The next morning dawned with birds singing in the trees, and the cold air injected a sense of endurance into Isabella's bones. When Isabella opened her eyes, she found herself on the floor, where she had slept the night before.As she opened her eyes, she was surprised to find herself sprawled on the ground, as she had forgotten everything that happened the night before, like a child with no memories of events before being born.However, the sight of a wine bottle on the ground and her throbbing headache spoke volumes, like a symphony of regrets, each note resounding with the aftermath of her indulgence. She wondered what had happened, but the memories were elusive. She could only recall that her parents had been rushed to the hospital two days ago, and she had met Ethan there, too.Suddenly, a sensation rushed through her like an elevator ascending a tall building, and when it reached her chest, she felt as though she might vomit.Without delay and in an effort not to soil the living
"Isabella, this is the same attitude you gave your daughter, and she didn't sleep at home all night long. How would you even know, since you nag at her every second?" "What?" Isabella burst out in this instance like a fierce thunderstorm, her eyes widening as if she had witnessed something utterly shocking. Though she had nagged at her daughter, she never meant for her to stay out all night long. "Where the heck is she?" Isabella asked, but Alexa wouldn't answer her with that kind of tone. "Ask me nicely, and I'll tell you, Isabella," Alexa replied, unbothered, her voice remaining calm. But Isabella was ready for all this crap coming from Alexa, and it was false. "Housekeepers!" Isabella screamed, and before her voice finally quieted down, the group of housekeepers rushed to the living room, responding to their names being called like a battalion of soldiers, quick and timid. "Where the heck is my daughter?" she asked, but none of them could answer her. They looked down at their f
Isabella arrived at Eldridge about two hours later in her fancy car. While she was at the gate entrance, the security guard told her to wait.Their appearance was not different from the last time Isabella saw them. Their sunglasses were defining features of their notorious duty.To Sophia, these security guards were more organized and fashionable than the ones they had at the beach house. This fascinated her, and she kept throwing questions at Isabella even when she received no answer."Mum, is this where Dad lives? How did he become so rich all of a sudden? Wow! Look at that," Sophia exclaimed.Right from the gate, Sophia's eyes met a statue in Ethan’s compound. It resembled a fountain that poured water from its mouth in a beautiful fortress, and she continued to peer at it. Perhaps when they were allowed in, she could finally get down from the car and touch the statue to see how it feels.Isabella was still peering at the security guard, who was observing the car's contents.It's no
In the guest room, Ethan was already waiting, sitting with his legs crossed over each other. He could not believe this day would come so fast, when he would have custody of his child. Just like a child eager to arrive at the playground, Ethan was eager to see the guest room door open and catch a glimpse of Sophia, his precious daughter, stepping in.The guest room was constructed differently from other rooms. While the other rooms were adorned with gold and silver, the guest room was made entirely of glass, allowing one to see the outside from the inside but not the other way around. This place was perfect for Augustus Markwood's relaxation and study, but Ethan had converted it to a guest room.At this moment, Ethan rose to his feet and walked slowly to the glass wall. His hands were deep in his pockets as he stared at the security coordination from the inside. Standing at the glass wall, he certainly looked like a model being photographed for a popular magazine. It was evident that h
At the very height of this moment, just as Mr. Smith held Sophia’s hand and walked her out of the guest room, Ethan fixed a stare at Isabella. Then he rose to his feet and walked slowly to the glass wall like a predator stalking its prey, calculating every move with a silent intensity.He put his hands into his pockets and made sure that the glass wall he was walking toward was at a good distance from Isabella. He then took a deep sigh, like a man who was about to lift a heavy burden off his chest, and spoke slowly."I will tell you a story, Isabella."Hearing this, Isabella wondered what a story could achieve at a moment like this. Though she was reluctant, like a hesitant butterfly, she was still eager to see where Ethan was heading. Thus, she paid attention but maintained the same sideways look away from Ethan."This is a story about the Giraffe and the monkey," Ethan said, then looked sideways as if he was about to turn and shoot a glance at Isabella. But no, he did not turn. Inst
As Isabella still refused to leave as Ethan had demanded, instead strolling around the guest room, boiling like a kettle on the verge of eruption, Ethan remained standing still and only turned again to face the glass wall like a king admiring his grand throne.In this tense moment, Ethan said nothing more than silence, and neither did Isabella say anything more than her groanings. Slowly, he retrieved his hand from his pocket, making his cell phone obvious as he placed it to his ear and said,"Come in."Just like that, Ethan drew his hand and his cellphone back into his pocket like a magician concealing a mysterious object, leaving Isabella curious about the conversation he had just had. As he yet said nothing more, which caused greater confusion to Isabella, he looked out through the glass wall and saw a security guard approaching the mansion's entrance.Without too much time wasted, she quickly dissolved the puzzle as she yelled, "You fool, you have called one of your errand dogs to
Maintaining the same speed as Eldridge, Isabella arrived at the hospital. Like a bolt of lightning, she hurried out of her fancy car and raced like a gazelle to the hospital’s post-operative room, where her parents were kept.Not even the caution of the receptionist was able to stop her as she ran past the passageway and bumped into every nurse and patient's family walking through it at this moment. Though the looks on everyone Isabella had bumped into were of aggression at what Isabella had just done, and when a few of them even cursed at her for almost falling them to the hospital floor, she did not mind, and she only continued in haste, pushing anyone in her way aside."What?" she exclaimed as she hurriedly turned the door handle to the post-operative room, and the door opened to the post-operative room; yet, she found no one inside."Where are my parents? Where is the guard? Where is everyone?"Her confusion covered her from head to toe like the garments of men from Dubai. There w
Isabella arrived at the beach house, still vexed as if she had been anointed to be Lucifer's second in command. She walked quickly towards the entrance door as soon as she slipped out of her fancy car. Immediately, she paused, and what she saw ignited the fire of rage burning within her. She then decided to act on her words of promise by diverting towards the beach, just beside the house, to find a heavy stone that she couldn't carry alone with one hand.Lifting the heavy stone with both hands, she continued to groan as she walked faster, indicating the weight of the stone. "F**king Davis, I promised you would smell death the next time I see you here," she muttered, and with that, she smashed the heavy stone into Davis' car's windshield.As if that wasn't enough, she smashed it into every other window the fancy car had, causing the car to make an alarm sound like a symphony of shattered dreams. "F**k you, Davis, f**k you!" she said again, her breathing heavy upon her chest as she walk