Sarah stared blankly at the man above her. Her blue eyes locked with the brown gaze of the English-born man who had become her husband. It had been a few weeks since they got married, but Sarah couldn’t let go of anything whenever they made love. She couldn't reach climax, and everything ended in pretense.“I’m going to finish, darling!” Louis’s groan marked the end of their heated sex that night.Or at least, that’s what they did as part of the formalities of marriage on top of business matters. Louis turned and rolled over to Sarah’s side. His breath was still heavy from the remnants of their activity together.“Can you look at me when we make love?”Sarah’s heart raced, but not from passion. The question hung between them, heavy with meaning. She hesitated, unsure of how to respond. Her body, tense under the weight of Louis’s words, seemed to freeze. The room, dimly lit by the streetlights outside, felt suffocatingly small, as if the walls were closing in on her.“What do you mean?
Felix drove through the quiet streets after dropping Isabella off. The night felt heavy, weighed down by the situation with Irene still haunting his mind. His thoughts were filled with the address they had just discovered, but a phone call interrupted his focus.It was Sarah.Her voice was trembling, choked with sobs. "Felix... I don’t know what to do. Please come."Felix's heart tightened. He had never heard Sarah cry like this before. Worried, he turned his car around and drove to where Sarah was. When he arrived, Sarah stood outside, her eyes swollen from crying. As soon as she saw Felix, she ran into his arms, clutching him tightly as if she were drowning."I can’t... I can’t keep doing this," Sarah whispered between sobs.Felix, though still burdened by the situation with Isabella and Irene, felt the immediate need to comfort Sarah. "Let me take you home, Sarah. You need to rest."But Sarah shook her head, gripping Felix’s jacket even tighter. "No, I don’t want to go home. Please
When Felix's car arrived in the garage, Isabella was enjoying cereal for her breakfast. And Isabella could see that Felix was still wearing the clothes from the night before when they were searching for Irene. Isabella smiled."You didn’t come home last night?"Felix loosened his shirt collar and sat across from Isabella. "No. I was checking on something. Have you had breakfast?"Isabella nodded. "Uh-huh, I just finished." She offered, "Want me to make you breakfast?""Sounds good. I’ll take a shower while you prepare it.""Alright."Felix left his phone and bag on the table and then headed to his room. They really looked like a real couple now. Isabella grabbed a new bowl from the kitchen shelf and placed it on the table. She was about to pour some fruit-flavored cereal into it when she noticed Felix’s phone light up. A message notification appeared on Felix’s phone, sparking Isabella’s curiosity. She leaned in and peeked at the message that popped up on the screen. Instantly, her br
"Are you leaving now?"Isabella picked up her shoes, which she had carelessly tossed aside, and started putting them on. Nodding, she smoothed out her white outfit and said, "Yep. I’m going to the office to work and see my handsome husband’s face."“Ew. You sound disgusting,” Emily replied.“At least it’s better than spending all day in your room looking at men’s private parts on your dating apps, Emily.”Emily laughed and threw a small pillow from nearby at Isabella. "You’re annoying, Bella."“I’m heading out now. Bye!”“Take care on the road!”Isabella felt better after talking with Emily, though of course, she didn’t really provide any solutions. She then headed to the office, slipping back into her role as Irene, the personal secretary and contract wife of Felix Kingston. When Isabella entered the office, she could feel the busy atmosphere surrounding Felix at his desk. He was deeply engrossed with his laptop, eyes and hands focused on the screen. Isabella had to clear her throat
"Isabella? Are you listening?"Isabella gasped. It was as if she had seen lightning on a bright, sunny day. The news was completely beyond her expectations. She blinked in disbelief before finally shouting, "What? A niece? How do you know it's… Irene's daughter?"Nicholas let out a short sigh, as though he was tired of answering rhetorical questions like the one Isabella had just asked. He pulled out his phone from the pocket of his suit and busied himself for a moment before showing the screen to Isabella. "She registered her as a daughter, Bella."Seeing the phone pointed at her, Isabella quickly took the smartphone from Nicholas’s hand. She examined the data displayed on the screen thoroughly, reading from top to bottom carefully. She still couldn’t believe the data until she looked at Nicholas again. "This doesn't make sense, Nick.""What do you mean?""She just got engaged.""You know, in America, you can have a child without being married. What's the problem with that?"Isabella
Isabella arrived at her parents' house with a bouquet of lilies and a bag of pizza in her hands. She was wearing a yellow cropped hoodie and a knee-length denim skirt, which made her look feminine on this bright Sunday. Her heart was filled with hope that Rose and Ben's condition had improved since the last few days.Knock! Knock! Knock!After waiting a few minutes, the door was finally opened by Ben. When he saw his daughter, Ben smiled."My daughter!"Ben was always warm and enthusiastic. While hugging Isabella, Ben said, "You came on a good day, Bella. Your mom made custard pie with chocolate sauce." Isabella pulled away from the hug, looking excited. "That's your favorite, isn't it?""Really? I wouldn't miss it, Dad." Isabella lifted the pizza in her hand, showing it off to Ben. "I also brought pizza for us.""That looks delicious. Let's go inside."When Isabella entered the house, Rose had just finished preparing the chocolate sauce and placed it next to a tray of custard pie. Sh
Isabella returned to her house feeling upset and disappointed. She knew that her marriage was just a contract. However, Felix had promised that he would try to start his life with Isabella, without Sarah. But it seemed like that was just bullshit. Felix always prioritized himself in any situation.Isabella had been checking the clock on the wall and her phone screen over and over again. Felix’s number was still unreachable until now. She sat on the sofa, then went back to her room, then to the kitchen, doing other activities, but even after finishing all of that, Felix still hadn’t returned home."Where are you, Felix?"Knock! Knock! Knock!The sound of knocking on the door startled Isabella. She had been lying on the sofa, wrapped in her pink blanket, but immediately jumped up and slipped into her furry slippers. She ran excitedly to the door, hoping that the person knocking for the second time was Felix.“Where have you been, Fel—Kevin?” Isabella looked confused. She glanced around
Isabella gripped the steering wheel tightly. She was using Google Maps to find the location written in the data Kevin had given her. She didn’t completely trust Kevin, but she trusted Felix, and Felix had entrusted this task to Kevin. She changed direction, battling the night with all the emotions swirling in her head.This was about finding Irene, her twin sister who had suddenly disappeared a few weeks after her engagement to Rudolf. That should be Isabella’s priority now. But somehow, her focus was split between thinking about Irene and wondering what was really happening between Felix and Sarah.Isabella’s car sped toward a small town on the outskirts of New York called Marysweet Avenue. She had heard a little about the place before but had never been interested enough to visit. As far as Isabella could remember, Irene had mentioned this place once. It was a rural area on the city’s border, where Irene had conducted research for her college project.As Isabella entered the road le