“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?
It was a very brief banquet that concluded in no time. Isabel bid farewell to Ramona and Triss before having her driver take her back to her place. Coincidentally, she chanced into Roland again when she was about to reach her place. He carried a briefcase in hand and wore a black suit as usual. Due to his tall and striking figure, it was very easy to spot him walking down the street. His melancholic figure adorned underneath the streetlights made for a very appealing sight. Isabel asked her driver to slow down. Then she leaned out the window to gawk at him for a while. When they were within earshot, she called out, “Roland!” Roland turned around. There was hardly a hint of fright in his eyes, he was cool and composed as usual. Isabel asked, “It’s the weekend today, why are you still at work?" He stated, “There’s still a lot of work that needs to be taken care of.” Isabel made a look, alright then. She asked the driver to stop, then she scanned the area
When Isabel looked up again, Roland’s figure had disappeared from the looming shadows by the entrance. She suddenly felt strangely lonely. With a long sigh, she turned around the corner and retreated into her apartment. … A month later. The serialized drama that Isabel was filming had finally come to a close, and the scenes for the grand finale were wrapped up. Over the course of the month, she had been with the crew nearly every waking hour to ensure the consistent quality of the final few episodes. She hardly went back to her place to sleep at night. Now that the show was a wrap, she felt like she had regained her freedom at last. After having a grand feast with the crew, she left the film set. Amanda had recovered from her illness and came to pick her up in person. On the way back home, Isabel sat with Amanda in the rear. Amanda began going through the upcoming itinerary. First of all, she was going to start joining the variety show The Wonder as the
Amanda briefly looked at her feed before asking, “Has Triss made some enemies lately?” Isabel answered, “I don’t think so.” Ever since that one time several years ago when her career was derailed because she refused the advance of a certain businessman, she had been very cautious. Now that her career was finally looking up again, she would not act rashly. Amanda speculated. “Then this means that somebody is running a smear campaign on her.” Isabel frowned. The entertainment industry may seem glamorous on the outside, but anyone in the know would tell you that it was very treacherous and one had to watch their back at all times. Even though Triss was never one to stir conflict, someone must be envious of her success and wanted to ruin her. "Let her management team deal with it, don’t worry about it.” Amanda advised kindly. Isabel did not respond. She went to the chat group between her, Triss, and Ramona. The group was usually very quiet, so there was not much ac
Amanda was exasperated, she took a deep breath. Isabel patted her on the back to ease her stress, then she continued scrolling through her phone. Her fans and Triss' fans were all sharing her latest statement. Within minutes, the post had gained a tremendous amount of traction and had overtaken the previous “Triss Ravine - Casting Couch Regular” trending keyword. There were many comments from netizens, some of the comments that received the most attention included: “Even Isabel is voicing out about this scumbag, I believe her.” “Triss is friends with Isabel, isn’t she? What if Isabel is just helping her?” “Isn't it natural for friends to help each other? Since she’s speaking up for Triss at a time like this, this shows that she’s a loyal and empathetic friend. If you ask me, this is further proof that Triss was framed.” “If you take a closer look at that picture, Triss looks like she doesn’t want to be there at all. She’s even trying to shove the man away.” “
Isabel played it off with a chuckle. “Don’t worry about it, I just saw someone writing a hateful comment.” Amanda and Carla did not press her for more details after that. It was only then that Isabel realized that the car had stopped outside her apartment already. After saying goodbye to Amanda and Carla, she got out of the car. As usual, she went to the lobby and took the elevator to her floor. It was already dark outside, the corridor was dimly lit by overhead ceiling lights. She strode toward her unit and stopped outside the entrance. Just as she was about to unlock the door, an ominous figure burst out of the shadows and flanked her from behind. She was caught off guard and quickly swung around but it was too late. A hand latched itself firmly around her throat. Decker pinned her against the door, one hand around her throat. The usual tender glow in his eyes was replaced by a menacing glare. Isabel gasped for air. She clawed desperately at Decke
Isabel promptly locked the door after that. Shut outside, Decker was too stunned for words. It took him several seconds to register what had happened. Then, he chuckled lowly and said out loud, “Isabel, you’re welcome to come back to me at any time, I live right next door. I’ll wait until you figure things out.” She ignored him entirely. She still had not gotten over the shock of suddenly having Decker confront her and choke the breath out of her. It was an invasion of her safety. This man was far more dangerous than she had imagined. Although she would not say that she was afraid of him, she still recognized that she was threatened by a man as bold as he was. She sat huddled on the sofa with her phone in her hand. She swiped through her list of contacts, going through each of her family members. After giving it some thought, she gave up on the idea of going to them for help. If she had told them about Decker pestering her, it also meant that they would find