Isabella felt herself sweating profusely and instinctively took off her jacket. Underneath, she wore a fitted camisole with a slightly low neckline. It wasn't overly revealing, but her fair neck and beautiful collarbones were exposed, looking very alluring.James' eyes were fixed on her, his gaze growing hotter. Yet, with the last remnants of his sanity, he clenched his fists and stood still, not daring to move.Isabella also stood up from the table and walked to the window, attempting to open it for some fresh air. However, no matter how hard she pushed, the window didn't budge.She turned to James with a puzzled expression, asking, "Is this a decorative window that can't be opened?"James didn't respond, instead swallowing hard. He felt unbearably hot all over, and as if driven by an unknown force, he took a few steps towards Isabella and tightly embraced her."James, what are you doing? Are you crazy?" Isabella hadn't expected James to suddenly hug her. An instinctive sense of repu
For the military intelligence network, locating a person’s phone is a piece of cake. They sent Andrew the location, and he grabbed his jacket and dashed out. Ryan quickly gathered a few people and followed him.Andrew sped to the restaurant, where a clueless waiter tried to stop him at the private room door. Andrew kicked him aside, leaving the waiter unable to get up for a while. Ryan arrived right behind Andrew and grabbed the waiter from the floor.The waiter, still confused, cursed, "Who the hell are you to cause trouble here? Do you know whose place this is?"Ryan grabbed the waiter by the neck, lifting him up. "Kid, let me tell you whose place this is."Terrified, the waiter, struggling to breathe, went pale. "It wasn’t me. Mr. Ormsby paid me to drug that man and woman and lock them together."Ryan was stunned. A thought flashed through his mind, recalling the scene when Andrew had caught Scarlett and another man in bed.Instinctively, he turned to the tightly closed private roo
The waiter was terrified and nodded numbly.Ryan casually handed him off to one of his men, giving a nonchalant order, "Take his hand off, so he won't take money that he shouldn't in the future."The waiter turned pale with fear and screamed, pleading, "I’m innocent! It really has nothing to do with me. I don't even know Mr. James or that woman. I just took a little money…"Ryan ignored him."You," Ryan directed another subordinate, "go with Mr. Toren here to check the restaurant's surveillance footage. I’ll give you a day at most to find that Ormsby. If you can’t, you’re fired!"As he spoke, Ryan's gaze remained fixed on Toren, who broke out in a cold sweat under the scrutiny. Toren wasn’t foolish; he knew Ryan was making an example out of him. If Ormsby wasn’t found, Toren would be in serious trouble.Having given his orders, Ryan strode out of the private room.Meanwhile, the door to the adjacent room remained closed, with Ryan's two men standing guard. Ryan lit a cigarette and lei
"Isabella, learn from your mistakes! Haven't the past experiences taught you anything? How many times have I told you to stay away from James, but you just ignored my words!"Isabella stared at him in bewilderment, first feeling lost, then a wave of grievance welled up inside her. She hadn't done anything wrong to him, so why was he yelling at her like this?Andrew, with his lips pressed into a thin line and anger surging, continued, "There were people guarding outside that room the whole time. If I hadn't gotten there in time today, do you know what the consequences would have been?""I called you for help. If you hadn't arrived in time, it would only mean you didn't care about me. If that's the case, no matter what the consequences, what would I have left to care about?"Isabella shouted, losing control, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.When she started crying, Andrew's overwhelming anger largely dissipated. He pursed his lips and reached out to wipe her tears, but she
Isabella sat at the table, resting her chin on one hand, smiling as she watched Andrew wash the dishes.When Andrew had almost finished cleaning the kitchen, she approached him, stood on her tiptoes, and gave him a kiss on the cheek as a reward.Andrew smiled helplessly. A kiss from the little girl was all it took to dismiss his efforts. He felt his labor was a bit undervalued."Since the chores are done, how about we go out for a walk?" Isabella said, linking her arm with his and smiling sweetly.Seeing her smile mischievously like a little fox, Andrew knew she had some ulterior motive."Can you even walk?" Andrew's gaze traveled down her body suggestively.Blushing, Isabella playfully hit his chest and grabbed the collar of his shirt with both hands. "Andrew, can we go to the hospital to see James?""Me, go to the hospital to see your ex-boyfriend? Do you think that's appropriate?" Andrew raised an eyebrow, feeling somewhat betrayed."I just want to see him to put my mind at ease. P
Isabella and Andrew returned to the villa after dark.She was extremely tired. After taking a bath and changing into her pajamas, she went straight to bed. He stayed in the study handling work and did not disturb her.The next day, Isabella slept in late and was eventually woken up by Andrew."Don't bother me, let me sleep a bit longer," she murmured lazily, turning over."Come on, if you don't get up, you'll miss the good show," he said with a warm smile, reaching out to lift her out of bed.She lay limply in his arms, unwilling to open her eyes."If you don't wake up, I'll kiss you," he said, gazing at her.She still didn't respond, but her slightly trembling eyelashes gave her away.Andrew's lips met hers. As soon as he kissed her, she laughed and pulled away."Andrew, are you playing 'Sleeping Beauty' so early in the morning?" she giggled, pushing him away and jumping out of bed wrapped in the blanket.He sat by the bed, looking at her with gentle eyes, "Not pretending to sleep an
"Gina, be good." Thomas half-embraced the child, looking at the woman in confusion, and asked again, "How did you get here?""Didn't you send someone to pick us up?" the woman responded, equally puzzled."What's going on here?" Thomas glanced at the silent driver standing at the door.The driver pressed his lips together without speaking, then glanced in Andrew's direction.Thomas followed his gaze and saw Andrew sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, his eyebrows slightly raised, exuding an air of defiance and provocation.Thomas wasn't a fool and immediately understood that this was Andrew's retaliation. His driver had been bribed by Andrew, or perhaps had been Andrew's plant from the very beginning."I'd like to know what's going on too. Thomas, who are this woman and child, and what are they doing here? Explain yourself!" Stella demanded, standing up from the sofa in a rage.The little girl, terrified, clung tightly to Thomas.Thomas hugged the child, patiently comforting her,
“Stella, don't make it sound so harsh. This is indeed my fault. I acted inappropriately while drunk. Originally, I planned to send her back to her hometown, but she got pregnant suddenly. The doctor said her uterine lining is thin, and if she didn’t have this child, she might never get the chance to be a mother.This situation is my fault, and I couldn’t take away her chance to be a mother, so I let her have the child.After Gina was born, I provided them with living expenses every month but rarely had contact with them.Stella, if it makes you unhappy, I'll arrange for them to be sent far away so they won’t be in your sight…”Stella listened, sneering silently. What a plausible story—too good not to be a script. Drunken mistake, unexpected pregnancy, thin uterine lining—how did all these coincidences happen to them?Thomas’s age at the time would mean his health wasn’t that good, or he wouldn’t have gotten sick. This was treating her like a fool.“Stella, since Thomas has admitted hi