Twisted Ties of Love

"Get in the car, Ms. Salotti."

In a nutshell, Izabella was bundled into the car by Nathaniel's men.

"Would you rather hand over your phone yourself, or do I need to have you searched?" Nathaniel's icy demeanor spread throughout the car.

Izabella was backed into a corner. She couldn't call for help from the people around her. Nathaniel was right about one thing: if she was too far away from him, she couldn't get back at him.

Izabella's plan to retaliate against Nathaniel couldn't be easily executed. As she thought, she furrowed her brows slightly, her long eyelashes curling up like butterfly wings. She emanated a coldness, like a sharp sword.

Nathaniel didn't give her much time to think. Izabella twirled the ring on her finger, her heart calming slightly. She pulled out her phone from her pocket and tossed it to Nathaniel, who handed it off to a subordinate outside the car and then ordered,

"Drive."

The car slowly took to the road. Nathaniel wasn't worried in the slightest that Izabella would run away. He generously allowed her to take in the scenery outside the window.

Counting the three years she lost her memory, it had been five years since she left R City. That year, after losing her memory, she was taken by Brett to J City, isolated from her home, even in death, she couldn't return.

In five years, the overall image of R City had changed completely, even the suburbs were filled with skyscrapers and the city was unrecognizable. After returning to R City, she spent her days buried in work, and with her unique identity, she rarely had the chance to go out and explore the city.

At that time, sitting in Nathaniel's car, she realized that R City had indeed changed a lot. The familiar routes seemed different; the buildings around her had all changed.

The car was heading towards a more remote area. But Izabella found that place familiar.

"R City has changed a lot over the years, but doesn't this place seem familiar to you?"

She was indeed familiar with that place, familiar to the point that her heart raced. That was the place where Nathaniel had tortured her five years ago; it was also where Ryker died.

She clenched her hands on her knees tightly, but Nathaniel seemed oblivious to her anger.

"Do you know where I dumped his body after I shot that idiot dead? Right in the sea nearby. If you behave well by my side, I might take you to pay respects to him when I'm in a good mood, to soothe his soul." Izabella was extremely angry, but she knew that she couldn't express it at that moment. She lowered her head and tried her best to hide her expression. "Angry?"

It was only then that Izabella raised her head. When she did, she wore a smile as if saying Nathaniel was nothing but a useless man.

Nathaniel didn't feel humiliated at all. He quite liked the rebellious spirit in Izabella. Only then would he feel the thrill of conquering.

The car soon arrived at the place. Izabella's familiarity with that road was totally because of Bell's memory. Nathaniel had built a tall building there.

Bell was arranged to live there that year.

Standing on the top floor, one could see the sea view. Bell had often stared into the distance. Even the most beautiful views became boring when they were seen too often. She stood there, contemplating jumping from the top floor, but she never had the courage.

Bell always yearned for freedom. Even though she was forced to be a double, she still held onto hope.

Because of the memory of Bell, even if Izabella returned to that place that once brought her unbearable pain, she wouldn't be scared.

The car slowly stopped, and Izabella stepped out of the car. Nathaniel walked ahead of her, saying casually, "Let's go."

Izabella followed him into the elevator and straight upstairs. The room's decoration was primarily black, white, and grey, making the already dim place seem even darker.

That was Nathaniel's usual residence, and it was evident in the traces of his daily life.

"I didn't eat much at noon. Cook something for me, just like before," Nathaniel commanded, not considering her feelings or desires. His domineering attitude was like Brett's.

However, Izabella had never actually cooked for him. It was only when Bell was with him that she would cook.

Izabella didn't refuse to obey his order. As she went to the kitchen, she surveyed her surroundings. There were no cameras and Nathaniel's men were all downstairs. It was just the two of them there. That was a good opportunity for her to get back at him.

Izabella opened the fridge, full of ingredients for cooking. She could tell Nathaniel had prepared them in advance.

Izabella selected a few dishes that Bell used to cook often and started cooking.

Nathaniel was not picky. He could eat anything she prepared for him.

Izabella washed her hands and started by making soup. She washed and cut the vegetables, and when the soup was almost ready, she started cooking the rice.

During that time, Izabella stayed in the kitchen at her own pace. Nathaniel was in the room behind her, and she could feel his gaze without turning around.

Nathaniel opened a bottle of wine

and sipped it as he watched her in the kitchen. He thought it would be nice if things could continue likeBelonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

that. He wanted to keep Izabella there Even though he knew that she wasn't Bell, just looking at her face was enough for him to console

himself.

