Isabella's POV

I burst into the room without knocking to see Jayden pacing the room with a phone glued to his ears and his mouth moving.

I stand by the door for a while but when he hoists his head to look at me, I venture inside.

"Yes, I will give you a call later today", he says while I walk past him to drop my bag and find somewhere to sit till he is done and we can talk about the news.

How the hell can someone tell the press that we are not real couples? Who the hell would that be?

I'm still finding it very hard to believe because Jayden and I are really doing a great job at making things look real between us. No one would have thought we aren't real unless of course his mother who is still having doubts about me being a gold digger.

Perhaps, she is responsible. Maybe this is another tactic of hers to have me gone forever from her son's life.

"Do you have any idea who did this?" Jayden's voice jerks me out of my reverie and when I look up, he is wagging a newspaper in front of me.

Without bothering to take it from him, I swallow hard and answer. "Who else would it be?"

He gasps. "You know who?"

"Who else would it be if it wasn't your Mother?" I rephrase, surprised that he isn't even thinking of her as the first suspect. This is the same woman who was willing to offer me a lot of money to leave.

It shows how desperate and capable she is to make sure I am gone.

"Mother?" He asks again as if to be sure. There is a deep frown etched on his expression. He shakes his head quickly. "It can't be Mother."

"What?!"

"Yes, it can't be my mom. I know I didn't tell you but Mother and I had a long discussion over our marriage and she has accepted you with both arms now. She even asked me to invite you to dinner but I told her you were going on a trip.."

"Your mother invited me to dinner?" He nods, standing with arms akimbo. "Without you?"

"It's a girl-girl dinner party so she wanted you to be there."

"So that means she isn't the one?" He nods. "How sure are you about this? If she isn't responsible, then who is?"

He looks confused too but still shakes his head. "I am very sure this isn't coming from Mother. She cares about our reputation so much. This is why we are married in the first place. She cared about what people think or say about us so I am very sure she didn't do this."

I still have a strong conviction that she is responsible. Inviting me to dinner might be a way to get my mind off her wrongdoings and I am not sure I can never be comfortable with her again after what she did to me at the hospital.

She ridiculed me. If Gabriel and Jayden's father weren't responsible and understanding, I would have been humiliated that way. And now you want us to become friends all of a sudden?

Bullshit!

"Did you discuss anything about us with Helena today at the party?" Jayden asks me again, dropping his arms lazily.

I don't understand the point he is driving at. With furrowed brows, I flop heavily to the bed.

"Did you take any strong drinks?" He asks again and I roll my eyes at him.

"I wasn't drunk that day, Jayden. Did I look drunk to you?"

"No, you weren't but I just want to be sure of where this is coming from. Once we know who is responsible, I can take care of it", he declares.

"I didn't say anything at the party, I was silent all through because I was initially uncomfortable with the noise and everything but…" I pause.

"But what?" Jayden is in front of me within minutes while I stare into space.

Eunice.

Eunice and I talked about Jayden, the contract, and my marriage but it was in front of Sabrina. We didn't talk about it again after we left Sabrina's place.

"Isabella?" Jayden is squatting in front of me as his strong arms shake me back to reality.

"Eunice…" I only say, unable to bring myself to tell him what we actually talked about.

How the hell am I supposed to tell him that Eunice and Sabrina claimed I was in love with him and if I wasn't I wouldn't have gotten married to him in the first place despite knowing that we would never have sex or any emotional attachment?

"Eunice? Who the hell is that?!" He growls out loudly and I shake my head.

I can never be Eunice. Eunice knew about this all this while and she didn't say a word. Why will she do that now?

"Isabella, say something", he utters firmly in irritation and I blink once.

"Eunice was the woman you almost got married to", I say to him but there is a confused look on his face instead of recognition.

Isn't he supposed to remember her? If he doesn't recall who she is by name, why can't he remember her now that I said she is something he almost got married to?

"Who the hell is that? I didn't get married or almost or whatever you are saying…."

"Eunice is Sabrina's friend. The one they introduced to you but you couldn't get married to because she wanted strings attached", there is no need to point that out but I had to so he can eventually recognize who she is.

It worked. His countenance changes into that of recognition. He rises slowly and stands in front of me with his arm on his waist. "What about her?"

"I saw her at Sabrina's place that day…"

"No, it can't be that girl", he cuts me short, making me open my eyes wide in astonishment.

Did he just defend her? It can't be Eunice?

"How sure are you? How do you know it isn't Eunice who did this?" I attack him with the questions. Even though I have a strong belief that she has nothing to do with this, I can't help but feel something stir up in me at the way she is defending her.

Eunice is a beautiful woman who looks like a model just like the categories of women I presumed would fall into Jayden's class of women. If I wasn't told the condition of the disagreement between them, I would have been wondering why he left such a goddess for a simple, plain girl like me.

That girl is super sexy. Men will look at her more than once. She has this vibe, that look that can make a man fall to his knee in surrender for a seduction.

"I paid her to keep shut. Besides, she is Helena's best friend and she assured me that she won't say a word…"

"You met again yet you didn't recognize her name?"

He stares at me with creases on his forehead. "What are you implying?"

I realize what I am doing. I am jealous because of Eunice.

Shit!

"That girl and I met only once and I knew instantly that she wasn't the woman I needed. It was the same day I bumped into you at the party. Sabrina told me she could be trusted and she never said anything all this while so I don't think now is the right thing to use this against me. She can easily come back for more money…"

"At the party?" I ask, lifting a finger. I remember what happened at that party. That was the day I decided to accept his offer and I remember he looked angry and was leaving the party when it was just getting started.

Did he leave because he was angry for not getting a woman who suits his needs of a contract and a woman who can be fully satisfied with the idea of "No Strings Attached"?

"Yes, at the party. Do you remember anything or anyone who can…" he gasps too just at the same time that it clicks in my head.

Juliet was there at the party. She was the one who convinced me to accept the offer. Juliet was also the one who went behind my back to tell Jayden that she was interested in the contractual marriage.

Juliet was the same person who informed Grandma about the pretentious marriage. Why the hell didn't I think of it all along?

This is the work of Juliet. This is Juliet's doing. It is neither Jayden's mom nor Eunice but Juliet, the backstabber and betrayal.

When I lift my head to meet Jayden's gaze on me, I realize he also remembers her, probably because of our recent encounter on the night we had dinner with Alejandro.

Simultaneously, we both exclaim loudly. "Juliet?!"

****

I totally forgot I haven't updated today, that's why the update is coming late.

I'm so sorry.

Some people got it right. It was Juliet, not Anna, and not Eunice. Juliet is the culprit. She knew all along about the contract even before Isabella accepted the offer.

What do you think they would do to rule out the rumor?