Just as Roland was about to feed her another spoonful of soup, she suddenly pursed her lips and refused to open them again. He asked perplexedly, “What’s wrong?” “I want you to feed me,” she said quite frankly with a vulnerable look in her eyes. Roland frowned, feeling rather confused. Although he did not vocalize it, his thought was clearly written on his face: “Am I not feeding you already?” Isabel made a face. "I want you to feed me directly using your mouth.” He suddenly grew silent. Although he did not speak, his reddening ears gave him away. Isabel continued to nudge him on, “If you don’t want to, then forget about it.” She hung her head low. Roland pursed his lips as well. He promptly moved the bowl of soup in front of him and took a sip, then he cupped Isabel’s face in his hands. Her eyes glittered as he planted his lips onto hers. She parted a small crack in her lips and felt the warm soup slowly guzzling into her mouth. As if that was not e
Several hours later, the action in the bedroom settled down at last. Isabel lay exhaustedly under Roland’s naked shoulders and turned on her phone which she had ignored for quite some time now. She saw more than 99 notifications pop up immediately. There were countless unread messages and more missed calls. There were calls from Amanda, Carla, Triss, Ramona, and even from her family members. She frowned and quickly tapped on her messages. Sure enough, everyone had bombarded her with texts. Amanda had sent countless texts, but what caught her eye was the last one that read, “Isabel, where are you? You’re scaring me. Don’t do anything stupid! Worst comes to worst, we can just issue an official apology and things will die down after that. Just don’t do anything rash. I’ll have to contact the police if you don’t get back to me an hour from now!” Isabel hurriedly replied, “Hey, Amanda, I'm fine, I just fell asleep accidentally, and my phone died while I was in Slumberland,
Flint spoke up again, “That’s right. Besides, if things don’t work out you can start focusing on minding the family business.” Caprice was humored by this and supplied a smiley face. Isabel chuckled to herself and replied, “Just you wait, fatty Flint. I’ll make sure you get punished the next time we meet.” Flint was a good sport as usual. “Oooh, scary, I’m out of here.” Isabel made sure to send the occasional text to Amanda, Carla, Triss, and Ramona during her conversation with her family. Amanda was relieved after seeing her reply, and she told Isabel, “Make sure you stay home and rest up over these next two days. Don't go anywhere. I'll talk to Isabella's manager.” She made it sound like they were going to negotiate, but it was quite clear that she was going to ask for mercy, which was something that Isabel would never do. She immediately objected, “Amanda, don’t ask for anything from them.” Amanda was conflicted. “But if I don't talk to them, they’re going to bu
“Roland, I feel terrible.” She suddenly felt vulnerable when she burrowed herself into his solid chest. Roland set aside the book and turned to cast a look at her. There was not a trace of emotion in her eyes, but one could tell from her lack of expression that she was tired of it all. Roland pulled her in closer. “Sleep. You’ll feel better after you get some rest.” Isabel nodded without a word. Sheltered in his warmth, it did not take long at all for her to fall asleep. She must have been more tired than she thought, which was not surprising considering how long she had tussled with Roland in bed just now. The night was silent. There was only a dim bedside lamp left on in the bedroom. Roland sat silently against the head of the bed. He only managed to ease up a little after ensuring that Isabel had fallen asleep. However, his brows shaped into a frown again shortly after. He was thinking about how Isabel told her family that she was at a friend’s place. Was
Isabella's manager informed her readily, “She’s too smart for that. She agreed to post an apology on Isabel’s official page, but taking a two-year-long hiatus is a no-go. The most they can do is six months.” Isabella scoffed, “Keep on dreaming.” Her manager suggested, “What do you think about meeting them halfway and settling on one year? I do think that two years is a tall ask.” "No, it’s either two years or nothing,” Isabella insisted. "If she doesn't want to, then so be it. Good luck with the public backlash.” Her manager asked cautiously, “Isabella, are you sure about this?” “I am very sure." She was not going to let Isabel off so easily! "Okay, I'll get back to her now." … Amanda was nervously waiting for Isabella’s manager to get back to her. Upon receiving word back, she became so furious that she slammed her phone against the couch. “Despicable! How dare they!” She paced around the living room anxiously. From a pragmatic standpoint, Isabel was a on
The video had a very clear resolution, and there appeared to be no signs of having been edited. Unsurprisingly, it had quite an effect on all of the netizens regardless of which side they were on amidst all of this. Everyone was stunned and silenced by the truth of the events. Albeit a very brief silence, the video spread very quickly across all platforms, and it had millions of views in no time. The people who had been slandering Isabel this entire time were humiliated. Some of them stewed in silence while others were quick to apologize to Isabel for ever doubting her. The people who had been neutral this entire time and were merely amusing themselves with the latest online drama were ecstatic about the unexpected plot twist. The tides turned in an instant, and everyone began turning on Isabella, even the ones who originally insulted Isabel. Isabel's fans were the first ones to take action. They swarmed the post that Isabella put up earlier during the day of her cryi
Just as she was about to put away her phone, she got a call from Isabella's manager. She was surprised to see her calling so soon, then she promptly answered the call. Isabella's manager sounded jumpy on the phone. “Hey, Amanda, you and I go way back, don’t we? Do you think you can get whoever it is to pull the video from the internet and have Isabel post a statement or something of that sort, clarifying that this entire thing has been nothing more than an inside joke between the two of them? If you’re willing to help us make things right for Isabella, we promise to give you anything you want.” Amanda scoffed condescendingly. What stood out to her most was the way Isabella’s manager’s tone switched so drastically now that the surveillance footage had surfaced. She only gave it a brief moment’s thought before stating, "I can't make the call myself. You and I know what Isabel’s temper is like. She didn’t even know about me calling you to ask for your help just now. She’d b
She had an access card to Decker’s suite in the hotel. Upon arriving at the hotel, she went straight to Decker’s suite using a secret tunnel reserved only for VIPs. She made sure to take the time to take off her coat and fix the collar around her dress before getting the access card out and swiping it against the sensor panel. Beep! With a mechanical ring, the door opened. She took a deep breath and stepped inside. She was just about to make for the master bedroom when she spotted a tall and dazzling figure a short distance from the entrance. The man himself was standing in front of a large French window and beholding the view of the city. He was dressed in a silver-colored sleeping robe that gave him a dignified appearance underneath the dim lights. A delighted smile surfaced on Isabella's face. She quickly went up to him and hugged him tightly from behind. "Mr. Rockwell…" she called out his name in the sultriest voice she could manage. Even she was surprise
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