Twisted Ties of Love

Izabella was hell-bent on leaving, and Bunny couldn't force her to stay. After all, everything needed to be done in moderation. Being too eager won't get her anywhere. Moreover, she could tell that Izabella's concern for Casey went beyond simple friendship, and Bunny was totally chuffed with this development.

"I'll call a cab for you," she said.

"No need, Bunny. I've already called one. The driver will be at the hospital in a jiffy. I gotta scoot."

She had her change of clothes in a bag, no need to pack, just grab and go.

"Alright then, be safe. Shoot Casey a text when you get home."

Izabella nodded, turned on her heel, and left the ward.

Casey got up, watching Izabella leave until she disappeared into the elevator. He stood in the doorway, not moving.

He looked at his injured arm. If he hadn't been hurt, he could've driven Izabella home himself.

Bunny quietly walked up to him and asked, "Are you really that into her? She's gone, and you're still looking."

Casey moved his ears, which was his way of confirming it.

Bunny said, "If you're into her, you should tell her straight up, not beat around the bush."

Casey said, "I've made it very clear on social media, and everyone knows I want to be with her."

Bunny retorted, "Everyone knows, but she doesn't."

Casey replied sadly, "How do you know she doesn't? Maybe she's just trying not to hurt me and pretending not to see. If I confess, maybe we can't even be friends." "How do you know she's pretending?" Bunny asked back.

Casey was at a loss for words, and Bunny patted him on the head. "Don't rush; you're still young."

The discharge procedures went smoothly, and Casey went home with his parents. On the way, he asked, "Where's my car?"

Bunny answered, "It took a hit and is in the shop."

Casey asked, "What about my stuff?"

Bunny replied, "It's all at home. Check for anything missing when we get back."

Casey had to rest at home for at least a month due to his injuries. The Dempseys were loaded, so they had all sorts of supplements and nutritious soups every day.

After getting home, Casey checked his stuff in the car. Everything was there: keys, phone, driver's license, ID, wallet, and that picture from the orphanage.

His phone was dead, so he charged it and found a load of missed calls and texts.

He went through the messages one by one, replying to a few. One was from his agent, to whom he said he was fine.

Lying in bed, phone in hand, Casey updated his social media followers on his well-being.

Having an injured right hand was a real pain. All he could do was lie in bed, scrolling through his posts. When his phone rang, he thought it was Izabella, and his heart skipped a beat. But when he saw the caller ID, he was gutted.

Brett.

Casey didn't want to take his call right now, fearing it would worsen his condition.

He rejected the call, but it rang again immediately. Annoyed, Casey sat up in bed and answered.

"Why are you calling me?" He knew Brett wouldn't be calling just to check on him.

"Heard you've been discharged."

"You've got your ear to the ground. If you know I'm out of the hospital, you must know Izabella took care of me all night, right? Just the two of us. We even slept together. She helped me brush my teeth and wash my face. When I needed to use the restroom, she even offered to help me take off my pants."

He used these half-truths to get under Brett's skin. That's how they operated, hurting each other.

A chuckle came from the other end of the line. "Didn't expect your spirits to be so high."

Casey shot back, "Of course I'm fine, especially with someone taking care of me."

"Izabella only took care of you because of your pretty face. You were fresh out of the orphanage when you had the accident. Izabella loves neither you nor me, but a guy named Ryker. She's with you because you remind her of him. Bet she stares off into space when she's with you, right?"

Brett's words cut deep, and Casey wanted to retort, but he felt as if someone was choking him, making it hard for him to breathe.

But Brett wasn't done. He knew that when people were hurt, both physically and mentally, they were the most vulnerable.

Brett never claimed to be a good guy, and he never intended to be one. He was a businessman, a crafty one.

He saw Izabella as a priceless treasure, and he wouldn't let go easily.

The only silver lining was that he knew Izabella better than anyone.

"Do you know why Izabella named her corporation the Maple Group? Maple is Ryker's favorite tree."

The name "Ryker" was a double-edged sword for both of them. Brett had hurt Casey, but he was hurting too.

Casey didn't know when Brett hung up, as his mind was filled with Brett's words and the look in Izabella's eyes when they were together.

From the moment he left the orphanage, he knew he'd been living in denial.

What kind of person was Ryker that Izabella couldn't forget?

His love for Izabella was no less than Ryker's. The only thing he lost was time.

While others could compete face-to-face with their love rivals, how could he compete with someone who was already dead?Copyright by Nôv/elDrama.Org.

He was careful with his feelings, even afraid to test the waters. Brett was right. He was a coward. He shouldn't have gone to the orphanage.

If he hadn't gone, he wouldn't have known the truth. He could continue to deceive himself, believing that Izabella had liked him from the start.

He always thought that Izabella wanted to have a deep relationship with him and wanted to marry him when the maple leaves turned red, which was romantic.

