Chapter 13

Isabelle's tone suddenly turned frantic. "H-How do you know?" "Jerome was at the mall too. He ran into you both and was about to come over to say hi, but then he overheard your conversation and got scared, so he didn't show himself." "Scared?" Isabelle paused, her voice softening. "W-Why was he scared?" I chuckled. "I'm curious too. What did you say that scared him so much?" "I—" Isabelle quickly dropped the act. "Bryce, what I said to Emma wasn't meant like that. We were just chatting!" Just chatting? Even if it was just small talk, I would never say that kind of thing in front of Jerome. The first time, she said I was a substitute and that she was unwilling to marry me. The second time, she was willing to marry me but was ready to divorce me after gaining some cash. I had convinced myself the first time was just drunk rambling, but how could I explain the second? I loved her. But I didn't love her to the point of losing my common sense and accepting such ridiculous excuses