Chapter 17

Isabella was enrolled in the University again and class will start in a couple of days. Franco and Isabella are now sleeping together in the bed but still in the condition that Franco will never attempt to have sex with her. There are nights when Franco needs to take a shower and just sleep on the couch to help him respect their boundaries. Isabella on the other hand, makes sure that she is always wearing her pajamas to avoid any temptation or any sort of seduction.

Isabella still thinks about Carlo everyday but she is afraid to contact him again because she doesn't want to receive another message from Jane. What Isabella doesn't know is that Carlo has no idea of the exchange of messages between her and Jane, for Jane immediately deleted it and never mentioned it to him.

On Monday morning, the first day of school, while they are waiting for the professor to arrive, Isabella gathered all her guts and dialed Carlo's number. She is hoping that since it's the first day of school, and it's still early in the morning, Jane won't be with him. The other line rang twice then she heard his voice.

Carlo was getting ready for school when his phone rang. The number was not registered on his phone, and his intuition told him that it might be Isabella. He answered it, hoping to hear her voice on the other line.

"Carlo?"

"Isabella?!" he exclaimed. "I've been waiting for your call. How are you? Is he treating you right?"

"I'm fine. He is respectful and decent and he didn't force me to marry him or do anything that I don't like. We share the same bed but never had, you know… most of the time, he sleeps on the couch."

"That's good to know. I was worried about you, and I thought I will never hear from you again. I was thinking that he might be stopping you from contacting me."

"Oh no, he is not forbidding me to communicate with you. He is just asking me to give him a chance to prove himself, but you know how much I love you."

"How are you and Jane?"

"Oh Jane, she's unbelievable. She keeps on following me no matter how many times I drive her away and tell her that I don't love her. Sometimes I feel the guilt of hurting her feelings but that's the truth. I can't lie to myself and to her anymore. You are the one that I love. I am going to study hard and get you from Franco. I'll take summer classes so the three more years will be reduced to maybe just two. I'll pay him every single cent that he has spent for you. I promise you that. "

"Oh Carlo! I love you so much! I'll just stay with him for two years and I'll go back to you. Just wait for me, okay?"

"I have always waited for you, and I always will."

One year has passed, Carlo and Isabella continued to communicate with each other over the phone but they never dared to meet. Isabella wanted to respect Franco who is the one feeding her at the moment. Franco and her stayed friends, and he never, not even once attempted to go beyond their boundaries. One day, after Franco came back from his two-month stay in Bacolod, he invited Isabella for dinner.

"Let's have dinner this evening, Isabella," he told her while he is still unloading his luggage and Isabella is working on her assignment in the living room.

"Sure, but don't you wanna rest first? I know you must be tired from your long trip. We can have a delivery or I can just cook something for you."

"No, it's okay. I am fine. I just missed you so much so I want to treat you tonight."

She laughed, "You really are tired."

"No, that's true. I always miss your beautiful smile, your gentle gestures, and your big black eyes."

"You sound crazy you know that? You're worse than someone who has a jet lag. Why don't you take a nap first?"

"Yeah, I'll sleep for a couple of hours, then dinner tonight, okay?"

"Alright." She smiled at him and continued working on her assignment.

At six in the evening, Franco and Isabella started preparing for their dinner. Isabella let Franco take a bath first and finish dressing up before she took her turn. She wore the red sleeveless, knee-length dress that Franco bought her on their first day together. She put on her four-inch black stilettos and a light make up. When she stepped out of the room, Franco was astounded. It's like he just saw the most beautiful woman in the world.

"Stop staring at me like that, I'm melting," she said.

"Oh! Sorry." Franco shook his head to wake himself up.

"You look so gorgeous." He stood up and arched his arm for her to hold on to.

"Thank you."

They drove to a five star restaurant where Franco made a reservation minutes earlier.

