Twisted Ties of Love
Chapter 434

Izabella was no fool. She knew Casey was pulling a fast one on her. All his excuses about tooth extraction for a movie shoot or cosmetic purposes were plain BS. She figured Casey had his reasons for keeping her in the dark and decided not to pry too much, though her curiosity often got the better of her.

"If you're afraid of the pain, maybe don't go for the other tooth extraction."

Casey's hand, which was covering his mouth, stiffened instantly. He gave a slight smile and said, "Well, if I don't do it, I'll be all lopsided."

Izabella quickly changed the subject, asking, "Where's the place you've arranged? I'll go with you."

"Right here."

As Izabella turned around, she said, "I'll just let the director know, wait for me here while I go grab my bag."

"Sure." Casey watched as she walked away, his face darkened instantly as Nathaniel emerged from a corner.

"Mr. Dempsey, long time no see." Nathaniel held a cigarette between his fingers, not lit, just twirling it around, giving off a casual vibe.

"What are you doing here?" Casey's attitude towards Nathaniel was as icy as it was towards Brett.

"I'm one of the investors for this show, and I organized tonight's celebration. Why wouldn't I be here?" Nathaniel replied sarcastically, "Casey, aren't you curious about my relationship with Izabella?" "I couldn't care less, can you leave?"

Ignoring Casey's cold response, Nathaniel went on, "Izabella used to be my lover."

Casey's face turned ashen, but he didn't fly off the handle as Nathaniel had expected.

"You mean Bell, your former lover who's long gone?" Casey replied nonchalantly.

Nathaniel's casual demeanor vanished instantly, replaced by his usual cold front: "When did you replace out?"

"Before you, at least."

So Brett knows too? Was he the only one out of the loop-the last one to replace out Bell had become Izabella?

Nathaniel's emotions were all over the place, he wasn't sure whether to feel sad or angry.

"Since you know about Izabella's identity switch, you must also know about her past with Brett. Knowing all this, do you still have feelings for her?"

As Nathaniel was talking, he noticed something off about Casey's reaction. It seemed Casey hadn't regained his memory yet.

If he had, if he remembered how Izabella had endured 28 needles inserted into her fingertips to save him, he wouldn't be acting this way over her past relationship with Brett from three years ago.

Glancing behind him, Nathaniel continued, "Casey, you should be grateful you bear a resemblance to someone else. Otherwise, you wouldn't have even had a chance with Izabella. You're nothing compared to the dead man in Izabella's heart, and you're nothing compared to Brett. At least Brett had Izabella once, you're just a shadow. I know her past better than you do."

Before he could finish his sentence, Nathaniel was met with a punch to the face. Casey was so quick with his attack that it caught everyone off guard, even Brett.

Nathaniel was taken aback by the sudden assault, and before he could even steady himself, Casey had him by the collar. Casey shoved him to the ground, straddled him, and began pummeling him. Each punch was aimed at Nathaniel's face, like he wanted to beat him beyond recognition.

Maybe it was Nathaniel's timing, or maybe it was because what he said mirrored Brett's words. Casey's pent-up rage finally erupted.

Seething with anger, Casey's eyes were full of fury. He didn't care who was watching. His punches were ruthless, leaving Nathaniel bloody, and no one dared to intervene. "Casey!"

It was as if Casey was deaf to all sounds but his own rage. Suddenly, he felt a tug at his waist, causing him to stop in his tracks. He turned around stiffly to look at Izabella.

It was strange. He was the one throwing punches, but when he saw Izabella, he felt an inexplicable sense of guilt. He choked back a sob, not wanting Izabella to notice, and quickly turned back around, letting go of Nathaniel and tossing him aside.

Nathaniel looked quite a mess. His carefully styled hair was now disheveled, his face marred with injuries, and blood was trickling down the corner of his mouth. His tongue was lightly pressed against his molars, failing to suppress the pain he was feeling.

He couldn't believe he had been beaten by Casey. He thought he could at least put up a fight against Brett, but Casey's speed and strength exceeded Brett's.

He was diagnosed with an illness over a decade ago. If he hadn't been sick, he could have been even stronger, right?

Nathaniel tried to move his shoulders, limbs, and neck. Luckily, nothing was broken, but if Izabella had been a moment late, his hand might have been fractured.

"Izabella, I don't know if you choose your men blindfolded. They are all violent. Did you see what he did to me? I was beaten out of the blue. Stay away from this guy. If he lays a hand on you one day, he might kill you with one punch." Nathaniel knew Izabella had a fear of domestic violence. She had been a victim before, and it took her a long time before she even considered getting married.

He was hoping to play the pity card again in front of Izabella, but he forgot that Izabella wasn't Bell. Bell genuinely had the hots for him, and she would worry sick if he got even a minor injury. But Izabella was a different story, even if he was on death's door, she wouldn't bat an eye.

Casey, on the other hand, was feeling particularly on edge and scared. He knew Izabella had a distaste for violence. He was fretting over the thought of her leaving him because of his violent actions. He hung his head low, his hands tightly clenched together, like a student who's messed up and is about to apologize to the teacher.

Nathaniel continued the provocation: "He nearly knocked my teeth out."

