Stand By Me Darling
Chapter 115: The Phone Call

Chapter 115: The Phone Call

All the grogginess Talia felt, buzzed away like a bee immediately after she heard that voice. No matter how much Fred tried to change his voice and accent, she’d definitely find him.

Also, he tried these exact words before in high school.

Sitting on the bed with her legs crossed and lips pouted, Talia stared at her phone,waiting for him to call back. She was still angry at him and she wanted him to call her back so that she’d shout at him and end the call once again.

She stared and stared, keeping the screen awake and he didn’t call back. The minutes hand in the analog clock in her phone background turned and turned for five minutes and still there was no incoming call.

Was that not Fred? Talia stared to doubt herself. Could it be some pervert who harass women through the phone? Am I missing Fred too much and thought it was him? How embarrassing! Should I block this number?

Eh! Whatever!

Talia threw the phone on her bed and walked to the kitchen and picked up a tub of chocolate chip ice cream, homemade by Mrs. Jackson.

As she was thinking if she should eat straight from the tub or use a separate bowl, she heard her phone ring inside her bedroom and Talia ran to her bedroom like leopard charging on its prey leaving the ice cream on the counter.

The call was from the same unknown number as before and Talia hesitated for a second fearing it might be a pervert, but in the end decided to attend the call.

You’ll know for sure only when you speak again!

This time Talia didn’t say anything even after the call connected and there was silence at the other end too.

"Iris?"

That familiar deep voice broke the silence and Talia putting her phone on mute, let out a deep sigh and patted her chest to calm her heart jumping like a fawn.

This guy! He really made her scared!

"Iris, you there?"

"Yes, why didn’t you call back?" she asked in an angry tone, unmuting. Even though she was relieved, her pride made her unable to accept what he did.

How could he not call back immediately?

"Your grandfather heard me," he spoke in a whisper and Talia could hear a locking sound.

Is he locking himself in a closet?

"..." Talia didn’t know what to say.

So what? He cannot talk to me in front of grandfather?

"Aww! That was so embarrassing! What would he think of me...? Speaking those vile words to his granddaughter... Making him hear it...Ah! I’m so ashamed! " Arthur sat on the upholstered chair beside the Caijou Le Grand Queen bathtub Jerome specifically bought for her.

This big piece of wood is worth more than a million dollars and is said to be having healing properties so Jerome, the overzealous grandfather bought it for his granddaughter who gets sick often.

Talia could hear the embarrassment in his tone and only then remembered the words he said to her are highly inappropriate and impolite for a gentleman to say to a lady. She was used to him talking to her this way and she didn’t even think of it as wrong.

Imagine someone else listening to them speak and imagine what they’d think of her if she doesn’t say anything to condemn his perverted words towards her!

They’d think she is perverted too!

"What did he say?" Talia asked holding back her laughter. Thankfully she was not the one who got caught.

"Nothing!" Arthur left out a sigh. His entire face was red out of embarrassment and he looked out through the big glass window. The backside of the castle has a hill at the distance and was now filled with snow topped pine trees with a frozen lake. It is the best scenery one would imagine.

There is a reason this is her favourite bathroom!

Arthur smiled but then he remembered the extremely surprised face of Jerome with his eyes wide and lips pursed to a straight line.

Ugh, Arthur! Who told you to make the call in the library? You should’ve found a private place first!

Arthur was really pleased he got the burner phone for himself to make a call without altering the people watching him and all he wanted was to explain his engagement to Talia.

He didn’t want to have any contact with her till everything is over, but he knew his engagement announcement will break her heart. All he could imagine was her sitting in a corner bawling her eyes out or shutting herself in the bathroom, emptying her stomach. He didn’t want her to suffer more.

But when he heard the husky seductive ’hello’ from the other end, his inner lecherous monster arose and wanted to tease her for a moment.

How dare she speak this sexily to another person?

But boy did it backfire!!

"So you ran away?" Talia wanted to know more.

"No...! How would I...? I apologised to him earnestly. Even then he didn’t say anything. Now I’m.."

"Maybe he was so stunned by your brazen behaviour. In the morning you willingly got engaged with a woman and some hours later you were taking to his granddaughter like she’s a whore! Who’d be able to react fast to that? My poor grandfather! He might have a heart attack by your... " Talia could feel Arthur’s pain but decided to rub salt on his wounds anyway.

