Rightfully Hers

XIV

Bit of a shorter chapter here, but the next chapter will be exceptionally longer. Enjoy!

JADA

"Isaac, can you switch seats with me? I want to sit beside Julian, if that's alright?"

Isaac bounded up off his aisle seat with no complaint whatsoever. "Of course," he chirped, "but I call him on the way home!" He briskly made his way over to the empty spot next to Isabelle, who was glancing at the dark clouds through the small airplane window.

We'd safely taken off, and once the seatbelt light turned off, I briefly explained to Isabelle that I wanted a chance to talk to Julian before we arrived. She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes, and I quickly hustled down the aisle, to which I was now seated beside my best friend, who had his eyebrow perked up curiously.

"Are you and Isaac involved?" I asked immediately. There was no point in beating around the bush when it came to him, and I'd known him for so long that there was no point in dragging on my curiosity.

His eyes rounded and he let out a small, forced bark of laughter. "Why would you think that?"

I sent him an unamused stare, and after a few seconds of his unconvincing laughter, he silenced himself. "You know the rules of the mission more than anyone, Jada," he said simply.

"So? I'm technically breaking the rules by growing attached to her. You shouldn't let the rules ruin your chance at happiness." He sent me an, 'are you kidding me?' face, which I chose to ignore. He spoke anyways.

"You're an exception, you and Isabelle are mates, so I'm sure you could find your way around the rules. Isaac and I aren't even mates. It's not like he's my second chance mate, those don't exist..." He saw my unbelieving expression and cleared his throat. "Not that Isaac and I are even involved, anyways."

"You're not lying to me, are you?" I asked, searching his eyes for any sign that he was lying, but there were none. "You know I don't care if you guys are together, right? It's obvious he feels strongly for you, whether it be just as a friend or as something more."

At this, Julian's lips curled into a prideful smirk. Of course, when he noticed me watching, it faded as quickly as it came. "I know I can't become attached, but is it so wrong that I've made a good friend?"

It was so blatantly obvious that he was trying to pull some type of guilt card on me for even asking about his and Isaac's relationship. I wasn't falling for it, so I simply scoffed and gestured toward the group of people on the plane with us. "Face it, Jules, we've become pretty attached to this group of people. Hell, we're on our way to Honolulu for a group getaway weekend..."

"And yet, you just can't allow yourself to become attached to a good woman such as Isabelle," he sighed dramatically.

I scowled and spoke more loudly than intended. "It's not that simple!"

"What do you want?" Isaac twisted around in his seat and cried out dramatically. Elena threw herself against the window beside her and yelled out a response, "It's not that simple!"

"What. Do. You. Want?" Isaac asked again, this time his voice deeper and more irritatingly threatening. Elena gripped her hair for dramatic effect and cried out, "It's not that simple!"

"What do you want? Goddamnit, what do you want?"

Elena sat back in her seat quietly and then sighed, "I have to go."

"What a performance!" Dante clapped, "Bravo! What a blessing!"

Cass pursed her lips at her cheering husband. "Dante, do you even know what that's from?"