Twisted Ties of Love
Chapter 289

She planned to give Brett a big surprise, something he would never forget for the rest of his life.

Izabella pinched her own earlobe, where there was a light scar.

As if sensing her emotions, Niki tossed a ball of yarn near Izabella, hoping she'd play with her. When she ignored her, Niki rubbed against her fingertips and licked her with her tiny tongue. Izabella's expression softened, and she gently touched the kitten's head.

Nowadays, maybe the only one who genuinely cared about her was this little thing.

At noon, Tiara received a frantic phone call from her daughter and went to the housekeeper to ask for a few days off.

The housekeeper's face was complicated. It was close to Christmas, and he had also planned to go home. But now, both he and Tiara had to leave, so who would take care of Izabella?

When Brett came back, Adrian told him about their leave requests. If Brett agreed, they could relax and leave. If not, they'd have to stay.

Brett thought about it. Izabella had a broken leg and couldn't go anywhere, so it didn't matter if someone was watching her or not.

"Katie can take care of her alone."

Adrian sighed with relief. "I'll be back soon."

Brett grunted and went to check on Izabella in the room. She was sitting in a wheelchair, wrapped in a cloak, with a blanket on her legs. Even so, she still couldn't seem to get warm, her palms feeling like blocks of ice.

Brett's palms were scorching hot. He squatted in front of her and his hands enveloped her soft hand, slowly rubbing it to try and bring her some warmth.

"Tiara and Adrian are going home soon, so Katie will be the only one left to look after you. If you need anything, give me a call."

"Will you pick up if I call you?" This was the first time in many days that Izabella spoke to him.

Brett was slightly startled but then quickly reacted, his mouth curving up. "Of course I will."

Izabella lowered her head to pet the cat in her arms, her voice quiet. "Aren't you getting engaged the day after tomorrow? If I need anything and call you, will you be able to help me during your engagement party?"

Brett's face darkened, and he asked coldly, "How did you know? Who told you?" He had clearly warned everyone in the villa not to be loose-lipped.

Izabella's expression was indifferent. "I saw the news of your engagement with Kaley on TV today. Congratulations, you finally got what you wished for and are going to be with Kaley."

His grip on her hand suddenly tightened. "I'm only engaged to her, not married. Remember what I told you a few days ago? Don't believe any rumors. I'm engaged to Kaley for a reason. I don't love her. The only person I love is you."

He didn't want her to misunderstand.

However, Izabella didn't care. Why would it matter to her who he loved?

The situation was all too familiar - she and Kaley switching places, and Brett still playing both sides.

The colder Izabella was, the more anxious he became. His hand fell on her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Kaley's blood type is the same as yours. In three months, you'll have stomach cancer surgery. I'm afraid something might go wrong during the surgery, so this is a trade between her and me."

"You don't need to explain that in such detail."

Brett suddenly felt a chill in his heart. At this moment, he had to admit that Izabella no longer loved him. Only he was still living in a web of lies, trapped within his self-imposed boundaries.

No matter whether they loved each other or not, once Izabella recovered, they would have plenty of time to rekindle their feelings. The human heart was made of flesh, and he refused to believe that he couldn' touch hers.

Brett picked up the cat from her lap and massaged her legs as usual.

Her legs were useless now. If he didn't massage them, the muscles would atrophy and look terrible.

Izabella watched him with an indifferent expression and suddenly asked, "Brett, what would you do if I was gone one day?"

He paused for a moment, not overthinking it, just assuming that Izabella was still contemplating leaving him.

"I won't let you go. Besides, you can't go anywhere now."

Izabella seemed not to care about that "harsh" comment, murmuring, "I mean, if I suddenly disappeared, what would you do?"

She rarely pursued such an unrealistic question so seriously. Brett felt a sudden emptiness in his heart. It was just a hypothetical situation, but his heart felt hollow, desperate for something to fill it.

His hand trembled as he held her knee. "I might go crazy... I can't imagine life without you. So... Izabella, don't leave without my permission. I won't let you go." When he looked up, he saw her smiling at him. Her eyes were like a bottomless dark hole, he couldn't find anything in them except for darkness.

"Brett, do you love me?" Izabella asked softly.

"I do." It wasn't just love. His feelings for her were like poison that had seeped into his bloodstream, reaching deep into his bones, incurable. "If going crazy from not seeing you is love, then I'm in it deep." Izabella couldn't help but laugh when she saw his burning gaze. See, she had won the bet. Two years ago, she told Presley Felton that she wanted revenge against Brett.

She bet that he would fall in love with her and regret his actions when she died. He would toss and turn at night, be restless, have lifelong regrets, and go mad.

