Twisted Ties of Love

Izabella gently suggested, "Why don't you hold it?"

Casey, once again, felt uneasy. He had no idea what to do.

In the end, it was Izabella who gingerly placed Nikki into his arms. His movements were stiff, as if he were holding a newborn baby. Every move he made was done with utmost caution. He was afraid he might hurt the little kitten.

Watching his awkwardness, Izabella couldn't help but laugh. "You won't hurt it, you know. Try petting its back. Nikki used to love being petted and having its neck scratched."

Casey started to seriously groom the cat, scratching its neck and working so hard that he broke out in a sweat.

Nikki, at first, was a bit tense but relaxed once she realized Casey wouldn't hurt her.

Izabella reached out to stroke Nikki's little head, her fingertips trembling slightly when they touched the damaged ear.

Casey noticed her reaction. He had many questions he wanted to ask.

For instance, where did the cat come from? And what happened to cause its burns?

He chose not to ask because he knew these were painful topics for Izabella.

"Nikki's pretty important to you, huh?"

"Very important, incredibly important." She would never forget the fire that day. Nikki tried to save her, licking her cheeks. Nikki dragged her by the collar, trying her best to pull her out. It was severely burned in the fire.

While Izabella was trapped in the ruins, Nikki's claws were ripped out. But it didn't seem to feel any pain as it scrabbled around in the ruins, trying to find her.

Nikki barely survived several times in the animal hospital. It kept pulling through with Izabella's support.

Back at the villa, it would kiss every picture of Izabella. Eventually, Nikki secluded itself in the room where Izabella had been burned to death.

Casey thought to himself: if he wanted to win Izabella's heart, he first had to win over Nikki.

He held the cat and massaged it. Finally, he leaned in and rubbed his face against its back, thinking, "Nikki, see how hard I'm trying? Please let your mom be with me. I'll buy you all the treats you want and carry you when you can't walk, so your mom won't get tired."

Izabella, unaware of Casey's thoughts, laughed and asked him, "What are you doing?"

Casey instinctively looked up at Izabella, but he didn't expect their faces to be so close. He nearly kissed Izabella.

In that moment, Casey's heart was about to explode.

Swallowing hard, Casey felt they were way too close.

"I'm," He stuttered and struggled to put together a complete sentence: "I'm just playing with the cat."

They didn't linger in the park for

long. After all, they were both public

figures. If they were recognized, they would be tomorrow's headline.

As the filming of "Blood Ties" was about to start, Izabella didn't want to cause any more trouble for Mr. York.

On the way back, Casey carried Nikki.

"I can drop you off on the way."

Izabella thought for a moment and agreed.

Casey opened the passenger door, watching Izabella get in before he went to the driver's side.

Trying to impress the one he liked, Casey remembered a website claiming that one of the coolest looks for a man was driving with one hand.

Leaning against the car door, the

on the

door, the other accept

steering wheel and the accelerator.

Just as Casey was about to start the car, Izabella reminded him, "You haven't buckled up."

Frantically fastening his seatbelt, Casey's attempt to look cool had disastrously failed.Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

"Drive safely with both hands on the wheel."

"Got it." Casey obediently controlled the steering wheel and smoothly drove out of the parking spot.

Izabella held Nikki and watched Casey. She could clearly sense that he was a bit tense.

"How long have you had your driver's license?"

"Two years," Casey said seriously.

"I'm a really good driver."

"That's reassuring."

Casey drove with utmost

concentration. He originally wanted to chat with Izabella during the drive. But with Izabella watching him drive, all his attention was on driving afraid of making a mistake and embarrassing himself.

Unbeknownst to Casey, even though he was focused on driving, his gaze often drifted toward Izabella.

Seeing that they were about to reach Izabella's home, Casey thought, would Izabella invite him in?

Casey licked his dry lips, then heard Izabella say, "I'll get off here."

"Here? Let me drop you at your door; there should be parking spaces inside."