Chapter 13: Words Come True

Bella sat in Lia's office chair and said, "It's only been a few days. That's not enough time to finish a long novel. How could he possibly be tired of you? He works at Miller Group, so he's probably busy. You just need to be a little more understanding."

Lia was immediately upset. "That's not it. He always messaged me to say he was busy. We'd flirt a little afterward."

"But he hasn't replied to any of my messages since this morning. No matter how busy Miller Group employees are, don't they get off work? Look at the time! Doesn't he need to eat? Shouldn't he have replied during his break?"

Bella, never having been in a relationship, didn't understand. "There's no point in telling me; I don't understand him either. Why don't you just wait and see if he replies later?"

It was 9:00 PM, and Oscar still hadn't replied.

Lia was near tears. "What do you think is happening? It's almost nine, and I'm closing soon. Hasn't he gotten off work yet? Even with overtime, shouldn't he be done by now?"

Bella, snacking nonchalantly, said, "Your mom set you up. Even if he wanted to break up, he'd at least tell you. It's only been a day; why are you so upset?"

As she finished, Lia's phone rang. A smile lit up her face. "It's Oscar!"

Bella smiled. "See? Answer it."

Lia answered, but her expression immediately turned cold. She hung up without speaking.

Bella immediately sensed something was wrong. She put down her snacks. "What's wrong?"

Lia, lips pursed, burst into tears. "He said he wants to break up. He said there's a chance I can't have children because of my heart condition. He said he doesn't want to continue the relationship. But I told him about it before, and he said he didn't care! Why does he suddenly care?"

Bella hadn't expected her offhand words to come true. She quickly got tissues and wiped Lia's tears. "Lia, don't cry yet. What else did he say?"

Lia sniffled. "He said he decided to call after thinking about it. He said a call was enough; we didn't need to meet. He already apologized to my mom. He said he's sorry."

Bella felt disheartened watching Lia's heartbreak. She didn't know what to do. It was Oscar's fault. He'd said he didn't mind her heart condition, so why use it as an excuse? Bella's anger flared. "Give me his number! I'll talk to him!"

Lia shook her head. "Forget it. It's my problem. I'll go home. You should go home too. I'm fine. It's just a guy, and we only dated a few days. How sad can I be?"

Bella remained worried but sent Lia home before returning to Miller Manor. She could ask Dominic for Oscar's number.

However, she'd deliberately turned off her phone and wasn't even home yet. Another argument was likely waiting.

Entering the house, she saw Dominic on the couch, looking at his phone. She changed her shoes and approached him, summoning her courage. "Dominic, do you have Oscar's number? Can I have it?"

Without looking up, he scoffed. "You probably wouldn't have come home if you didn't need something, right?"

Bella felt slightly guilty about lying. "My phone died Lia was heartbroken, so I stayed to comfort her."

Dominic extended his hand. "Show me your phone. I'm curious what brand dies so easily. You barely use your phone in the hospital, so how did it die so quickly?"

The final sentence is grammatically incomplete and needs rewording to fit the context, but I’ve attempted a sensible edit. I have removed the promotional material at the end of the original passage.