Chapter 11.4: Bella - Martin

"Only this round. We can do it again. You're so hot, it won't even take me that long." I chuckled, but it was true; her softness and strength were agitating me once more.

"No," she clung to me, and I gradually eventually realised it wasn't just the aftereffects of making love. I could feel hot tears on my neck.

I leaned forward on my elbows. "What exactly is it? Bella, are you all right? I didn't mean to put you under any duress."

"Martin, goddamn it. Please stop being so sweet. Please be a jackass to me."

"No," I said as I grabbed her shoulders and yanked her away from my neck. "Please explain what's going on."

She hid her face behind her hands. "I wanted to sleep with you so badly, and I shouldn't even have. It was such a blunder. And you adore me." She drew in air with her fingers.

"I apologize for inconveniencing you."

"Yes," she said, dropping her hands in front of her face and pushing me off of her. "Be snide. Give me some attitude. Be slick or start behaving like one of those guys when we met at that bar that night."

"Those men are jerks, Bella. I despise that place. I'm not even sure why you were there."

Her expression became expressionless. Her amber-colored warm brown eyes hardened. Her shoulders sagged and she locked her gaze on mine.

"I'm not your typical coffee shop girl."

I snorted. "I am aware of that. I apologized and told you I was sorry. Do you want me to be that jerk once more? ”

"I'm not really a coffee shop girl," she said again, frustrated and upset. "I work as a private detective."

“What? This made no sense."

She rolled her neck, as if preparing for a fight, and pulled the sheets up to cover her naked breasts. "I'm a private investigator hired by wives who suspect their husbands are cheating on them to set honeytraps. I was working that night in that bar. That's why I was dressed the way I was. That's why I gave myself the name Arabella. It's a role I play to catch cheaters."

In the pit of my stomach, I had a sick feeling. I eventually realized something. "Don't say anything."

"But I was the type for the mark."

"Fuck you, Bella. Don't say anything." I jumped out of bed and stood there staring.

"I seemed to be your father's kind of guy. I was there to entrap him and obtain proof of extramarital affairs for your mother so she could end the relationship with him and keep her money."

"No, it wasn't correct. W hen she met you at my office, she didn't even recognize you. She hadn't met you before, had she? " I had the terrible realization that my entire life had been a trap.

"No, she really haven't. She command my boss, not me. I was just there to set up a honeytrap and collect evidence. I was carrying a camera with me."

"However, he did not appear."

"My boss called to let me know that the job had been canceled."

"Because my father backed out on me. He didn't show up at the bar. We were both thrown to the ground. By the same person..."

"Martin, I was getting ready to go home. When you started hitting on me and had a crush on me. And you were adorable."

"You had no idea who I was? Isn't this some kind of ruse? ”

She took a deep breath in. "I had no idea who you were," she sighed, looking up at me helplessly. "I simply liked you, Martin." That was it. I hadn't seen anybody in a long time, and Abuela was having to watch Yzee, so I had the entire night to myself..."

"No," I replied. This made no sense. I took a step back and noticed my jeans on the floor. I was too exposed. “No. Your daughter," I said accusingly, pointing my finger at her. "You came to the clinic with your daughter!"

"When I came to pick her up, she was sick, and Abuela made an appointment at the clinic down the street. Your medical facility. That was purely coincidental. Her house isn't far away. You two are neighbors. I didn't have any hidden agendas. I was as taken aback by your presence as you were by mine."

"Coincidence," I said, thinking it was fate. Are you really a man of science? I laughed an uncomfortably unimpressed laugh.

"However, you're not the coffee girl. You work as an investigator. So, how did you end up working behind the counter at the coffee shop down the street from my clinic? ”

She withered in front of my eyes. Her head shook back and forth repeatedly. "It wasn't a coincidence."

My father had instructed me. Everybody is an opponent. I was deafeningly deafening that I refused to listen. I put on a flannel shirt that was draped over a chair. "Please tell me."

