Womanizer (Spoilt) (24 page)

“Jesse, could you go and play in your room for a bit? I’d like to talk to Mitch.”

“OK, Nan,” he said before leaping off his chair and disappearing into the house.

“Carol, what is it? The look on your face is starting to worry me.”

“Do you by chance know a girl by the name of Adele?”

“Um,
the name rings a bell. Red hair? Maybe a make-up artist?”

“Yes, that’s her.”

“Then, yes, I know her.”

“How well do you know her?”

His wary expression worried her further. “Why do you ask?” His voice sounded guarded and Carol hoped there wasn’t any truth to Adele’s words.

“I know it’s none of my business, Mitch, but it’s important you tell me.”

“I wish I knew her less.” His mouth set into a thin line and he could no longer meet her eyes.

“OK, so she lied about that, so she could be lying about everything else too.”

“Carol, what are you talking about?” he asked with a furrowed brow.

“Adele came to see Isabelle today
, and I’m sorry to say she did not paint a pretty picture of you.” Mitch’s face paled and his fists clenched at his sides. “She claims she didn’t know you in that way but wished she had.”

“Oh, her wish came true, unfortunately,” he mumbled. “If she’s saying I didn’t
, then she lied. I don’t understand if she said I didn’t, then.”

“She lied about everything. She told Isabelle that you tried it on with her and others while with Isabelle. It seems the only truth she did tell was what you were like before meeting Isabelle.”

Mitch cursed and she could see him working his jaw as his knuckles turned white. He was on the edge so Carol needed to ensure she didn’t push him over it.

“Does
Izzy believe her?” he asked between gritted teeth.

“Yes
, and she’s quite upset that I believe in you. She was also disgusted with herself and didn’t believe she would have taken up with you if she had known the truth. Over the years Isabelle had started to become less angry at her father and more willing to give men the benefit of the doubt. Though she did still have reservations about you, she followed her instincts, which have always been right. Now that her memories have regressed, I’m afraid her inability to trust men that seem like her father has returned. I’m not saying you are like him, as I don’t believe you are. My husband cheated on me throughout our entire short marriage before he left and remarried. You may have participated in behavior that I don’t condone prior to meeting Isabelle but I believe that beneath it all is a kind-hearted man who made bad judgments. I know in my heart that you would never do anything to hurt my daughter because you love her and seem regretful of your past.”

“I knew this would come back to haunt me,” he said in a quiet voice that didn’t match his body language. Carol thought he looked set to ex
plode. “I don’t think you realize how much I regret the lifestyle choice I made. It was my way of detaching and keeping everyone at arm’s length. I guess the only way that she will ever give me a chance now is if she remembers.”

“She believed in you once. Y
ou may be able to convince her again.”

“I doubt it. This is a different Isabelle to the one I know. She’s stubborn and as you said, her attitudes have regressed. She won’t give me the time of day now.”

With regret in her heart Carol knew his words were the truth. “Then I guess getting her memory back is the only way. We will just have to work hard to make sure that happens.”

At long last the day had arrived for Isabelle to be discharged. They completed the final tests that would clear her for release. Aside from the amnesia, she had recovered well and Dr Greene was confident her memory loss was temporary as some memories were returning. As pleased as she was to be leaving the hospital, she wasn’t anxious to return to a house she didn’t know and to a man she couldn’t believe she ever trusted. Her surprise at Carol’s apparent belief and her defense of Mitch confused her further. How could Carol trust a man that possessed the same abhorrent qualities as her father?

As she sat waiting to be collected, she attempted to grasp hold of the memories that were out of reach. It was like an invisible wall had gone up in her mind and she couldn’t get past it to the memories lingering there.

The patter of small feet running up the corridor shook her out of her reverie and brought a smile to her lips. A flash of Jesse looking younger, playing in the park, reached out from behind the wall and she tried to grab hold of it. It was followed closely by an image of Jesse sitting with a blonde man. They were both looking at a camera and she realized it was Mitch.

This was her first memory of Mitch that didn’t come to her in a dream and it was a pleasant one. Her little boy trusted him. Her mum trusted him. She felt like she was living in some strange world where nothing made sense. Why would she have pleasant memories and even more pleasant dreams of a man that couldn’t be trusted?
Why
did she trust him was more to the point?

“Mummy,” Jesse cried as he hurried across the room and threw himself into her arms. “I’m so happy you’re coming home. Wait till you see my room and how big it is!”

Her heart sank a little. How was she going to take him away from surroundings that made him happy? Even though her memories were sketchy of Jesse, she felt the protective instinct of a mother and didn’t want to expose him to the type of man that Mitch was reputed to be. She couldn’t believe that as a mother she even had in the first place. The sooner she found somewhere else to live and had him out of that environment the better.

“Sounds great, Jesse.” She forced a smile before glancing up to see Carol being helped along by Mitch.

“I’m sure you can’t wait to go home,” Carol said.

“I’m happy to be leaving the hospital.”

“Hi, Izzy. How are you feeling?”

“My name is Isabelle and I’m fine
, thank you, Mitchell.”

For a brief moment his face screwed up as though he winced from pain before the blank mask reappeared. “Glad to hear it, Isabelle.”

On the drive home there was a somber atmosphere and the chill in the air was difficult to ignore. When they pulled into the driveway, Isabelle was stunned. The house was not only big but beautiful and she never thought she would be fortunate enough to live in something so grand. Suspicion clouded her mind and she couldn’t shake it. Why would he buy a house of this magnitude? She waited until Carol and Jesse had exited the car before saying exactly what was on her mind.

