"What about that?" Their eyes were on Julie like they thought she had a plan.
"There's this guy, I think he's really into her." Julie tried to make the announcement suspenseful.
"Ooh, who is he?" Sasha looked curious, Lindsay and Wendy paid attention.
"Cade. Her house manager."
"Him? What do you think of Isla? That she'd just announce on her birthday that she's dating Cade? Cade is a freaking servant. He works for her. He's not a bodyguard; he's a cheap house monitor." Wendy was irritated.
"Do you really think OUR Isla would stoop so low? There are hotties around! Rich guys who ladies stare at twice because of their money. Why would she go for Cade, who works seriously hard for money?" Lindsay added.
"What if she loves the guy?" Sasha guessed.
"I highly disagree! Isla is not cheap!"
"Have you taken time to stare at this Cade guy? He's not bad!" Sasha told them.
"He's a real cutie. He's funny and am sure when Isla talks to him, she'll like him." Julie said.
"I am still not in support of that shipping. Julie and Sasha, stop it!" Lindsay grumbled.
"If you would please, tell us how we'll get a RiseUp code for Isla. She needs it!" Julie remembered.
"I'll talk to my aunt and we'll get it asap."
Julie arrived home late and saw her husband's eyes fixed on his laptop.
"What are you doing?" She appeared behind him and kissed his cheek. Lucas smiled lovingly.
"Hey babe. Why are you home late?"
"Planning Isla's birthday. Its tomorrow." Julie sounded excited as she relaxed on the sofa, throwing her handbag off her shoulders.
"Wow. You look tired. You guys must have been calling some decorators, bakers and stuff."
"Lindsay will take care of that."
"Okay.... Is it a surprise?"
"It is... We're planning a Barbie Princess Ball Theme party! She'll love it!"
"She sure will. She hasn't posted in a while. Especially since the drama started with Rhea Sinclair."
"That woman is a witch!" Julie cursed.
"JULIE! Why did you say that?" Lucas exclaimed.
"She's evil! Everything she's doing is to bring Isla down."
"I know but, you shouldn't have said that. Remember she gave birth to Isla. And she's responsible for whatever or whoever we know as Isla Sinclair today."
"How sure are you that Rhea even gave birth to Isla? What if she's adopted?"
"I doubt that. Why don't you forget about Isla and get something to eat? I think the cook set the table already. I asked her to prepare your favorite." Julie's eyes widened.
"Awwwn. That's so thoughtful of you." Julie pushed the laptop aside and sat on Lucas's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"I love you."
"I love you more, Julie." He whispered and she chuckled.
"Let me work."
"No babe, lets go to the dining, eat together and afterwards go upstairs and shower together."
"Eww, I'm not doing that." Lucas said funnily and Julie laughed.
"How boring can you get? Let's try it!" Julie was being dramatic.
"Julie, you see. I have so much work to do, I...I have to treat the office report of the staffs and I'm not in the mood for..." Julie interrupted with a deep kiss.
"C'mon baby!! I want you." Julie cried out and started throwing tantrums.
"Okay! Okay! Okay! I'll finish up in five minutes and join you."
"No!! I said I want you. We'll go eat together."
"Wait, let me finish up." Julie got off his lap and sat on the sofa, waiting like a toddler who wants something from the mother.
About five minutes later, Lucas was done.
"Let's go." He stood up and was leading the way.
"Wait! Come behind me, hold my waist." Julie said and he rolled his eyes.
"Woman, you're problematic!" He yelled.
"Lucas, you're angry with me. My husband is angry with me and wants to hit me." Julie sat on the floor and started faking uncontrollable cries.
"Julie, what are you doing?" He stared at his dramatic wife.
"You're angry only because I asked for a short time together. We'll shower, make out and you can go back to your work, yunno! I'm dramatic, right? I'm crazy. Tell me I'm stupid because I want a passionate moment with my husband!" Julie thundered.
"Hey, Julie. I never said those things, and I'll never say it." Lucas knelt to have a close look at his wife.
"Are you hurt?" Julie nodded.
"I'm sorry, Julie. Try to understand that I was back from work not too long ago and I need to finish with these documents before tomorrow. I'm tired. Sorry, Julie." Lucas spoke calmly.