"I was approached by the FBI. They're looking into Metzger Industries, and it appears that no one was able to get inside the family to get the information they need to know."

"But you got in," I thought, an electric current running up and down my spine. But none of that could possibly be true.

"It's through me."

Her lungs heaved. "They decided to offer me a job as a federal agent. Martin, I'm an interpreter. I speak more than six languages fluently. I can't raise my daughter as a single mother while attempting to catch cheaters in bars. A government job entails health care coverage, benefits, and a retirement plan."

"So you acted as if you liked me."

“No! " She knelt down, hugging the sheet to keep it against her. “No. I was never a pretender. I enjoy your company. I like being with you. I really like you. I– I love you." She appeared to be pleading.

“Don’t! " I took quick steps towards her, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her up against my chest. "Don't tell me you love me when you've been deceiving me and keeping secrets the whole time!" ”

She didn't back up. She swung into me. She didn't deny that she'd lied. "He's attempting to entangle The Friendship That Lasts Foundation with his pharmaceutical business in order to distribute counterfeit drugs in the Philippines," she explained, her voice weak.

"He believes that once it's completed, you won't be able to escape without implicating yourself, and you'll be back in his claws. He's attempting to pull you into the business and force you to make a decision."

"He would never do that," I said, but I was now telling a lie. He'd do it without a doubt. I'd continued to refuse him, and he despised anyone who denied him what he desired. I decided to push her away, and she fell back onto the bed. She managed to crawl towards me as the sheets fell away.

"In your office, I had a recording device. I heard him talking to someone on the phone today. He installed a keylogger on your pc so that when you log in to your business accounts, he can pilfer your passwords and initiate transfers. He believes you will not recognize until it is too late and you are already connected. And he–" she came to a halt and shook her head, as if she didn't want to tell me anything worse. As if anything could be worse than this catastrophic event.

"And then what?" ”

She motioned with her hand. She waved it away. "I'm also sorry. I'm not worthy of you. And you do not really deserve him to be your father. None of this was something I hoped and wished to happen. Please accept my apologies, Martin."

I took a deep breath and sat down on the bed. This can't be true. But I had a feeling it was. My mom and dad enticed me back to Manila, to this city with the foundation, which my father intended to use to distribute fake pharmaceuticals.The FBI and NBI needed to catch us, of course, and the only way in would be through a family member because my father was a paranoid asshole who can't trust anyone, not even his family, unless we were intimately involved in his plans, so he was trying to entrap me in his crimes, which caused me to be a target of the FBI and this gorgeous deceptive girl. I knew she was telling the truth because it was so common of my family.

The fact that Bella was associated hurt the most. Because her deception was wrecking me, it was clear that my feelings for her were even stronger than I had previously thought. I could anticipate this from my father, but Bella? I had hoped. Genuine hopes. Hopes that could last a lifetime and give me lots something genuine. I felt like a dummy. I clenched my teeth to keep from screaming and shouting. I hit something. I burst into sobs. "You installed a recording device in my office. When? And where exactly? ”

"When your mom was there this morning. I planted a bug after learning she was going to meet you. Under the edging of your desk. When I handed you your coffee, I placed it there. I can demonstrate. If you want, I can take it down."

"I don't want you anywhere near my office. I don't think I want you anywhere near me."

She sucked her breath heavily and appeared to be about to cry, but she didn't. She accepted what I said with a nod.

"You didn't just show up to give me a cup of coffee, did you? That seemed strange to me. You did have a hidden agenda. Not just to see me. In order to plant the bug."

“Yes.”

Everything was part of her strategic plan. Something inside of me was frozen and hard. "Do you have any more bugs?" ”

She looked down, her lashes brushing her cheek with deep shadows, then stood, wrapping the sheet around herself like a gown, and exited the room. I just stared at her, not sure what to think. Everything I'd known about her had been a ruse. I felt duped. It felt as if she had torn and ripped my heart out from my chest, leaving a huge hole. The cold wind howled in the empty space she'd left.

