Twisted Ties of Love

"This doesn't seem to be about whether there's a parking spot or not," Izabella mused. "Are you trying to come back with me?"

After hesitating for a moment, Casey just blurted out, "Well, can I go home with you?"

Izabella said 'come back', and Casey said 'go home'. Just one word difference, but the meaning was entirely different.

Izabella didn't know what to say; she just stared at his face without responding.

She had only said it casually, but Casey took it seriously.

In her eyes, Casey was like a big boy just entering puberty. He was passionately committed to his feelings and also timidly probing. He was particularly prone to shyness. She used to tease him by calling him 'Best Actor'.

She thought he would be shy this time too. But unexpectedly, he stubbornly stared at her like a little dog that had been abandoned and was waiting for its owner to pick it up.

"I'm sorry, I overstepped," Casey admitted first. He took a breath, pulled out some mints from the car drawer, and popped four into his mouth. Izabella could smell the minty scent from his mouth; it smelled good. The smell of mint would never be as harsh as the smell of smoke. "Are you going to park nearby?"

"Yes," Izabella replied while looking at the familiar scenery outside the window. She said softly, "Not now, but maybe in the future."

She spoke softly, as if she had inadvertently spoken her inner thoughts.

"What do you mean, 'in the future'?" Casey hit the brakes and parked by the side of the road, leaning towards Izabella. "Bella, are you saying I can go home with you in the future? How long is that? A week, a month, or a year, two years?"

Izabella held her cat, casually scratching Nikki's neck. She thought for a moment, but these few seconds of pause for Casey felt like an unbearably long wait. Everything around him seemed to be in slow motion.

Izabella thought seriously for five seconds, then smiled, "When my new house is renovated."

Casey tried hard to suppress his smile, but the corners of his mouth just couldn't help but curl up.

"I'd better help you a lot then. Strive to finish your house renovation this year. Christmas is just six or seven months away, and I want to spend it at your place and set off fireworks. I also want to countdown with you." Casey was tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, each tap coinciding with each point, making one's heart calm down.

Izabella suddenly felt her heart come alive again. Warmth flowed from her heart to her entire body, making her eyes hot.

Spending Christmas together, setting off fireworks, and giving gifts on Christmas. These were all things she had thought about but never realized.

Could they really all come true this year?

Izabella replied, "Five or six months might be a tight schedule. Plus, a new house needs to be vacant for a few months; there will be dust and formaldehyde."

"Then why don't you spend Christmas with me in R City this year?"

Nothing was absolute; Izabella couldn't promise more, she needed time to affirm her relationship with Casey.

More than friends, less than lovers to be precise, they were like kindred spirits or family.

Izabella was much more rational than before, becoming very logical after her rebirth. She no longer felt that life must have love.

To her, love was a seasoning. Love could bring a lot of joy to life, but it could also bring a lot of trouble.

Before she married Brett, Izabella yearned for love. She thought that marriage would give her a real home.

"Marriage" was amazing; it could bring two strangers together. But actually, it couldn't even provide the simplest happiness. Only those who have personally experienced it would understand how scary it was. Izabella asked, "Casey, why are you so good to me? We haven't known each other for that long. Besides, I have a bad reputation; others would want to avoid me."

"I don't believe in rumors. I only believe in you and the Izabella I've seen and understood."

"But have you ever thought that your eyes and ears might deceive you? I might not be what you imagine."

"Isn't that more interesting? I'll slowly dig deeper and get to know the real you. As long as you don't avoid me." He was as excited as if he had found a treasure map.

He had heard others say that the feeling of liking someone was so sweet that it was scary. But now it seems that scary is not enough to describe it; terrifying would be more correct.

He felt like his heart was about to explode as he said these words.

Izabella didn't answer his question; she quickly unbuckled her seatbelt, took Nikki, and got out of the car.

"Let's meet up next time."

Casey also unbuckled his seatbelt and wanted to escort her upstairs, but was stopped by Izabella.

