Twisted Ties of Love

Chapter 293

— "Brett, I hope you remember what you said. You'll never be able to live with a clear conscience for the rest of your life."

— "I wish you both grow old together and never separate."

With Izabella's heart-wrenching "blessing", a chaotic noise came from the phone, almost shattering his eardrums. Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

As if struck by a thunderbolt, Brett stumbled back a half step, standing still with his ears ringing, as if something collapsing in his ears.

"Izabella?" Brett tentatively called out softly.

The phone was eerily quiet, making him extremely frightened.

"Izabella, answer me."

"Stop messing around..." Brett's voice was hoarse, as if there was blood stuck in his throat.

"I'll be back soon. Kaley and I are only pretending to be engaged. I don't like her. The engagement is just for her blood."

"Do you understand me?"

"Answer me... Izabella."

His calls had already gone unanswered. Brett's face turned pale.

The phone screen had gone black. Brett shakily redialed, only to be met with a cold automated response.

—"I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is out of service area..."

Brett dialed over and over, his forehead veins bulging, cold sweat dripping into his eyes, tears pouring from them and splashing onto the phone screen.

His trembling hands grasped the phone, his tears sticky and uncomfortable in his palm, wiping his hand and phone, continuing to call back.

Izabella, please pick up my call, please, pick up my call...

At first, it was just his hands shaking, and now his whole body couldn't stop trembling. His scalp tingling and vision blurred.

Why is it so cold? He turned his gaze to the window.

Someone exclaimed, "It's snowing outside! Has it been six years since it snowed in J City? Didn't expect it to snow again this year, especially on this special day."

So it was snowing. No wonder it was so cold. Brett watched the snowflakes falling gently outside like feathers.

Izabella liked snow in winter, but she had never seen such heavy snow.

Brett gazed at the large snowflakes falling from the sky.

It seemed to be the most beautiful snow he had ever seen in his life.

Someone opened the window, and the cold wind poured in. Brett came to his senses and suddenly ran outside like crazy.

Kaley, who was being interviewed, saw Brett's frantic face and her heart skipped a beat. She lifted her skirt, dodged the guests, and quickly chased after him.

"Brett, where are you going? Today is our engagement ceremony!" Kaley couldn't catch up to him in her high heels, so she shouted from behind.

Brett didn't stop for a moment. Kaley was instantly panicked, not caring about the reporters around her. She shouted out a threat to him, "Brett, if you dare to leave today, don't come to me if anything happens to Izabella!"

Sure enough, Brett stopped. He turned sideways, his eyes bloodshot, a glare Kaley had never before seen.

The gloomy atmosphere was like a silver hook about to tear her heart apart, and she retreated in fear. She spoke timidly, "Brett, today is our engagement day. So many people are watching us. You can deal with your business after the reporters and media leave, alright?"

Brett's frown hadn't relaxed since earlier. "Something happened and I have to go back!"

"What about me?" Kaley's heart ached, and she almost cried. She staggered towards Brett with her skirt lifted, "Today is my engagement party that I've been preparing for two months. You're leaving me here alone. Have you thought about my feelings?"

Several ambiguous gazes turned to her, and Kaley's fingers trembled in anger.

Kaley took a deep breath, suppressed her anger, and spoke with a calm voice, "If you don't care about me, at least think about Izabella. After all, she will undergo stomach cancer surgery soon. If anything happens to me at this time, she will have one less life."

Kaley spent a lot of money on the engagement ceremony and invited marketing media to promote her and Brett's "love story". Some people, who were unaware of the truth, thought that Kaley was Brett's childhood sweetheart. Unfortunately, Brett was snatched away by Izabella, so she and Brett had been separated for seven years.

Nathaniel stood on the second floor, witnessing everything. He lit a cigarette, looked at his watch, and counted the time. Izabella should be...

Suddenly, his heart was pierced with pain. He rubbed his chest, trying to dissipate the strange feeling.

A meaningless life couldn't affect him, and he was willing to do whatever it took to achieve his goals. He was only in his twenties and many people had died in his hands. One woman meant nothing to him. Nathaniel took a drag on his cigarette, the ashes and embers falling to the ground. He half- closed his eyes and looked up at the snowy sky.

Izabella, it hasn't snowed in the city for many years. You're dead, and it snowed. It's a pity you didn't live to see it.

"Is everything taken care of?" Nathaniel flicked the cigarette in his fingers.

The subordinate behind him replied, "I've replaced the USB on the screen and connected the monitor on the other side."

Nathaniel laughed, and the subordinate asked again, "Mr. Krueger, shall we go down now?"

