CHAPTER 81: 81 - CALL ME

81

~Belinda’s POV

I stepped out of the changing room with a smile, twirling slightly in the maroon dress I’d just tried on. "What do you think?" I asked, looking at Kael and Rowan.

Kael gave a small nod. "That one suits you."

Rowan added with a grin, "Yeah. It hugs your waist nicely. Try the next one."

I giggled and turned back to the mirror, admiring myself for a second longer. I was having fun, genuinely. Shopping always lifted my mood, and today I really wanted to feel better. After everything with Damon, I just... needed a distraction.

I turned slightly, eyes scanning the boutique casually, then I froze.

Damon.

He was at the counter, paying for something small. I squinted, and my stomach flipped.

It was a doll.

A soft, handmade-looking one with thick brown yarn hair, a bright blue dress, and tiny boots. My heart leapt, warm and hopeful.

He’s getting that for me.

Maybe this was how he wanted to apologize. Maybe he was planning to surprise me later and say he was sorry for making me feel left out, for being too close to Lisa lately. Maybe he knew I’d been hurting.

I smiled to myself.

Finally.

Maybe this meant things were going back to normal.

"Bel?" Kael’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

I blinked and turned around quickly. "Yeah?"

"You spaced out," he said, raising a brow.

I laughed a little. "Just thinking." And then I hurried back into the dressing room to change into the next outfit, excitement bubbling in my chest.

I stayed there, standing still in front of the mirror, my fingers gently tracing the soft fabric of the dress I was wearing. It was a beautiful piece, classy, delicate, the kind of thing I would normally beam over. But the glow it should’ve brought to my skin felt dim now. My reflection looked hollow. Not because of the dress, but because of what I’d just realized.

I returned wearing another outfit and I glanced over at the corner Damon had been sitting earlier. Empty. He’d slipped out while I was changing. I didn’t even hear the door creak. Of course, he waited for the perfect moment, when I was distracted. When I wouldn’t notice. But I did. I always noticed him.

The doll wasn’t for me.

The way Damon had looked at it while we were shopping, the tenderness, the attention to detail, how carefully he picked it out, I thought... I thought he was finally going to make things right. That maybe he’d understood how much I’ve been hurting. That the gift was his small way of saying, "I see you. I’m sorry."

But it wasn’t.

He gave it to her.

Lisa.

That knowledge clawed at my insides, sharp and cold. It shouldn’t have mattered this much. But it did. Because I cared, God, I still cared, and I hated that about myself. I hated that after everything, some stupid part of me still held on.

Kael got up first, clapping his hands. "I think that’s enough for today. We’ve got a lot of clothes already. We’ll continue tomorrow."

Rowan yawned slightly, stretching as he stood. "Yeah. You killed it today, Bel. Rest up."

I smiled faintly, giving them both a nod as I turned slightly to hide my face. "Thanks, guys."

They didn’t press it. They probably didn’t notice the way my smile didn’t quite reach my eyes. Or maybe they did and decided not to say anything. Either way, they walked out together, the door closing behind them with a soft click.

I stayed behind, waiting.

I wasn’t done.

I needed to see his face.

I needed to ask.

I sat on the long couch by the wall and waited silently, my heart racing, my hands clenched on my lap.

Fifteen minutes passed.

Twenty.

And then the door opened, and there he was, Damon, walking in like nothing had happened. He rubbed the back of his neck, casual and clueless, as if I hadn’t been sitting there for the past thirty minutes stewing in silence, waiting to confront him.

He paused when he saw me. His brows lifted just a bit. "Hey, where’s Kael and Rowan?"

I stood slowly, keeping my eyes on him. "They went to their rooms. We’ll continue tomorrow."

"Oh. Alright," he said, glancing around again like he was expecting to see them still hanging around. "Didn’t realize they’d left already."

He was trying so hard to act normal. Like he didn’t know what he’d done. Like I wasn’t still in the dress he last saw me in before sneaking off.

I took a slow step toward him, arms still loosely folded. "Why did you leave me here?"

He blinked, smile faltering just a little. "I had to step out... to attend to something."

"To give Lisa a doll?"

I said it flat. No sugar-coating. No hesitation.

And just like that, his face changed. His eyes widened slightly, only for a second, but I saw it. The way he froze, caught completely off guard. Like he didn’t think I’d figure it out.

I scoffed quietly, unfolding my arms and letting them drop to my sides. "You thought I wouldn’t know?"

"Belinda..." he began, stepping forward, but I stepped back.

"No. Don’t ’Belinda’ me," I said, voice rising with the wave of emotion I had tried so hard to swallow. "You bought that doll while I was still trying on clothes. You left me without a word. Do you have any idea how that felt?"

He ran a hand down his face. "It wasn’t like that..."

"Oh, really?" I snapped, cutting him off. "Because I saw you, Damon. I saw the way you looked at it. I thought... I actually thought you were getting it for me. That maybe... after everything..." My voice cracked, and I hated that it did. I hated that he could hear how much it got to me.

He looked like he wanted to say something, his mouth opened, then shut again. No words. Just guilt.

"That doll wasn’t for me," I continued, quieter now. "You bought it for her. For Lisa."

"I didn’t mean to hurt you."

"But you did." My voice dropped even lower. "You left me standing there, Damon. Alone. Like I didn’t matter."

"Bel, I..."

I laughed bitterly and cut him off. "I saw you, Damon. I saw you buying that doll. And I thought... stupidly... that it was for me. That maybe, just maybe, you felt guilty about how you’ve been acting. About ignoring me."

His mouth opened, but no words came out.

I continued, voice tight with emotion, "I waited. I waited for you to walk over and hand it to me. To tell me I was still important to you. But no... you slipped away the moment I was changing and took it to her."

"Bel..."

"Don’t," I snapped. "Don’t call me that right now."

"I hope she loves the doll," I said quietly, turning away.

And before he could say anything else, I walked past him and out the door.

I didn’t look back. But my chest ached the whole way down the hall.

As I walked past the corridor angrily, I saw Richard.