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
“Heh.” Clarice scoffed, “I expected Decker to have better taste than this.” Decker? Decker?! Could this mean that this Miss Houston was… Isabella suddenly recalled Isabel’s mention of there being a certain fiancee of Decker’s. So, this was the Miss Houston that hailed from Southboro? Isabella looked at Clarice evasively and explained vainly, “Miss Houston, you must have been mistaken. Nothing has ever happened between me and Mr. Rockwell. A lot of people claim that he has something going on with me, but that’s not the case at all.” "Oh? How so? Why would you say that’s not the case?” “It may seem like that on the surface, but he never had the slightest bit of interest in me all along. I swear to you that nothing has happened between me and him since we’ve known each other!” she said with an earnest look in her eyes. She was telling the truth. Decker had barely touched her despite her best attempts of getting into bed with him. The look in Clarice’s eyes shar
Isabel continued reading her script. About forty minutes later, Roland gave her a video call. She was all out sprawled on the bed when she answered. His handsome, dashing expression was the first thing that popped up on the screen. She immediately noticed the background and saw that he was still at the office. She asked promptly, "Are you still working?” “Yeah, I need to meet a business partner later.” "What kind of business partner?" "He's from Liberty. We just finalized our letter of intent for collaboration last month.” Isabel nodded, feigning understanding, and remarked casually, “In that case, I won’t take your time. Get back to it.” Roland frowned. "Okay, make sure you get some rest.” “Yeap.” Isabel gave him one last lingering look before hanging up. … Her schedule over the following days was very tightly packed with countless shootings. She worked non-stop from the minute shooting began the following day. She would work from dawn till du