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CHAPTER 104: RING
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Thrill of the Chase CHAPTER 105: POOL BAR BANTER
"Wow, you're quite something, aren't you?" I reply, rolling my eyes as he grins broadly. I neatly fold the map and tuck it into my purse. "You mentioned a maximum of one week, right?" He nods. "But what if I finish early? Can I leave sooner?""Absolutely, Isabella." We come to a stop right in front of our adjacent suites. He sighs, turning to face me. "I can't guarantee this will work, but as your publicist and friend, my duty is to make your job as easy as possible. This was the best idea I could come up with. If it helps you complete that project sooner, then let's do it. The sooner you send it to the editor, the better."Internally sighing, I insert my key card into the slot on the door and nod in agreement."Okay then," I tell him, finally opening the door. "But Beth?""Yes, Isabella?" He responds, his triumphant smile impossible to hide."If you come up with any more crazy ideas while we're here," I caution, "I swear on my life.""Yes, yes, yes!" He cheers, dismissing my warning
Thrill of the Chase CHAPTER 106: HAYMAN ISLAND
Getting duped by your clueless publicist into spending a week at the five-star resort where your ex of three years was about to tie the knot sounds utterly absurd.What's even more bewildering is being rescued by that very ex from getting thrown out of the same resort for pretending to be a barista. All this while your posterior is prominently displayed on a live Hollywood stream via a security guard's strong shoulder.But the ultimate humiliation comes when you discover that the suite of the power couple, who were supposed to discuss the wedding on a show you agreed to surprise them on, is just a stone's throw away from your own. This all happened in less than forty-eight hours, believe it or not.Interested in hearing the whole story? I'm sure all you Lace enthusiasts—or should I say 'sinkers'—out there are dying to know. Well, fear not. I'll spare you the cringe-worthy details of incident number two, though I must admit my posterior did look rather fabulous on camera. Instead, I'll
Thrill of the Chase CHAPTER 107: INTERVIEW
-The Following Evening - The Interview of the Century-My Closest Friend: No excuses, Isabella. Once that interview is done, you're meeting with the ones here and hopping on FaceTime with the rest of us who couldn't make it! You can't dodge us forever, Isabella Vega!Sky: What Avery said. It's been almost 48 hours since your infamous live stream with the security guard, but it's still hard to believe you're here!Twin #1: Absolutely! Our girl's here to win her man back! What makes it even funnier is that we were discussing this possibility just last night.Twin #2: Hold on a sec... who's where now?Théthé: ^Someone, please fill in our friends back home. I'd do it myself, but this seafood buffet is too tempting.SuSpence: I don't know why you're all so surprised. This is Isabella and Max we're talking about. We may never know what happened between them, but they were made for each other. We saw this coming, guys, let's admit it.I continue to stare at my phone, inwardly groaning each t
Thrill of the Chase CHAPTER 108: AWKWARD EX ENCOUNTER
"Isabella," Ksenija greeted me warmly with a hug, "and thank you for joining us on such short notice!""Well," I replied honestly as I pulled away from her embrace, "between my recent barista scandal and my publicist's constant nagging, I really didn't have a choice." Fortunately, Ksenija and the audience took my words as a light-hearted joke, sparing me from having to explain my surprise appearance any further."Regardless, we're delighted to have you," she responded as we both took our seats. Unfortunately, I ended up sitting next to the uncomfortable couple on my left. To make things even more awkward, Ksenija dove right into the juicy stuff."For those who may not know, Isabella and Max dated for quite some time before abruptly ending things three years ago," Ksenija revealed, eliciting audible gasps from the audience, as if this hadn't been headline news once upon a time. "So, Isabella, how did it feel seeing Max yesterday after all this time?""Honestly?" I asked, briefly meetin
Thrill of the Chase CHAPTER 109: HIS APOLOGY
"Hey," he was the first to break the silence, casually sliding his hands into his dress pants' front pockets."Hello," I thought, sarcastically noting the lack of originality in his greeting."So," he exhaled, his words coming out in a rush. "You're probably wondering why I'm still here, but..." He trailed off when he noticed the Yin and Yang ring on my finger. Surprisingly, he hadn't noticed it during the interview or yesterday, but it seemed to catch his attention now. Our eyes met again almost instantly. "You, uh," he added a classic behind-the-head scratch, a move favored by guys, "you still wear it?""Not really," I found myself lying, as I often did. "It just complements my dress really well.""Right," he chuckled, looking somewhat flustered. I had to admit it was clever of him not to press further. Maybe he'd learned something since the cake incident."So, you were saying?" I inquired, crossing my arms over my chest, genuinely curious why he had waited for me. He hadn't been so
Thrill of the Chase CHAPTER 110: DAY THREE
Sometimes, we're fortunate enough to find kindred spirits who resonate with our souls. There are friends, there is family, and then there are friends who become like family. I consider myself lucky to have encountered six such souls: Avery, Caleb, William, Henry, Noah, and Samuel. Nothing in this world could compel me to part ways with them, and nothing in this world could ever replace their presence.My recent reunion with them after that disastrous interview only reinforced this truth...."For what it's worth," Noah remarks as he seizes the chance to rest his head on my lap, while the rest of the gang snuggles up beside me in bed, "this is your second time this week looking stunning on camera." A chuckle escapes my lips, echoing the laughter of everyone in the room. Even though two of our members are currently on the other side of the world in a different time zone, I know they'd be chuckling too if they were here."Thanks, Curly.""Don't mention it," he replies, making himself eve
Thrill of the Chase CHAPTER 111: TICKET GIFT
Even when I'm grown up, I can't resist doing a happy dance when I win something. My friend Justin joins in by giving me a fist bump to say congrats. We get our prize and gather our stuff before going back to the lobby.In the lobby, Justin tells me, "You're really good at laser tag."I grin and say, "You're not bad yourself," giving him a playful nudge. But he seems a bit off, looking at his ticket and then at me.Before I can ask what's up, he hands me his ticket and says, "You won, so you should have both."I try to give it back, saying, "That wasn't the deal."He insists, "I changed my mind," wanting me to have the ticket he earned.Confused, I start to ask why, but then I see a girl Justin's age nearby. It clicks – he entered the game to win tickets for both of them.Smirking, I tease him, "You wanted to go on the ride twice, huh?"He denies it, looking puzzled. "No way! I just wanted to ride it again!"I raise an eyebrow, teasing, "So you gave up the extra ticket just because you
Thrill of the Chase CHAPTER 112: FINAL DAY
I didn't get how much it hurts until I found myself lying on the bathroom floor, tears rolling down my face, struggling to breathe, and crying a lot. It was like all those people who felt heartbroken before me. And you know what's worse? It wasn't Max who broke my heart; it was me, myself, and I. I didn't understand myself, didn't get what was going on, and, most importantly, didn't trust myself.... —FLASHBACK—My Last Day on Hayman IslandThad met up with Justin as planned, and I enjoyed every moment of him talking about his date with Ariel. They met during the laser tag game. But after that, things went downhill.Why, you ask?Because I'm just dumb, that's why. I'd soon realize I didn't deserve someone like Max Blackwell."So, this is it, huh?" Beth said as I packed. "The book's almost done, so you're ready to go.""That's why you brought me here, right?" I said with a smirk, even though my chest hurt a bit. I realized that tomorrow, Max would start a new life with the same woman
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