I could only gaze at her as she walked back in with her purse, starting to think, how could you? But I remained silent. She took a pen from her purse, approached me, and untwisted it so I could see the recording device inside. How could you do that? My heart spoke up. She flipped the light switch.

"It's off now," she said as she placed it in my hands. How could you do that? I snapped the plastic and let it fall to the ground. "You sabotaged your investigation."

She shrugged her shoulders. "You're not guilty. I don't have evidence against your father, but I do have proof that he set you up and you were not involved. All I care about is you," she said as she managed to reach out for me.

I took a step back from her. "My name is Metzger. We are never entirely innocent."

Her brows furrowed and her face became clouded. "There is no proof that you are in any way connected to Metzger Industries' crimes. You work as a doctor. There was nothing there. You don't even communicate with your father. He's attempting to enlist your assistance because you're not involved. I'm sure I can keep you out of it. I can protect you from him."

"Metzger Industries pays for my clinic. This apartment is as well. This is my foundation. That Rousseau work. Metzger is my surname. We're all tainted."

She was shaking her head, as if she actually understood who I was, what I was capable of. A stab of sadness passed through me.

"All that things that happend between us, Arabella..." I took a step back. I turned to face her. "It was a lie. This thing between us? It's all f ake.”

“No. I made several attempts. I tried, Martin, I really did. I tried to keep it professional, you know. But I really can not help myself. I'm in love with you. I didn't mean to do it. It's true."

I just stood there staring at her. "Put on your clothes. And then get out."

Her face had lost its color. “Martin. Please. I apologize. "Please accept my heartfelt apologies."

"I'm guessing you're intending to tell me that you adore me. And you don't want to lose me," sarcasm dripping down from my mouth like blood from a knife.

"I'm not going to say it, even though it's true. I don't think I'll be spared. I don't think I'll be able to–" her voice broke up with tears. "–get you to stay."

"Oh, come on now, detective. You were doing fantastically well. There are no teary eyes. There will be no poor broken hearted girl act. I'm sure you know how to turn on those tears when you need them. And I've realised you're still undressed. I'm sure that works as well. How many times have you used your body to obtain what you require? ”

Her expression wept quietly. "All right," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I deserve it. There isn't anything I can say to compensate for this. No pleading. I'm sorry. That is something I owe you. I apologize. I'll leave right now."

She just remained standing there, looking around the room. We both remained motionless.

"How come you're still here!? " I screamed.

She inhaled. "I'm not sure where my clothes are."

I picked them up from where I'd thrown them not long ago and hurled them at her. Her pink lace panties fell to the floor at her feet as she caught them. Goddammit.

I could feel my rage rising. "Put on your clothes. "Leave."

I walked out of the room. I couldn't bear looking at her any longer. I was furious at her. I felt completely betrayed. And it is still. Still. All I wanted to do was hold her. I was furious with myself for feeling this way.

I sat on the couch, a bottle of tequila in front of me, trying to watch the stars sparkle over the bay. I didn't look at her when she eventually came out of my room. She took her shoes off and put them on.

"Martin, I'm going to leave."

She'd be waiting a very long time if she was waiting for me to turn around and look at her. If I looked at her, I didn't even know what I'd do.

"I want you to know that I'm sorry for deceiving you. I deeply regret deceiving you, and if I could do it all over again, I would not. But I have no regrets about falling in love with you."

I didn't say anything. I didn't move a single muscle. On the marble floor, I could hear her shifting. She's waiting for something. She didn't get it. No, not from me.

Her heels clicked on the marbled floor. I sat and waited for it. I waited for her to say something more, anything that could make things better. But she didn't say anything. Because both she and I knew there was nothing that could make any of this better.

The elevator arrived, swallowed her up, and Bella vanished from my life.