Twisted Ties of Love

Chapter 346

Brett was knee-deep in the murky water, the polluted river drowning his head. He was coughing. His ribs supporting his chest seemed to have turned into thorns. Each struggle tightened them, and he wondered if Izabella felt the same way when she died.

It's said that you're calm when you're about to die. His soul seemed detached from his body, floating mid-air, looking at his quiet self submerged in the water like a piece of driftwood.

The cold was invading his body from all sides as if all his internal organs had been frozen. It hurt a tearing pain all over.

Liam jumped into the water with great effort, tightly holding onto Brett. His whole body was covered in water. Holding him felt like holding onto a piece of ice. It took all of Liam's strength to drag him onto the shore.

"President Windham, are you okay?" Liam was so anxious his face turned pale. One hand was supporting Brett. The other was picking up the coat on the ground to find the phone.

As his body gradually regained sensation, Brett instinctively opened his mouth and took a deep breath.

But it seemed like he was not breathing in the air but sharp thorns piercing his heart, making it ache terribly. The pain enveloped his body. He couldn't stop shaking. He coughed, blood splattered from his mouth, staining his pale cheeks, a glaring red.

"President Windham, I must get you to the hospital now." Brett had coughed up blood before, but this was the first time Liam saw him coughing up so much like it wouldn't stop.

He had dialled the emergency number on his phone and was about to call, but Brett raised his cold hand and stopped him.

"I want to go find Izabella and her hair tie." His voice was shaky and choked up, not sure if it was from the cold or the pain.

"Hair tie?" Liam thought for a moment and understood, "What if we find it?"

Brett had lost his mind. The only thing clear in his foggy mind was the last thing Izabella said. Don't come to see me if you can't find it.

Izabella was punishing him for the sins he had committed in the past. It was what he deserved. He had to find her hair tie.

"If I find it, she will forgive me and return home with me."

"She's fooling you," Liam said.

"No, she isn't. Izabella wouldn't lie," Brett muttered.

Looking at Brett's pale face, Liam knew Brett was too stubborn. Once he made up his mind, it was hard to change it. That's why he gradually fell into despair three years ago.

"That little hair tie, you won't find it if you throw it into the river. You'd better go buy a new one." All hair ties looked the same. He didn't believe Izabella would recognize it.

"Even if it looks the same, it's not the one she lost." Brett was gradually regaining his senses. His voice was still weak, but he wasn't shaking like before. He looked at the river again, not knowing when it had become dark. The dim light of the street lamp was casting on the water.

He was in a daze, so it was already so late.

He looked toward Casey's villa. it was pitch dark, with no lights. Were they already asleep?

The thought of Izabella lying in another man's arms at this moment, sleeping together, caused extreme pain in his heart.

Was Izabella treating Casey as well as she had treated him before? Would she cook a table full of dishes waiting for him to eat? Would she look at him tenderly and deeply in love with him?

Stop thinking. I can't believe it anymore. Brett covered his eyes. Hot tears fell into his palm. It's okay as long as Izabella comes back. He doesn't mind these things at all. As long as Izabella is still alive, and her living figure is still in his world, really.

Brett couldn't hear what Liam was saying. The obsession with finding the hair tie was like a poisoned seed thrown into his bloodstream, connecting his bones and marrow, making his weak limbs climb up from the ground.

At this moment, Brett relied entirely on his strong will to support his body. His eyes were vulnerable and sad as he crawled towards the river. Liam couldn't stop him. He didn't understand how Brett could still be so strong. Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

Liam held him down forcefully: "President Windham, we can come back and look for it tomorrow. Right now, you need to take care of yourself, don't fall down before you find her."

Brett was desperate and now was backfiring.

There were many things Liam couldn't understand, but the most puzzling thing was why "Bell Salotti" turned into "Izabella."

Was it all an act? But he was there before. He indeed felt that she was Izabella.

This was the first time he heard that a person could resurrect after death.

Brett was dazed for a moment, feeling like the weight on him was not Liam but a mountain. He bit his lip, his mouth full of the taste of blood. The remaining consciousness was still desperately looking at the river. He could jump into the water with a roll, but he couldn't crawl over.

"Let me go!" He scratched the ground with his fingers. The tips were rubbed bloody. The pain made him a bit more sober, but he was still too tired and in too much pain.