"Stop calling me Julie. Call me sweet names."
"Okay, sweetheart, I'll stop." Julie blushed and Lucas pinched her cheeks.
"Are you happy now?" Julie nodded and they stood up, headed to the dining room for dinner.
Isla was listening to her favorite ballad music, alone as the dark nights consumed her in her bedroom. The singer sounded like she was in tears, and the song expressed Isla's present perplexed situation about a whole new strange feeling, forgetting her past, moving to the future but having obstacles around. Rhea Sinclair and her toxic fans.
Who will stop at nothing to bring her down.
Her mind drifted to Cade. He wasn't picking his calls and replying his text messages. His daughter has suddenly gone out for a sleepover. She felt alone. As lonely as she was, the first few nights without Brian.
"What's wrong with you, Isla? Why don't you have anyone who...why can't you just have someone who lasts with you? Rhea and I birth a flawless daughter, that I'm sure of. It's surprising the way men detest you so much after getting to be with you for a few nights. Do you have a habit that is quite disgusting to men? Does the tits behind the outfit disgust men? Aren't you sexually attractive? Don't you know how to decieve men with your body? Don't you know how to pull a man close?"
"Your stubborness has made you negatively different in the modeling industry. Hello, girlfriend! Move on. Switch places with Brian. If you died, do you think Brian would refuse to remarry?"
"Your husband loves you because you're popular. He would never have married you if you were some poor wretched girl."
"I don't hate you. I only hate the fact that you always want to be noticed. I hate the fact that you're a celebrity. I hate the fact that you're rich and spoilt. You're perfect just the way you are. You're better off without money or fame."
"You're 32! Twice divorced, once widowed. You need to learn how to live on your own."
"I love you too, Isla. That's why I'll do everything to make you maintain your fame, wealth and beauty."
"Hush. My love, you don't have to worry too much, okay? We'll go shopping this weekend and I'll change your wardrobe. Your outfits have to be of high quality! You're a masterpiece! You're perfectly made a celebrity and a good example to social media, not a hiphop dancer."
"Does the tits behind the outfit disgust men? Aren't you sexually attractive? Don't you know how to decieve men with your body? Don't you know how to pull a man close?"
"Ugh. Someone come for this sexy lady and drive her crazy! Make her forget her past. Brian's fucking dead and he'll never ever come back. Someone make her understand!!"
"You can't stay like this forever. You have female fanbase that looks up to you."
"I have a fanbase. I can't stay like this forever." Isla couldn't help but recall everything that has been said to her.
"Its alright. You're the Interstate Showcase winner, you and I are aware of that. You don't have to feel ashamed of not being announced." Thick black hair, captivating eyes, well built, extremely hot..
Shit!
Where was Cade?
Isla couldn't help but have black thoughts.
He has suddenly started talking to Julie. What if he went to her house? What if Lucas was at work and the two were probably in bed?
Double shit.
Julie loves her husband so much; she wouldn't dare do that.
"Is this feeling one sided? Why is Cade only interested in friendship? Does he even like me?" Isla thought, texting him with worried emojis nonstop.
She heard the door creak. He was back. She could hear him already approaching her room. He was running.
"What does he have to say?" Isla rolled her eyes. Her door broke open and she jolted. Her eyes widened in fear.
"What the..." She was breathless. He was sweaty and looked extremely tired but wore a smile on his face.
"What do you want? How dare you just barge into a female's room?" Isla was infuriated. He entered the room and sat beside her on the bed.
He held a paper and took her phone from the table. Before she could make a sound, he had sent a code to the registered modeling society with her phone and in seconds, a message was sent. Isla snatched the phone in anger.
"You left the house without saying anything! Where did you go?" She stared at the message.
"Congratulations, Isla Sinclair! You've officially reached the peak of your career with a valid RiseUp code. Visit your modeling society to get a card of your own."
Isla couldn't control her tears from falling. Without making a sound, her tears were rolling down like pearls. Cade squeezed her hand and one of the tears fell on it. A bright smile appeared on Isla's face.
"Is this for me?"