Franco took the liberty of ordering for both of them and also ordered a bottle of champagne. They talked about a lot of things, and there was no awkward moment between them. Only then that Isabella realized the difference between him and Carlo. With Carlo, it feels like the whole world revolves around them, that they are the center of the universe, and the only important thing in the world is their love for each other. With Franco, she feels like they are going around the world, exploring the whole universe. Every time Franco comes home, he has new stories to share with her, new trivias that make her more excited about life. Then she realized that she was always looking forward to Franco to come home. With Carlo, she can always let the time pass. She always thinks that they will have their time in the future but there's no need to rush. Whenever they talk over the phone, they can talk for hours telling each other how much they love each other until they both fall asleep. With Franco, he seldom calls when he is out of town but when he does, she feels more empowered and ready to face tomorrow. With Carlo, she always want to return to their past, when life was easy and all they see is the moon making love with the thousands of clouds that pass through it. With Carlo, whenever they are together in bed, they will make love until they are both tired and fall asleep. With Franco, they can stay awake in bed for hours just talking about anything and none of them wants to end the conversation.

"How are you and Carlo?" Franco asked.

"Just fine. Same old, same old."

"Have you guys recently met?"

"Nope, we haven't seen each other since I lived with you."

"For one year?"

"Yeah. Wow. I didn't notice how fast time flew."

Franco secretly smiled, satisfied with her response. It means that she is slowly moving on from him.

"Do you still talk like call or text each other?"

"Yes, but not as much as we used to, during the first few months that I moved in to your pod. This is my final year and things are tougher, professors are more terror, so I need more time for studying."

Franco nodded and said, "Okay, that's good to know that you are studying hard."

They are drinking champagne as they continue to talk more about their lives, their adventures, and Franco's travels. As the night got deeper, Isabella's voice became louder, and she laughed more. Knowing that Isabella isn't really used to drinking alcohol, it's no wonder that she got drunk easily with champagne. Franco called the waiter, paid their dinner and guided her to the car. When they got home, Franco carried her into the room and removed her shoes.

"Are we going to make love?" Isabella asked in a drunken tone.

"No, I'm just removing your shoes so you can go to sleep."

"Why don't we make love tonight?"

"Isabella, you're drunk and I don't like taking advantage of women."

"Are you not attracted to me?"

"Of course I am. If you only know."

"Do you love me, Franco?"

Franco took a deep breath before answering but as he opened his mouth to tell her he does, Isabella interrupted her.

"Hahahah! You don't! Just like Carlo, no one loves me anymore."

"What are you talking about? I thought you and Carlo are fine? You told me that he is your soul mate, so he must love you."

"I'm not stupid. I know he is fucking another woman because he thinks that we are fucking each other."

Franco was surprised to hear such term from a sweet girl like her.

"Don't say that, Isabella. You have no proof, you can't judge him like that."

Franco was surprised with the words he just said. He's defending the man he wants her to get over with. But the issue now is not about getting her from him. It's about her feeling unloved. He told himself.

"Oh, I can prove it to you. Even if I don't see it, I can feel it. Women's intuition you know."

"Why are you saying all these all of a sudden? I thought you told me earlier that you were okay."

"Because I thought we were. I hate him. He made me believe that I am the only one for him, that he will wait for me but the truth is he has another girlfriend."

"You are really drunk. I think it's better for you to rest first and get the alcohol out of your system, and then we'll talk about it tomorrow, okay?"

"Just leave me if you don't want to talk to me anymore. Don't tell me that I am drunk because even if I am, I still know what I am talking about."

Ran out of words to make her feel better, Franco hugged her while she's lying down on the bed for a few minutes until she fell asleep.

Franco left her in the room and closed the door gently. Then he took her phone from her bag and looked for Carlo's number. He wants to know what really is going on between them.

"Hey! This is Franco," he said in a firm voice after Carlo answered the phone.

"Why? What do you need?" he answered defensively.

"What's going on between you and Isabella?"

"What do you mean? Shouldn't I be the one asking you that? She hasn't called me for weeks."

"She said you're seeing someone else."

"Me? I'm not. I have been patiently waiting for her, for you to release her. I'm the one she loves not you."

"I already heard what I need to hear. Thank you." Franco pressed the end button and put her phone back to her bag.

Carlo was furious after talking to Franco. Not because of talking him but because he knows now why Isabella hasn't been answering his messages and phone calls. Jane.