Isabel promptly opened the door. Roland was dressed in a suit, standing tall and straight as an arrow. Isabel asked suspiciously, "Why are you here?" “My mother saw the news about you and got worried. She said she’s worried about you not having the appetite to eat, so she made me bring some homemade food for you." He held up a bag filled with food in his hand. Isabel's eyes sparked at the mention of food. She remarked, "Why didn't you just call me and ask me to come over? You didn’t have to trouble yourself with delivering it yourself.” Roland eyed her. “Do you want it or not?” “Of course, I do. Your mother made it for me, and you took the trouble of delivering it to me, so of course, I’ll eat it.” With a smile, she stepped aside to let him into the house. Roland carried the bag to the dining table and set it on top. Then, he carefully opened it and laid out the dishes one after another. Isabel was going to tell him that she could do it himself, but he had a
Isabel seemed embarrassed for having troubled him. “Alright, thanks for the help.” He remarked casually, “No big deal. See you.” There was no reason to keep him around, especially at such a late hour. With that, she bade him farewell, “See you.” She walked him to the door and only closed the door after making sure he had entered the elevator. She stretched lazily like a cat before heading into her room. She was going to take a shower, then settle in for the night. … Meanwhile, Roland returned to his place shortly after. As soon as he stepped into the house, his mother, Martha, came over and asked him worriedly, “Roland, how is Isabel doing? Is she doing fine?” She saw the online debacle of everything that had gone down with Isabel during the day. Although it seemed like things had died down, she was still concerned about Isabel’s mental state. Roland recalled how Isabel looked with her cheeks stuffed with food and remarked, “She’s in a good mood." "Really?
Isabella let them go on for a while before revealing, “I wasn’t the one who bought it. A friend of mine gifted it to me.” “How very generous! Who is this friend?” “That’s more than generous. That’s a whole statement by itself!” “Isabella, are you sure this friend of yours is just a friend?” They all cast playful looks at her while speculating about the identity of this friend. Isabella smiled, satisfied with the attention she was drawing from them. She said nonchalantly, “We’re just regular friends right now. It’s not what you girls are thinking.” Her friends exchanged looks with one another, concealing a deep glow of envy and faint hatred underneath their eyes. What kind of common friend would gift such an expensive gift? They were sure that Isabella had managed to land a wealthy benefactor, and it did seem like she was very fond of this secret benefactor of hers. "Isabella, I’m so jealous.” “Me too, I hope I can find someone as benevolent as this friend
"Hey, Isabel!” She had only just sat down when she heard someone calling her name. She turned around and saw her friends in the entertainment circle, Triss and Ramona, seated behind her. They were fellow actors, and she had known them since the very first film she was part of four years ago. They were adapting a certain web novel that was hardly known to the public at all to the big screen. Due to the lack of funding, the crew almost had to call off the project halfway through the filming when Isabel secretly had someone else fund the film to not expose herself. The project ended up being a success after that. It was a drama with a cast of female leads, which turned out to be her, Triss, and Ramona playing the protagonists. The reception of the film turned out to be great, partly attributed to the remarkable plot, and it took off in the mainstream in no time. It simultaneously helped her, Triss, and Ramona propel their careers. Triss and Ramona had started their actin
Isabel was quite pleased with this. Not only did she not have to face ridicule, but people were even largely complimentary of her. She briefly went through the comments before swiping off to her messaging app to text Carla. She asked, “How much did you spend on buying food for those girls just now?” Carla sent her a receipt. She had bought plenty of food and coffee for the fans just now which totaled up to a humble sum of several thousand dollars. Isabel promptly transferred over ten thousand dollars to Carla’s account. Carla told her, “Isabel, that’s too much.” Isabel was very gracious. “Keep the rest for yourself. You’ve earned it.” Carla replied joyously, “Thank you so much!” Isabel smiled and put away her phone. Carla had been with her since she started her acting career, and she was a very attentive and loyal assistant. In addition to helping her with her day-to-day affairs, she would also help liaise with her fans. She more than deserved the bonus. "
The high-level executives were not the only ones there. Several recognizable figures in the entertainment circle were eagerly waiting to talk to Roland as well. Showered with lights from every direction, he carried himself with fine dignity like royalty. His young and handsome looks attracted the attention of countless passersby, especially the young and beautiful actresses. Isabella was one of these young actresses drawn by Decker’s looks. She affectionately took his arms into hers and greeted him with a smile. Decker cast a quick smile at her before continuing his conversation with the others. Everyone was shocked. Isabel could hear someone in earshot exclaiming, "Oh my God, when did Isabella start seeing President Rockwell?” "Are you talking about that handsome man Isabella is with? President Rockwell? That name sounds vaguely familiar.” “The Rockwells from Southboro.” "My God, so it is him! He’s so young and handsome. How did Isabella pull this off?" "Heh
“Yes. I have what it takes to get the Carter Corporation on my side,” Isabel declared with steel in her voice. “Heh.” Decker chuckled dismissively before interrogating her, “What exactly is it that you have that Carter Corporation would be willing to help you?” He sized her up a few times upon raising this question. Isabel squinted. “Keep staring at me like that and I’ll poke your eyes out. Want to try me?” Her voice was ferocious. Deckers seemed to be taken aback by her vicious demeanor. He collected himself and formed that same smile again. “Would you mind telling me who your inside connection in Carter Corporation is?” "No." Isabel shot him down, “But what I can tell you is that the nature of my relationship with Carter Corporation is perfectly legitimate. We are equals unlike what’s going on between you and Isabella.” A mere actor would prop herself on equal footing with Carter Corporation, one of the most prestigious corporations in Westchester? Who would beli
Although Decker’s father had always cared a great deal for him, it did not change the fact that he was a b*stard child whose mother was a mistress. He was grown up despised by people around him and even now, he was devising a scheme to steal away the assets that were to be rightfully inherited by the true son of his father. Isabel's stomach grew sick at the thought of having a child with this despicable man. It filled her with disgust and disdain. Decker frowned and said, “He won't end up like me, I’ll make sure to make the necessary arrangements so that our child will inherit all of my wealth.” Isabel was at a loss for words. She had never seen someone as shameless as he was. She said without pulling back any punches, “Decker, you better give up, it’s never going to happen. I’m never going to be with you, let alone have a child with you." Upon noticing that she was preparing to leave again, Decker paced up to her again and asked stubbornly, “Have I not given you enough?
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