Twisted Ties of Love
Chapter 448

Ever since Brett was diagnosed with lung cancer, his spirits had been low, and his throat was constantly dry and itchy.

He lifted his water glass, took a big gulp, and stared blankly into the distance, his deep-set eyes devoid of any light. He swallowed, his adam's apple bobbing with the motion.

Setting down his cup, Brett said with indifference, "Keep an eye on Nathaniel for me. Report back whenever." He was waiting for the right opportunity, waiting for a chance to knock the Windham Group out of J City.

"Sure thing." Liam stood by, patiently waiting for Brett to sign some documents. His phone buzzed in his pocket, and Brett glanced up at him.

Liam retrieved his phone and checked the new message. His face went pale instantly.

He shot a glance over to Brett, who caught his eye.

"Who's the text from?"

Was he really going to tell Brett?

Seeing Liam's expression, Brett knew the text was about him, and the more Liam hesitated, the worse it seemed.

"Let me have a look."

Liam handed his phone over to Brett. Brett looked at the message, and his grip tightened on the device.

The text was bad news. Liam's phone had a lot of contacts, one of which was Casey's.

The text was from Casey, a screenshot from a second-hand trading platform. The product photo was of a package that Izabella had signed for earlier that day. The caption below the picture was what really got under Brett's skin.

[Price: 250,000. Authentic product. Serious buyers only.]

The price was highlighted in an eye-catching red, an apparent taunt. It was as if Casey was directly mocking him.

The real kicker was that Casey had not only sold the package but also sent the screenshot to Liam.

The audacity of it all!

Brett frowned, still gripping the phone. Liam watched him nervously, fearing that he would end up smashing the phone in a fit of rage.

It wouldn't be the first time. Brett was known for his short fuse, and he had destroyed at least ten phones in his fits of anger.

But after reading the message, Brett just put the phone down on the table and continued reading through the documents as if nothing had happened.

Brett had changed, or more accurately, he had compromised on something.

Liam picked up his phone, a lump forming in his throat.

Brett signed the documents quickly. After he put down his pen, Liam packed up the papers and said, "I'll be outside. Call me if you need anything, President Windham." "Alright."

After Liam left, Brett fell into a somber silence. He took out his phone and opened the second-hand trading platform, searching for the product mentioned in the text. The package had already been resold. He felt so exhausted, a wave of fatigue washing over him from his heart, even reflecting in his eyes.

Casey was just showing off. In the product photo, a shadow was cast on the ground next to the package. He loved Izabella so much that he could even recognize her from a blurred shadow. Meanwhile, the groceries that Casey had ordered online had arrived.

Izabella curiously went over to see what Casey had bought. She opened the box and saw several large crabs.

"Why did you buy crabs? If you wanted to eat them, we could have just gone out. Cooking them at home is such a hassle." She reached out to touch one but was stopped by Casey. "The crabs are still alive; be careful."

"They're tied up. They won't pinch me." Izabella reminded.

Casey was just too protective, and he didn't want her to lift a finger, let alone risk getting hurt.

"I bought the crabs for crab cakes, and you can have them for breakfast tomorrow." Casey swiftly picked up the box and headed back to the kitchen. "I'll go knead the dough."

The crabs were steamed quickly, and after kneading the dough and wrapping it up in cling wrap to put in the fridge, he began to peel the cooled crabs.

Izabella came over to help, but the crab shells were too hard and sharp, and Casey didn't want her to risk getting cut.

"You don't have to help. How's the script reading going?"

"Almost done."

"Then let's run lines together."

Izabella pulled up a chair and sat down behind him. "I haven't seen you read the script. How can you run lines with me?"

"I've read the script long ago, and I can even recite it. Don't believe me? Let's try the first scene."

They sat together, Casey multitasking, peeling crabs while reciting lines with Izabella.

His hands moved fast and efficiently, skillfully removing all the meat from the crab shells. He could even piece the empty shells back together.

After half an hour of running lines, the crabs were all peeled.

Looking at the bowl full of crab meat and roe, Izabella asked, "Do you often eat crabs?"

"Not really."

"Then how come you're so fast and skilled at peeling crabs?"

Casey didn't know. He had no memory of cooking before, and the Dempsey family had plenty of servants and chefs, so he never had to do any housework. But his hands moved naturally when he did these tasks, and he was even good at it, each task performed more proficiently than the last.

