Twisted Ties of Love
Chapter 297

Animals were sentient beings. The firefighter looked somewhat stunned at the blood-soaked cat. The cat's front claws were entirely stained with blood, and one could even see the white bones inside. However it seemed as though the cat felt no pain, as it sorrowfully dug through the rubble.

Many people who witnessed this scene already had a lump in their throats.

At that moment, Niki, the cat who had been frantically scratching the ground, suddenly froze.

It was a hand. A hand still wearing the bracelet Brett had gifted years ago. The diamond-set lock on it had lost its original luster, covered in blood and ash.

"Meow..." Niki nudged the hand with its head, as if wanting to be petted one last time, but the hand could no longer rise.

Niki licked her finger, which had no nails, and then tremblingly lifted her front paw, which already revealed the bones, to reach for the pendant on the wrist. Then she grabbed it with her mouth, intending to drag the person out.

But the strength of a cat was too small, and coupled with its injuries, it didn't have much energy left. It could only cry out helplessly, with its blue eyes filled with tears.

"There's someone here." The firefighter rushed over immediately.

Niki hissed, acting defensive, showing its teeth at the firefighters, not letting them get close. It was only a cat, not as tall and strong as a human, and could easily be crushed under a person's foot. It was scared of the towering firefighters, but it was even more afraid of losing its important owner. So it had to protect the person behind it.

The firefighter approached and said, "Little kitty, we need to get the person trapped inside out."

"Meow." Niki seemed to understand, feeling that these people meant no harm. It looked back at the hand behind it, its eyes already wet. It limped to the side, watching attentively.

The firefighter began to remove the wooden planks and rocks on top. When they saw the woman underneath, even the fire chief, who had seen many dead bodies, was taken aback. Everyone frowned and carefully lifted the woman out.

The medical personnel that came with them checked her and after a while, shook their heads.

"She's gone. She's dead."

"Impossible!" Brett had just arrived when he heard this. His face slowly turned pale. Already pale and sickly, his face now lost all color. "She can't be dead! Get out of my way!"

The firefighters and medical personnel were startled by this sudden outburst, and after exchanging glances, they understood and stepped aside to make room.

A cold wind blew in his face, making him shudder. He stood outside, surrounded by the sound of sirens, but Brett felt a profound silence, so quiet he could hear his own heartbeat.

He staggered forward, each step causing a pang in his heart. It was as if a hand was squeezing and tearing his heart apart, causing him to clutch his chest in pain.

He could hypnotize himself that Izabella wasn't dead, that the woman who had stopped breathing in the rubble might not be Izabella.

The woman had extensive burns; her bare feet were charred black by the fire. Brett's gaze moved slowly from the woman's feet to her hands, the bracelet on her wrist, and then her face, half of which was disfigured.

Reality was cruel. When he saw the person whose limbs were distorted by fire, he could fool himself. If the face was also similarly burnt and became unrecognizable, then the person lying there definitely wasn' Izabella.

But now her face was wiped clean, half as pale as paper, the other half bloody and mangled.

He had once seen a punishment where a scalding hot iron was pressed against the face, and Izabella's half-face looked just the same.

In that moment, something unspeakable suddenly collapsed within him.

He blankly looked at Izabella, with a heart full of grief, physically and mentally exhausted. His brain stunned by the stimulus, as the world's tragedies always come without warning. Everything had been going so smoothly these past few days, Izabella didn't cry or make a fuss, she even spoke to him. In just three more months, she could have recovered.

Why didn't she wait for him? Why didn't she wait a little longer?

In that moment, his self-assuredness evaporated, and he became weak and timid. The person lying in the ruins, disfigured by the fire, was his lover, Izabella.

Niki saw Brett approaching, disregarding its own pain, it blocked Izabella with its small body, baring its teeth and growling at him.

The cat that used to cling to him, now treated him as if he were an enemy, seeming to want to tear him apart with its fury. What had he done these past few months that even Niki despised him? He was only trying to do what was best for Izabella, so why did the outcome not match his intentions?

Two hours ago, Izabella's call, along with the big surprise Nathaniel brought for Izabella. The video suddenly playing on the big screen showing Kaley's true face, and the nine years he had been deceived.

It was then that Brett realized, from the moment he and Izabella misrecognized each other, their ending was destined to be a tragedy. So no matter how he tried to make amends, apologize, Izabella could not forgive him.

Even the times when they fell asleep together, kissed, held hands, these intimate actions were hurtful to Izabella.

Not to mention that he had aborted the child in Izabella's womb, indirectly caused Izabella's legs to break and confined her to a wheelchair. Just like what Izabella had said: a bird without wings cannot live. "Thud" - Brett kneeled down, sharp stones piercing his knees. The pain attacked, but he didn't feel it or even furrow his brows. He blankly stared at the unharmed half of Izabella's face, then reached out. A piercing pain spread from the back of his hand. Niki had bitten him, its mouth issuing a "whimpering" sound, both angry and crying.

Brett didn't struggle, he lifted his other hand to grab Izabella's right hand. The bracelet that Izabella had never been able to remove from her wrist, gently tugged by Brett and came off.

Brett's gaze followed it down; the bracelet was the one he bought for Izabella on her first birthday.

The bracelet was custom-made, adorned with a small lock as a decoration, but only the key he held could remove the small lock.

Izabella had tried various methods to remove it, but now, her right hand was burned by the fire, exposing the bone. The bracelet fell off her wrist in the most painful way.

Brett froze, his eyes empty and soulless. Large tears fell from his eyes, as he looked at Izabella lying on the ground, suffocated.

"So, is this the 'surprise' you gave me, Izabella? I thought I was cruel enough, but I didn't expect you to be even more ruthless. I know you resent me for locking you here, but I really just wanted to compensate you, to cure your stomach cancer." Brett muttered.

"Izabella, can you wake up? Open your eyes and look at me, stop this cruel joke. You want to leave, right? Once I cure your legs, you can go wherever you want, I won't keep you anymore.

Izabella, I really was wrong."

No matter what he said, there was still no sound around, his ears seemed deaf. He kneeled alone in the cold wind, shivering from the cold.

This time, danger had truly arrived.

Sᴇarch the FindNovel.net website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.