As she laughed, her gaze softened. She reached up to touch his face. "Don't worry, I won't leave. I'll be here as you said, I can't walk anymore, and I'll need your care from now on." Hearing her say that, Brett breathed a sigh of relief. He clutched her hand and kissed her cold fingertips, his voice serious as he said, "Izabella, I love you."

Her eyes seemed even deeper now.

The next morning, Tiara said goodbye to Izabella.

"Izabella, my daughter's got some trouble, I need to go back for a couple of days, and I'll be back with you soon." She couldn't bear to leave Izabella, and couldn't leave her alone here, but her daughter urgently called her to go back.

I seemed as if Izabella already knew, with a gentle expression,

asked, "Tiara, can I hug you?"

Tiara quickly put down her luggage and wrapped Izabella's thin body in her arms.

Izabella greedily hugged her tightly, Tiara's warmth letting her experience a brief taste of motherly love.

"Safe travels."

There was a huge floor-to-ceiling window in the room, allowing Izabella to enjoy the view outside. She sat there watching Tiara leaving with her luggage, her figure gradually disappearing until it was completely gone.

Tomorrow is Brett and Kaley's engagement day, and Brett is going to the hotel to prepare tonight.

Brett was feeling uneasy. He kept telling Izabella not to watch TV or go online, promising he'd be back soon. He and Kaley were just using each other, putting on an act.

There would be many live streaming platforms at the engagement party tomorrow, and various media reporters would also attend it. Izabella didn't need to think to know the engagement party between Brett and Kaley would be lively.

Before leaving that night, Brett, as usual, hugged Izabella, whispering, "I love you" in her ear, as if only by doing so could he ease his guilt.

From an angle he couldn't see, Izabella's mouth revealed a hint of mockery. She reached out to straighten Brett's tie, saying, "I'll be waiting for you at home."

Izabella's attitude suddenly changed, returning to her amnesiac state. This made Brett even more uneasy.

Just before leaving, he felt that once he left, he'd never see Izabella again, and a voice in his head kept reminding him to look back.

Brett kept looking back at Izabella, who still sat in her wheelchair, watching him.

Brett could only comfort himself: Izabella was disabled now, unable to walk away even if she wanted to. As long as he looked back, he'd see her there.

Katie was not as attentive as Tiara in taking care of other people, but Izabella didn't like to bother others, so she tried not to ask for help.

In the morning, Katie dressed Izabella and made breakfast. While feeding her, the phone rang, and Katie immediately put down the bowl to answer it, chatting and laughing. When she came back, the porridge beside her was already cold.

Katie finished the call and wanted to continue feeding Izabella the now-cold food.

Izabella frowned and said, "I'm already full."

Katie put down the bowl, tidied up, and took the used dishes to the kitchen to wash. After a while, someone called her again.

Talking on the phone while sweeping, she said, "I'm busy today, let's change the date."

Katie's mood became a bit low after hanging up the phone, and Izabella noticed. So she said, "Katie, if you have something to do, go ahead. I'll be fine alone."

Upon hearing this, Katie's heart leaped with joy. But seeing Izabella's disabled legs, she suddenly felt like cold water was poured on her, "But you can't move..."

"It's fine, I can't move anyway, so I won't run around. Just come back before two. Leave the phone with me, and if there's anything, I'll call you. As for lunch, it doesn't matter if I eat or not, I won't starve." Katie wavered. She was worried Brett would find out, but she realized Brett should be at the engagement party now, with no time to worry about this.

Tentatively, Katie said, "Well, I'll go out for a bit, and I promise to be back before two."

"Alright."

Katie was delighted, placing the phone in the living room within Izabella's reach.

Although Izabella said she didn't need lunch, Katie took a pastry from the fridge and placed it beside Izabella, telling her to eat if she was hungry.

Before leaving, she took Izabella to the bathroom, and then happily left with her bag.

Izabella knew that every departure was arranged by Nathaniel in order to cause her death in an "accident."

Izabella picked up the remote and turned on the TV, tuning to the news channel she saw a prominent headline.

Brett and Kaley's engagement ceremony.

They held the engagement ceremony in a church, surrounded by flowers and balloons, both beautiful and solemn. Izabella thought of her wedding with Brett.

It had been held in a small church, and they had invited an officiant. All the procedures were ready.

"Brett, do you promise to love Izabella for a lifetime, whether in sickness or health, wealth or poverty, treasuring and caring for her till death do you part?"

-- "I do."

Suddenly, Izabella couldn't help but cry and laugh hysterically, leaning on the wheelchair like a madwoman.

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