Chapter 5
Eloise stepped out of the villa, pulling her suitcase with her. She fell into a daze as she watched the traffic pile up on the main road.
She had lived here and called this place home for the last eight years. She was the one who had broken up with Jacob and moved out, but she didn’t have time to look for a new place to rent. She had nowhere to go.
Eloise was pulled out of her thoughts when her phone chimed. She fished her phone out of her purse and checked the notifications, only to see two texts from William.
“I’m in Solmere now. The weather today is decent, but I’ve got a lot on my plate. I had toast for breakfast this morning, but I found it dry and hard to swallow. Maybe my palate is used to food back home.
“I was too busy to grab lunch at noon, and I have a business gathering tonight. I have a feeling they won’t let me go until I’m piss-drunk. I’m not a fan of such gatherings…”
His voice note was long-winded and chock-full of menial details. It reminded Eloise of an elaborate work report. Just as she was wondering where William was leading with this, she caught something useful to her.
“Oh, by the way, I live in Villa No. 8 in Cloudmere Residence. You can move in anytime. It’ll be our home from now on. If it’s not to your liking, we can always move elsewhere.”
Cloudmere Residence. Eloise couldn’t believe that he was living in the same area as her or that his villa was within walking distance!
She headed over to the villa and stopped before the front door. She keyed in the passcode William had given her and unlocked the door. As she opened it, she was greeted by a crisp and refreshing scent.
William’s villa had the same layout as Jacob’s, but the decoration was the extreme opposite. Her previous abode had been appointed in warm, earthy tones and filled with furniture, but this one was done in black and white with hardly any furniture. He didn’t even own a couch.
She had no idea how this place was even meant to host a human.
As the question rang out in her mind, she headed upstairs and found that it was also minimally furnished. There were three bedrooms. The master bedroom was the only one with a bed, and there were no cabinets in sight.
Eloise reckoned William didn’t live here, and if he did, he must not usually stay for long. That explained the simple furnishings and lack of homey stuff.
After her hectic morning, Eloise set her suitcase somewhere and went to work on an empty stomach.
Celia was kind enough to share a sandwich and half a cup of coffee with her, though not without gloating about her husband. “My hubby stayed up making bread last night. When he woke up early this morning, he fixed me a BLT!”
Eloise feigned envy. “Keep a leash on your husband, Celia, or I’ll steal him away from you.”
Celia’s grin widened at this. “Hmph! You’re not stealing him away. He loves me and only me!”
Eloise was in a good mood that day. She felt lighter, too. She had spent the last eight years loving Jacob and giving him everything she had. The burden had weighed her down and worn her out.
Having let him go, she was finally liberated, and she never knew how easy life could be until now.
That afternoon, she got a text from Jacob that read, “You left your books here. Do you still want them, or shall I toss them into the trash?”
Eloise scanned the message and did not reply to it. Instead, she unfollowed him on Instagram and blocked his number.
The books weren’t the only things she had left behind; she couldn’t possibly clear everything from his place after living there for the last eight years. However, those books didn’t mean much to her.
When Eloise got off work in the late afternoon, she saw that William had replied to her text. She had sent him a message that morning that read, “I’ve moved in.”
She stared at his reply.
“Welcome.”
It was only one word, but it warmed her heart nonetheless. She sent him another text, “Can I sleep in your bed?”
She gathered he wouldn’t respond so quickly, so she hurried to the subway station after sending the text. It wasn’t until she got on the subway that she realized how odd her question must have sounded.
Eloise was about to tell William she could always get another bed for herself when she saw that he had responded. Again, it was a simple, one-word reply. “Yes.”
For some reason, her face warmed at the message. Given the time difference, she figured it must be nearly three in the morning over at Solmere. Why was William still awake?
After getting off the subway, she planned to stop at the supermarket. William’s villa desperately needed supplies.
No sooner had Eloise reached the supermarket than Xavier called her. She picked up the call, only to hear a frantic shout on the other end. “Eloise! Help!”
She froze. “What happened?”
“I’ve been attacked!”
“What?”
Jack’s new bar had been turned upside down by the time Eloise showed up. She stared at the mess in the courtyard and watched as the employees straightened up the place.
When they saw her, one of the employees pointed her in the direction of the lounge inside.
She stopped before the lounge and took in the chaos. The furniture had been smashed up, with tables missing a leg or two, and the chairs turned over like a tornado had swooped in. Shards of glass, presumably from wine bottles, littered the floor.
Jacob was sprawled on the couch in the back of the room, his face grim and his head still bleeding. Eloise gave him a cursory glance before turning to leave.
“Eloise, you’re here! Thank goodness! Help!” Xavier darted out of the lounge to grab her arm. “I was attacked! Someone cut me!”
He gestured at the bloody gash on his arm. He had, indeed, been brutalized.
At that moment, Jack came over and shoved Xavier aside. He handed the first aid kit to Eloise and said gravely, “Mr. Tough Guy over there refuses to go to the hospital or let anyone tend to him. We had no choice but to call you for help.”
“He and I are broken up,” Eloise replied with mild exasperation. “I couldn’t care less if he lived or died.”
“I’m on your side,” Jack said. “But surely you and Jacob can still be friends after the break-up, right?”
“We could never be friends,” Eloise countered stoically.
“Please, Eloise. Do this for me, okay?” Jack pleaded.
Eloise was silent for a moment. In the end, she relented and took the first aid kit from Jack.
She was about to go inside the lounge when he tugged on her arm and explained, “Sophia’s pregnant with Shawn’s kid, but he refused to take responsibility and demanded she have an abortion. Jacob asked to meet him here to get an apology out of Shawn.
“They barely spoke two words before they brawled. Shawn didn’t stand a chance against Jacob at first, but Sophia showed up and started shielding him from Jacob’s punches. When Jacob stood down, Shawn smashed a bottle of wine on his head.”
Eloise cocked a brow. “And where’s Sophia now?”
Jack answered, “She went after Shawn.”
“Interesting,” Eloise drawled.
Jack sighed in resignation. “So, do me a favor and avoid bringing up Shawn and Sophia later, okay? The last thing I want is for Jacob to go berserk.”
Eloise made no such promise as she entered the lounge with the first aid kit in hand.
Laborious pants escaped Jacob as he sprawled on the couch, still seething over the incident. When he heard footsteps approaching, he looked up and met Eloise’s indifferent gaze. He flew into a rage once more.
“Who the fuck called you over?” he growled.
Eloise ignored him and took a Q-tip from the first aid kit. She dabbed some iodine on it to clean Jacob’s wounds.
“I’d rather bleed out than have you fucking touch me!” Jacob barked.
She was well aware of his temper. At times like this, he could be brash and unreasonable, not to mention stubborn. She did not bristle at his tone, quickly cleaning and bandaging his wounds.
“Those are pretty deep gashes. You’ll have to get him to the hospital to get stitched up,” Eloise said, addressing Jack and Xavier.
She was about to leave when Jacob gripped her arm. “Did you block my number?”
Pulling her arm free, she said stonily, “I’m a fan of clean breaks. You wouldn’t have to worry about me bothering you if I blocked you.”
“I order you to unblock my number right now!” he roared.
Eloise snorted. “Looks like you got hit in the head pretty hard. Better get that checked out at the hospital.” With that, she spun on her heels to leave.
“Sophia changed her mind about marrying me,” Jacob bit out. “I may as well marry you.”
When she heard this, Eloise stopped in her tracks and glanced at Jacob. He looked at her like he was doing her charity. She sneered, “Save your generosity. I’ve already decided to marry someone else.”
