NEVER NOT YOURS,
CHAPTER TWO
january 2023
ISABELLA SLOANE HAD been baking chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen when she heard keys jingling from the other side of the door, a smile immediately appearing on her face as she took the flour-covered apron off of her. She had been craving cookies for weeks and had the opportunity to bake when her shoot ended earlier than expected. So, she rushed to the grocery right after her shoot and bought the ingredients needed.
It was nine at night when Alexander Brown was met with the apartment smelling of sugary and chocolatey sweetness, spotting Isabella with her back facing him as she mixed the dough in a bowl. He hugged her from behind, planting kisses all over the side of her neck.
"Alex!" she exclaimed in surprise, turning around and planting kisses all over his face. "I missed you so much! How was shooting?"
"Tiring. I finally get to spend the weekend with my girl instead of being in front of the cameras the whole day," he stated, taking a pinch of the dough and tasting it, nodding in approval.
"Do you want me to heat some of the leftover pasta I made earlier?" she opened the refrigerator and showed him the container of pasta, the man immediately nodding in response. He informed her that he'd be showering and unpacking his things while the pasta was being reheated and the cookies baking in the oven.
This has been one of their routines since they started dating four months ago. Most of the times, he would find her in the bedroom already fast asleep, or wandering and doing something around the apartment if he's lucky. Because both of them have such busy schedules with Alexander filming for his upcoming projects and Isabella constantly traveling for work, seeing each other became harder than they've anticipated. That made them create a rule at beginning of their relationship: always make time for each other no matter what.
That rule lasted a month. Within the third month, they barely acknowledged the rule. Even though they'd see each other at the end of the week, all they'd do was go to the other's house, rest, watch something then fall asleep together, and repeat.
These are just one out of the hundredth time they'd been lucky.
During the thirty minutes, Isabella had been playing Sudoku until the food was done cooking and Alexander finished.
They sat on the couch with the food laid on the coffee table, blanket covering them both as the Fast and Furious franchise played, although Isabella wanted Tangled, he let the man decide for the night.
"By the way," Alexander started, breaking the focus of the woman from the movie. "They're bringing me back for Uncharted two. Filming starts in March."
Isabella sat up straight, turning towards the man who announced that he was going to be in another movie like it was nothing. "What?!" she shrieked in excitement.
"Yeah, I won't be in plenty of scenes though," he shrugged, wrapping his arm around the woman's shoulder and pulled her back to him.
"But still! That's huge, babe!" Isabella looked up at him, pressing a kiss on his cheek. "I'm so proud of you," she smiled. The were the words that poured out of her mouth were different from the thoughts that started popping up in her head. Deep down, she wanted to tell him that it meant they'd be spending less time together and won't even see each other for the next few months. She'd already be traveling around the world for Formula One while he'd probably be in three different locations within four months, first with Outerbanks and now, with Uncharted.
That night, only Alexander managed to fall asleep. Other than the light that radiated from the television, the other came from her phone which made Isabella glance at it every few minutes the notifications coming from Charles.
22:34
Hellooo
Hii
So I went wall-climbing
with Andrea and then we
walked around where
we were staying after
Guess what I found?
22:36
Wait I will tell you when
we're on facetime
I can't wait to see your
reaction
23:25
Where are youuu bella
23:30
I'm here
Alex is asleep with me
22:31
Why are you telling me this?
Idk
I'll go to the balcony
While walking to the balcony located in her bedroom, she put on her airpods and requested to FaceTime Charles.
The view from her balcony was something out of a movie. City lights scattered all over, people buzzing as they walked on the street and talked at the restaurants, the city still alive even though it was close to midnight. One of the things Isabella loved about the city is that besides the chaos, there is always peace and silence within. A small area where you can look over the chaos, to observe while not being in it. It's why she chose to settle in London, despite the fact that she's seen every city that she always wanted to live in, her final decision was the place where she grew up in.
Her eyes gazed over the city, oblivious that Charles had already answered her call. He admired her as she admired the city, the lights reflecting back at her eyes that twinkled. He could hear her breathing along with the cars beeping and loud chatter.
"Bella," he called to get her attention, "hi."
"Hi Charles," she softly said, pulling her legs up and hugging it, her chin resting on her knees. She looked at the green-eyed man who was sitting on the hotel bed, an arm behind his head. "What did you want to show me?"
Charles rolled his eyes playfully, "so eager. Tell me about your day first."
"But just tell me," she whined, dragging the letter e. Charles narrowed his eyes at her, letting her know that he won't be telling her anything until she told him about her day. "Okay, okay. I went on meetings with my assistant earlier this morning with UK brands, then I had a shoot from twelve in the afternoon until seven. And oh my God, we were supposed to start at twelve but the photographer came at one! Like, who does that?!" she started rambling on about her day while Charles held onto every letter, every syllable, every word and every sentence that came out of her mouth. All with a smile on his face.
"Well, it meant you did amazing because it finished early, no?" he complimented, noticing the hue of blush that rushed to her face. Isabella shushed him in response, a smile appearing on her face.
"How was yours?" Isabella asked and it seemed to spark something from Charles since half of his body disappeared, noise signaling that he was rummaging through his bedside table.
"Remember, after we went wall-climbing, we were walking around and we passed by a souvenir shop! We went in because Andrea wanted to buy something for his family, then I saw this!" he exclaimed. A pendant keychain came into view, Charles putting it closer to the camera. There were charms that could be seen through the keychain, the Monegasque excitedly opening the pendant to show her what each pendant were. "This is called a floating charm.. or something like that," he hesitantly added.
"This one is a dog because you love dogs and your family has like, a million," he chuckled, showing a paw charm. "Then this, oh I love these ones! A red car and high heels! Because you love watching me race and you love fashion!" he continued, showing her two charms that resembled exactly what he said.
For a good twenty minutes, he kept on telling her about each and every charm, pulling more out from a box and letting her know that she can switch them whenever she wanted. This wasn't the first time Charles had bought her something from a trip he's gone to. Whenever he sees something that reminds him of Isabella, he'd buy it and would manage to surprise her every time. Once, he was walking down the street in London and passed by a vintage jewelry shop and remembered that Isabella loves those two things: vintage and jewelries, so he went in and bought her a locket with a black and white worn down photo of a couple inside.
The fact unknown to Charles, but she changed the photo inside with their photo instead.
Said locket rested on her chest as she watched him talk. She found it endearing that he'd think of her on a trip she wasn't on with him. And everything he's ever got her was in her house on display.
When he finished talking, a soft smile that never faltered the whole time was on her face. "I wish I was there to kiss your adorable face," she admitted.
"We will see each other soon," he grinned, the one where his eyes almost disappeared and crinkles formed on the side of his eyes. That's her favorite smile of his.
"Thank you, Charles," she beamed. She couldn't wait to see him again and it bummed her that there was two months in between until they could.
"Of course, Bella," he hummed. The pair only ended the call a few hours after Charles fell asleep, Isabella waking him up to wish him a good night and to blow him a kiss, the man returning with his own.
AUTHORS NOTE!
kinda boring but it's needed!
i hope this shows the relationship of isabella and alexander so far.
exciting chapters next i promise 😁
( and the floating charm keychain pic is actually mine 😭 i couldn't find heels so a dress will do for now )