It was a weekday the following day, which meant Roland had to head back to Westchester. After waking up in the morning, the two went at it in bed until it was nearing noon before they finally emerged from the bedroom. Knowing that it would be another week before they could meet again, Isabel was quite reluctant to part with him. They arrived at the hotel entrance. Roland let go of her hand and gently stroked her hair. "I'm going off now." Isabel only grunted in response. Roland looked at her with a thoughtful expression. It looked like he wanted to say something to her but ultimately decided against it. With that, he turned around and walked toward the parking lot. He stepped into the sunlight, the trace of light outlined his striking figure. And yet, there was a certain gloominess about him. Isabel suddenly felt a stuffy feeling in her chest. She cried out, "Roland!" Roland stopped immediately and looked back at her. She ran over to him and threw himself
The film crew took advantage of the rain to finish up most of the rainy scenes. It was a rather busy week, and Friday came before Isabel knew it. On Friday, the crew managed to wrap up everything around three in the afternoon, and Isabel returned to the hotel after that. The first thing she did was take a hot bath. Then, she made sure to apply lotion and doused herself in her favorite perfume. She picked out a dress that hugged her slender waist and accentuated her figure before sitting by the window to wait for Roland to visit. The thought of the though slightly juvenile, yet sweet and innocent surprise that Roland prepared for her last week made her smile. She wondered if he would prepare something similar for her again this week. Time slowly trickled past while she waited. It was already getting dark outside, and even the rain was gradually stopping. She watched as some of the film crew went out together to hang out for the weekend, then she watched as they retu
Flint said reluctantly, “I’ll tell you, but don’t get angry at me.” Isabel snapped at him, “Out with it!" Flint sighed. “I think Dad does not approve of the two of you being together, so he made him quit.” Isabel was flabbergasted. Her father did not approve of them being together? Roland quit because of this? Her mind went blank as she had trouble processing this. "Where is he now?" Flint muttered, "I heard he left Westchester after the ongoing projects at work yesterday." It was his turn to ask Isabel, "You’re his girlfriend. Hasn’t he said anything to you?” Isabel stammered. Flint realized that he had misspoken and quickly tried to rectify his mistake. “Sorry, sis, you know that’s not what I meant. Just calm down and don’t be mad at me. I don’t think Roland would break up with you without at least talking to you about it. There must be some reason he hasn’t spoken to you yet.” Isabel ignored him and promptly hung up on him. Then, she called Roland
It was Roland. Surprised, Isabel answered the phone immediately and asked, “Where are you?” “I’m in Southboro,” Roland answered with a hoarse voice, seemingly hesitating with the answer. Isabel’s chest tightened. “When did you go back?” “I reached Southboro yesterday morning.” “Why didn’t you tell me?” He did not say a word. Isabel ran out of patience. She asked, “Why did you go back to Southboro?” The man still did not answer. Isabel glanced at the screen of her phone. The call was still connected, Roland did not hang up on her. She snorted. “Is it because of my dad?” “It’s not about Mr. Carter, it’s my own decision,” he said. His own decision? How could he say something like this to her in such a calm manner? Her eyes teared up. She raised her hand to rub her eyes and then asked, “So, are you breaking up with me?” “Isabel, I think we have to be separated for a while.” “Separated for a while? What does that mean?” “I can’t tell you yet.” “Roland, if
Carla secretly gave Amanda a call. Therefore, when Isabel almost threw up from all the drinking, Amanda appeared behind her. She snatched the bottle of beer and tossed it away. Before Isabel could react, she grabbed her arm and bellowed, “Isabel, you’re coming with me.” Isabel had lost consciousness. She only remembered Roland ditched her. He left Westchester without saying anything. Everyone knew except her. Yet the jerk tried to fool her by saying they should be separated for a while and would come back to her soon. He had either taken Isabel as a fool or believed she could not handle the shock of breaking up, hence telling her he wanted to be separated for a while to let her take it in easily. Isabel knew the importance of letting go and she would not care if he broke up with her. There were many other men in this world and there must be someone better than him. However, she could not stop her heart from hurting. Isabel tried to reach for the bottle of beer but m
Carla added, “Isabel, there are a lot of fun places in Glanchester. Amanda is bringing us on a tour around the city.” Isabel’s eyes remained closed. “I don’t want to go. You guys go have fun.” She was not in the mood for a vacation, she just wanted to lie down and do nothing. “Isabel, even if you stay here all day, Roland isn’t coming back,” Amanda said. Isabel opened her eyes and sat up straight. With displeasure, she said, “I’m not hoping for him to come back!” She just wanted to lie down! Amanda crossed her arms and raised a brow. “If that’s what you’re thinking, then you should get up and follow us now.” Isabel frowned. “Provocation?” Amanda chuckled. “Indeed. If you don’t come with us, you’re hoping for him to come back to you.” Annoyed, Isabel mustered her strength and jumped to her feet. She bellowed, “Alright! You ask for it! Let’s go!” She washed her face, changed into some new clothes, and followed Amanda and Carla out of the hotel. …Isabel had visited
Clarice bolted up when she heard the news. Decker was at his desk further away from her. He was shocked by her sudden reaction and he asked, “Clarice, what happened?” Clarice’s eyes fluttered and smiled. “I-It’s nothing.” Decker had a hint of doubt but he did not linger on the topic. He quickly returned to his work. Clarice breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed Decker was not overly bothered. She sat back down and replied to Isabella, “Are you sure about this?” “I heard from my friend that Isabel got drunk alone last Friday night and her manager and assistant came to pick her up. She cried on the way back and took two days off from work. She only came back to the shoot today. I heard from a crew member that Isabel took days off because she broke up with her boyfriend.” Isabella then sent Clarice two video clips. One was Isabel drinking at the restaurant and the other was Isabel being dragged away by Amanda and Carla. Roland ditched her? However, Roland used his
After dinner, some of them returned to the hotel, and some of them took a ride home. Isabel, the director, and some of the crew members returned to the hotel. The director asked, “It’s the weekend. Do you guys want to shoot over the weekend, or take two days off, and we can continue on Monday?” The remaining actors looked at each other. The male lead said, “I’m okay with anything. It’s your call, director.” The others echoed in agreement. The director then looked at Isabel. “Isabel, what about you?” Isabel said without a second thought, “I don’t want to take days off either.” Only when working, she would not think of Roland, therefore she could not stop. The director smiled. “Alright. We’ll continue shooting then.” Isabel said good night to her co-stars and the director before she returned to her room. She spent the entire day shooting, and it was tiring. She just wanted to have a bath and rest. It was then she received a call from Amanda. Amanda sounded worri