The Price of Love

Chapter 48: Newsflash

Bella

I stared at my computer screen without blinking. I don't know how she had gotten my email, but Fiona Gettis had sent me a long, apologetic letter last night explaining the situation between her and Jin and their soon-to-be-canceled wedding.

I shut my laptop and wandered to the kitchen in a daze. I drank some juice and sat on the couch flipping through the TV channels before getting back to my room and to the laptop. I had noticed the email when I opened my laptop in the morning, but I told myself I would not open it, certain it was something I didn't want to read. But as the hours wore on, I became too curious. Now I read and reread the email, not sure if anything made sense anymore. Was this a prank? Did Fiona really mean what she said?

I could feel my heart beating faster. I shut the laptop again. I was too nervous to think straight. I decided to call Namjoon and ask him what he knew about all of this.

Before I could do anything else, Cindy burst into my room.

"Oh, my God, Bella! Have you seen this?" she asked and held out her phone to me.

I squinted at the screen. "What is it?"

She moved the phone away. "Newsflash. The much-anticipated wedding between Miss Fiona Gettis, heiress to Coastal Entertainment, and Mr. Kim Seokjin, heir to Kim Worldwide Incorporated, has been called off abruptly." She read from her phone. "No details were given other than Mr. Frederick Gettis' conference in front of the assembled wedding guests stating that both parties had mutually decided to cancel their plans for the wedding. Both Miss Gettis and Mr. Kim were unavailable for comment. Mr. Gettis generously paid for all the guests' transportation and travel expenses for their return trips." She glanced up at me. "That's all it says. Did you know about this?"

I took her phone and stared disbelievingly at the screen.

"Not really," I replied, my eyes scanning the words on the screen. "I received a strange email from Fiona apologizing for what happened. She also mentioned that they were calling off the wedding. She said she and Jin never slept together, and that the baby isn't his. She wanted to make that clear. I thought it was a prank, to be honest. I can't believe this is happening."

"Dear God!" she exclaimed and sat on my bed. "This is like a movie! What are you going to do? Have you talked to him? What did he say?"

I shook my head. "No, I haven't talked to him. I don't know if I should."

"Oh, come on, Bells! You know he must have called it off for you," she exclaimed. "I know I've been hating on the guy for a while now, but even I can't deny that this is like some crazy romantic movie. I mean, he was completely crazy for you before this whole drama started. And he didn't marry her. He's not married! It must've been because of you. You said he'd been texting you almost nonstop asking you to believe in him."

I leaned my elbow on my desk. "Yes, but then he stopped texting me. I was sure that he'd given up on me because I refused to speak with him. What if he stopped trying to contact me because he no longer wants anything to do with me?"

"I don't believe that," she said. "He kept his promise and canceled the wedding!" She gestured for me to return her phone. "You saw. The wedding's canceled. He wants you."

"It didn't say that," I scoffed. "I just need some time to process all of this. It's been such a whirlwind. I think it best if I just leave it alone for a while. I need to get my bearings."

"You're nuts! I can't believe you won't even call him," she said.

I looked at her for a moment, then I glanced away. "Well, he hasn't called me either. Even Fiona reached out to me. He hasn't, and it must mean something. So, no, I don't think I'll call. Not...just yet."

I saw that Cindy frowned in disapproval, so I turned away back to my desk and opened up my laptop before she said anything else. "I'm sorry I have some work to do."

"Sure," I heard her say in a tone that sounded disappointed. Then she walked out of my room. I could sense the disapproval even in her footsteps.