"Maybe it's a natural talent," Casey joked. "Or maybe I learned it in my dreams. I sometimes replace it strange, too. I've never done these things before, but once I start, my hands just move." Casey suddenly looked at Izabella seriously. "Bella, sometimes I wonder if we met in a past life. The first time I saw you, you seemed so familiar, I couldn't help but want to get close to you." There was an impulse of love at first sight and a feeling of familiarity as if they had known each other for a long time.

"I look a lot like Ryker. If I didn't know that my mom only had me, I would even suspect that he and I were brothers. I even had a dream when I had the car accident, and I dreamed that he was with you." Izabella asked casually, "What did you dream about?"

"You and him met in the orphanage."

"So, you had the car accident because you went to the orphanage?"

Casey was silent for a while, then finally answered with a simple "yes."

From the moment Izabella saw that photo, she had a hunch about the whole thing. She just never asked.

"I don't doubt you." Casey croaked out, "I just don't trust myself."

He hung his head low, like a guilty dog afraid of being scolded by its owner.

"I don't like it when you bottle things up. If you've got something to ask, just spit it out. I'm your girlfriend, and you don't have to worry about me leaving you. What I like is you, not your looks. No matter what you turn into, I'll still like you, get it?"

What was initially a slight ripple of emotion now felt like a boulder splashing into a lake or, perhaps like the tremor caused by a meteor streaking across the dark night sky.

No one can guarantee how long feelings can last, but as long as Casey liked her and took responsibility for her, Izabella would continue to like him. This was Izabella's resolution.

Casey seemed to understand Izabella's thoughts. His insecurity not only affected him but also rubbed off on Izabella.

Casey reached out, hugging Izabella tightly.

Izabella clung onto his clothes, burying her face in his chest, whispering, "Casey, I'm also scared you'll leave me."

She was afraid that Casey would reject her because of her past, afraid that Casey was scared she had died once, and the present her was just a soul occupying the body.

That day, when she was taken away by Nathaniel, she was scared Casey wouldn't come back for her, scared she would never see him again.

Casey held onto Izabella's slightly cold hand tightly. Never before had someone saying they were scared made his heart race so.

"Bella, your past was painful, wasn't it?"

Izabella gripped Casey's hand back, her eyes brimming with tears.

She was always strong. Even if her past was full of pain, she would bear it with gritted teeth, because she knew the one she liked wouldn't care for her just because she cried out in pain. When she had stomach cancer, she told Presley Felton she was okay, then even asked him to scatter her ashes into the sea after her death.

When she was diagnosed with depression, the psychiatrist asked her if she was suffering, and she replied she wasn't.

In reality, she was suffering a lot. She was scared of pain but eventually got used to enduring it.

When her stomach cancer flared up, she couldn't eat, couldn't sleep from the pain, vomited blood from time to time, and her body was weak.

After her miscarriage and the onset of depression, the pain was like her insides being squeezed, her spine being snapped in two.

Tortured by Nathaniel and burned to death, the pain was unimaginable, her flesh was torn, and her soul was shaking. Whenever she thought about these things, she felt as if she was in a nightmare, her body uncontrollably trembling.

"It hurt, it really hurt." But thankfully, all of that was in the past. She was grateful to God for her second chance at life, letting her avoid repeating the same mistakes, the pain she had already tasted, she wouldn't want to taste again.

Casey held Izabella tightly, "As long as I'm here, you won't have to suffer again."

He couldn't imagine, in the time before he met Izabella, what she had gone through. The matron of the orphanage said Izabella had died in a fire, and she was only 27 then, and it made his heart ache tremendously.

He didn't ask about Izabella's past, not because he was bothered, but because he was heartbroken. He was afraid he might accidentally touch her scarred wounds.

Izabella had lost too much in this life: her child, friends, family, and her love.

Casey couldn't imagine how many difficulties and pain she had to go through and how she stumbled along the way.

All he could do was hold her tight, giving her a sense of security.

Casey stood up, taking Izabella's hand; his face suddenly turned serious, "Bella, can I kiss you?"

His eyes were gentle and slightly moist, his ears burning red.

With his help, Izabella stood up. The distance between them instantly vanished. They could clearly feel each other's breath.

Their eyes met, Casey slowly bent down, and Izabella gently tiptoed, wrapping her arms around his neck.