" Iris... I’m... Iris... I... " Arthur could only stutter and only then he realised what a big sin he had committed. " I’m sorry...".

"Are you crying?" Talia now felt a little bad for Arthur. That guy believes everything she says all the time. What happens to his intelligence when he is talking to me? I’m just teasing him! But I do feel sad.

"No..." Arthur wasn’t crying but he was about to. He could only imagine the pain he is putting his Iris through.

No one was in the mood to speak again and there was silence for sometime. Talia laid on her back, holding the phone on her ear.

"Congrats on your engagement, Fred" she tried to act casual but when she said it, she couldn’t help but imagine Sophia beside him. As she spoke, her voice trembled and her chest felt heavy.

"Iris, I would never..." Arthur knew no matter what he said, it would seem like an excuse. A lame and inconsiderate one. " You are my wife! I love you and only you Iris. I just want to trap those Nobles and want them to stop their interference on our affairs. I want to bring you back, Iris."

"I know, Fred. I know." Talia knew it too. "But still... I’m... I want to be the one with you Fred..." a tear drop rolled down from the corner of her eyes.

"Me too, love" Fred removed his shoes and sat inside the empty bathtub. It felt comforting. He wanted to sit in this big bathtub with her, soaking and watching the scenery... And do other things.

Thinking about the other things his lower abdomen heated up. It would be nice doing adult things with her in this tub.

"You cannot spend your money on her. Spend grandpa’s money..." Talia said after a while.

"I won’t spend money on her"

Why would he spend money on some woman he is planning to discard?

"Good..." Talia was pleased. "But you’ll have to... if you need to prove your allegiance with those nobles," Talia was not irrational. If he wants to make his plans work, hell have to make them believe he is on their side.

"Then I’ll give her cheap, fake gifts" Arthur spoke from his heart. He knew how much it hurts to see the one you love with another person. He wouldn’t wish that on her even of he hated her but since he loved her, he needed to make this difficult task.

"Mmm... "

"What else?"

"You cannot let her inside my room. She cannot touch anything that belongs to me... Not my clothes, not my jewellery and not even my furnitures! "

Isn’t he living in her room? What if she visits him? Sophia definitely will find a way to enter his bedroom,Talia was sure. She had tried it before.

" She will not step one feet inside the West Wing of Oakley Castle! "

He is not stupid. He will definitely not let anyone in the area belonging to his wife.

"Okay... You cannot handpick her gifts and flowers. Even if you send her flowers, you cannot send roses to her."

"I will not send her flowers. I will ask someone else to pick her gifts..."

"And don’t give her a card to spend or allow her to choose her gift! You should be thrifty with your money."

Talia remembered the happiness she felt when Fred gave her his card to spend. Sophia cannot feel happy with her Fred.

"Okay," Arthur could not help but smile. He just wanted to be near her to see that little red lips pouting. She is extremely jealous and all he wanted was to be near her to see her jealous face and hug and kiss her.

"Don’t choose private places for... dates..." Talia’s eyes started to water once more. Even she hadn’t went on dates with Fred.

Arthur really couldn’t say anything. He even thought of abandoning his plan and run to her and hug her and profess to the world that his Iris is the one he loves with all his heart and she will be the only one who’ll make a husband out of him.

"Iris.. Should I back off?" he asked. He did not want to succeed over her tears even though he is doing it for her.

"No!" Talia sat back up. She knew she might be overacting, but she could not help but act this way. She really didn’t want to see Fred with another woman, especially Sophia. But... "This is the smartest and efficient way to break them..."

"Hmm... Quickest too! I want to be with you sooner, my love!" Arthur spoke from his heart.

"Me too lover!" Talia chuckled a bit, "You know back then in high school we used to sneak around since we don’t want others to find out we are close. And now we are sneaking around too. And now I’m officially a mistress!" she tried to laugh but she felt her throat go dry.

"You’re a not a mistress!" he said firmly, "In my heart, you are my wife and everyone else is a shameless mistress!"

"What a smooth tongued Romeo!" Talia laughed. Somehow the way he accepted her every demands as if they are commandments without even thinking twice, made her mood better.