Nathaniel put out the half-burned cigarette in his hand and flicked it into the trash can. "No rush."

Izabella had given him information about the Starry Brilliance Island shipment, and in exchange, he helped her with a "great gift."

Nathaniel pointed to the couple downstairs and asked the subordinate behind him, "Do you know what this is called?"

The subordinate looked confused, shaking his head, unable to guess what Nathaniel wanted to express.

"It's called, scumbag meets scumbag."

Brett and Kaley's engagement news was live-streamed on various platforms. Even the usually not- so-interested-in-online-news Amelia saw it, along with Presley, who had just returned to the country with anti-cancer research results...

At the banquet, the host went on stage to introduce the love story of the couple, how they met, got to know each other, and fell in love. And then asked the two to come up and exchange engagement rings.

Kaley whispered, "Brett, at least we should exchange engagement rings, right?" Exchanging a ring would take just a minute or two.

Brett gritted his teeth, his mind occupied by various things - Izabella's last screams and Kaley's blatant threats.

It wasn't Kaley's threats that frightened him, but the fear that if something happened to Kaley, Izabella would really be in danger. He didn't dare gamble with Izabella's life.

But he couldn't get through to Izabella on the phone, and a strong sense of unease filled his heart.

He could only comfort himself, thinking that Izabella was "grounded" at home with her broken leg, and Katie was watching her. What could go wrong?

"After we exchange the engagement rings, I'll leave right away." Brett reached into his jacket and took out his engagement ring.

Upon seeing the ring, Kaley let out a sigh of relief. Her dark eyes regained their previous sparkle.

As they walked down the red carpet together, Kaley kept waving to the guests and media, pressing herself closer to Brett as if to declare he was hers.

The host stood in the middle, smiling as he said, "Exchange your engagement rings."

All Brett wanted was to finish this and go home to be with Izabella.

He thought that what Izabella had said on the phone was just her acting out, and when he got back, everything would be just as it always was - having dinner together and going for a walk, cuddling at night and having sweet dreams.

Yes, those were ordinary things. How could they change?

"Mr. Windham, please exchange the rings." Seeing the man hadn't moved, the host reminded him in a low voice.

Brett took the ring and looked at the camera lights, thinking of Izabella watching this scene from off- screen. The light stabbed his eyes like invisible knives.

He suddenly recalled his simple wedding with Izabella years ago - the lie he'd told in front of the priest.

He said he'd protect her, love her, and never leave her for the rest of his life...

Brett absentmindedly put the ring on Kaley. It fit perfectly, unlike the rings he'd bought for Izabella that were either too big or too small.

Kaley, with a big smile on her face, looked at the ring on her finger. Finally, she was engaged to this man. Now everyone knew that Brett was hers, and Izabella was the one everyone despised as the mistress.

After they exchanged rings, the host told the staff to play a prepared video.

As the video played, the audience gasped with shock - the engagement video had been replaced with a naked man and woman in bed.

The sound was turned up to the max, and suggestive noises came from the video. Everyone's attention was drawn to the scene.

Men laughed, and women screamed and covered their eyes in embarrassment.

The host was stunned and called for someone to turn off the video, but it couldn't be stopped - the computer had been hacked.

Brett didn't have any reaction at first, but when he noticed the female lead in the video, his face darkened instantly.

"Why do I feel like the woman in the video looks like Ms. Cornett?"

"What do you mean 'looks like'? That's definitely her! The voice and appearance are the same, and her exposed legs look just like the ones she showed off today!"

Kaley's face, which had been happy just moments ago, suddenly turned pale. She bit her lip until it bled, still not recovering from the shock. She felt like she was trapped in a nightmare, and the naked gazes around her were like knives trying to shred her clothes to pieces.

She had never experienced such humiliation before and couldn't understand why the video of her and Nolan in bed would appear in this situation.

The video showed them in a hotel where she and Nolan used to go for their rendezvous. The two of them in the video had no covers, every little detail there for everyone to see.

Kaley felt like her blood was flowing backward, filled with a numbing cold sensation. She covered her ears and shrieked, trying to block out the filthy noise.

"That's not me! It's not me!"

Brett's eyes were cold as he stared at the big screen. He looked down at Kaley curling up on the ground, "If it's not you, then who?"

Kaley carefully looked up, only to be intimidated by Brett's fierce gaze. She fell backwards in a panic, scrambling on the ground, and grabbed onto Brett's leg.

"Brett, I..."

Before she could finish, Brett stepped back, avoiding her grasp. Kaley looked up at him in disbelief, meeting his disgusted gaze, feeling a chill run down her spine.