Isabelle had mistaken him for James?

How could he forget... She would lower her lashes or look elsewhere whenever she looked at him, but now she was looking straight into his eyes.

Alexander felt his heart tighten and throb as though someone had stabbed it. Pain spread through his body and his eyes dimmed. He forced his gaze away, hiding from her harmful eyes.

Isabelle had no idea that Alexander's reaction was because of her. She was still deep in thought, unable to snap out of her daze as she continued to stare at him.

Even though he had diverted his gaze, he could still feel her stare. His lips started to feel dry, the voice recording playing in his mind repeatedly.

"In my whole life, I will love you the most."

"In my whole life, I will only love you."

Alexander thought about it, and slowly got up from his seat.

As more guests arrived, the two of them walked hand-in-hand, like a loving married couple, all the way to the sofa in the corner. After they sat down, Alexander closed his eyes to regain his composure, but he never let go of Isabelle's hand.

Isabelle, on the contrary, only stared blankly at Alexander's face, completely forgetting that he was holding her hand. Right then, he suddenly got up and dragged her arm up with him, instantly snapped her out of her daydream.

She blinked with some incomprehension in her eyes. But as Alexander seemed to emit an air of annoyance, she stood up from the sofa and opened her mouth. "Alex..."

After she let out just a syllable, she saw other people walk by and immediately changed her words. "James, what's wrong?"

Isabelle's single word "Alex", she hadn't finished speaking the name when the party started getting rowdy, so Alexander only heard what she said after that.

James...

He silently pursed his lips and abruptly loosened his grip on Isabelle's hand. Then he turned to leave.

Isabelle hurriedly chased after him. "Where are you going?"

Alexander walked quickly. Wearing very tall high heels, Isabelle worked hard to catch up to him. When she managed to grab onto his wrist with great difficulty, he didn't even turn his head. He just brushed her hand away and went into a restroom.

The restroom door slammed shut in front of Isabelle, leaving her standing there in a daze. Her expression was somewhat stunned, but from the bottom of her heart, she knew Alexander was in a bad mood.

Thinking back to everything that had just happened, Isabelle was certain that she hadn't done anything wrong. She turned her head and looked over at the cheerful and laughing crowd. Then she looked at Mr. Williams and Mrs. Williams, who smiled politely, standing hand-in-hand.

Suddenly a thought came to her mind - two children, who are both from the Williams family; one is unconscious, and yet he receives such blessings, whereas the other has to endure rolled eyes and abandonment. After his mother passed away, no one even remembered his birthday.

~*~

Alexander stood in the cramped cubicle with scattered emotions. He lit up a cigarette.

In the past few years, he'd gotten into the habit of smoking wildly when he was in a bad mood or when he missed that woman.

In actuality, he didn't like the smell of tobacco. It was a little harsh on the nose, but all these years alone, besides using it to numb his senses, he couldn't think of any other way...

There were constantly people coming in and out of the restroom. The sound of other toilets flushing could be constantly heard. Even the sound of men peeing standing up and chatting were heard.

Among the chaos, Alexander inhaled the heavy tobacco smoke, working hard to suppress his raging emotions.

He knew that he was acting jealous.

He knew he was just James's replacement, but seeing that her eyes only saw James's image, he was still irritated.

As it turns out, if you really love someone, jealousy is an innate instinct. The more you love, the more sensitive you are. It isn't something you can control.

In the end, Alexander didn't even know what he was thinking. When he came back to his senses, he found that there were quite a few cigarette butts in the bowl.

The phone in his chest was constantly vibrating. He pulled it out—it was Isabelle calling. He didn't pick up, but immediately rejected the call. Then he threw the half of a cigarette in his hands into the toilet and pressed flush.

The water swirled, making a whirling sound before the toilet bowl quickly fell silent. Alexander took a deep breath, fixed up his shirt, and pushed open the cubicle door. He stepped out and stood in front of the sink, fervently washing his hands. He grabbed a tissue and wiped his hands clean, before walking out of the restroom.

-

Not long after Alexander went into the restroom, Mrs. Williams sent someone to look for both Isabelle and Alexander to get ready to cut the cake.

