Twisted Ties of Love

"Navarro?"

Izabella didn't think she'd crossed anyone from the Navarro family.

Hold on, there was a Nolan Navarro, Kaley's secret lover, the one who cuckolded Brett.

Kaley might be dead, but those around her were still as restless as ever.

"Nolan?" Izabella spoke up.

"Didn't think Ms. Izabella would remember me." Nolan's face was marked by a deep scar, nearly bisecting his eye, making him look sinister in the dim light, like a snake ready to strike.

Nolan had climbed the ranks from a small-time thug to the kingpin of the underground gambling scene. His methods were not to be underestimated.

But recently, he'd been in decline. First, there was Kaley's death, then someone had been intentionally undermining him, slowly chipping away at his empire.

He should have taken revenge for Kaley a long time ago, but he'd been too preoccupied and hadn't found the right opportunity. If someone hadn't suddenly proposed a partnership, he wouldn't have been able to kidnap Izabella so easily.

"I promised Kaley once that I'd take care of you. Just never had the chance." As he spoke, Nolan unveiled a wicked grin. It was rather unsettling.

Izabella wasn't fazed. She responded with a calm smile, "So you want to avenge Kaley, kill me, an eye for an eye?"

Nolan shook his head. "I didn't bring you here to kill you."

"Then what?"

"People can come back from the dead, their spirits can inhabit others. I want to know the secret you hold." Nolan squinted at her, "If these secrets were exposed, they'd cause quite a stir, wouldn't they?" "You brought me here to find out how I came back to life?"

Nolan declared, "I want her to come back to life."

"Kaley?"Text © owned by NôvelDrama.Org.

Nolan's silence was confirmation. Izabella's smile faded, and after a long pause, she said, "Give up on that idea. People like Kaley go straight to hell when they die. If you want to see her again, you might as well die first. You might even catch up with her on the road to the underworld."

Nolan's face darkened, and he slapped Izabella hard across the face. The sound of the slap echoed in the room.

Izabella's head turned with the force of the blow, her ears rang and she felt dizzy. When she looked at Nolan, she expected to see anger in his eyes, but he looked impassive.

Izabella laughed coldly, "I've always

been curious why you'd go to such lengths for Kaley. Do you not know she always loved Brett and wanted to marry him? Or are you just a masochist who enjoys wearing the cuckold's horns? Do you like sharing a woman with another man?"

As Izabella spoke, she hit close to the mark.

Nolan's affection for Kaley wasn't normal. It was tinged with obsession.

In simple terms, he was a lovesick fool, suffering from Stockholm Syndrome.

The more Kaley ignored him, the more he wanted her. He knew she was using him, and he didn't mind. In fact, he felt valuable.

Nolan had fought his way up from a lowly thug. He'd been called "worthless" more times than he could count. Kaley was his first lover, the first to make him feel pleasure. Kaley often called him useless, but in the end, she always ended up beneath him, begging for more.

This twisted psychology made him more and more dependent on Kaley. Despite his powerful status, his deep-seated insecurities remained. Only with Kaley did he feel superior.

When he saved Kaley, gave her a new face, a new name, and everything she wanted, it wasn't out of love. He saw her as his masterpiece, a symbol of his success.

Izabella was good at reading people, but she couldn't decipher Nolan's complex heart.

After Nolan slapped Izabella, neither

of them reacted much. It was as f they were just scratching an itch. His subordinate, however, was shocked and whispered, "Navarro, didn't you say not to touch her?"

"And what if I did?" Nolan held Izabella's chin, looking at the red mark on her face, "Does it hurt?"

"Let me go now, or I'll slap you to see if it hurts." Izabella swallowed the metallic taste of blood in her mouth.

"Many men like you for a reason. You're defiant, and that's alluring. It stirs a man's desire to conquer." Nolan lit a cigarette with a flick of his lighter and sat back in his chair.

"If you can become Kaley, I'll let you go."

"Become Kaley's stand-in?" Izabella

laughed mockingly, "Are you insulting me or trying to disgust me? Your desire for Kaley might have been about dominating her, seeing a woman who looked down on you beg for mercy. But I won't do that. Even if it kills me, I won't beg you."