Meanwhile, at Isabella’s place, after she received the video and text from Angela, she went through it frame by frame. Angela took the video from a low angle outside the coffee shop, hence it did not record the conversation. She went through the attached text and pondered. Then, she edited Roland out of the video, leaving only the scene with Isabel and Decker. Next, she sent the video to Clarice and added the text, “Ms. Houston, my friend took this video at Glanchester. Mr. Rockwell went there to see Isabel again.” Since her previous meeting with Clarice, she took her number just in case, and she was afraid that Clarice would not believe her having nothing to do with Decker. She also promised once she got anything on Decker and Isabel, she would text Clarice immediately. With the video sent, it would be able to prove that Decker liked Isabel. A while later, Clarice replied, “Where are they in Glanchester?” Isabella answered, “Near the set of Legend of the Goddess. I heard
Confused, Isabel looked at him. “Why aren’t you eating?” Roland looked at her and said in a hoarse voice, “I don’t want to eat this.” “Then what do you want to eat?” she asked. Roland pursed his lips. “You.” Isabel’s eyes widened. Before she could react, his handsome face moved closer to her face and kissed her on the lips. The kiss was so strong that it felt like he was chewing on her lips. He lifted her and carried her to the bed. Even though he was walking into the room, his eyes never left her. Isabel, on the other hand, had not eaten enough. …Knock, knock. Knocks came from the door but Isabel was sleeping in Roland’s arms, drenched in sweat. The knocks woke her up and it irritated her. She bellowed, “Who is it?!” Clara said in a small voice, “Isabel, it’s me. The director told me to inform you that someone from Westchester is here to see you.” Isabel pursed her lips and regulated her temper. “Who is it?” “I don’t know, but the director looked serious
Rude? Isabel’s expression turned bitter. “Clarice, if you’re here to cause a scene, then please excuse me.” Isabel wanted to leave, but Clarice stopped her by bellowing, “Just you wait!” Isabel froze and looked at her as if she was looking at an idiot. She then continued to walk toward the door. “Isabel Ross, I’m talking to you! Are you deaf?!” Isabel was irritated. She turned around to Clarice and asked, “Clarice Houston, you’ve got a problem! Not me!” Clarice’s gaze shifted and instantly looked disheartened. She had never met someone as rude and disrespectful as Isabel in her life. She stared at Isabel coldly and said, “Isabel, with one word, I can make you disappear from the entertainment industry.” Isabel said, “I don’t believe you. Say one word.” Clarice was rendered speechless. Even her elegant facial features could not hit the ugly expression on her face. She told herself that she could not lower herself to reason with a cheap woman like Isabel, hence calmi
Clarice frowned. Isabel showed a surprised look and said, “So, you’re still a virgin after being with Decker for so many years?” “Isabel, you…” Clarice gritted her teeth and bellowed, “Stop trying to provoke me. Decker and I have been dating for a long time and your little tricks won’t affect our relationship.” Isabel found her reaction strange. “I’m just asking. What’s with the reaction?” “You show your neck to me and it is an act of provocation!” Clarice looked at her in disdain. “You’re a mistress, a cheap woman who’s trying to ruin our relationship. You might have won now but Decker will never leave me for you!” Isabel was more confused than ever. She asked, “Clarice, what nonsense are you talking about? Who are you calling a mistress, a cheap woman? You think I’m together with that b*stard Decker?” Clarice’s expression shifted. “What do you mean? You’re not with Decker?” Isabel shuddered the moment she thought of Decker. She said honestly, “I broke up with him when y
Clarice returned to her arrogant look and looked at Isabel. Isabel crossed her arms, looking at her calmly. “Isabel, if you have a boyfriend already, stay with your boyfriend and stop eyeing over my man,” Clarice said as she stood up, “Or else, I’ll make you suffer.” She then grabbed her expensive purse and wanted to leave. Isabel chuckled. “Decker is a piece of sh*t to me, feel free if you like to eat sh*t.” Clarice stopped, turned around, and glared at her. If her gaze could kill, she would have killed Isabel multiple times already. Isabel met her gaze nonchalantly. Clarice grunted and left in a hurry. After that, Isabel got up from her seat, yawned, and left the coffee shop. When she walked out of the coffee shop, she spotted Angela coming to her from the other direction. Angela’s eyes flickered when she met Isabel’s gaze. She smiled and said, “Isabel, good evening. Having a coffee?” Isabel narrowed her eyes and had a glance over Angel’s phone. “Hmmm. Someone
Ding! Isabella’s phone rang. It was from her boss. She answered the phone and asked, “Boss, what is it?” “Ms. Houston wants to see you. Go wait for her at the floral garden on the first floor of the Westchester Grand Hotel.” Isabella’s expression changed. “Y-Yes, boss. I’m on my way.” …Back at Glanchester, the hotel where the crew of the Legend of the Goddess checked in, Isabel returned to her room. She saw Roland dressed in a man’s pajamas, typing on his laptop on the table next to the bed. The warm lamp on the table, his straightened posture, and his handsome but serious look - every aspect of him was charming. Isabel snuck up to him but he turned around just in time, looking at her with his clear and calm eyes. “You’re back,” he said. Isabel hummed. She walked to his side and looked at his screen. There were a ton of words and graphs, probably something related to his work. Isabel’s vision started to get blurry after looking at it and she quickly pulled her
Isabel started to lose her breath as the kiss went on. She grunted in a muffled voice and pushed him away. Roland held back the kiss but his lips were still touching hers. “Tell me.” If she continued to toy with him, he would kiss her again and again. Isabel was annoyed. “Roland, are you threatening—Mhmm!” He kissed her again, stronger than before. Isabel felt like her lips were swollen from all the kisses. In addition, his hand was pinching her waist. It felt electrifying and it made her body numb. She pushed him away and stammered, “O-Okay! I’ll say!” Roland released her. He stared at her like a predator looking at its prey. Isabel suddenly wanted to move away from his lap, but if she did, it would make her look like a coward. She fluttered her eyes and decided to lean backward to draw some distance from his face. She then said, “It’s Clarice Houston, Decker’s fiancée. You should know her.” Roland asked, “Why is she here for you?” “Someone took a video
Roland smiled warmly. “Sure.” He carried her and strode toward their bed. … In Westchester, after the call with Jerome, Isabella went to the lobby on the first floor of Westchester Hotel. She went to the lounge area of the lobby. There were not many people in the lounge at this hour. She had arrived at the hotel at roughly ten that night, and it was already one in the morning by this point. She had been waiting for Clarice for three whole hours, yet there was no sign of her at all. Her butt was already sore from sitting and waiting for so long. She began to feel like Clarice was intentionally keeping her waiting, but she knew better than to text Clarice to ask for her whereabouts. Her only choice was to wait with constant agitation. Finally, when it was around half past one, Clarice stepped through the entrance of the hotel at last. Isabella hurriedly approached her while putting on her best smile. She greeted Clarice in a friendly voice as if she was not bot
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