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With an inquiry and an exclamation, Thomas, who was listening directly, was stunned for a moment.
"Wait… isn't that Lisa Dawson's voice?"
Lisa Dawson was also Thomas's former classmate. Her real name was Lisa Kendall, gender female, attractiveness 91/100, and Isabella Monroe's roommate. She was also considered a campus beauty.
She was just a bit loud and had a quirky sense of humor.
That much was obvious from her voice in the video call. Right after Isabella ended the call, Lisa even sent another message.
"What's going on at the hotel that you're so eager to find me?" Isabella glanced at Thomas discreetly and asked.
"Isabella, is there someone next to you? Is he a handsome guy?"
"What handsome guy? I still have things to do. Just tell me what you want," Isabella said, rolling her eyes.
"Well, it's nothing serious. It's just that it's been six months since we graduated, and our class rep suggested a reunion here in New York. You haven't shown up, so he's worried something happened and asked me to check on you."
"A reunion?" Isabella's face changed slightly, and she quickly replied, "I'm not going. You guys have fun."
The class rep's name was Adam Quinn, a New York native. He had pursued Isabella all throughout college.
Unfortunately for him, Isabella had never been interested.
Of course, that wasn't the main issue—what mattered was that Isabella didn't want Thomas to get the wrong idea.
"Huh? Isabella, why does your face look weird? Oh, wait, I get it—you're with your boyfriend, aren't you?"
Lisa's teasing tone made Isabella flush with frustration. Thomas, on the other hand, chuckled in amusement.
"This Lisa Dawson… she hasn't changed at all," he muttered.
Lisa wasn't a bad person, just blunt. She had a habit of speaking without thinking, which had gotten her into trouble more than once.
But since they were all adults now, everyone had grown used to it.
"Hey, I didn't mean to say anything wrong," Lisa quickly added. "Brother-in-law, don't take it seriously! I swear, Isabella never dated anyone in college. You can ask anyone in our dorm."
Hearing this, Isabella snuck a glance at Thomas, checking his expression. Seeing that he wasn't angry, she let out a small sigh of relief.
At that moment, Thomas smiled and moved closer to Isabella, casually taking her phone.
"Hello, Lisa. Long time no see," he greeted smoothly.
"WHAT?! Why the hell are YOU there?!"
Lisa's reaction was almost comical.
Back in college, there had been a certain… incident.
During a gym class, Thomas had accidentally stepped on Lisa's shoe, which should've been a minor accident.
Except it was summer. And Lisa had tripped—hard.
That alone would've been embarrassing, but the real disaster? She had been on her period that day.
The entire situation had been catastrophic.
To make matters worse, Thomas had instinctively reached out to break her fall—only to end up pinning her to the ground instead.
It had been chaos.
Lisa had chased him across the entire campus that day. Then off-campus. Then down an entire street.
She never caught him.
It wasn't until Thomas apologized profusely, even offering his jacket to help her cover up, that she finally let it go.
Sort of.
Even at graduation, Lisa still refused to fully forgive him.
Which explained her over-the-top reaction now.
Thomas sighed. "Lisa, it's been two years. Are you seriously still holding onto that?"
"I'LL NEVER FORGET IT!"
"...Fine, fine. I'll accept my punishment."
Lisa snorted. "Whatever, I'll forgive you for Isabella's sake."
Hearing that, Isabella couldn't help but giggle. "Okay, okay, no more grudges. I'll take you out for dinner sometime as an apology on his behalf. Deal?"
"I want Pizza Hut!"
"Alright, Pizza Hut it is," Isabella laughed, sneaking another glance at Thomas.
Lisa suddenly paused. Her tone shifted.
"Wait… Isabella, you're just a hotel reviewer. But Thomas isn't. Why is he at the hotel?"
A flicker of nervousness crossed Isabella's face before she quickly recovered. "It's just a coincidence. We just happened to meet here."
"Ohhhh~~," Lisa dragged out the word suspiciously.
Thomas was about to speak when Lisa suddenly asked, "Thomas, are you coming to the reunion tomorrow?"
"Not really interested. I'm not close with most of them, so I'll pass," he said casually.
In college, Thomas had only been close with his dormmates.
The rest? Just acquaintances.
Besides, all his former dormmates had moved out of New York after graduation, so there wasn't much of a reason for him to go.
"Huh. Well, if you're not going, Isabella won't go, and if she's not going, then I won't go either. I was planning to give Adam Quinn a hard time," Lisa joked.
Thomas smirked. "If you want to mess with him, be my guest."
Isabella coughed lightly. "Lisa, don't you have work tomorrow? You should rest early."
"Ugh, so stingy. It's not like I'd steal your boyfriend or anything."
Isabella wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.
Thomas, however, just smirked. "Lisa, I'm actually pretty easy to steal. Just a little effort, and I'm all yours."
"Pfft, dream on! Even if hell froze over, I wouldn't want you." Lisa made a face at him through the screen.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll take that as a compliment," Thomas chuckled.
"I'm knocking on your hotel room door tonight!"
Thomas raised an eyebrow. "I'd welcome the visit."
"I'll bring scissors!"
His face darkened instantly. "Goodbye."
And with that, he hung up the call.
Isabella burst into laughter. "She hasn't changed a bit."
"It's rare. I wonder how long she can stay like that," Thomas mused.
The world had a way of changing people.
Isabella hesitated before asking, "Lisa misunderstood. What if she spreads rumors in the group chat?"
"Let her," Thomas said with a lazy smile.
Isabella blinked, startled. Then, after a moment, her expression softened.
"So… does that mean I am your girlfriend?"
"You can explain however you want," Thomas teased.
Isabella froze for a second before realizing what he meant.
"You're such a bully!" she huffed, lightly hitting his arm.
Then, without thinking, she leaned against him, her expression both shy and playful.
For a moment, the air between them changed.
There was warmth. Electricity. A lingering tension.
And suddenly, Isabella wasn't sure if she had really miscalculated… or if she had just been too late.