Twisted Ties of Love

The taxi gradually entered the rainy area, and the driver turned to the back seat and said to Izabella, "The weather is bloody awful, shall I close the window?" Izabella was leaning against the car door and only snapped out of her daze at the driver's words. She looked out at the rainy day, with the biting wind rushing into the car.

She hadn't noticed the cold before, but now, seeing the wind so strong that the trees were shaking and hearing its howling sound, it felt like a mournful cry.

Rubbing her arms, Izabella's pale lips were either cold or scared stiff.

"We're almost there. Do you know where to go?"

Looking for hospitals one by one would be too time-consuming, Izabella only regretted not getting Casey's agent's phone number, and hadn't taken the initiative to learn about his family situation. She wouldn't be so lost if she knew his parents' contact information.

Just a while ago, there was news about Casey online, but now she couldn't find any, no matter how hard she searched. After knowing the situation at his home, she realized it must have been his family who had taken care of it.

Izabella pursed her lips, tasting a faint metallic taste in her mouth. She held her phone tightly with her shaking hand, gripping it so hard that her fingers turned white. Finally, she took a deep breath, unlocked her phone screen, and found Liam's phone number.

Liam was surprised to receive a call from Izabella again, and he couldn't hide his surprise, "Ms. Salotti?"

"It's me. Do you know where Casey is?"

"How would I know where Casey is?" Liam paused, Izabella wouldn't ask about Casey out of the blue. While on the phone, he went online, and without even searching, the news about Casey's accident automatically appeared on the screen. However, he only knew about the accident, not the location or which hospital he was currently in.

"Ms. Salotti, I don't know where Casey is right now, but Brett surely does. He visited the Dempsey family today and met with them. Why don't you try calling him?"

The mere mention of the name "Brett" frightened Izabella. She had been hurt before and naturally kept her distance from him. For her, things were fine as they were, not bothering each other, each going their separate ways.

But it seemed that fate had other plans.

"Do you have the Dempsey family's phone number?" Izabella asked tentatively.

"Ms. Salotti, I'm sorry, but I don't have the Dempsey family's phone number, and even if I did, I couldn't give it to you. You should know that these numbers can't be given out casually." After explaining, Liam asked, "Why don't you call Brett directly? If you're so worried about Casey, you shouldn't mind."

"I see, can you send me Brett's number? I don't have it."

As he sent the text, Liam replied to Izabella, "Brett's number has always been the same."

Upon receiving the text, Izabella glanced at it. It was a familiar number, one she used to stare at every day, dialing it, only to be hung up on multiple times and each time, she entered the number, then deleted it one by one, from the initial full of hope to the final disappointment and depression.

Now, seeing this familiar number, she felt calm, incapable of stirring up any ripples.

Izabella ended the call with Liam and dialed that number.

The call went through, and Brett's voice came around. His surprise was the same as Liam's but with much more joy.

"Izabella, what can I do for you?" He probably never expected that she would call him alone one day.

"Liam said you visited the Dempsey family today. Casey has had an accident now. Do you know where he is?"

The excitement in his heart was like an ice cube thrown in, gradually calming down with a crisp cracking sound.

"Are you calling just for him?" Brett choked out.

The relationship between Casey and her seemed so close. When Casey said that he had been intimate with Izabella, he had some doubts, but now, hearing Izabella call to ask about him, he began to believe. "If it weren't for him, I wouldn't call you. If you know, tell me. If you don't know or don't want to tell me, I'll hang up."

"What if I don't know?"

Izabella didn't care about his feelings. She faced him with a firm attitude.

"I'll go to every hospital to look for him until I find him."

"Izabella, besides him, don't you have anything else to say to me?"

"Anything I had to say, I said in a past life. We have nothing to talk about now, Brett. I don't want to waste time. Tell me where Casey is."

Whenever she mentioned "Casey", it was like stabbing him in the heart. Even though his disease was in his lungs, his heart hurt unbearably.

"He's at the Oriental Healing Center, orthopaedics on the eighth floor."

As soon as his voice fell, Izabella hung up the phone.

The car slowly came to a stop, and Izabella said to the driver. "Sir, we're going to the Oriental Healing Center. Step on it!"

"Alright, I'll make a U-turn up ahead."

Izabella also turned on the GPS. According to the average speed, it would take twenty minutes to get there. Without traffic jam and red lights, it would only take fifteen minutes.

Whether it was divine intervention or not, the journey was smooth, with no stops, and they quickly arrived at the hospital. Izabella paid the fare, got out of the car, and ran straight to the hospital.

When she burst into the hospital, no one reacted in time, and Izabella rushed straight to the eighth floor. The hospital was huge, and Brett only told her it was the orthopaedics department on the eighth floor bu didn't tell her the exact room number. She had no choice but to search room by room.

The entire eighth floor was single rooms, and a nurse saw her: "Are you Izabella? Oh my God, I actually get to see Izabella. Not only did I see Casey today, but also Izabella!"

When Izabella heard her mention Casey, she immediately asked, "I'm here to see Casey. Do you know which room he's in?"