Isabelle didn't dare run off. She only stood by the door of the restroom. On her way there, she took her phone out and dialed for Alexander, but nobody picked up.

After around ten minutes, Mrs. Williams sent someone to rush them over again. Isabelle could only call again. This time, the phone rang just twice before it was cut off. She creased her brows, ready to find someone to go into the men's restrooms and call for Alexander to come out when the man came out himself

Isabelle hurriedly walked over. She firstly looked him up and down and realized that he was quite calm. Then she said, "They just came to rush us over. They say you have to cut the cake."

Alexander nodded slightly. His movements were so light, it was difficult for others to detect him. He reached his arm out and wrapped it around Isabelle's waist, as they walked back to the banquet hall.

The banquet hall instantly fell silent when the two of them appeared. All the lights were switched off in a flash. Then two servants slowly pushed out a multi-layered cake, as tall as a person. The top of the cake was filled with candles with swaying flames.

Who knew who started it off, but the birthday song was sung.

The birthday cake stopped in front of Alexander, and everyone surrounded it. Once the song had finished, everyone stretched their heads out and blew out the candles..

The moment the candles went out, dozens of crystal lights lit up all together. The whole room exploded with cheer. There was someone who whistled, and others who shouted "Happy Birthday". Everyone had prepared a thoughtful gift and handed them one after the other to Alexander.

There already were servants standing to one side, ready to immediately take the gifts after Alexander received them. Even Mrs. Williams and Mr. Williams prepared him a gift.

Everyone were busy cheering to notice how stiff Alexander's fingers were when he stretched his hands out to take Mr. Williams's present.

This was the first time in his life receiving a gift from his biological father.

Isabelle was the last to give him a gift. People who Isabelle and James were familiar with, mischievously ushered her to give the birthday boy a kiss after she gave him his gift.

All of a sudden, everyone started to blindly roar all at once.

Isabelle timidly lifted her eyes and glanced at Alexander. She hesitated for a moment. Under everyone's rhythmic chanting of "kiss him", she summoned her courage, tip-toed, and kissed Alexander on the lips with her eyes shut. It was a quick peck, like a frog skimming the water.

Suddenly, the deafening sound of cheers and clapping rocked the banquet hall.

Isabelle's complexion had a thin layer of foundation, and her eyes quivered with hints of shyness. Her voice was mellow and delicate. "James, Happy Birthday."

Alexander lips lingered with Isabelle's warm breath. He stared at her for a while, moving his lips, and then lowered his eyes to mask the raging emotions beneath them. The corner of his lips curved into a hint of a smile. A flurry of graceful and composed servants brought over a knife and he started to cut the cake.

~*~

After eating the cake, guests started to leave one after the other. Isabelle and Alexander stood at the Williams family doors, politely escorting the guests to their cars. One luxury car after another drove out of the Williams family mansion. Not long after, the mansion was completely empty. In an instant, the previously rowdy place fell overtly silent.

The servants came in and out of the mansion, cleaning up after the party.

Isabelle and Alexander followed behind Mr. Williams and Mrs. Williams just beneath the steps to the mansion, then stopped. Isabelle called out to Mr. Williams and Mrs. Williams, who stood half a meter in front of her, "Uncle, Aunt..."

Mr. Williams and Mrs. Williams stopped in their tracks and turned their heads at the same time. Perhaps it was because Mr. Williams had drank a little, his face was completely red.

Isabelle pursed her lips into a smile before courteously saying her goodbyes, "We won't be going in. It's late, we'll head out first."

Alexander didn't even make a sound, as he strode directly over to his own car. He opened the car door and sat in, then pulled the car up in front of Isabelle. He pulled down the car window but didn't say a word, only pressed the car horn. His eyes stared blankly in front of him, never bothering to look at Mr. Williams and Mrs. Williams.

Isabelle immediately waved at the two of them. She opened the door and sat down, then put her head out the window and called out to them, "Goodbye."

Mr. Williams and Mrs. Williams also said "Goodbye" to Isabelle, and then gave her a few caring words. Alexander silently stared up front, waiting for them to politely bid farewell. Then he stepped on the accelerator, turned the steering wheel, and slowly started up the car. He drove out of the Williams family manor.

