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
Decker briefly shook his hands that were placed around Isabella’s neck only moments ago, and a stoic coolness returned to his eyes. It was as if everything that happened just now had been nothing but a hallucination. Still, Isabella was terrified. She crawled backward on all fours. Decker stood stoically and looked at her with a stiff smile hanging by the corner of his eyes. “I’m not going to help you on this one. Deal with it yourself.” Isabella stammered, “Oh… okay." Decker calmly arranged the collar of his robe. "Also, if it’s anyone that can plot against Isabel, it’s me. If I catch you trying to do something to her again, I promise you that I’ll end your acting career before you can even blink your eyes.” Isabella felt a chill run through her body, and she answered in a shaky voice, "I understand. It will never happen again.” “Get out.” Isabella hurriedly pulled herself up from the ground and ran outside. The door closed with a steady thud. A looming s