Chapter 16

It was the third day since Isabella went to her hometown, leaving Chase with his lonely heart, clearly showing the overly used, cheesy, romantic words "I can't live without you". 

Chase thought he could do it, but he could barely survive without Isabella's presence. He didn’t eat on time because no one reminded him, and the cigarettes he had usually consumed had doubled. He couldn't even sleep well at night due to his depressing nightmares and Isabella's absence on his bed. He thought Isabella would still be giving him calls and texts while they were physically separated. Well, she still did, but a total of twenty texts wasn't enough for Chase. A one-to-two-hour call at night wasn't enough either.

Chase sighed as he went back to reading the files that still needed reviews and revisions. He glanced at his watch and realized it was already past three o'clock in the afternoon and he hadn't eaten his lunch nor his breakfast yet. Though he knew he wouldn't have the appetite even if he had the time to eat. But then his girlfriend would ask him about it, and she would be mad at Chase for not doing what he had promised. Chase let out an exhausted sigh as he stood up and went outside of his office.

Chase was looking at the choices on the menu while sitting comfortably on a chair, thinking whether he should go for something heavy or just some sweets. He decided to visit the cafe where he met Isabella the second time, where his feelings for the woman evolved into something bigger and deeper.

He didn't care even if it was an hour's travel away from AB Building and he had to use his sunglasses and cap for disguise. He just wanted and needed to feel the comfort the cafe had to offer. 

Deciding he'd go for sweets because he was being emotional at the moment reminiscing his encounter with Isabella, he motioned the waiter to get his order. The waiter wrote down his orders and Chase had to lower his head for some seconds because the boy was looking at him like he was trying to get into his mind who Chase was and being caught in his disguise was the least thing Chase wanted to happen.

His order came after ten minutes, Chase thanked the waiter before leaving, not bothering to look the boy in the eye. Chase stared at the slice of strawberry cake on his table, smiling as his baby panda came to his mind for the millionth time today. He wondered what his baby panda might be doing right now. Does she also miss Chase? Does it also hurt her to be away from Chase? The longing he was feeling became bigger as his hand grabbed the fork beside the tasty looking sweet. 

He used his fork to get a bit of the cake and was about to shove it in his mouth when he heard the voice he least expected to be hearing at the moment.

"One strawberry cake, please."

Chase froze.

His heart began to pound erratically after feeling a twinge inside, sweat dripping down slowly from his forehead, and he had stopped breathing. His mind went into havoc, thousands of questions beginning to flood in his mind.

"Isabella, what's taking you so long? Hurry up, we need to go."

He could feel the cold liquid rolling down from his forehead as he heard another voice that sounded…sounded oddly familiar, much to Chase's instant distaste and discomfort to it. The twinge inside Chase's heart became a stab, and he could feel something deep inside it crack.

"Just a minute!"

He was facing the opposite, making his back view to Isabella's direction. His mind was screaming, asking different questions he knew he couldn't answer himself. He wanted to stand up now, turn around and face his girlfriend, ask her all the answers he wanted. But what stopped him from doing what he was about to do was another voice he didn't expect yet again.

"Isabella, sweetheart, we'll be late for our next flight. Quick, your grandmother's waiting for you."

It was Chase's mom. 

"Okay…Mom." He heard Isabella reply.