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
She wanted to know who managed to put together the surveillance footage. Perhaps this was the work of Amanda. Perhaps it was her parents and siblings who pulled through for her. Her mind was so focused on this that she forgot that she was still clinging to Roland. Roland was holding her hip with one hand to keep her from falling. He stood motionlessly like a sturdy mountain the entire time. Isabel went through her messages. Everyone was texting her. Amanda, Carla, Triss, and Ramona were congratulating her on finally having her name cleared of any further suspicions. They were all equally curious about the source of this miraculous footage. This ruled out the possibility that it was the work of any of them. Flint texted her as well. “I saw the video. Awesome work. No wonder you didn’t want us to help you. You had it all under control this entire time.” Isabel frowned suspiciously. By saying this, was he implying that none of her family members had anything to do
No, she had to get these whimsical thoughts out of her mind. This was the same thing as what happened with Decker five years ago. She had imagined herself spending the rest of her life until she got stabbed in the back. Decker had gone and got engaged to another woman just so that he could elevate his social status. He had even struck her across the face when she confronted him about it. However, Roland was nothing like Decker. Not only was he a very competent man, but he was also very considerate and took excellent care of her. Then again, he knew her true identity… She knew that Roland was not Decker, but her previous trauma was too great to ignore. She decided to stop worrying about the future and focus on the present. She put her mind off these troublesome thoughts for the moment. Roland emerged from the kitchen. He neatly set their meal on the dining table and promptly sat down with her. He attentively passed her a plate filled with food and another bowl of soup bef
Ding! Around evening, while Isabel was still snuggling peacefully in Roland's arms, she was rudely awakened by her phone ringing. She opened her eyes. The phone was on Roland’s side, so he swiftly passed it to her. It was Amanda calling. She promptly answered the call, “Hey, Amanda, what's the matter?" Amanda said solemnly, "Isabel, there’s something I need to tell you." “Go ahead.” "After that surveillance footage surfaced online yesterday, Isabella's manager approached me, and she has been pretty much pestering me the entire day today as well. She asked if you will post a statement on your page to help Isabella. Essentially, she wants you to claim that everything that happened between you two was an inside joke and to ask everyone to stop harassing Isabella over it. She says that if you do this for Isabella, they will give us anything you want.” Isabel yawned lazily and slowly sat up. She leaned against Roland's shoulder and said disinterestedly, “No.” S
Isabel’s eyes shimmered with joy as she felt understood. “Roland, you’re pretty wise, aren't you?” Roland chuckled dryly. “I’m not an idiot.” “I’m not saying you’re an idiot. I’m complimenting you.” … At Isabella’s place, Isabella was resting on a recliner while her assistant was focused on massaging her shoulders. Even though her assistant's technique was comparable to that of a professional masseuse, her body was still filled with tension. Everyone on the internet was hurling all sorts of obscenities at her, and they were dragging her name through the mud. Since Decker refused to help, Isabel was her only lifeline. She was holding out for good news coming from Isabel’s end. After all, she had publicly apologized to Isabel online. She needed Isabel to respond to her apology and forgive her, then throw in a few good words for her. Hopefully, that would be enough for the public to come to forgive her or at least quell their anger. Ring! Her phone rang.
Isabel was not sure whether to sum it down to the passion of first love or if Roland was truly that obsessed with her. Whichever it is, they continued at it until it was nearly noon before she was finally on her way out. Before leaving, he pinned her against the door again and showered her with endless kisses. She had put on a hat and a mask so that she would not be recognized. Then, she walked out of Roland’s apartment complex and stepped into the car already parked outside waiting for her. Inside the car was Ben the driver, her two bodyguards, as well as Carla. After she got into the car, she motioned, "Let's go to Glanchester." Ben revved the engines. Isabel took off her hat and mask, then she noticed Carla casting strange looks at her. She threw a glance at her. "Why are you looking at me like that?" “Isabel, your face and your lips are so red. Have you been using your boyfriend’s skincare products?" Isabel felt herself steaming red immediately, and she play
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