I can’t continue doing this. I think I need to give you the space you want. It seems as though you need to keep yourself a little distant from me. You want that distance, and I am more than available to give it to you. Because I can’t continue to watch you step on my heart like it is nothing. Trying to prove to me that you can actually sneak in and out. The day I find out that there's someone else who matters more to you, you will regret it because I have put so much into you. I have made you one of the most important people in my life, and this is how you are going to pay me back?" 

He poured his heart out to her, and before Isabella could even try to explain herself, though she had gone to see Professor James, it didn’t mean she spent all her time there. Alex was too angry to notice any of those things. Even though Isabella had no right to oppose what he said because he was actually right, she still didn’t deserve this.

"You can’t do this to me. Look at me from head to toe, tell me you don’t notice any differences! Tell me you did not notice that I changed. I look more arranged. I went to get myself looking good because I want to be presentable for you, and then you tell me that I went around sleeping with someone. Are you trying to tell me that you have doubts about me?" Isabella questioned, her voice rising.

Alex hissed in frustration and entered his car without even waiting for Isabella to move out of the way. He sped off, leaving her in shock. 

"Oh my God, what have I gotten myself into?" she muttered as he drove off. Just then, her phone began to ring. She looked at it, and it was Professor James. She picked up immediately, not wanting to be in a tight spot with him too since she had already settled everything and made him have no doubt about her, ensuring they could continue their little intimacy sessions without it being stamped as a relationship.

"I just got home right now. Alex was waiting for me, so I had to have a little discussion with him. Nothing more," she said, trying to keep her voice steady as James smiled on the other end.

"It’s a good thing. I’m glad. I just hope you are having fun, and I hope the money I sent you was enough," he said to Isabella, who nodded.

"Yes, it is more than enough." Even though Isabella never really needed the money, she still collected it because she wanted to prove to him that they loved and cared for each other.

Meanwhile, Isabella looked up only to see that Rachel and Tricia were already waiting for her, shifting their heads sideways. She rushed inside only to find Rachel already angry.

"I don’t know what I should do with you. We don’t know how else to make you understand that what you are doing is wrong. You can’t be cheating on Alex anymore. Now he’s trying to create space between the both of you. I shouldn’t have even made you do this in the first place. I think I made a huge mistake," Rachel said to Isabella, who fell to the ground and began to weep.

"I don’t know what else to do. I can’t leave James, and I can’t leave Alex.

“Why are you being stingy?" Rachel yelled, her heart racing.

"I don’t know what else to do. James wants me for himself, and Alex wants me to settle for him," she confessed, feeling lost in her own emotions.

"Can you stop acting emotional already? Isabella, there is nothing emotional about what is going on. You are the one at fault," Tricia said sharply, her frustration evident. "I know you are pretending to us and acting like James was. Do you think if James doesn’t see you again, he will be bothered? He won’t be bothered because you are just another person to continue having his fun with. You are just there as his pastime while Alex wants you to be with him, and he has a future plan for the both of you. So you have to pick one."

Isabella turned to Tricia, a bitter laugh escaping her lips. "You don’t know exactly what you’re talking about. You’re the one who advised me to go for him, and now you’re pushing me and acting like I did this intentionally without your advice!" she yelled at both of them.

"We're not saying it was wrong in any way for what you did. All we’re saying is that you have gotten to the point where you have to pick one of them and nothing more," Tricia tried to explain, but neither of them understood why Isabella was struggling.