Twisted Ties of Love (Izabella Salotti and Brett) novel Chapter 605

Nate had always had a thing about his privacy. If it had been anyone else, they'd be missing a hand for such an intrusion.

Now, Bell was being a brat, locked up in her room and refusing to open the door, slowly chipping away at his patience.

“I'm going to count to three. If that door isn't open, you're on your own!" Nate's voice was a low rumble as he began the countdown, “One! Two! Three!”

As soon as the number three left his mouth, the door swung open.

Nate pushed his way in, his face clouded with anger, an intimidating aura flooding the room. He strode forward, his long legs eating up the distance. Bell, scared out of her wits, stumbled backward and fell to the floor in a graceless heap. She didn't dare meet Nate's gaze; her long lashes drooped with fear, and in the blink of an eye, tears came tumbling down.

Bell's tears had an effect on Nate.

The rage that had been building, the urge to lash out, was now quenched by half.

“What are you crying for? You sneak around on my computer, and I haven’t said a word – and you have the nerve to cry?”

The more Nate told her not to cry, the harder Bell sobbed, as if to spite him. Eventually, she started to hiccup through her tears.

Sitting there on the floor, her sobs mingled with hiccups, her dazed expression made her look like a fool.

Nate reached out impatiently to pull her up, but Bell dodged the moment his hand lifted, curling up and trembling like a deer caught in headlights. It was an instinctual reaction – she was scared of him.

Realizing this, it felt like something pricked his heart. It wasn't painful, but the sensation lingered, uncomfortable like a splinter that begs to be removed.

She was afraid of him? Bell?

The world had no shortage of people who feared him. Even the proud Izzy had trembled before him. Yet, he never imagined that Bell would join their ranks.

Had he laid a hand on her? Sure, he’d been rough with her two weeks ago, but even then, she hadn’t seemed this terrified. Was it all because of that video?

But there was more to it... beyond the video, there was the bitterness of being used, the loathing and helplessness of being a stand-in.

“What are you afraid of?”

Bell's eyes were rimmed red, and without even blinking, fat tears rolled down.

After a long silence, Bell choked out three words, “You lied to me.”

Her voice was soft and hoarse, a mature kind of pain that wasn't hysterical but carried a hint of despair.

Bell's despair was a secret, much like a meteor that streaks across the sky seemingly insignificant until it crashes down with a massive impact.

“What did I lie to you about?” Nate scoffed cruelly, “I told you from the start that I wasn't a good guy. I'm a bad guy, and bad guys do bad things. You should have been prepared for that.”

“And the name Izzy?”

Nate didn’t deny it, playing along with her line of questioning, “Yeah, just like you thought, I used you as her stand-in.”

Izzy wasn't someone Nate had deep feelings for. She was just amusing, and she reminded him of his late mother – stubborn, falling for a man she shouldn't have, and meeting a grisly end on the streets.

Bell's mouth tasted bitter, her eyes burning with unshed tears. In her mind’s eye, she saw the woman from the video – the real Izzy.

“The violin lessons? The red dress? All for her?”

“Yes.”

Deep down, Bell had known all along. She just hadn't expected Nate to admit it so bluntly, without even an attempt at an excuse.

With a casual “yes,” he cast her into an abyss. From the beginning, she had wandered into a trap.

She was foolish not to have seen his intentions sooner.

The same man who had once given her hope was now the source of a deeper despair. For the first time, Bell tasted the flavor of a broken heart.

“I don't want to play the violin anymore.” What she really meant was that she didn't want to be a stand-in any longer. She was Bell, not Izzy.

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