~*~

From the Williams family manor to York Garden, they passed the most bustling street of the city.

Night cleaning trucks had just passed, and so the streets were wet. Under the traffic lights, rays of light reflected brightly.

Alexander pulled the car window down, and the cool night breeze slowly came in, making the ride feel particularly comfortable.

The birthday party lasted several hours long, and Isabelle had been drinking, so was quite tired. As soon as she got in the car, she leaned back and shut her eyes to take a nap, as she thought about giving Alexander a surprise when they got home.

Alexander's car was playing a soothing song by a charming female singer. Alexander couldn't recall the song, but he felt that the melody wasn't bad. After hearing a few lines, he turned his head and glanced over at Isabelle. He saw her eyes were shut, as though she had already fallen sleep, and so he raised his arm and casually turned off the music.

It was quiet in the car. Only the sound of car horns going off were occasionally could be heard from outside.

Isabelle didn't sleep, but she shut her eyes to get some rest. Suddenly, she heard that there was no more music. She opened her eyes and coincidentally, through the side view mirror outside the window, saw Alexander turn his head, concentrating on his driving,.

It was quiet, this late at night. Both sides of the road were filled with multi-colored neon lights. Alexander's posture whilst driving was casual. Every now and then, the bright lights would flash across his face. Though he had a scar on his face, hints of his stunning handsome good looks still exuded from his bones.

Isabelle slightly adjusted her head, and found a more comfortable angle. She couldn't help but stare at Alexander in the side view mirror in a daze.

There was a turn in the road ahead. Alexander instinctively shifted his head and glanced at the side view mirror by Isabelle to check the traffic conditions. Who knew when she'd woken up, but right then, he saw her beautiful pitch-black eyes staring at him, entranced.

Alexander slightly creased his brows, and quickly turned his head. He smoothly turned the steering wheel, and then sneaked a glanced at the mirror. He saw that face, that looked ninety percent similar to James, and he couldn't help but tighten his grasp on the steering wheel.

Alexander drove patiently for five minutes when he realized that Isabelle was staring at him through the side view mirror without blinking. His eyes became cold, and in the next second, he grabbed the steering wheel with one hand. With his other hand, he grab for a make-up removing wipe and rubbed it frantically over his face.

Following Alexander's actions, the shape of James's drawn on eyebrows were quickly removed. His original handsome eyebrows were revealed.

With just one hand, Alexander also casually pulled off the scars on his face, exposing half of his white, smooth face before Isabelle's eyes.

Isabelle who'd been staring blankly into the side view mirror, instantly snapped back to reality. At first, she turned her head and looked over at Alexander who was still removing the scar. Then she looked out the window again at the packed street of bars and night clubs.

Quite a few celebrities would come at night, and so it also brought quite a few paparazzi there too. As much as seventy to eighty percent of the entertainment news were exposed there. If anyone happened to take their photo, then Alexander and her would definitely be the headliner the next day.

Isabelle instinctively raised her hand and pulled up her side window. She turned her head to look over at Alexander's fully opened window and was just about to signal for him to pull it up, when she saw the windshield in front of her. If anyone wanted to take their photo from the front, then there was no use in closing the car window.

On a normal day, celebrities would come here all dressed up. Having attended a birthday party today, Alexander and her were dressed up quite a bit. If anyone took their photo, then it'd be difficult to clear their names.

Isabelle thought about it for a moment, and said to Alexander, who was driving single-handedly, "Don't remove the scar on your face just now, do it when you get home."

Alexander stopped moving his hands for a moment, but then he forcefully tore half of the scar off. Because of the excessive force, thin lines of red appeared on his smooth white skin.

Seeing this, Isabelle creased her brows, and did not hesitate to grab onto Alexander's wrist. She stopped him, as he was just about to take the scar off. "Remove it with make up remover. Be careful not to harm your skin..."

Alexander glanced callously at Isabelle who held onto his wrist with a cold look in his eyes. When he spoke, his voice sounded particularly distant and frigid. "What? Did I disappoint you?"