Womanizer (Spoilt) (27 page)

“So you’ll trust me now that you remember but weren’t willing to before, no matter what I did for you?”

“I did believe in you! I just didn’t know that was what I was feeling. I was lost and afraid, Mitch.”

“Yeah, me too.”
His words sounded bitter and fear chilled her. “It just hurts to know you wouldn’t even consider why I was in your life, even though you didn’t remember. You pulled me back in and then threw your trust in my face.”

“Maybe I had a reason not to. As soon as the going got tou
gh, you ran off to someone else.” This wasn’t going the way she’d hoped. She hadn’t wanted to question his trust and the words had rushed out on their own.

“You w
ould assume that, wouldn’t you?”

In a flash he turned from her and stormed into his bedroom with a loud slamming of the door.

Chapter Thirty One

Over

An hour passed and Mitch had yet to resurface. Isabelle knew it would be up to her to repair the damaged she’d caused. It didn’t matter what he may have done the previous night, he loved her and Jesse and wanted to build a life with her. Before she’d hurt him so deeply that is. With a determined stride, she headed towards his room but was interrupted by the phone. She ran to answer it.

“Hello.”

“Isabelle?”

“Charlotte?”

“You remember!”

“Yes it all came flooding back this morning.”

“You don’t sound very happy about it.”

“It’s great really, but I hurt Mitch so much.”

“I know.”

“You do?”

“Yes, he sp
ent the night here last night. Well, he passed out, actually. Jared had to go and get one very drunk and sorry guy from a bar last night. He spent the afternoon drowning his sorrows before passing out in Jared’s car.”

“
Oh .. I should have known that he didn’t … I really messed things up.”

“You assumed the worst?
”

“Yes.”

“I would have done the same thing but I’m telling you, girl, he has it bad for you. There is no way he would even glance at another woman.”

“I know. I think I blew it.”

“No, you haven’t. Montgomery men have a temper that fizzles out pretty fast. Tell him how you feel, reassure him. That is what my silly husband needed to stop being stubborn.”

“Thanks for letting me know where he’s been.”

“I know how misunderstandings can affect a relationship.”

“Thanks, Charlotte.” Her heart warmed. It was nice to know she had a ‘sister’ to rely on. This reminded her she had a brother. In all the commotion she’d overlooked this memory. Isabelle vowed to call him as soon as she sorted things out with Mitch. The last time she’d seen Anthony was just before the accident and he would be concerned.

“Us girls, we gotta stick together with these Montgomerys,” Charlotte continued.

“I was just thinking the same thing. “

Upon ending the call, Isabelle made a peace offering in the form of coffee, took a deep breath and knocked on his door.

After slamming into his room, Mitch paced in an attempt to calm down. Was she ever going to believe in him? Even though her memories had returned, she still doubted him. Granted he’d slept away from home and he could understand the reason for her suspicion, nevertheless she once again didn’t give him the benefit of the doubt.

The pain she inflicted with her mistrust and lack of faith was simply too much. He decided to do exactly what
he’d told Jared this morning - sell the house and help her family find somewhere else to live. He couldn’t deny he was happy her memories had returned but he doubted they could resume their relationship from where they’d left off. Her mistrust cut him to the bone. Mitch couldn’t be in a relationship with her when she didn’t love or trust him as much as he did her. He would always wonder how she felt and whether she doubted his words.

With a groan he slumped onto the bed, the bed they had shared, the bed they’d planned to share forever. He laid his arm over his eyes to b
lock out the light burning them and the images of the last time they had laid there the day before. Mitch ignored the knock on his door and remained where he was. Gentle footfalls followed and the bed moved beside him.

“Can we talk?” Isabelle’s voice asked quietly. He didn’t answer. “Mitchell, please look at me.”

With a sigh, he lowered his arm and turned his eyes to her. What she saw in them nearly broke her heart. His sadness and hurt clear in his eyes. She searched them for a moment to see if there was still something there for her.

“I’m sorry I didn’t trust you today. I should have listened to my heart and followed my instinct. I should have let you help me remember and for that I’m sorry and full of regret. Please, Mitch, can we move on from this?”

When she leaned forward to touch his face he flinched away from her. Her hand dropped to the bed and she watched as he sat up and turned away from her to perch on the opposite side of the bed.

“You think it’s that easy?” h
e said, his voice full of defeat. “You can just say oops, I’m sorry, I thought you were with someone else. Why do you all of a sudden think I wasn’t doing what you assumed I was?”

“Charlotte called and
…”

“So the o
nly reason you are here apologizing and believe me is because you have proof.” He cut her off and stood up abruptly. The expression in his eyes shattered her hopes.

“Even if she hadn’t called, regardless of what happened, I was going to apologi
ze and try and repair the damage.”

With a frustrated yell he turned from her and slumped back onto
the bed. In a strained, barely-controlled voice he uttered the words she hoped she wouldn’t hear.

“It’s too late,
Izzy.” His use of the endearment gave her hope for a split second until he spoke again. “You only believe in me when you have reason to, not because you just do. Every time I’m late or we have a fight, you are going to assume the worst about me. I can’t live like that. I’m going to sell the house. You and your family are going to have to find somewhere else to live. I’m done.”

“Mitch, honey, please
...” She reached over to place a hand on his shoulder but he shrugged her off. “If this is what you want,” she said as her heart shattered into a million pieces.

“It is,” he said through gritted teeth, his back to her.