Why did he need to console himself? Even Nathaniel wasn't sure. He felt that his life should be like this, like the sun rising and setting, the night turning into day, every day waiting for the sunrise of the next day Nathaniel drank his wine in silence. He felt a void in his heart as if something had been dug out. He admitted that he felt a bit lonely at that moment.

She was quick and soon had the dishes ready and served on the table.

"Dinner's ready."

Nathaniel put down his drink, washed his hands, and sat down at the table. His eyes, previously dull, lit up at the sight of the food spread out before him.

Those were dishes that Bell used to make all the time, and they tasted exactly the same. Izabella placed the silverware in front of Nathaniel.

Seeing Nathaniel gulp down the soup, Izabella gave a small smile and casually asked, "Tastes good, doesn't it?"

Nathaniel kept silent. He picked up his fork, the flavors of the dishes all too familiar.

He had just finished a bottle of wine, and he wasn't sure if it was alcohol, but his head felt fuzzy. Thoughts flashed through his mind too quickly to grasp. He pressed his hand to his head, even if it was shaking, he still insisted on finishing every dish in front of him.

"You're Bell, aren't you? You're just pretending to be her because I asked you to, right? You fooled everyone, but you can't fool me. How could a different person make the food taste exactly the same? I've eaten her cooking for over 200 days, I remember the taste of her food."

Nathaniel leaned against the table, trying to lift his hand to touch Izabella's face, but his hand was shaking so badly that the figure in front of him became blurry, and he couldn't reach her face no matter how hard he tried.

Nathaniel looked pained, his entire being seeming fragile as if he would shatter at a touch at that moment.

"Nathaniel, you're drunk."

"I'm not drunk."

He drank regularly, how could one bottle of wine get him drunk? But why was his head spinning, and why couldn't he see clearly?

He croaked, "I just have a headache."

Headaches were an old problem of his. Bell used to massage his head to comfort him when he suffered from them. But at that moment, he was looking at the woman in front of him.

Izabella played with the ring on her finger, her lips moving slightly, "Why don't you just drop dead."

Those words didn't sound like something Bell would say to him. She was timid and meek, always soft-spoken when facing him, even her breathing was barely audible. How could such a person suddenly change so much and curse him to die?

Nathaniel tried to stand up, but his body was swaying, his legs gave out, and he ended up kneeling in front of Izabella.

Izabella looked down at him from above, her voice echoing from above him, delivering a cruel fact, "Bell is dead." "She's not dead. She must still be in there, otherwise, how could the food you make taste exactly like hers?"

"That's just her habit. Her habits are

deeply ingrained in her memory. Even if her soul is gone, she still remembers your preferences," This was the bitter truth. Izabella was able to prepare those dishes thanks to Bell's memory. She knew exactly which seasonings to use, how long to cook each dish. It was all habit.

When Izabella finished speaking, a wave of indescribable sadness welled up in her, almost drowning her. She clutched at her chest.

Bell had been gone for a long time, but her body still felt sadness in the face of Nathaniel.

Nathaniel knelt on the ground, his body shaking uncontrollably. He spoke in pain, "I never thought she would die."

"But you, Nathaniel, you're the one who drove her to death," Izabella asked sarcastically, "Nathaniel, did you actually love her?"

Nathaniel kept silent. He didn't need to love someone, but he needed someone who loved him. The thought of being alone on a sickbed, swallowed by endless loneliness, was more painful than death. True love might not feed him, but it could give him a reason to live, to keep going forward.

Nathaniel realized that too late. By the time he came to his senses, the person who truly loved him was already gone.

"There will be no one to massage your head when it aches, to wait for you when you come home late, to prepare meals when you're hungry, to think about your preferences every day, to try to make you happy That person is dead."

"She isn't dead!" Nathaniel collapsed on the floor. He suddenly let out a cry, his face cold. It wasn't until he tasted the salty tears that he realized he was crying.

Izabella wasn't frightened by his

outburst, and she just watched him

calmly, then slowly said, "The Bell you wanted is dead. When you used her, when you handed her over to someone else as a substitute, she died of heartbreak. When you abandoned her and treated her coldly she died of despair facing cyberbullying. Those 385 days she was with you; you slowly drove her to madness and to her death. She can't come back. Nathaniel, do you know how Bell died? She swallowed a whole bottle of sleeping pills, turned on the gas, and lay quietly on the bed to die," Izabella stared at Nathaniel's face with empty eyes, her fists clenched so tightly that her nails were digging into her flesh, and she was almost hurting herself in the process.

Her previously calm emotions began to tremble, Izabella muttered, "Do you know how much she looked forward to the future, how much she wanted to live? You personally extinguished her last hope!"