This time, he hadn't found his own satisfaction in their lovemaking.
He had only brought her to climax once before stopping.
He fed her some more food.
He carried her to the bed.
He stayed with her, watching her fall asleep, before leaving.
Downstairs, Liam was waiting for him in the car.
Seeing him approach, Liam immediately got out and opened the rear door.
Alexander stood by the car door, not rushing to get in.
He turned and looked up at the floor he had just left.
"Mr. Sullivan, how did you know Ms. Roscente would definitely come back to you?"
Alexander's lips quirked slightly.
"I didn't know. But I had to take this gamble."
Hadn't Julian said it? He was almost driving her insane.
He couldn't stand her hating him anymore either.
Julian happened to appear. She happened to tempt him. So he just happened to be the one to shatter the cage, forcing Isabella to face reality.
He knew she would most likely run back to him, not just leave like that.
But he was still worried. That's why he had been so restless and irritable the day they were supposed to leave.
Even now, he was still acting in front of her, pretending to be magnanimous, letting her choose her own future.
He was just that obsessively in love with her.
He had never really thought about why.
Now, thinking back, it probably stemmed from his jealousy of Daniel Grant.
A middle-level employee made money desperately, yet he possessed such an exceptionally beautiful wife.
He, Alexander, had everything, but no woman by his side who truly loved him.
He admitted that at first, it was indeed possessiveness.
But later, he genuinely fell in love with her.
Even if the chance was small, he was still afraid.
What would she choose now?
If she still chose to escape, to leave with Julian, what would he do?
What would he do?
After her sexual and appetitive desires were satisfied, Isabella truly slept a long, deep sleep.
When she woke up, it was already the third day after she was supposed to leave for the airport with Julian Sullivan but didn't.
She felt somewhat refreshed.
After getting up, she heated the food Alexander had left for her and ate a little.
Her mind kept echoing the words Daniel Grant had said to her in her dream.
"Don't you suspect my death was suspicious? Aren't you going to find out the truth?"
In the dream, she had cried and told Daniel she would live on to uncover the truth.
After waking, she wondered if she was just making excuses for herself to keep living.
Everyone has an instinctual will to survive.
After eating, she wanted to go see her old home.
The day Alexander brought her here and left, he had returned the keys to her.
She was just about to open the door when the doorbell rang.
She looked through the peephole.
The person outside was actually Julian Sullivan.
She was stunned.
She had... forgotten about him.
That day at the airport, she had taken his car and driven straight to Alexander, never thinking of him again.
Jacob wasn't in Alexander's hands. Jacob was already dead. The reason for seducing him was gone.
She opened the door.
Isabella found this meeting both awkward and shameful.
Julian, however, still looked at her with concern.
"Isabella, are you okay?"
She shook her head. "I'm fine."
Julian wanted to enter. "Can I come in?"
Isabella had no intention of letting him in. "Did your brother tell you I was here?"
"Yes."
She was silent for a moment. "You should go," she said to him. "Go back to England."
Julian's face stiffened.
"You're still going to stay by my brother's side? Why?"
"That has nothing to do with you." Isabella looked at him calmly. "Go back."
Julian's fair skin made his red-rimmed eyes very obvious.
His beautiful eyes glistened with unshed tears. "Isabella, what was I to you?"
Isabella averted her face. "I'm sorry..."
Julian stared intently at the woman before him, who seemed even thinner than two days ago.
It looked like a strong wind could blow her over.
She was pitiful. More pitiful than when he first learned his brother had imprisoned her.
He could understand why she had done it.
He also understood that now he was "useless" to her.
But he still wanted to come see her, clinging to the slim hope that she might go with him.
"Don't say you're sorry—Can't you come with me? I have property in England. I can provide for you. Come with me, I'll take good care of you. Forget everything that happened here. Can't you?"
He looked at her with genuine feeling, pleading.
Isabella only felt apology in her heart.
From the very beginning, she had only wanted to use him.
Even when they had sex, she felt guilty.
Now, realizing she had slept with him for nothing, her guilt was even greater.
He was like an innocent blank page, needlessly stained by her dirt.
The only thing she could do for him now was to make him leave.
"Go find a girl your own age. Have a proper relationship. Forget everything that happened here," she said.
Hearing her cruel words, the young man's tears, which had been welling in his eyes, finally fell.
"Isabella, so from start to finish, you were just using me. Is that it?"
Isabella's heart ached, but she had to continue.
She raised her eyes to meet his. "Didn't you know that from the beginning?"
"You said you'd never liked women before. Probably because it was your first time, you were swayed by lust. When you truly fall in love with someone, you'll understand the difference. Just... go back."
Julian stood at the doorway, looking at the woman inside.
Such light, easy words for her, but for him, they were like a bomb, tearing him apart.
She wasn't just using him; she was trampling on his heart.
His hands clenched into fists at his sides.
He looked at her, tear-streaks on his face. "Isabella, one day..."
He turned and ran towards the elevator, leaving.
The house where Isabella used to live with Daniel and Jacob wasn't too far from the property Alexander owned where she now stayed. Just a couple of blocks away.
502, 5th Floor, Unit 3, Building 3, Crystal Bay.
Looking at the familiar residential complex, she seemed to see the joyful, harmonious image of their family of three from the past.
She went upstairs and opened the door to her home.
A thick layer of dust covered everything inside. Things were somewhat messy, Jacob's toys scattered about.
She went to the master bedroom.
Having been uncleaned and untended for so long, it smelled strongly of mildew.
She walked in, going to the desk she used to use.
Above the desk was a small bookshelf. There was a study in the house, but Daniel used it. After opening the café, she handled shop matters here when she was home.
For some reason, this area was a mess.
Books that should have been on the shelf were scattered on the floor. The desk was also in disarray.
A thick layer of dust covered everything.
Forgotten memories suddenly surged into her mind—
It was right here, a year ago. Alexander had come to see her.
He handed her some kind of form.
After reading it, she broke down, sobbing, overturning everything, throwing things to the floor.
She screamed that she didn't believe him, that Jacob couldn't be dead, that he must be lying to her—
Then she fainted.
According to Alexander, she must have fainted and, upon waking, forgotten what had happened.
Isabella bent down and began sorting through the books and various papers on the floor.
Picking up a book, she saw two white forms pressed beneath it.
One dated December 7th. The other, January 3rd.
Two death certificates.
Her hands trembling, she picked them up from the floor.
Tears once again slid from her eyes, falling like broken pearls onto the floor, quickly forming a small, damp patch.