The nurse nodded eagerly, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Izabella. "I know! I'll take you there!"

She quickly led Izabella to the ward, whispering, "This is the place you can go in."

"Thank you," Izabella replied.

The ward door was slightly ajar, and voices could be heard from inside, more than one person, probably Casey's parents.

Izabella had rushed all the way here but stopped at the door, hesitating. The nurse was called away, but on her way out, she encouraged Izabella, "Go for it!"

Seeing the nurse's relaxed attitude, Izabella guessed that Casey's condition wasn't serious, so she knocked at the door.

A man in his forties opened the door. He looked young and had features very similar to Casey's. It was obvious at a glance that he was Casey's father.

Casey's father frowned and asked, "You are?"

Without thinking, Izabella answered, "Hello, I'm a friend of Casey's."

"How did you know he was here?"

"I asked around."

Beck Dempsey wanted to continue questioning, but at that moment, Bunny came over. "This is?" she paused. Even though she didn't

interfere with her son's personay net

affairs, she followed his Twitter daily to keep track of his online activities, So she knew about Izabella and Casey's relationship.

Bunny's face still had tear stains. Seeing Izabella, her expression softened considerably.

"Ms. Salotti, you're here to see Casey, right? Come on in." Bunny guided Beck away to make room for Izabella to enter.

"Thank you, Bunny."

Izabella hadn't expected her first meeting with Casey's parents to be under these circumstances. The ward was spacious and well-ventilated, but the smell of medicine permeated the air. Casey lay on the bed, eyes closed, with his arm bandaged and sticking out, an IV drip inserted.

"Why hasn't he woken up yet?"

"The doctor said he might have a slight concussion. He should wake up after some rest."

Luckily, Casey had been on the road

and had swerved into a ditch. The

airbag had deployed in time, and although he had passed out, his

injuries were minor, apart from a few

cuts on his forehead from the

windshield, cleaned by the rain.

The driver who had accidentally turned on his high beams hadn't fled due to fear but had called the police and an ambulance. He even brought Casey to the hospital. Otherwise, things could have been much

worse.

Izabella carefully looked over Casey, and after confirming he only had minor injuries, she let out a small sigh of relief. But then, the atmosphere became a bit awkward.

Izabella was not good at interacting with elders, and considering Casey's parents' distinguished status, she awkwardly split her time between looking at Casey's hand and staring out the window. Bunny pulled up a chair beside Izabella, "Please, sit."

"Thank you," Izabella replied, head down.

Bunny studied Izabella. Her impression of her was neither good nor bad, mainly because she didn't know her. Her only impression was that Izabella was very beautiful, even more so than in photos. Bunny first noticed Izabella because of some negative news, so her initial impression wasn't good.

However, after seeing a show called "Here Comes the Superstars", she was amazed by Izabella's acting.All content © N/.ôvel/Dr/ama.Org.

Later, when rumors about Casey and Izabella surfaced online, Bunny's impression of her began to decline, thinking she was just another actress who loved to create scandals.

Yet, whenever her impression of Izabella started to slide, Izabella would suddenly do something to change her mind, always finding a way out in dangerous situations.

Casey always trusted her, and Bunny figured if her son trusted Izabella, she had no reason not to.

Interestingly, Casey had been aloof and emotionally detached after waking up, and this was the first time he had shown interest in a girl.

Casey was no longer young, well into his thirties. Although he looked in his twenties, his age indicated that he should be married. Bunny had been worried that Casey wouldn't find a partner.

In his eyes, there were only humans and animals, and he thought it impossible for a woman to elicit any sense of pity from him.

His co-stars in all three of his films had been men, and Bunny, when bored, would watch his movies, growing increasingly suspicious. She wondered whether Casey was not interested in women or perhaps he was more inclined towards men.

But Izabella's appearance changed her mind, and she had already started planning to prepare two suits for Casey's wedding.

Bunny cautiously asked, "What's your relationship with Casey?"

"We're friends."

So he hadn't won her over yet.

Hearing the word "friends", Beck couldn't help but laugh. He had seen this "playing hard to get" act masked as friendship before.

His son had already expressed his feelings on Twitter, yet she still treated him as a friend. Did a purely platonic relationship between a man and a woman really exist in this world?

Bunny glared at him, and Beck quickly retreated, "I'll go to the restroom. You two continue."

He figured this was women's business, and he should leave.

After he left, Bunny asked again, "Are you really just friends?"

Izabella nodded.

"What do you think of Casey?"

"He's really nice."

Bunny and Beck's thoughts differed. When Izabella answered they were "friends", she guessed Casey hadn't won her over yet.

Every mother who genuinely loved her child would think her child was the best. Even if she didn't say it out loud, she certainly thought so in her heart.

In Bunny's eyes, Casey was the bee's

knees, the top's Forget about his family background. Just look at his looks and the career he's earned through blood, sweat and tears. The fact that Izabella can turn him down said she's one of a kind, but it wasn't impossible. Seeing her rush to the hospital all in a flutter, she's convinced her son will definitely win her over!