Isaac saw the woman walking around the circular fountain in front of the hotel.She was wearing a khaki trench coat with a white floral dress, and her black mini boots were short enough to bare her fair legs. Despite being heavily pregnant, she was not swelling up. Her black hair was spread over her shoulders, and despite the face mask hiding her face, it did not hide her tenderness.As James stopped the car, Isaac alighted and started toward her.Irene had been keeping her head lowered and did not notice the person coming toward her, so she suddenly found her way blocked by another person.She tried to move to the right, but the person before mimicked her to keep blocking her path, doing the same when she moved to the left. Frowning in slight annoyance, she growled, "Could you—"She trailed off when she looked up and saw the person before her, and she quickly lowered her head again guiltily. "Please, excuse me," she said, but there was a quiver in her voice. Even so, that s
"Isaac Jefferson, you have every right to not love me… But you have no right to question my virtue."With that, Irene reached for the doorknob, opening it with a click.However, Isaac caught her hand. "I'm sorry."Stephen's words had struck him where it hurt, and he let his own anger get the battle of him. Moreover, she really was pregnant, which was why he had such a poor choice of words."Irene, if I didn't love you, I'd never be with you even if we had ten children. All I wanted to do was protect you, that's why I said I was only staying with you because of Tommy—the more I showed concern for you in front of Ian, the more he would want to hurt you."Irene looked up, forgetting her scars in shock. He had said that because he did not want Ian to hurt her. So, was it all just a misunderstanding?Isaac's eyes landed on her scars then and his expression darkened further. His throat felt stiff and he could not speak.Irene came to her senses when she realized what he was lo
"Isaac Jefferson, you have every right to not love me… But you have no right to question my virtue."With that, Irene reached for the doorknob, opening it with a click.However, Isaac caught her hand. "I'm sorry."Stephen's words had struck him where it hurt, and he let his own anger get the battle of him. Moreover, she really was pregnant, which was why he had such a poor choice of words."Irene, if I didn't love you, I'd never be with you even if we had ten children. All I wanted to do was protect you, that's why I said I was only staying with you because of Tommy—the more I showed concern for you in front of Ian, the more he would want to hurt you."Irene looked up, forgetting her scars in shock. He had said that because he did not want Ian to hurt her. So, was it all just a misunderstanding?Isaac's eyes landed on her scars then and his expression darkened further. His throat felt stiff and he could not speak.Irene came to her senses when she realized what he was lo
It was Hannah Loggins, Stephen's wife.Even though Isaac did not really lay a finger on Stephen, the stress Isaac put him through left him ill afterwards, considering that he was advanced in age. Naturally, the instant Hannah saw Isaac, she was scowling and snapping, "What are you doing here? Haven't you hurt Stephen enough?"Irene glanced at Isaac then—what did he do that he was met with such hostility?However, this was not the time for that since she had more pressing matters.Moving to stand in front of Isaac, she smiled at Hannah and explained, "I need to talk to Dr. Carr—it's urgent, and he'd definitely agree to see me if he knows it's me.""You're his student?" Hannah asked."Yes," Irene replied."You can come in, but not him." Hannah was not holding back at all, which left Isaac scowling in turn.He had not gotten even against Stephen for tricking him, and he was being turned down at the door?He had certainly never suffered such abuse! Seeing that things were gett
Stephen immediately apologized. "I'm sorry."Irene could tell that Isaac had done a serious number on Stephen since she saw how Hannah reacted to Isaac—she never would have been so hostile otherwise.And Irene certainly knew what Isaac is like."It's fine," she said. "Isaac must have bothered you a lot."Hannah was bringing her tea, and when she heard Irene, she said, "That's putting it lightly—""Hannah," Stephen said, cutting her short.Hannah held her silence reluctantly, and passed the tea to Irene, "Here, have some tea."She had no idea that Irene was the reason Isaac abducted Stephen—if she did, she would not have let Irene in, let alone made her tea.Stephen never told Hannah much about his work, and silence was certainly the best policy in Irene's case, giving him even less reason to tell to avoid causing her trouble.Hannah was certainly no villain either, but she was not about to watch as her own husband was harassed. "What's your name?" she asked Irene. Irene sm
Seemingly worried that Isaac would harass Irene, Hannah told her, "I'll come downstairs with you."She linked an arm around Irene's, locking the door behind her. It was as if she was worried Isaac would storm inside and abduct Stephen again.Irene saw the scowl on Isaac's face right then—given his terrible temper, it would not do if he harassed Hannah too.Irene smiled. "I'm fine on my own. You should stay and take care of Dr. Carr—he's sick and shouldn't be left alone."That was certainly true, but Hannah was still hesitant. "What about you?""I'll call the cops if I'm in danger," Irene told her, sliding a peek at Isaac as she spoke pointedly."As long as you understand," Hannah told her.Irene smiled in return. "I know. You should go inside."Hannah was smiling ear-to-ear with Irene, but her expression cooled immediately when she glanced at Isaac, as if he were some criminal.As she returned inside, she reminded Irene before she shut the door, "Watch out. Remember, call the
Isaac frowned, because he was hoping that the issue did not require his attention. "What is it?"James did not answer immediately, but instead slid a peek at Irene.Catching the cue, she said, "I should not listen, I guess? You could stop the car, and I'll get myself a taxi.""No, it's—""Just spit it already!'James quickly tried to explain, but Isaac snapped impatiently—it almost looked like he wanted to hide everything from Irene.He certainly was aware that they had trust issues, or she would not have done everything she could to run away from him just because of something he said. That was why he would do his best to avoid giving her the sense that he had something to hide from her.James then explained, "Blue Hill Asylum's director just called, saying…"It was nothing worth hiding, but Irene might be uncomfortable with what he was going to say.However, the more secretive he was, the more Irene was interested.Noticing that Isaac's expression was turning colder, James
Irene answered earnestly, "...I did.""Do tell," Isaac said, his interest piqued. "When you told me that you're only staying with me because of Tommy, I decided that I should not use him to shackle you. You have the right to pick who you love, and…""And you faked your death to leave me." Isaac's gaze turned dark. "Should I thank you for your generosity?"Irene reared her chin at him. "You're welcome."Isaac said nothing, but his step quickened as she pulled her back to her room.Once inside, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to bed, while Irene turned, doing her best to hide her scars.As he put her down, she leaned on her side and kept one cheek visible, but Isaac hovered on top of her, gently turning her face. "You don't have to hide from me." Even so, Irene was still uneasy with revealing her flaw and she was used to hiding it.Isaac simply lay by her side and nestled against her neck while stroking her bulging belly."I love you, Irene," he whispered alluri