But now he realized that maple was Ryker's favorite tree, which had nothing to do with him, Casey..

His phone dropped to the floor with a dull thud. Casey looked down, and something fell from his eyes. He wiped it off, and there were tears in the corners of his eyes.

He felt so useless.

He didn't want to be someone else's substitute. Did she like this guy called Ryker so much? If he disfigured his face and lost the two fangs that resembled Ryker, would she not even give him a second glance?

He once confidently thought he could stand behind Izabella, just looking at her back would satisfy him. But a call from Brett made him lose this battle.

So this was what it felt like to have

expectations shattered, Casey thought, swaying as he stood up. His still-recovering brain throbbed

with pain. He opened the

door and walked past the housekeeper in the hallway without

aword, heading straight to the

storage room to find a pair of

garden shears.

Casey took the shears back to his room and crouched in the corner. He opened his mouth and brought the shears close to the left fang. The shears clamped down on the small tooth, and he slowly tightened his grip, pushing down and pulling. His left arm's veins bulged, his fingers reddened, and his knuckles turned pale.

With a dull sound, he pulled out a tooth without any disinfection measures, and the tooth rolled on the floor stained with blood.

But Casey didn't feel the pain. He sat numbly with his mouth open, letting the blood flow onto the floor, and his hand holding the shears was shaking violently.

Missing a tooth, he felt a draft when he breathed. Casey threw away the shears and curled up in the corner, holding his head with his left hand.

His mouth was full of the taste of blood, and tears mixed with blood slid down his throat, making him feel nauseous. He retched uncontrollably. There was a knock at the door, but Casey didn't respond.

The person knocking was Bunny. She heard from the housekeeper that Casey was acting strange, and had taken a pair of shears back to his room. Bunny was uneasy. Casey was fine in the hospital, but he had changed since he got home, locking himself in his room and refusing to come out. She used a spare key to open the door. "My son." She started, but then saw Casey huddled in the corner, as well as the pool of blood on the floor, the blood-stained shears, and the tooth. "Casey, what happened?" Bunny knelt down, holding Casey's face, to look into his mouth.

His mouth was full of blood, and there was a bloody hole in his neat row of beautiful teeth. It was very eye-catching. Bunny's eyes reddened but now wasn't the time to ask questions. Bunny held his lower jaw and said, "I'll take you to the hospital."

"I won't go. I just pulled out a tooth," Casey said with a mouthful of blood, his voice hoarse and shaky.

Casey's current state reminded her of when he had just woken up in the hospital. He was also dazed back then, hiding in the corner and refusing to go out.

Bunny felt a pang in her heart. Casey was saying it so lightly that he had just pulled out a tooth, but he didn't know how much it hurt her as a mother.

"Alright, I'll call a doctor."

Bunny didn't know what to do with the pulled tooth, so she could only call a dentist to come to the hospital to check on Casey.

"The tooth that was pulled out won't grow back, but I can fit a false tooth."

Casey had also woken up from his daze by this point. Looking at Bunny's worried face, he grabbed her hand and said, "Mom, don't worry. I've long wanted to remove these two fangs because they affect my acting. After pulling them out and fitting a false tooth, there won't be any impact."

Casey's two fangs were like his signature. Even though he was in his thirties, whenever he smiled and showed his fangs, he still looked like a young man in his twenties.

His fans liked to see him smile, saying that his smile had the sunshine of a teenager. But now there was a tooth missing from his neat and beautiful teeth, his mouth was full of blood, and it looked very harsh. Casey didn't want to say anything. His gums were stitched, the dentist gave him medication, reminded him of the precautions, and then left.

Bunny originally wanted to supplement Casey with some nutrition, but now that his tooth had been pulled, he couldn't eat these things.

Bunny: "You can't do such silly things in the future. If you want to pull out a tooth, you should go to the hospital."

Casey: "I know."

Bunny couldn't be at ease seeing Casey being so obedient. Whenever she had time, she would watch him. If she wasn't there, she would have the housekeeper watch him.

Now, even when Casey held a nail clipper, Bunny would be scared.

Casey knew he was influenced by Brett's psychological tactics, but he also knew which of Brett's words were true and which were false.

That "Ryker" in Izabella's heart was like the moon, remaining in the most beautiful place in her memory. He couldn't take "Ryker"s place, nor did he want to exist as a substitute So he chose to pull out his own tooth so that when Izabella looked at his mouth, she wouldn't think of "Ryker"

chose

again.

Izabella returned to the company headquarters, and her secretary personally came down to greet her: "Ms. Salotti, hello."

"How's it been lately?"

"The company has received some malicious reports recently, especially today, but they didn't have a big impact. Kristin has been coming to the company these days, asking to see you."

"Did she come today?" Izabella asked.

"No."

"Then she should be coming soon."