Hot tears slid down her cheeks as she left the room, where her heart lay shattered at his feet. With a strangled sob she went to her room, buried her head in the pillow and allowed heartbroken cries to consume her. The man she loved, the man who had saved her from loneliness and shattered dreams, had just turned away from her.

When Isabelle asked him to look at her, it took all the strength Mitch had left. He heard her words but they weren’t the ones he wanted to hear. Her faith in him was shaky. Even now her memories had returned, it seemed at the first test of his devotion she’d assumed the worst. She didn’t believe in him at all and didn’t love him anywhere near as much as he did her. The benefit of the doubt could not be given to Mitchell Montgomery as far as she was concerned. Only when her assumption was debunked did she believe in his conviction and loyalty.

When she’d touched him it set his skin alight. He’d craved so badly to feel her again and her touch was like fire. Lying there staring at the ceiling didn’t appear to be helping and he wanted a clear head before he sought her out. Deep down he knew he didn’t want to lose her but right now he couldn’t think straight and needed to calm down. Poking his head out of his room he checked the hall and noticed her door closed. Now was not the time. Mitch moved swiftly to the balcony as it seemed to be the only place he could find solace of late. The turbulent ocean matched his heart.

Voices drifted up from the pathway below and he realized it was Carol and Jesse returning from the beach. With a deep sigh, he pushed aside his turmoil and put on a brave face. The last thing he wanted to do was upset Jesse as well.

“Mitch …
” Jesse called as he raced through the gate and up the stairs to join him on the balcony. “Look how many shells I found.” Jesse stopped in front of him and shoved a bucket under his nose. “We built a sandcastle too, with a moat and everything.”

“That’s great, buddy. You’ve been busy.” The smile that lifted his lips was genuine. Despite his melancholy, Jesse’s contagious enthusiasm caused him to smile.

“Next time you’ll have to help! I’m gonna go wash these now.”

“OK, buddy, go ahead.”

“I see by your expression that things aren’t going well,” Carol said once she’d joined him.

“No, not really.
It’s great that she remembers but she didn’t believe in me, not even this morning. I know I was out all night but she doubted me straight up without a second thought. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in the past but I would never hurt her.”

“She knows that, Mitch. This all overwhelmed her this morning
...” Mitch went to speak but Carol silenced him with her hand. “She still should have believed in you. I can’t help but think that some of this is my fault.”

“How can it be your fault?”

“A number of reasons. When she was young I was bitter about her father. The mistrust and rash judgment comes from me. I regret my influence on her but at the time couldn’t see past my pain. Over the years I was able to let it go but it took Isabelle a lot longer. It is an old habit she’s had for a long time. She does trust you, she just doesn’t know how to.”

“I understand all of that, Carol, I do, but we were past all this.”

“She made a mistake, we all do that. I made mistakes when she was growing up and recently too. When she started to get those letters, I didn’t push her hard enough to do something about them.”

“That isn’t
your fault, Carol. The thing is she is back now, which is great but we are back where we started. I just don’t think she loves me as much as I do her and I can’t accept that.”

“You’re wrong.”

Mitch shrugged.

“Men are so stubborn. If you want to lose her because of ridiculous pride, then more fool you. I saw how happy you made each other and I know that not everyone is that lucky. If I was you I would be grabbing the opportunity, not running away.”

With that, she left him to brood and went to check on Jesse. The same stubborn pride that Carol had accused him of kept him glued to the chair while he decided what to do.

Chapter Thirty Two

Gone

When Isabelle was woken by the sunlight spilling through the window the following morning, she realized she’d slept the afternoon and evening away. Although she’d achieved hours of sleep she still felt drained. Her head and eyes ached from restless slumber and heartbroken tears. She couldn’t believe Mitch had turned away from her, had shrugged her away. He told her he wanted them gone from his life and it stung to know the he no longer had any feelings for her. The irony wasn’t lost on her. Now she remembered him, he didn’t want her. Isabelle finally felt as though she’d met the man she wanted to spend her life with and now a cruel twist of fate was taking him away from her. It couldn’t be possible to love anyone more than she did Mitch and staying in the house while searching for a new place to live would be far too difficult. Being around him would be too painful.

With a heavy, aching heart Isabelle packed a suitcase with the intention of returning for the remainder of their belongings when she found an apartment. In the meantime they would have to stay at a hotel. She still had some money saved which would tide them over until she found a
new job, as going back to modeling wasn’t an option she wanted to take. It appeared she would have to give up on her dream and start to be more practical.

After packing what she would need for at least a week, she headed to Jesse’s room and did the same. Fortunately he was in the kitchen with Carol and wasn’t aware of what she was doing.
Yet. Explaining this to him would be the hardest thing she’d ever had to do.

With silent steps Isabelle headed to the kitchen and caught Carol’s attention. A flick of her head indicated Isabelle wanted to talk in private with her mother. A frown creased Carol’s brow before she followed her daughter down the hall to her bedroom. Carol’s eyes flicked from the suitcases to Isabelle, who closed the door.

“What’s going on?” Carol asked.

“We’re leaving.” Isabelle hoped her tone left no room for argument.

“Where do you think we are going to go? What about Mitch? And what this will do to Jesse?”

“We can go to a hotel for now. I’ve booked a taxi, it will be here shortly. I kno
w Jesse will be upset but he’ll -”

“Upset! Isabelle, you have no idea how close
those two have become. You can’t do this to him!”

“I have no choice. Mitch doesn’t want us here.”

“Of course he does.” Carol rolled her eyes. “He’s letting foolish pride get in the way, just as you are now.”