Scarred Beauty (19 page)

Chapter Twenty-One

All too soon, their weekend was over, and Noelle
stood in her apartment. Brad was gone for the day, and he’d left her a brief
note that they needed groceries. Checking the cupboards, Noelle made a list and
decided to face her final fear.

She grabbed her keys and walked out onto the
busy street. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she walked in the direction of
the shopping centre close by.

Most people were so busy in their own Monday
life that they didn’t pay attention to her.

When she walked into the shop, she grabbed a
shopping trolley and began filling it with fresh fruit and vegetables. Her
hands stopped shaking as she travelled around the supermarket. A few whispers
happened, but she brushed them aside. She had no control over what had happened
to her as a child, and she would no longer be held in its grips because people
couldn’t handle her imperfection.

She rounded a corner and stopped as she bumped
into a handsome man.

“Sorry,” she said.

“No. It was all my fault. I wasn’t looking where
I was going.”

“Well, no harm done.” Noelle went to move away,
but he stopped her with a hand on her arm.

“Aren’t you in the papers?” he asked.

Shaking her head, she pulled out of his grip.

“I’m sure it’s you.”

“No. I’ve never been in the papers, and I don’t
expect to start now. Sorry, you must have me mistaken with someone else.” She
passed him and went to the deli section. The encounter had her nerves frayed.
When her phone buzzed it provided the welcome distraction that she needed.

“Meet tonight at the hotel. Usual time. I x”

She smiled and responded, agreeing to meet him.
Finishing her shopping was a painless process.

When she got home, she unpacked all of her work
and went to check out her studio. Pulling open the blinds, she let the winter’s
sun penetrate inside the room. She felt like a new woman, so happy and relaxed
in the life she’d made for herself.

Running her fingers through her blonde locks,
she began organising her art-work, putting the finished pieces into a pile
while she collected her half finished work. As the day progressed she became
more and more anxious to see Isaac. Her body was burning to feel his touch.
Brad didn’t return home when she was scheduled to leave. She decided to leave
him a note about the food and her date.

She put on a floral pink dress, a coat, scarf,
and hat to protect against the cold, not to hide.

When she pulled up outside the hotel, she paid
the man his fee and walked inside the reception desk. The man on duty gave her
a funny look as he handed her the key. Not thinking much to his behaviour she
made her way to the room Isaac and she shared.

The moment she got to the door she noted it was
partially open, and she heard voices coming from the room. Getting closer she
listened to the raised angry voices. Her heart pounded as she recognised both
of the men inside the room.
 

“I told you to end it on the one night, Isaac.
You’re stringing her along as if she’s one of your notches.”

“Don’t fucking talk about her that way.”

Noelle stared at the two men in the hotel room
she reserved for herself and Isaac. Neither turned her way, which told her
she’d entered the room too quietly for them to hear.

“You weren’t supposed to start an affair with
her. You were supposed to let her down lightly or tell her something to keep
her at bay. Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?” Brad asked.
 

“She’s not your business, Brad. I want her as my
own. I care about her.”

“She’s a fucking trophy piece to you. I bet she
looks upon you with worship. I asked you to care for her. Why didn’t you listen
to me when I asked?”

“Elle wants to be with me, and I want to be with
her. I don’t see where you have a problem with that.”

“That’s exactly what my problem is. What will
you do when she wants more from you? Can you give her that kind of commitment?
She’s scarred, Isaac. She would never fit into that perfect world you live in.
End it now, or risk destroying her.”

Noelle had heard enough.

“I think it’s time you both told me what is
going on. I seem to be missing something,” she said causing both men to start
and turn to face her.

She’d wrapped her blonde hair back off her face.
She wished she’d kept it down. The protection it provided would be welcome.
They glanced at each other before turning back to her.

“What are you doing here?” Brad asked.

“I got a message to come to the hotel room from
Isaac. He’s here, and so are you. And you both seem to know each other. What is
going on?” She sounded calm even as her mind was whirling at a mile a minute
trying to figure out what was going on.

“This is not what it looks like,” Brad said.

“No? Then please tell me how my best friend and
an escort would know each other. Or are you really an escort, Isaac?” she
asked. Her hands were shaking. She placed them inside her jacket, her nerves
getting more frayed with every passing minute.

“We’ve got to tell her the truth,” Isaac said.
“I’m not really an escort.”

“Then what are you?”

Silence met her question. Her nails sank into
the palm of her hand.

“He’s my brother, Noelle,” Brad said.

“He can’t be. Your brother is a wealthy
businessman. You’ve told me about him. He’s a rake. Not good for anything. The
type of guy a woman would hate getting involved with.”

Isaac winced at the description. “Is this true?”
she asked her love, the man she’d given her virginity and heart to, the very
man who’d asked her to trust him, the same man who’d promised her he would be
honest with her.

She waited as he stared at her. He made no move
to confirm or deny the accusations. Then all of a sudden, he nodded his head.

It felt like someone was thumping her in the
stomach and chest. Unconsciously, she began to rub both as tears sprang to her
eyes.

“I can’t believe this,” she said. She turned to
look at Brad. “How did you find out?”

He handed her over a paper. Taking it from him
with trembling fingers, she opened it up and there in black and white was a
picture of her and Isaac seated inside the French restaurant.

Noelle burst out laughing. “You know, a guy
stopped me in the supermarket today while I was buying groceries and asked if I
was the woman on the cover of a newspaper. I told him he had the wrong woman.”