"Of course! There's your name on it! You're also qualified for the show tomorrow morning." Isla's teary eyes widened.
"Who...who..who did this? Who...how...when...did....who get this?" Isla had no words for what was really happening.
"I met with Josephine Flynn and got it."
"Josephine Flynn? That's like one of the richest models! Where....where did you meet her?" Isla interrogated.
"At the grocery store. She wanted to pick a pink teddy bear her kid wanted for her birthday. I saw her and when we interacted, we talked about you. She said she really wanted to see you at YasMin. I told her you didn't have a RiseUp code, and I followed to her place and we were able to get it for you." Cade explained. Isla was speechless.
Cade was loving and kind...
But she never imagined that he would go to such a length for her. RiseUp was the biggest of all the dreams and expectations she had. That was fulfilled in one night. By the guy she wasn't really sure about her feelings for.
"So, what do you say?" Cade stared at her. Her voice cracked, she was crying. He held her tighter and pulled her in for a hug. Isla wrapped her arms around him posessively and cried on his shirt again.
"What's wrong, Isla? Why are you crying so much?" He asked, stroking her hair.
"You know why. This is the dream of every model. And you got it for me. I...I feel so loved, and so successful already."
"That's what I want you to be. Successful." He said coldly.
"Thank you. This is such a honor." They broke the hug.
"You better tell your friends not to get it anymore! Julie said something about it."
"Oh, yes. I will."
"What is with this sudden bonding with Julie? You never really liked her, right? You said Lindsay and I were your favorites when you were still big fans of Daisy Damsels on Instagram." Isla was curious.
"We just got interested in each other."
"Wow, so does that mean you would have been head over heels in love with Julie if she wasn't married?" She raised a brow.
"Of course, I would have fallen for her first. She's more lovable than any other girl from Daisy Damsels."
"That hurts." Her voice went soft.
"Hurts? Why?"
"Then who will fall for me?" She had that lone voice when Cade came into the house for the first time. The day he realized he needed to do a lot of work if he wanted her attention.
"You're not lovable. You're hard to love. Did Brian ever tell you that?"
"Brian and I fell in love quite easily. We are from influencial families, so we got along well."
"You were never educated before you started having romantic stuff to do with men. That's why you have problems. You give your softness to a man just because he's rich and popular. Just because being his wife can give you all the fame in this world. And here's where that landed you." Cade was cold with his words.
"Are you saying that because you're not as rich – or as popular? If you can say this to me, then why did you think Talia was the best to have as your first love?" Cade shot her a glare and looked away quickly because he had figured an answer to her question.
"All what Talia and I had was openly lust. We never really loved each other. That's why I don't want anything intimate to do with those celebrities."
"What if the urge for you is so hard to control?" Isla's voice made his heart pound harder. He wasn't expecting her to say that.
"What suddenly happens to you when I share what I really feel for you. You're always ignoring that fact. Perhaps, I'm not your dream girl. You can tell me that and I'll just...." Isla didn't complete her statement before Cade claimed her lips in an endearing kiss. She forgot literally everything. She closed her eyes tightly, allowing his tongue to slide inside her parted lips. The kiss grew from a soft one, to a hungrily devouring one. Isla wanted so much more, but he stopped himself. It was like the plain look Cade gave made her breathe again.
"I...I can't." Cade shook his head.
"Why?" Isla asked in a sad tone.
"I just can't, Isla. I'm sorry. I can't do this. You have a RiseUp code now. You'll be ranked as one of the most successful models. I can't bring your career down. Imagine the headline: Isla Sinclair now dating her house manager. It'll be so cringe and stupid. Everyone will hate you and think you're cheap."
"Is that why....is that why you're running away from the truth? Is that why you're running away from your feelings? You said something once about falling in love – and in lust. Cade, if you're in love with me, have me. And if you're in lust with me, have me. I have this uncontrollable urge, and if I don't quench it, I might die."
"You know what you did when you desired Talia immensely."
"I'm sorry again, Miss. Sinclair. I really can't do this. I've been out trying to get this RiseUp code for you. You have it now and you're happy, so would you please permit me to go to my room and have a night's rest?" Isla nodded in disappointment.