Chapter 24

Isabella woke up in her pitch-black bedroom, feeling groggy and disoriented. She momentarily couldn't grasp what time it was; it looked like evening, but something felt off.

She grabbed her phone and saw it was already past noon,with a bunch of unread messages mostly from Michael and Olivia.

First, she opened Michael's message: [Isabella, don't worry about work. I took the day off for you. Get some rest. You worked hard last night. I'll spend the weekend with you. Love you!]

Thinking about last night made Isabella's face turn bright red.

Next, she checked Olivia's messages, which started with concern: [Isabella,are you sick? Is it serious? Is there anyone with you? Do you need me to come take care of you?]

The rest were complaints about work and Eric: [Isabella, help! Eric is being so unreasonable. He gave us another design project, and the client is so picky. I can't handle it.].

[Isabella, without you here, Eric doesn't even smile at me.]

With Olivia's messages piling up, Isabella decided she needed to get to work soon. She wasn't sick, so it wasn't fair to put all the responsibilities of their shared task on Olivia.

Isabella got up, washed up, and went downstairs. Ava had already prepared lunch for her. After last night's intense activities and skipping breakfast, Isabella's stomach was growling with hunger. She didn't leave a single bite on the table.

After she finished eating, Jerry came by to pick up some documents for Michael and offered to give her a ride to the office.

Olivia hurried over, making sure to take a good look at Jerry's features.While his facial features were well-defined, they didn't have the same refinement as Eric's.

She linked her arm with Isabella's and hesitated for a moment before tentatively asking, “Isabella, even though Eric can be a bit odd,his character is solid, and he's good-looking. He wouldn't bring down the looks of the next generation... Have you ever thought about being with him?”

"What are you talking about? I'm already married! With Mr. Alan? No way!” Isabella looked at Olivia in disbelief.

"Isabella, the whole company is saying that Mr. Allen has a crush on you.

I think this might be true." Olivia said, feeling a bit upset.

Isabella said, "Olivia, I don't think Mr. Alan has a crush on me. Please don't say things like that anymore; I'm already married."

"Aren't you in a fake marriage? You're not falling for your husband, are you?" Olivia asked, her curiosity piqued.

Hearing this, Isabella fell into deep thought.

From childhood to now, although she was beautiful, she had never been in love. she didn't know what it felt like to love someone. But she was sure that she didn't dislike or reject Michael. Someone like Michael was hard to dislike. Maybe, if she let her feelings develop, she would fall in love with him.

Thinking about the message he sent her this morning, which included the words "love you," Isabella blushed.

Seeing Isabella like this, Olivia teased, "Isabella, you're done for. Look at you blushing. I must have hit the mark,right?"

"Olivia."Isabella felt embarrassed by Olivia's words.

"Let me see!" Olivia looked Isabella up and down. "Something's not right.With my over twenty years of life experience, I can tell something's up.Are you going to confess, or do I have to interrogate you?"

Isabella pulled Olivia along and reminded, "Olivia, it's time to clock in."

But Olivia dragged her to the stairwell, and they sat on the stairs,looking at each other.

Olivia broke the silence, "Isabella, Mr. Allen said this morning that you were sick. Was it your husband who took the day off for you?"

Isabella nodded.

"I thought so. You're always punctual and never sleep in. And now you don't look sick at all. Did you and he, you know, have sex?" Olivia asked.

Olivia's bluntness made Isabella blush. She looked down like a guilty schoolgirl, unable to meet Olivia's gaze, and gave a small nod.

"Was last night the first time?" Olivia continued.

Isabella shook her head. "No, it was on our wedding night."

"Isabella, you're so bold!" Olivia exclaimed. "You couldn't do it with John after being together for so long, but you don't reject him?"

Isabella nodded and softly said, "He's different."

Olivia poked Isabella's head. "What's different? They're both just regular guys."

Then she suddenly thought of something and asked, "Isabella, is your marriage serious?"

Isabella looked at Olivia in confusion. For some reason, a wave of grievance surged in her heart. "I don't know."

"Then, is he serious?" Seeing Isabella like this, Olivia felt heartbroken.

"He says he is, but I don't dare to believe it. He's just so impressive..."Isabella took a deep breath and mustered the courage to say.

"Online, they say that when you startto worry about a relationship,it means you're falling for them." Olivia said, "Isabella, you might be in love with him."

"I don't know." Isabella buried her head in her knees and muttered. "I felt indebted to him from the start of our marriage, so I let him make the decisions. If he wants to make it work, I'll stay. If he falls in love with someone else and wants a divorce, I will..."

Thinking about the possibility of Michael being with another woman in the future,repeating their current intimate actions, Isabella's heart ached as if it were being squeezed by a hand.

Olivia hugged Isabella and carefully analyzed for Isabella, "Isabella,be confident. If you love, love boldly. If you don't, leave courageously. Don't carry such a heavy burden. From your perspective, marrying him was for Ella, and you took advantage of him. But from his perspective, he didn't lose anything either."

As Olivia was speaking, Isabella's phone rang. It was Michael calling.

Isabella stood up and stepped aside, answering the phone, "Hello."

"Jerry told me you wentto work. I took the day off for you. Why didn't you rest a bit more?" MichaeI's tone was urgent; no one knew how anxious he was when he heard Jerry mention that she had gone to work.On one hand, he was worried about her health, and on the other, he didn't want Eric to be around her.

"I'm fine," Isabella's voice sounded nasal due to her earlier low mood. "I'm much better now. This task is urgent, and I can't leave it all to Olivia."

"Why does your voice sound strange? Did your supervisor bully you?"Michael asked, noticing something off in Isabella's voice.

"No,my throat is just a bit uncomfortable." Isabella said casually.

Michael said, "Oh, I see. It's my fault. I just got some ointment from the doctor for you. I was planning to come home at noon to apply it for you,but I guess it'll have to wait until tonight."

Isabella was puzzled. "What ointment?"

Michael explained, "You know, the one for... you said it hurt..."

Isabella immediately understood. Michael was actually discussing this with her in broad daylight.

Isabella said, "Mr. Johnson, is there anything else? If not, I'm hanging up."

Isabella hurriedly hung up the phone, feeling her cheeks burning, and fanned herself with her hand.

Olivia watched with a knowing smile, convinced that Isabella had genuinely fallen for him. For the sake of Isabella's marital happiness, she felt she had to find a way to squash Eric's crush.