“I didn’t know we were being followed. I would
have done everything in my power to keep this out of the press,” Isaac said.

“Why bother? Who is the scarred woman who has
captured Isaac Welch’s attention?” She felt humiliated by the title. The truth
of their relationship hit her square in the face.

Isaac tore the paper from her grasp and ripped
it apart. “This doesn’t matter. Do you hear me? This is nothing. What matters
is what we’ve shared.” He stroked her cheek. The touch was meant to be tender.
She understood that, but she pulled away. The thought of his touch repulsed
her. The immediate change in their relationship had become too much.

“I’ve got to go,” she said.

“No. You’re not going out here. Elle, listen to
me. I love you. This means nothing. I still want that forever we talked about.”

She shrugged him off. “Forever? How come you
never said you loved me before this? You were given more than enough time to
say the words. Why now? What has changed?”

Staring at him, she saw him fight to find the
words.

“It’s over, and seeing as you’re this big
hot-shot wealthy businessman, I want my fucking money back.” She walked to the
door. Not satisfied with how it ended, she walked back and slapped Isaac around
the face. The action didn’t make her feel better, but it helped deal with her
pain.

The bastard had no idea the extent of her
feelings for him, and they’d been a lie. The man she knew had been a lie.

“I’ve already transferred the funds back. Don’t
leave like this, Elle.”

“How could you do this to me?” she asked. He
stared at her without saying a word. “If you loved someone, no matter what, you
could never lie to her like you did me. I never lied to you.”

“I do love you.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ve got to go.”

Noelle ran out of the hotel room. The taxi she’d
left was still there waiting. She jumped inside the cab.

“Could you take me back to my apartment and keep
the motor running? I’ve got to find a place to go.”

“Sure, lady, but it will cost you.”

“Not a problem.”

She put on her seatbelt and stared out the
window. Brad rushed out of the hotel and charged after the taxi. She ignored
him, sat back and watched the world go by. All too soon, she was at her
apartment door with Brad not too far behind. Instead of stopping to have the
argument with him, she went straight to her room and began packing.

“Noelle, you don’t have to do this,” Brad said
from her doorway.

“I don’t? You could have fooled me. When my best
friend gets his older brother who’s stuck in a rut to fuck his scarred best
friend, I would consider leaving the best thing to do.”

“Where are you going to go?” he asked.

“The money I paid him is back in my account.
I’ve got enough to get by. I don’t want to see you, Brad. What you’ve done has
hurt me more than anything else.” She packed her suitcase and made her way out
of the apartment. Brad followed her all the way down to the taxi.

“This is ridiculous.”

She whirled round on him. “You should have
thought about that before you pimped your older brother out on me. I never
wanted anyone’s pity, Brad. I wanted love.”

“Isaac loves you. Give him a chance.”

Shaking her head, she handed her suitcase over
to the taxi man.

“If only you hadn’t asked him to be that man.
Isaac Welch is not the man I know and never will be.”

Leaving her friend stood on the pavement, she
got into the cab, and then he drove away.
 

“Where do you want to go, miss?”

“To an available apartment.”

Laying her head back against the head rest, she
stared out at the city. In less than a few weeks the everywhere would be alight
with Christmas decorations. She thought about her family and the festive times
they used to spend together.

From her own personal problems she’d lost so
much. Closing her eyes, she hugged herself to try to keep the last little bit
of warmth she had left inside her.

****

Isaac paid for the room, a dull ache hurting
inside his chest. She was gone, and there was no way he would be able to get
her back. Pulling his debit card out of the machine, he gave a quick smile at
the man on the desk before he left.

The moment he stepped out into the cold air, he
welcomed the chill. The frost biting at his toes was welcome and let him know
he was still alive.

What had happened was the biggest mistake of his
life. Not telling Elle who he was had been the problem. Nothing else. Pulling
the collar of his coat up to his neck, he called for a taxi to take him to his
penthouse apartment. He would go home, to his empty apartment and empty life
with only the sweet memories of Elle to keep him company.

The woman on the reception desk gave him a
welcoming smile, which he ignored. On the way up, he rubbed his chest. The pain
increased with every step he took. Every step reminded him of what he’d lost.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The next two weeks passed in a blur for Noelle.
The media went into a frenzy over the woman Isaac had been seen eating a meal
with. She’d rented an apartment on the other side of town. Switching on the
television the evening news came on. Isaac, walking away from his office
building, was being badgered by a well dressed reporter.

“Mr. Welch, could we ask about the woman you
were pictured with?”

“No comment,” Isaac said.

“What about news of a meeting with your father?”
another reporter asked.

“Why is she a scarred beauty?”

At the last question Isaac turned to the media.
He looked fierce and every one of his forty years. A hand went to her mouth as
she gasped at the change within him. He looked angry.

“I never want to hear these questions again
after this. Am I understood?” Murmurs echoed from each member of the press.
“The woman I was having dinner with is a budding artist whose work is the best
I’ve ever seen. Noelle Evans is an up and coming star. Our relationship is
nothing more than a business one. Good day.”

Hearing her full name from his lips was a heady
experience if not a little upsetting. She was angry with him for the lying, but
to completely blank their relationship as nothing but business ... hurt.
Turning the television off, she went and stood next to her window. As she had
known would happen, the city was alight with the approaching festive season. A
month was still to go before the big day. The city would work for a few weeks
to get every light looking perfect.