Isabel put away her phone and went into the bathroom. She cupped a handful of cold water and splashed it on her face. Five years, it had been five whole years. It was better to forget about the past. … It was already midnight by the time she finished washing up and was ready to settle in for the night. She fell asleep swiftly and was woken up by the alarm clock. She had always taken her work very seriously. She did not need her assistant to wake her or help her prepare for the day. She was out of the door in no time. Her assistant and driver showed up to pick her up. After getting in the car, she was driven to their filming location for the day. Ding! Her phone suddenly rang. It was a text from Roland. “Miss Carter, I emailed last week’s report to you.” Isabel frowned when she read the message. At this hour? Considering how he got home so late last night, he could not have stayed up all night working, or could he? She replied perfunctorily a
Isabel’s itinerary for the day was filled out. After shooting a scene before noon, she rushed to the studio for an appearance on a variety show. It was midnight by the time she got home. Her stomach was growling. Just as the car was about to pull into her apartment complex, she called after the driver, “Stop.” The driver stopped the car. Carla stifled a yawn and asked, “Isabel, what's wrong?" "I'm going to get something to eat, do you want anything?” Isabel asked. Carla suddenly appeared conflicted for a moment, she stammered after a brief silence, "Okay, I’ll go with you.” Carla had been working for Isabel for several years now. Isabel was very perceptive of even her mildest gestures. Sensing that Carla was exhausted, she dismissed her for the day. “You know what, you better get some rest, I’ll go myself.” Carla grew concerned. "I should go with you, it’s so late already.” "There are police patrols in the area, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.” With that,
Why was he staring at her from outside if he was not hungry? Before she could tell Roland off, he spoke, “You shouldn’t eat barbecue at such an hour. It’s not good for your digestion. You better stop eating.” Huh? Why was he telling her what she could or could not eat? How dare he try to control her! However, there was something about the commanding tone of his voice, coupled with the serious look on his face that made her briefly consider taking his advice. To her surprise, she was not angry at him. Still, she brushed him off dismissively. "I don't need you to worry about me. You can go home if you’re not going to eat.” After that, she took a bite at another tender slice of grilled meat before reaching for the can of beer. When she brought it to her lips, she felt a force tugging in the opposite direction. She looked over to see Roland’s hands firmly gripping the can, stopping her from taking it. She frowned. "Let go." He held it firmly and insisted. "Don
Isabel had eaten Roland’s mother’s cooking several times. The first time was after Roland was officially hired as the vice president of Carter Corporation. He mentioned that this was his mother’s way of thanking Isabel for helping her back then. Isabel never thought much of what she did for his mother since it did not take much effort on her part. However, Roland sounded very sincere when he invited her. Another factor was his irresistibly handsome face which made it near impossible for her to say no. She thought it was going to be a regular meal and wanted to get it over with quickly. To her surprise, his mother had made a sumptuous feast fit for a king where the table was stacked full of different dishes and all of them tasted of gourmet quality. She even thought she was dining at a five-star restaurant at one point. Furthermore, it was cuisine from Southboro that she had not tasted for a long time. Although Southboro was a place associated with painful memories, the q
She looked at the table and the empty plates laid on it, then she remarked, “Isabel sure eats a lot.” She turned to Roland. “Roland, are you full?" "I'm full." After a moment of silence, he asked, "Mom, did you make any more cookies?” Martha made a face and said, “Hold on, I’ll make something for you.” With that, she went into the kitchen. After a while, she emerged with a bowl of noodles. Roland took his time with the noodles. His mother sat across from him and looked at him tenderly. “Roland, why did she leave in such a hurry?” "She’s only here for supper.” Martha regarded him silently. She gave him a sideways glance and seemed slightly upset. She questioned him, “Why didn’t you ask her to stay for the night?” “There’s no need for that. She lives nearby.” Martha sighed. “Roland, don't you get what I’m trying to say here?” "I do.” Roland continued after a brief silence, “I don’t think I'm worthy enough to become her partner right now.” Martha
It was only after Max began working closely with Isabel that he got a firm grasp on her temper. She was easy to get along with. She was also a terrific actor and very intelligent. She treated people the same way they treated her. If you were on good terms with her, she would treat you kindly as well. If you stayed out of her way, she would keep out of your way as well. However, if you dared to get on her bad side, she would make sure you got what you deserved. There had been several stars who tried to usurp her place, but it did not work out well for any of them. Max admired and respected her very much, he was also wary of offending her. He smiled sheepishly at Isabel after. Isabel fell into a pensive silence, then she probed. "How much is he investing?” Max shaped the figure with his fingers. Isabel's eyes glowed up. One hundred million! Certainly a hefty investment. "Okay, I'll go." She readily agreed. Given such a sizable investment, they no long
