"Excuse me?!" she almost yelled at whoever was on the other side of the phone and I lifted my head up from my laptop towards her only to see her standing there with a horrified look on her face.

"No! That's not true!" she exclaimed angrily at that person and I furrowed my eyebrows together in confusion.

It seemed as if she had lost it in the moment. I didn't think she even realised that she was currently standing in her boss' office.

This was so unlike Isabelle.

"Stop lying to me!" she yelled and tears pooled in her eyes as I got more and more curious each passing second.

"Miss Reinhart?" I said, trying to gather her attention but she didn't seem to snap out of the trance.

She was looking straight at me and yet she was lost somewhere else as tears kept welling her eyes up.

"No, I know you're lying," she said in a low and defeated tone and before I knew what was happening I saw her collapsing down on the floor.

I stood up immediately and ran to her as I sat down beside her and snaked my arm around her waist and rested her head on my shoulder.

"Isabelle? What's wrong? Talk to me," I said to her but she wasn't even listening.

Tears kept running down her cheeks like a waterfall and she kept staring at nothing. She seemed in a state of shock.

I took her phone that had fallen on the floor and held it against my ear.

"Hello?" I said.

"Hello. Who is this?" a man said and I clenched my jaw in annoyance and irritation.

"What did you say to her?" I snapped angrily at that person.

"I'm sorry sir but I need to know your identity and relationship with Miss Reinhart first," that man said and I saw Isabelle passing out in my arms as I held her as close to me as humanely possibly.

"I'm her boss now spill for fuck's sake already," I was losing my temperament and something told me that what I was about to hear was going to be far worse than this.

"Darren Reinhart, Isabelle's father passed away ten minutes ago," he said in a low and sorrowful tone and I closed my eyes and clutched the phone tightly in my hand.

I cut the call and rested my head atop Isabelle's who now laid unconscious in my arms.

I heaved a deep sigh and kissed the crown of her. And then I stood up and scooped her in my arms bridal style as I made my way out of the office.

************

"How is she?" I asked the doctor as she came out of the room.

"She'll be fine. She's just taken the grief too deep and the pain is just too overwhelming for her brain to process at the moment," she explained and I paced back and forth, feeling helpless.

"You're her boyfriend?" the doctor asked and I wanted to smack her head somewhere for asking too much questions because right at the moment I either wanted to be with Isabelle or all alone, but instead I replied,

"Yeah."

"She'll need you. She's a sweet girl, take care of her," the doctor said and walked away as I looked around and when I saw that the corridor was empty, I punched the wall in anger.

Isabelle was inside the room and she was suffering from a loss maybe I could never understand and the worst thing was that I did not know how to condole her. I didn't know any of her friends or family so that I could call them.

It was just her and I until all the arrangements took place.

I had already asked some of my men to arrange a funeral ceremony tomorrow evening because I did not want Isabelle worrying about all that when she was in this state.

It was time for me to face her and take her back home because the longer she stayed in this hospital, the unhealthier it was for her mental health.

I opened the door and saw her sitting on the bed, hugging her knees close to her chest.

She didn't acknowledge my presence, hell she didn't even lift her head up to see as I walked closer to her. She just kept staring at particularly nothing.

"Isabelle....come on let me take you home," I said and placed my hand on her shoulder, lightly shaking her to gather her attention.

She didn't say anything or didn't even look at me, she just stood up and picked up her jacket and started walking out of the room.

I followed her outside and I noticed how she was lost, like she was here but at the same time, she wasn't. She looked so broken and hurt, it pained my heart to see her like this.

I placed my hand at the small of her back and led her to where my car was parked.

A lot of eyes turned to us but at the moment, I didn't care about anything. I just wanted to get her out of here.

When we sat in the car, I purposely sat a little closer to her and held her hand in mine, a gesture to let her know that I was here no matter what but she didn't even seem to notice that.

Under normal circumstances, I remembered how she turned crimson red even when my hand accidentally brushed against hers but today, all I could see was how the light in her eyes and the colour in her face had dissipated in just a matter of hours.

When we reached her place I lightly shook her shoulder to let her know that we were here and she looked outside the window and untangled her hand from mine before opening the door and stepping outside without a glance back.

I stepped outside myself and told the driver to wait in the car as I followed her inside. I knew that she probably needed some time alone but leaving her all alone in this state did not seem right to me.

She climbed the stairs and I saw her back as she disappeared before I heard a door slam and I sighed and sat down on the couch, rubbing my temples and cursing under my breath.

****************

It was past eight O'clock in the evening when I stood up from the couch as I heard the doorbell ring.

I made my way towards it and saw my driver standing there with a McDonald's bag in his hands. I was still at Isabelle's place and she hadn't come out from her room since we came back from the hospital and I was worried that she hadn't eaten anything since morning so I ordered her some food.

I thanked him and came back inside as I decided to go upstairs.

I knocked at her room's door but there was no reply. I knocked again when I heard her faint 'come in' and I opened the door and saw her curled up in a ball with sheets all over her.

I couldn't see her face because her hair was all over it but I could tell that she had been crying.

I sat down beside her. I didn't know how to start a conversation or even how to tell her to eat when the most important person in her life died.

"You should eat something," I said and placed my hand on her face, brushing the strands away from her face.

"I just want to be alone right now," she said in a voice merely above a whisper and I nodded my head understandingly.

"I know you do. But this isn't going to work if you starve yourself like this," I lightly said as I cupped her cheek and rubbed my thumb along her cheekbone.

"I'll eat it later. You've already done enough. Please go home now," she said. Her eyes were closed and her voice was hoarse.

"I will. But do you promise to eat it when you feel like it?" I asked and a few seconds later, she nodded and I stood up and left her room.

I couldn't imagine the heartbreak and loss she was suffering from right now, but I knew what it meant when someone wanted to be left alone.

I respected that and so I left her house. I knew I was going to regret leaving her all alone later tonight but I did not want to stay at her place when she didn't want me to.

*************

❤