Twisted Ties of Love

Bunny blinked, instinctively glancing towards Izabella.

Casey saw Bunny's movements and everything became clear. He wasn't stupid, he'd acted in countless films, read plenty of scripts, his logical reasoning was strong. With a little thinking, he understood. Izabella had known long ago that he was "Ryker", but due to his family, she kept it to herself, swallowing the hurt.

Even though he was "Ryker", she had to pretend she didn't know, afraid that even the mention of "Ryker" would make him jealous.

This silly cry-baby.

"It wasn't Izabella who told me," Casey said, "I remembered it myself. I remembered how I got through these years, how I was hypnotized by you all. I don't blame you for the hypnosis, considering my health at the time, you did it for my safety."

And he had forgotten his Cry Baby again.

"Mom, I don't blame you, and you shouldn't blame Izabella either. Whatever I am is because of me." This included the unknown virus he had contracted.

Tears welled up in Bunny's eyes uncontrollably, and she leaned into Beck's embrace, placing her hand on the glass. "How could we blame Izabella? The moment you decided to bring her home, we've treated her as our daughter. Don't overthink, you'll be alright."

Casey nodded, Bunny said a few more words, then left them alone.

Continuing would only make her cry more, she thought. So much had happened in a day: Izabella was kidnapped by Nathaniel, Casey contracted the virus, Brett was shot. The future was uncertain for them all Despite Bunny's words, Izabella still apologized to the Dempsey family, bowing her head. "I'm sorry."

Her back remained bent until Bunny's hand gently touched her head.

"You don't need to apologize. I know who's at fault and who's innocent. You've always been the innocent one, the victim. Nathaniel is the one who did wrong. You're a good girl, and I believe Casey will be alright. God surely takes care of the good," Bunny comforted Izabella and herself.

Izabella watched them leave, then returned outside the isolation room.

Sitting on the floor against the door, she and Casey were separated by only a door, at most fifteen centimeters. They were so close, yet they couldn't touch each other.

"Are you cold?" Casey asked from inside the room.

"No." In reality, she was so cold her face had gone pale, her feet numb. Her hands, tightly clasped, couldn't drive away the chill.

It was cold, but saying it wouldn't help, because the person who usually warmed her hands was inside the room.

Hearing Izabella's voice, Casey asked, "Bella, did you cry?"

"No."

"That's good. If you cried, I wouldn't be able to wipe away your tears."

As Izabella listened to Casey's words, she wiped the cold tears from her face.

"When did you remember?"

"On the way back, while on the plane. I remembered the years I spent away from you. I should've remembered sooner, making you wait for so long. After my accident on my way back from the orphanage, I had dreams about Ryker for several nights. I thought they were nightmares, I didn't realize they were the truth, my forgotten past."

"And what did you dream about?" Izabella asked softly.

"I dreamed about our reunion under the wisteria tree at the orphanage, me calling you Bella. You were Brett's wife, and I was a fool who couldn't even make you happy. I wanted to take you away and hide

you."

When he was a fool, everyone

thought he didn't understand love. But the moment he saw Izabella, he knew she was the one. For Izabella, he could humble himself to the extreme. Even if she never looked back, he was willing to follow her. Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

Back then, Izabella was surrounded by outstanding people, and the director said. Izabella had married into happiness, that Brett was the richest man in R City, with a fortune in the billions. How could Izabella ever fall for a fool like him? Was he supposed to support Izabella by scavenging? Don't make him laugh.

Yes, people were born into different classes. His cherished cookies, even if he gave all to Izabella, were just ordinary cookies to her. He couldn't even provide for her basic needs, so how could he give her happiness?

Just like the director said, he was a fool. Who would fall for him?

A princess belongs to a prince, and a knight is always a side character, unable to even approach the princess.

So he chose to protect Izabella silently, dealing with anyone who hurt her.

But gradually, he realized everything wasn't as he thought. The director said Izabella had married into happiness, but why couldn't he see a happy smile on her face?