Chapter 2
1105 Words
Isabelle's body instantly went rigid.
That voice sounded very familiar to her.
It sounded like someone she knew.
But the next second, she dismissed the thought.
How could it possibly be him? That man was probably busy preparing to marry another woman right now...
The chaotic thoughts in Isabelle's mind were quickly interrupted by the cold body pressing against her from behind.
She shuddered all over.
He reached out and tucked the hair at her temple behind her ear. His icy breath brushed against her ear as he asked in a low voice, "Shouldn't you repay me properly?"
Isabelle's ears turned bright red, and humiliation surged through her again.
She wanted to push him away, but her body couldn't move at all.
"What exactly do you want?" Isabelle finally asked, unable to bear it any longer.
Cold fingers gripped her chin, and his thumb casually wiped away the lipstick on her lips. Then he bit her lips almost savagely.
Against her lips, he said in a low voice, "I want you."
Isabelle frowned from the pain, but she couldn't resist him drawing closer at all.
When he took off her clothes, one hand slipped into her pocket and pulled out the room key card.
He let out a disdainful sneer.
"Sleep with him? He should first see whether he has the life to enjoy it."
The next second, the room key card was burned to ashes by flames that appeared out of thin air.
From Isabelle's angle, she could see the full-length mirror across from her. In the mirror, there was only her own disheveled figure.
Isabelle was so mortified that she could only shut her eyes tightly and turn her head away.
*****
The next day.
Isabelle was woken by one phone call after another.
She picked up her phone, and her mother Lacey Judson's voice immediately came through the receiver. That voice made her snap awake at once.
"Where's the money for this month? Hurry up and transfer it. Your brother still needs to attend his training classes!"
Isabelle tightened her grip on the phone, her voice a little hoarse.
"I'll transfer it right away. But you have to promise me you won't keep cutting back on my sister's food..."
But before she could finish speaking, all that remained on the other end was the busy tone after the call had been hung up.
Isabelle let out a deep breath.
She came from a small town, and she had a younger brother and a younger sister at home.
Ever since they were children, her parents had favored her youngest brother, Henry Judson.
Henry had never lacked food or clothing, and he was always getting new toys.
But Isabelle and her sister, Naomi Judson, could only wear ill-fitting old clothes and eat Henry's leftovers.
If the school had not repeatedly spoken to her parents, her family would never have let her leave home for college.
Although she had already left that family, she still had no way to cut ties with them completely.
Because Naomi was still young, and Isabelle couldn't possibly abandon her sister.
Isabelle exhaled, then got up to get her bank card.
As she rummaged through her things, a red cord suddenly fell beside her hand.
She froze.
This was the first gift "that person" had ever given her.
Isabelle had thought she had thrown it away long ago.
She picked up the red cord, but still couldn't stop herself from thinking of "that person."
Elijah Inglewood.
He was Isabelle's ex-boyfriend of three years, and also the eldest son of the Inglewood family in Silverbrook City.
During their freshman year, Elijah had pursued her in a very high-profile way.
Isabelle also knew that a frivolous rich young man like him was most likely just playing around.
So at first, she did not accept his pursuit.
But Elijah persisted for an entire year.
Whether it was the depths of winter or the heat of summer, he personally brought her flowers every day and picked her up and dropped her off from class without ever stopping.
Once, during a holiday, Isabelle suddenly suffered an acute bout of gastroenteritis.
It was past three in the morning that day, and she was the only one in the dormitory.
Elijah rushed over from the neighboring city and took her to the hospital.
Because he had been in such a hurry, even his car had been dented in a collision.
In the end, Isabelle was moved and accepted his confession.
Because of that, people had once teased her as "Cinderella."
But a year ago, Elijah suddenly broke up with her.
He gave only one reason.
"I got tired of playing."
The next day, Isabelle saw the news on television that Elijah was engaged to Serena Galloway, the daughter of the Galloway family.
That day, Isabelle, who never cried outside of acting scenes, cried for an entire night.
Isabelle had truly loved him.
It took her nearly a year to slowly get over that relationship.
She closed her eyes, suppressed the emotions in her heart, and let out a cold laugh.
"Bad luck!"
With that, she threw the red cord in her hand straight into the trash can.
The moment she finished speaking, a cold gust of wind swept past.
But Isabelle did not notice. She simply continued looking for her bank card.
*****
While waiting in line at the bank, Isabelle saw the crew group chat discussing Simon.
Simon had not died.
But he was not much different from dead.
He had become a vegetable.
Isabelle breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, an even stronger fear surged up in her heart.
The ghost haunting her was probably a very powerful one.
Perhaps one day, he would do the same thing to her, or even kill her outright.
The more Isabelle thought about it, the more afraid she became, and her mood grew heavier and heavier.
On her way home, the taxi she was in got stuck in traffic in front of a cemetery.
Someone was holding a funeral.
A large number of cars were parked at the cemetery entrance, aggressively blocking the road.
Yet no one around dared to step forward and complain.
Bits and pieces of sighs drifted over.
"Ah, he was still so young. God is truly unfair..."
"My condolences..."
Something stirred inexplicably in Isabelle's heart.
After quite a while, the road finally cleared.
As the cars drove away, Isabelle saw a woman in black crying so hard she could barely stand. Someone beside her helped her into a car.
Isabelle froze.
She had seen that face before.
Serena, Elijah's fiancée!
- Writer