Both Max and the assistant director heard the strangely flirtatious tone in Decker’s voice and turned to look at Isabel. Isabel scoffed, “It’s hard to forget you. You hit my face so bad that it swelled up like a tumor was growing on my face.” In all her life, her parents had never raised their hand against her even once, then there was this man who had practically abused her! Decker frowned and expressed wryly, "Isabel, you were the one who was too impulsive at the time. You almost ruined my carefully devised plan. I didn't have time to explain to you, so that’s the only thing I could have done. I only wanted you to calm down.” Isabel nearly rolled her eyes back into their sockets. She might have lost her memory then, but she was no idiot! How dare he try to manipulate her again! She said snappily, "I'm not in the mood to listen to your pathetic explanation. Why don’t you let me just slap you in the face and then scram?” Decker stiffened briefly. Max, the assist
With that, Isabel prepared to open the door and leave. “I’ll pull back the investment. Don’t try me!” Decker said in a guttural growl. She turned back to him, noticing the vicious look in his eyes. It looked like he was going to strangle her to death right then and there. She said dismissively, “We have more than enough funds, so we don’t need your money. Do whatever you want. I don’t care.” Decker took a deep breath and threatened her again with whatever he could come up with, “I will ruin your reputation and sabotage your career. Do you think I won’t do that to you?” Isabel broke out in amused laughter. “I don’t believe you.” He was certainly not the first one to try; many had tried and failed in the past. Decker stiffened. He was abashed by Isabel’s wild laughter and how confident she seemed, even when her career was being threatened. This was not the same person he knew—the gentle, doting, and kind girl who was attached to him like a parasite. The one who provi
She was her usual self in every aspect. She put her heart into her job and never started trouble so long as nobody tried to start trouble with her. The crew cycled through their locations during their shoot. The constant travel made her skin break out slightly, but there were no other concerns otherwise. The shoot progressed very smoothly and within three months, they managed to wrap up everything at the mountainous region previously mentioned. It was nearly evening when they wrapped up the shoot. Holding a bouquet in hand, she took a group picture with the crew and celebrated with everyone. After that, she planned to hitch a ride with another crew member and leave for home. To their demise, some men in uniform who claimed to be the road maintenance technicians showed up to break the bad news to them. They mentioned that they had to repair some of the roads urgently and so the way home was temporarily obstructed. The director took his phone and called the city hotline fo
He remembered his first meeting with Isabel. She was sitting all by herself on the floor, in the middle of nowhere. Her vulnerable expression only made her more endearing. So, he managed to get her to go to his place and installed her in his home. He fell for her and paid careful attention to all her needs. It did not take long before Isabel caught feelings for him as well. The two of them got together in no time. Their days were plain and ordinary, but also very fulfilling, that was until he met Clarice. With the help of his father, his power struggle with Roland had reached a tipping point. It was at that opportune moment when Clarice’s father saw something in Roland and planned to wed his daughter Clarice to him to join up their families, which was a cause for alarm for Decker. He stressed over it for an entire night before approaching Clarice himself the very next day. Clarice quickly caught feelings for him as well. Furthermore, Roland had been foolish enough to reject
Decker was smiling quite earnestly at Isabel. Isabel threw a deeply suspicious look at him, then she glanced at the stack of documents laid out on top of the table in front of her. “Transferal of Shares.” She was dumbfounded. "I've gone through the contract, it’s safe to sign so go ahead.” Roland picked up a pen and handed it to her. "Roland, I..." "Sign it first, I’ll explain when we get home.” Isabel frowned and tried to protest. "I—" "Don't make me have to beg." Isabel did not know how to respond. Fine. She briefly scanned through the contract. The contract stated Decker’s agreement to transfer the remaining forty percent of his shares in Rockwell Corporation to her. Roland must have talked to the shareholders of Rockwell Corporation about this as well. They all regarded Isabel with polite smiles. Isabel had flipped through the final page of the document. She signed her name on one of the marked-out sections. She proceeded to sign all thr