This was the peak hour for people to get off work, and there were quite a few people on the streets. Casey was too well known, and there was a high chance of him being recognized. Izabella didn't dare take that risk.

"You don't have to get off; I'm going home," Izabella told him.

Casey glanced at the people around him and had no choice but to suppress his urge, pulling his almost extended leg back into the car and closing the door.

"I have an interview tonight at eight. If you have time, you can watch it."

"Okay," Izabella said as she closed the car door and waved at Casey from outside.

Izabella had completed the most difficult task; now it was time to consider investment.

There were a lot of places where money would be needed next; she only had sixty million left. Although this amount sounded like a lot, it would actually be used up quickly. Izabella was not a lazy person. When she got home, she lay on the sofa with her laptop and started analyzing the recent stock market trends, investing a million in one stock.

In terms of investment, the Salotti

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family had been involved in many industries, such as jewelry, building materials, and real estate. If Izabella chose to continue in these industries, it might be much easier. But in these fields, Brett and Nathaniel were industry leaders. If she got involved, she would definitely intersect with them.

After much thought, Izabella decided to give up. Her current strength was too weak; there was no way she could compete with the two of them.

The only choice was to invest in the film and television industry. Although Izabella had never been involved in this field before, that didn't mean she couldn't do well.

Izabella's fingers were a blur on the keyboard, and before she knew it, two hours had flown by. She paused, rubbing her sore wrists, and looked over at her curled-up cat, Nikki, giving her a gentle stroke. Nikki lifted her head, letting out a "meow".

"Hungry, huh?" Izabella glanced at

was already almost eight,

the time. It was

and she hadn't made dinner yet. She

had to break this bad habit of forgetting to eat when she got busy. She couldn't treat her health like she did in her past life, letting a stomach issue escalate to stomach cancer.

Izabella quickly cooked up some dinner and opened a can of food for Nikki.NôvelDrama.Org owns © this.

As she ate, Izabella felt like she had forgotten something. She pondered but couldn't remember, which made her feel uneasy.

She took out her phone, checking her messages first. Apart from promotional texts, there were no other messages. Then she looked at the time; it was exactly eight.

Finally, Izabella remembered what she had forgotten: Casey had asked her to watch his online interview.

With Izabella, Ariana, and Harper's departure from the show "Here Comes the Superstars," Casey had also left.

This interview was to explain his decision.

"My goal in joining 'Here Comes the Superstars' was to find a partner. Now I've found one."

"Can you tell us who it is?"

"No, I don't want you to bother her. In my eyes, she's the best actress I've ever seen. You'll definitely see us together on screen in the future." Casey rarely accepted interviews. The reporter thought they could coax some juicy details out of him, but he was too good at keeping secrets. "Can you tell us who you think has the most potential for the show?"

"No. Once the show airs, I'll make detailed comments as a mentor. Every artist is excellent, except those who think they're smarter than they are. Their motivations are just ridiculous." Facing the reporter's tricky and probing questions, Casey had developed a knack for handling them. As soon as he heard the question, he knew how to respond in the next second. Casey was a love-hate figure for reporters. It's hard to get the answers they want from him, but whenever they were about to give up, he'd say something that would satisfy them. The reporter asked, "What do you think about Izabella, who often trends on Twitter?"

Casey seriously replied, "Without knowing all the facts, I can't give an assessment. All I can say is that she's a great actress. Rational netizens probably give more valuable evaluations than I do." The reporter said "But netizens are very concerned about the negative news about Izabella."

Casey responded, "About that, I want

.n

to ask Izabella's fans. You knew her before all these rumors; why don't you trust her now? Also, I hope. netizens can speak rationally. Praise can be expressed directly, but think twice before defaming someone."

The reporter wanted to ask more but was jokingly interrupted by Casey, who said "Let's leave it at that for this question. Otherwise, people might think you're here to interview Izabella."