Fourty Nine

"Are you alright, Isabella?"

Nicholas got off his motorcycle, parked it, and immediately helped Isabella stand up. Isabella dusted off her backside after falling onto the asphalt, nodded, and said, "I'm fine. But what are you doing here?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that? What are you doing in a remote village like Marysweet Avenue, Bella?"

Isabella fell silent. Her mind still replayed the moment she discovered Rudolf and the reality that he had a baby. Letting out a long sigh, Isabella lowered her voice. "I think I found—"

"Found Irene?" Nicholas suddenly interrupted.

"How did you know?"

Nicholas sighed, taking his helmet off the motorcycle and saying, "It's dark and cold here. We should talk while heading back to the city. Were you walking?"

"My car ran out of gas, back there," Isabella said, pointing to her SUV parked quite far behind them. She shrugged. "I couldn’t find anyone to help, so I started walking."

With his uncanny intuition, Nicholas immediately sensed that Isabella was