They ended the call shortly after that. Isabel glanced at Martha and was hesitating if she should break the news right away. Martha seemed to have sensed her staring and suddenly turned to her with a flash of concern. "Isabel, what's wrong?" Isabel took a deep breath and broke the news. "Auntie, Master Rockwell just passed away." Martha's eyes widened. After a lengthy silence that lasted more than ten seconds, she started to break out in tears. She covered her face with her hands and expressed amid bouts of tears mixed with laughter, “Wonderful! About time! I hope he enjoys life in the underworld. God knows that someone like him will never deserve a spot in heaven!” Isabel did not know whether she should celebrate with Martha or console her. Soon, Martha began to collect herself. She briefly wiped away her tears and joyfully took Isabel's hand. "Isabel, let’s go shopping! I’m in such a good mood today, I’m going to go on a shopping spree!” "Okay. But Roland w
Isabel held onto Roland's hand firmly during the entire drive home after leaving the hospital. It was because Roland’s hands were cold and rigid. Isabel sat with him and tirelessly rubbed his hand to keep them warm. After one hand was warm, she would shift her attention to the other. By the time she managed to warm the other hand, the original hand would turn cold again. She decided it was easier to take both of his hands and caress them with the warmth of her palms. Roland looked at her with a gentle glow deep within his eyes. “Thank you, Isabel,” he said softly. Thank you for loving him, and for sticking by his side all this time despite circumstances. Isabel smiled. “I’m just warming your hands, it's no big deal. Still, you’re welcome." Roland smiled faintly and left it at that. Soon, his hands began to warm up off of the heat of Isabel’s palms. When Isabel felt that his hands were no longer freezing, she prepared to pull her hand away. That was when
Decker looked nothing like his usual self. The pompous, arrogant man who held himself far above others and who expected everyone around him to kiss up to him because he was superior to them all. It was as if he had been plunged not only to Earth but a pile of swamp. He had completely lost his usual grace. Isabel said crossly, "Decker, have you gone mental? Is everything going on too much for you?” “Yeah, could you help me?” he said with a coy smile, “Just one hug should be enough to take care of it all.” Isabel rolled her eyes. Without warning, he suddenly braced himself and lunged right at Isabel, stepping past Brandon who was caught off guard by this sudden attack. Isabel barely had time to react. Just when it seemed like his hand was about to graze Isabel, a long pair of arms seized Isabel from behind and jerked her backward. It was swiftly followed by a long, muscular leg shooting outward right next to Isabel. Thump! Decker was kicked to the ground.
"How did you and Roland meet?" Decker suddenly asked. Isabel turned away, fully intent on ignoring him. "Did you meet each other at Carter Corporation? Or did you meet him outside of work and gradually fell in love with him, then you decided to set him up with a position at Carter Corporation?” What did he mean by that? Was he insinuating that Roland was relying on her to snake his way into Carter Corporation? She threw a sideways, belittling look at him. "Do you think Roland is anything like you? He wouldn’t latch on another woman to further his goals.” Decker was not upset by this as he continued with a smug smile. "Oh? Then how did he get into Carter Corporation?" “He proved his worth.” Isabel realized that she had been roped in by Decker again. Nevertheless, she continued, “He passed the interviews himself. I was one of the interviewers and initially planned to dismiss him, but he managed to leave a very good impression on my father and the rest was history.” "
"I never meant to kill him! Roland, you have to believe me. Why would I still try to deceive you when I’m in this state?” “In that case, you can go ahead and explain things to him in the afterlife.” Master Rockwell was taken aback by this, his demeanor tightened. "You...you..." Roland looked at him calmly. "Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you. It was Grandma and my parents who raised me. They instilled morals and virtue into me and made sure I’d grow into a decent man.” Master Rockwell was briefly relieved to hear this, but before he could rid himself of his trepidation, Roland continued in a dark voice, "But I won’t forget about you and Decker bribing all those media outlets to defame Isabel. I know you manipulated the stock prices to try to kick me out of the corporation. I’ll make sure to settle our score through the legal system.” If convicted guilty, they would have to rot in prison. “Roland… listen to me, Roland. Decker is your uncle. If you want revenge, you can come
Master Rockwell must have heard their shifting movements and opened his eyes. When he recognized the faces of Roland and Isabel, there was a brief glow in his murky eyes. He motioned to the nurse to have her help him sit up from the bed. After he managed to position himself seated up against the head of the bed, he asked the nurse to leave. Then he cast a loving, tender smile on Roland and Isabel. “Roland, Isabel, please have a seat.” Roland said disinterestedly, "We have things to get to, just hurry up and tell us what you have to say." Isabel stayed silent. A look flashed in Master Rockwell's eyes. Then, he turned to Isabel and expressed regretfully, "Isabel, I’m a foolish old man, it was me who told Decker to leak pictures of you two. He had no choice because I forced him to do so. If you have to blame someone, blame me!” Isabel frowned. She was somewhat impressed by how smoothly the old man switched his mask from one to another. From a forlorn and sad state t