Twisted Ties of Love

"As long as it's for the best, there's no rush. My friends are not in a hurry either. Take your time to get to know my son, and he's a real catch!"

Izabella was a bit baffled by the statement, but she nodded her head in agreement with the last part.

Casey was indeed quite an impressive young man. She'd heard tales of his status as the golden boy of high society.

It wasn't until she met Casey that she truly understood that phrase. He was like a spark hidden beneath an iceberg: aloof and cold on the outside but with a fiery passion burning within. To many people, he was like the sun, forever shining in the sky, a beacon of hope and a figure of reverence.

"Do you have any plans later?"

Izabella shook her head, "Nope."

Later, she would ask Brad for a short break. She had delegated her work at the company to her subordinates, including the contract termination notice that needed to be sent out tonight.

"Casey will wake up soon. Why don't you stay here with him? He'll be thrilled to see you when he opens his eyes. Beck and I have some other things to take care of. We'll take off first since Casey is out of the woods."

Bunny, still teary-eyed from earlier, saw Izabella and decided to leave to give her son space to pursue his future wife. She quickly dragged Beck, who was still in the bathroom, out of the house.

Beck's reaction was completely different from what he'd imagined. He said, "You're so protective of your son. Aren't you afraid that woman might steal him away?"

"Casey's not a fool. I trust her."

"You trust her, but I don't. Casey shared his thoughts with her on Twitter, but she didn't show any response, neither rejecting nor accepting. I've seen a lot of women like that, and you should be more cautious." "You've seen a lot?" Bunny shot him a sideways glance.

Beck, oblivious to the storm brewing, continued, "Of course, I have a keen eye for people."

Bunny didn't hesitate to grill him, "Then tell me, where did you meet them, how many have you met, what are their names, what do they look like, what happened between you?"

Beck was taken aback, fear slowly creeping into his eyes as he felt the icy gaze of his wife piercing his back.

"Honey, I only saw it online, just some short videos."

Bunny sarcastically quipped, "Seems like you've been watching many babe videos."

"No, I really didn't watch any inappropriate videos. You can check my phone if you don't believe me."

Their voices faded away as they got further from the room. Beck's attempt to change the subject was futile. The last thing Bunny said before leaving was,

"Have you ever considered that Izabella might not understand love, or more accurately, she might be afraid of it, too scared to accept it?"

Bunny had never met Izabella

before, but she sensed something from their brief interaction today. Women's intuition was often spot on, and Bunny felt confident that she was right about Izabella. Izabeltá was a bit of a loner, and despite her young age, her eyes lacked the exuberant spirit typical of her period, she was too composed.

Getting close to someone like that was challenging because they didn't know how to be nice to them.

Casey's injuries weren't just a concussion, and his arm had minor bone damage as well, hence why he was taken to the orthopaedic department.

Izabella sat quietly by Casey's bed, gently touching his hand.

Only God knew how terrified she was when Casey had the accident, afraid that he might never wake up, just like Niki.

"Why are you so careless? I always

tell you to be careful when you're driving. What were you thinking?" Izabella's voice trembled with

emotion, her breathing became net

more rapid, and her vision blurred

with tears, "Casey, I can't stand the

thought of something happening to

you." Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

At that moment, Casey was trapped in a nightmare, unable to escape. He dreamed that Izabella left him for Ryker, who looked just like him.

They were sitting amongst the flowers in the orphanage. Ryker was laughing like a fool and even picked up Izabella.

He was both anxious and angry, wanting to rush over and break them apart, wishing he could knock Ryker out.

He dashed over, grabbed Izabella's shoulder, and turned her around. Izabella's face began to morph into the Izabella from the photograph, the Izabella who had died in a fire three years ago.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Izabella, the Izabella you know."

"You're not." He turned to run, but the scene changed again.

"Izabella" was lying on the ground, covered in blood, her hands mangled, staining the floor red.

He didn't understand why he was having such a horrifying nightmare. His heart pounded in terror. He wanted to go to her, but his legs were as if nailed to the ground.

A voice echoed in his ear, "Take her home. She's been waiting for you to take her home."

Who was waiting for him? Who was he supposed to take home?

Was it the "Izabella" in front of him? No, she wasn't the Izabella he knew, then who was she?

"Izabella!" Casey suddenly opened his eyes.