Brett looked down, following the pain, his chin resting on the ground, his eyes half-closed, looking at his hands. Suddenly his eyes lit up. The hair tie he had been looking for was on his ring finger, like a ring.

His hand was numb from the cold in the river. He was constantly searching underwater but didn't look at his fingers. When he came back to his senses, he found that what he had been looking for was on his finger.

From loss to surprise, his emotions were like a roller coaster. He touched the disposable hair tie on his ring finger, carefully wiped the dirt off, then carefully took it off and held it under the light.

"I found it." This time he finally collapsed on the ground, a beautiful smile on his face. He found Izabella's hair tie. Would she forgive him and return with him?

They had reunited after a long separation. Could he find what he had lost? Would all the sins he had committed really be forgiven?

Brett looked at the hair tie in his hand and put it back on his ring finger. This time he closed his eyes.

The ambulance Liam called arrived quickly. Brett's face was cleaned of blood, but the blood that flowed into his neck was dried by the heater in the car, turning into a dry patch. The car was filled with the smell of blood.

As Izabella returned, she saw a figure squatting at the door from afar.

Casey sat at the doorstep, phone clutched in his hand, glancing between his phone and the direction Izabella had left in, looking for all the world like a big dog eagerly waiting for its owner to come home.

Upon seeing Izabella's silhouette, he immediately sprang up, disregarding the rain outside and running straight to her, grabbing her hand, "Did he bully you?"

"No" Izabella met Casey's worried gaze, her mind momentarily blank. If it was Brett watching her out with another man, his first thought wouldn't be worry, but to inspect her body to see if his toy had been dirtied by someone else.

In Brett's eyes, she was always a toy for him to play with at will, and toys don't need self-respect.

"Your hands are cold. Let me dry your hair when we get back."

He held Izabella's hand tightly, and after they got home, he brought out some warm milk for her to drink.

The warmth from the milk spread throughout her body, making her feel considerably warmer. The air conditioning was on in the living room, and the warm air felt so good that it made her skin tingle.

Casey knew Izabella was always cold. The first time he met her on a plane, she was wrapped in a blanket even though the temperature was moderate.

Casey plugged in the hair dryer, ready to dry Izabella's hair.

Izabella, still wrapped in his clothes, took them off and handed them to him, "Thanks for your clothes. I can dry my hair myself."

She was not comfortable with getting too close to people. Casey was a good person and had helped her a lot, but she couldn't take more just because he was nice.

Emotions need to be reciprocated. No one is obligated to be nice to you. If you can't return, you need to cut ties as soon as possible. Time and emotions are the most precious things a person has.

Casey stiffened, his hand tightened on the hair dryer. After a moment, he put down the hair dryer and took the coat from Izabella.

He hung the coat by the door, listening to the sound of the hair dryer. For the first time, this place felt like a real home, full of life. If only it could stay this way forever.

He had confidence in himself before Brett appeared, but now he realized how ridiculous his confidence was.

He had always been deluding himself. He knew nothing about Izabella apart from her name and gender.

Casey watched Izabella, sitting on the sofa, tilting her head to dry her hair.

The distance between them was near and far, just like their relationship.

Izabella was right before him, but he couldn't touch her. There seemed to be an invisible wall between them.

He silently went to the kitchen to start cooking. Casey was only good at cooking home-cooked dishes.

After drying her hair, her long hair was a hassle, so she picked up a pencil from the pen holder on the bookshelf in the living room and used it to tie up her hair.

"Do you need help?" Izabella asked.

Casey turned back and replied, "No need. I'm just making another dish. Are you hungry?"

"Not really." Izabella took a look at Casey's outfit. He was wearing an apron with a black and white bear pattern. He was tall with a slim waist. He held a spatula in his hand, his forehead covered in sweat and his eyes focused on the food in the pot.

"There's a lot of smoke in the kitchen. You should get out." Casey, who usually had everything under control when cooking, suddenly became clumsy when Izabella appeared, Casey wishing he would had eight hands.

However, instead of leaving, Izabella walked into the kitchen. Casey's kitchen was small, and everything inside was visible. From the various ingredients, it was clear that he cooked regularly.

Izabella leaned against the wall, watching Casey busily cooking.