“Adele must have underestimated the number of your indiscretions because this looks like one big guilty conscience to me.”

For a moment she was as shocked at her words as he appeared to be. She didn’t recall ever being quite so nasty before. Isabelle may be suspicious of his motives and decency but being cruel didn’t feel right either.

“If that is w
hat you want to be believe, Izz … Isabelle, you go right ahead. I know why I bought this house for you.” Her words seemed to have stung him.

If Mitch had thought her tone had been frosty towards him before, this time she was downright nasty. The Izzy he loved wasn’t capable of being so vicious. It seemed her loveliness had disappeared with her memories. He appreciated how difficult it must be to lose years of your life but the sting in her tail surprised him.

It would be confusing and frustrating
, and perhaps a little daunting, to have no recollection, nevertheless to not give him the benefit of the doubt was plain stubbornness. How could she not trust her own judgment even if she couldn’t remember? What hurt the most, besides her cool disposition, was that she wasn’t giving him a chance to remind her how much he loved her.

“I’ll show you to your room,” he said as he helped her from the car.

She watched him stride towards the house and was at a loss at what to do. He seemed genuinely hurt by her cutting words and the way he had gazed at her when he’d spoken to her was endearing. The dreams she’d had about him were filled with passion and tenderness. Was she in love with him after all? Why did she
trust this man? He was a womanizer. And a leopard never changes its spots.

The only explanation was that she’d been feeling vulnerable and he’d taken advantage of her, swept her off her feet, made her believe his lies. There would be no other reason as to why she would have faith in a cad like him.

With heavy feet she followed him up the pathway through the garden and was greeted by a spacious and beautiful home. She noted the incredible landscape photographs hanging from various walls in dazzling colors from picturesque rain forests to desert sunsets and spectacular ocean views.

An image of a gallery with photos such as these flickered across the wall in her mind and she tried to hold onto it before it slipped away again. Knowing he was a photographer, she wondered whether this was his work. This would add a whole new dimension to her opinion of him. Perhaps she’d been attracted to his artistic side. Maybe she was with him because she’d thought he’d changed and she was unaware of his indiscretions.

She stood staring at a desert sunset which seemed so familiar. It evoked feelings of warmth and love. For some reason, for the first time in her life, she felt like this was where she belonged and she was finally home.

Chapter Twenty Eight

Lost Love

Discovering Isabelle staring at the same photograph she’d been intrigued by at his apartment, what had seemed like forever ago, brought back more than vague memories for Mitch. His heart ached to hold her and reassure her of his love and devotion.

Anton
Ferrera was lucky he hadn’t survived the crash. Mitch’s black feelings that surfaced once again towards the man who had destroyed his life with Isabelle would have had him arrested if he’d even got close to Anton.

Once Mitch had located her, he showed her to her room before distancing himself from the source of his despair by sitting out on the balcony.

He could hear Jesse helping Carol prepare lunch in the kitchen while he tried to find the strength to overcome his intense emotions. If Isabelle’s current attitude towards him continued, he wasn’t sure he would be able to suffer through her continued presence here. When Carol hobbled out to let him know lunch was ready, he excused himself and remained seated outside.

Isabelle ventured from her room and listened for the sounds of her mother and son. To her complete surprise she discovered the outlay of the house seemed familiar somehow and she felt as though she’d been here before.
Of course I have, we were going to move in here. Surely I’ve seen the house already.
The triggered memory eased her confusion a little. As she walked through the kitchen she caught a glimpse of the view that would be seen from the balcony outside and this evoked an overwhelming feeling of joy. Is this how she’d felt when she’d been here last?

“Mum, have I been here before?” she asked as she joined her mother. Jesse was nowhere in sight so she assumed he was in his room. She welcomed the opportunity to talk freely to Carol.

“Yes, honey. Mitch showed us the house the day after his gallery opening. Do you remember?”

“It’s not a memory but a feeling. As I
walked around this house I felt … happy …”

“That is how you felt when we were here. You were in love and the happiest I’ve ever seen you, aside from the day Jesse was born
, that is.”

“I felt something similar when I saw one of the photographs
hanging just inside the door. Wait a minute, did you say gallery opening?”

“Yes, Mitch has an exhibition of his work. The opening was a huge success. He received rave reviews and sold half of his photos that night. Since then he has sold the remaining prints and has orders for more. He is supposed to be filling those orders at the moment but I haven’t seen him do any since I got here. He spends all his time with J
esse. He has given up the modeling shoots too, not just because he doesn’t need the income but also because he doesn’t want to give you any reason to doubt him.”

“You really are convinced of his sincerity, aren’t you?”

“There is no doubt in mind.”

“
I … this is so hard.” For the first time since waking and finding years of her life were lost, she felt sad and afraid. A single hot tear escaped and she wiped it away in exasperation. “It is so frustrating not being able to remember anything.” More than anything she just wanted her life back.

“Mitch told me what you said to him outside,” Carol held up a hand. “Before you say anything, he didn’t volunteer the information
- I pried it out of him while you were in your room. That isn’t the Isabelle I know.” Her stern look reminded Isabelle of her childhood and she felt suitably chastised.

“I don’t know who I am anymore.” She choked back a sob. “There is something I haven’t told you.” Carol’s response was to raise her eyebrows. “When I woke up that first day, there was something
there. There still is, this all-consuming feeling that I’m scared of. When I heard those things about him I shut it off and have been pushing him away, but I don’t think it’s been intentional. I have lost years of my life and it scares me. He is a stranger to me but I can’t deny this … attraction. I feel this pull towards him. I don’t know what to do.”