Chapter 143: Precarious situation
Bella blinked, the spell broken, and quickly moved back. She fumbled with her purse, pulling out her phone. Willow’s name flashed on the screen, bringing her back to the reality of the situation. Guilt washed over her as she realized she had left the party without informing Willow, who must have been worried.
She answered the call, trying to steady her voice. "Hello?"
"Bella? Where are you?" Willow’s voice was a mix of anxiety and mild irritation. "I’ve been looking for you everywhere! The auction has started, and neither you nor Theo are here. Are you with him? Seriously, you guys just disappeared without a word. You lovebirds totally fooled me."
"Willow, the thing is—" Bella began, but before she could explain, Theodore snatched the phone from her hand, his expression darkening.
"You took her to the party and promised me you wouldn’t leave her alone," he snapped at his sister, his voice sharp with frustration. "I told you to take care of her, but you ignored my words. Do you have any idea what trouble she has been through?"
Willow fell silent at his outburst, taken aback. She couldn’t process his words completely. "Trouble? What trouble are you talking about? Is she okay?"
"She was attacked," he snapped with barely contained anger. "Two men tried to assault her in the restroom. If it weren’t for Zack, she might have been seriously hurt. And you left her alone!"
"What? How did this happen? Who were those men?"
"I don’t know yet, but I will find them, and they will pay for this," Theodore vowed, his jaw tightening with resolve. But his frustration wasn’t solely directed at the attackers. "I am not happy with you either. If you had paid attention to her, she wouldn’t have fallen into this trouble."
Bella watched as Theodore’s grip tightened on the phone, his knuckles turning white. She could see the anger and fear that had driven him to lash out at his sister, but she also knew Willow had no idea what had happened. She placed a gentle hand on his arm, trying to calm him down.