Page 128 of Lost & Found

“Who is that? Don’t tell me Sebastian?” She rolled her eyes, looking at my phone.

“No, he’s taken the hint and dialed things back. I have a feeling Marcel may have talked with him. Or at least I can hope, right? We could test it out by…” My eyes slid down her body again.

Completely caught up in the moment, we stared at one another. A sudden loud banging on the hotel door shattered the fantasy taking shape in my mind. Isabella startled, and her gaze swung toward the sound. The previously playful mood dissipated into an uneasy tension.

“What the…” I muttered, stepping inside the room and moving toward the door. Isabella trailed behind me, snagging a T-shirt and throwing it on. Her expression mirrored mine—apprehension and confusion.

Striding over, I reached for the door handle, hearing sobbing on the other side. I swung it open, and Lisa was standing there. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, and her body trembled with emotion.

“Lisa, what happened?” I asked.

“Shut the door, please,” she cried before stumbling into the room and collapsing onto the nearest chair with a sob.

Isabella moved to her side, offering a comforting hand as I closed the door. She looked dumbfounded. I had no clue what had happened.

“Cha-Chase. It’s Chase,” she moaned, doubling over.

“What happened? Is he okay? Lisa, where is he?” I demanded.

“I was coming in…and I got a message…don’t know who it’s from but I don’t need to.” She cupped her face and sobbed harder, rocking back and forth. “He…he cheated on me. Is cheating on me. How could he do this? And days before the wedding?”

She struggled to compose herself, her tear-stained face filled with anguish. Her words ran together. “My parents paid for everything. It’s non-refundable. How could he? She knew…the bitch…everyone is here, too. My mom, my dad, what are they going to say? I should have seen it coming…there was the time in—oh, God how stupid of me. It’s been going on for years.”

I grappled to come to terms with what she was saying. It didn’t make sense. Why would he cheat on her?

“One thing at a time. Take some deep breaths for me. We’re going to figure it out and you’re safe here,” Isabella said, kneeling down next to the chair. She rubbed Lisa’s back and our eyes met again.

Another round of banging on the door jarred me. “Pasha, is Lisa with you?” A mumbled question fell from behind the door.

Lisa gasped. Isabella, thinking on her feet, pulled Lisa into the bathroom. The sound of water from the shower helped muffle the sounds of Lisa’s crying. I took a deep breath of my own and tore my tank top off, and yanked the door open.

“Hey what’s up? I was getting ready to shower,” I said as I faced Chase.

He was disheveled and his face guilt-ridden. The fact that he wore it so plainly struck me hard. “Have you seen Lisa? I need to talk to her now. I need to explain. It’s not what she thinks.”

I stepped outside into the hall. The cool air felt good against my heated skin. I stared into my friend’s eyes, not quite comprehending everything. I hesitated to ask because the expression of desperation and evasion staring back told me it was true.

Still, I had to. “What’s going on?”

“I swear, she’s got it all wrong. I would never…”

With his back to the elevator, Chase wasn’t witness to the sight I was. Hannah magically appeared at the end of the hall. She rushed forward.

“Pasha, let me explain.” Then she froze as she saw Chase.

Her expression, from a distance, mirrored his. Guilt and anxiety. It sent a ripple of realization through me. She shook her head and backed away. The pieces fell into place. I looked from one of them to the other.

Two and two equaled four, and in that one moment, I knew. I was done with these people. Aside from Lisa. My fists clenched at my sides as the truth hit. My anger simmered beneath the surface. Without a word, I lunged forward, my hand shooting out to grasp Chase by the collar of his shirt.

With a swift motion, I shoved him. His back collided against the wall with a thud that echoed down the empty corridor. The impact jarred Chase. His eyes widened in fear as my aggression grew.

This motherfucker.

“Your guilt is written all over your face. You’re a coward and a piece of shit. I don’t know how I could have ever considered you, my friend. You want to fuck her? By all means.”

I gripped his shirt and shoved him toward Hannah. A door from across the hall opened.

A man poked his head out. “Everything okay out here?” he asked.