"He should've knocked you out cold." Izabella cut him off coldly, she didn't even want to spare Nathaniel another glance. She then grabbed Casey's left hand and started to head out.

She had only gone in to grab her bag, and a fight broke out outside. She instantly knew Nathaniel was stirring the pot.

Casey was led out silently by Izabella. He watched the back of her head, her angry demeanor, and their clasped hands, he could tell she was pissed.

"Bella, are you angry? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have."

Izabella pulled Casey into a secluded corner. For the first time, she was questioning him with a serious tone.

"Why did you start a fight?"

"I..."

Before Casey could utter a word, Izabella cut him off. "Have you forgotten that you're still recovering from your injuries? Did you think the car accident didn't do enough damage, and you wanted to break a few more bones? If Nathaniel said something that upset you, just ignore him. There were other people around, do you want to end up in the news? Your reckless behavior just worries those who care about you." "But I can't ignore the things he said." Casey forced a bitter smile.

Izabella just stared blankly at him, she could sense a hint of trembling in his voice, like he was suppressing something.

Casey's lips were slightly cut, a battle scar from his confrontation with Nathaniel. Izabella wanted to take a closer look at his wounded lips, but he dodged before she could touch him. "Izabella, do I look a lot like Ryker?"

Izabella froze for a moment, some of her memories were being reawakened. She asked lightly, "How do you know about Ryker?"

"Nathaniel and Brett both told me that you only see me as his substitute. I didn't believe them until I saw this picture." Casey said as he took out a picture from his pocket and showed it to Izabella.

"I didn't realize I resembled him so much, even our teeth are identical. Izabella, let me ask you: if I didn't look like him, would you even spare me a glance?"

Izabella's silence was the answer-she wouldn't.

In fact, Casey knew from the get-go. He didn't know what he was hoping for. He initially wanted to keep this secret to himself, pretend he was oblivious, and continue playing the perfect stand-in. Then, he narcissistically thought that Izabella just liked him, that she would be so into him that she would stare at his face in a daze, text him back even when she was having meals, say goodnight to him every night, and think of him whenever she ran into trouble.

"How many times have you looked at me, but Ryker was the one in your mind?" Casey's eyes were filled with confusion.

"The first night you came to my house, we watched a movie together, and you suddenly leaned in and touched my lips. I was so happy then, and now I feel like such a fool. You were thinking of Ryker when you touched my lips. You were thinking of Ryker when you didn't want to call my name. The name of the Maple Group was created for Ryker. I was such a fool, it took Brett and Nathaniel to point it out for me to realize."

Casey's body was icy cold. He felt numb, like he couldn't feel the cold. He stared at Izabella and said, "Do you remember the first place we met? It was at the airport. I felt something different in your gaze at that time, I thought you felt the same way as I did, that we had feelings for each other."

The more he reminisced about the past, the more bitter his smile became. He was about to break.

Izabella opened her mouth, but she felt like she was choking, this feeling was extending all the way to her heart. She never thought of Casey as a replacement for Ryker; even though they looked similar, she couldn't help but get close to him. It did have to do with his appearance; she wanted to confirm if he was Ryker.

She once thought about leaving Casey and not getting close to him anymore, but as they spent more time together, he gradually filled her heart. Even if he wasn't Ryker, it was okay.

"Casey, I've never thought of you as his replacement." Izabella didn't admit it, but this made Casey's heart turn cold. "But you didn't deny what I said before, don't you think of him when you look at my face? Izabella, I hope you can forget about Ryker and be with me; let's get married. What do you say?"

Izabella stared at Casey's face, an image of a slender figure in a worn-out white t-shirt flashed in her mind. If he wanted her to forget Ryker, that was impossible. She couldn't do it, and she wouldn't be able to do it.

How could she forget Ryker, who decided to carry her home even when he was facing death?

Izabella, in her light, long dress, felt the wind lift her dress. This sensation was unbearably heavy. The deep autumn was not as cold as winter, but Izabella was freezing-so cold that her teeth were chattering. She shook her head with difficulty, looking at Casey's mouth. "Did you pull out your teeth because of Ryker?"

"Yes."

"Then why did you lie to me before, saying you pulled them out for acting?"

"I never thought about deceiving you." Casey's eyes welled up with tears, his voice choked and hoarse. "I don't want to be his replacement, nor do I want to leave you, so I pulled out my teeth, so when you look at my mouth, you wouldn't think of him, right?"

"Casey, I..."

Izabella's voice was so faint that Casey didn't stop.

"Izabella, I get jealous, I get upset, I'm scared you'll get bored of me, and I hate being someone's standby. But this week after the car accident, I've been hiding in my room every day, thinking about how I should approach you if I wasn't his replacement?"

Izabella listened, dumbfounded. She and Casey had always been cautiously probing each other, and this was the first time Casey had confessed his feelings to her, and in such a heavy way.

Casey said sadly, "I've never felt so small in my life. I've never done this before, never loved someone this deeply, and never cried so hopelessly. Izabella, you're the first and last person I've loved this much. Can you choose me just once? I swear I'll be better than Ryker, gentler than him."