Neither of them spoke first.

The assistant didn't notice the situation behind him. He turned to see Alexander standing without moving. He couldn't help but call out, puzzled, "Mr. Smith?"

He took two steps forward and saw that Isabelle was in front of Alexander. In that instant, he politely greeted her, "Hello, Miss Davis."

Isabelle snapped back to reality and nodded slightly at the assistant. She tightly grabbed the bag in her hands and looked away from Alexander. Then she shifted two steps to the side, around Alexander, and rushed over to the street.

She walked away hurriedly, and didn't even notice that the car Alexander had called had already started up. She was dangerously close to being hit, but luckily, Alexander reacted just in time. He suddenly pulled her arm, which made her take two steps back, and the car slowly drove off in front of her.

The assistant jumped in fright. He looked over at Isabelle, slightly pale, and asked, "Miss Davis, are you okay?"

Isabelle forced herself to calm down and shook her head at the assistant. Then she realized that Alexander had grabbed her arm. His palms were soft and warm.

Her body stiffened. She raised her head and looked at Alexander. His head was lowered, his pitch-black eyes staring directly at her. She instinctively lowered her eyes, and hesitated for a moment, before she struggled to pull her arm out of his grip. Without a sound, she lowered her head and walked off towards the streets.

Alexander's hand froze rigidly in the air, still seeming as though he was holding something. He held onto that pose, as he stared straight at Isabelle's figure.

Isabelle pulled the car door open, and Camila, who was on the phone, turned her head and blew a kiss. She hung up the phone, started up the car, and drove off.

The car took a turn up the road ahead. Even when they completely disappeared, Alexander was still standing, blanked out, on the spot.

After following Alexander for so many years, his assistant could smell that something was wrong. He instinctively stepped a few steps away from Alexander, and kept himself quiet, as he pretended to be deaf and mute.

After a long while, Alexander's handsome and refined eyes blinked gently. He pulled his eyes back from afar, then put his hand down. He calmly turned his head and strode over to the mansion without a sound.

The assistant waited for Alexander to walk ahead for some distance before he started striding in after him. According to many years of experience, he knew that though Alexander looked quite calm, at this moment in time, it was actually when his mood was the worst.

The assistant didn't follow Alexander into the house, but grabbed the car keys, opened the car door, and sat down in the driver seat.

~*~

Having just seen Isabelle to the door, Madam Mary was about to sit down to eat. Then she heard the door open and assumed that Isabelle was back for something she had forgotten to bring, so she hurriedly put her chopsticks down and walked out. "Miss..."

Just as Madam Mary called out that one word, she saw Alexander changing his shoes at the entrance. She quickly changed her tone of voice to be far less casual. "Mr. Smith, you're back."

Alexander didn't go to see Madam Mary, nor did he say anything. He couldn't be bothered to.

Madam Mary was well used to Alexander's cold attitude, and continued to ask with a smile, "Have you eaten lunch yet, Mr. Smith? Do you want to eat something?"

Seeing as Alexander didn't respond, the expression on her face became awkward. In the end, she said, "Mrs Smith just left."

"I know." When Alexander heard what she said, he replied with those two words.

Seeing that Alexander spoke, in that instant, Madam Mary then continued to say, "Mr Smith, you must of had so much fun celebrating your birthday, right?"

When she mentioned last night, Alexander's face instantly were covered by a dark cloud. A hint of viciousness flashed across his eyes. He took big strides up the stairs.

From the very start, Madam Mary didn't notice Alexander's expression and continued to go off on her own tangent, as she stood there jabbering on. "You must know, Mrs Smith had prepared your surprise all afternoon."

Surprise. What surprise?

It was like Alexander had his pressure points pushed. He abruptly stopped on the stairs.

"Mrs Smith bought a lot of baking items and personally baked a cake for you. She said that it was her first time baking a cake, and complained about doing a bad job. Yet, in the end, I think Mrs Smith has quite some talent. She succeeded on her first try.

"Mrs Smith also stuck balloons all over the house, and arranged those little candles on the balcony of the bedroom into a line of words..."

Before Madam Mary was finished speaking, Alexander took big strides up the stairs. He forcefully pushed open the bedroom door to find that the room was no different from usual. There were white walls, and the green plant on the balcony had grown nice and tall. The windows were open, and the summer breeze blew in. The curtains swayed with the green leaves, carrying a light fresh scent. It was nothing like what Madam Mary had just said.

Alexander stood in the room for no more than ten seconds before he turned around and went back down to the kitchen.

Madam Mary immediately followed him in. "Mr. Smith, leave the kitchen to me. What do you want to do? Let me help you."

Alexander never said a word. He just swept across the kitchen, to find that what Madam Mary said was true. He really did see a brand new oven. He pulled open the kitchen drawers. In the end, he saw baking ingredients in one of the storage cabinets.

Alexander felt like there was a lump in his throat brutally choking him. It was uncomfortable, yet he was so flustered, he couldn't speak.

He ruthlessly slammed the cabinets shut, then walked quickly out of the house.

The assistant saw him at the door and immediately started up the car, then opened the passenger door.

Without even a glance sideways, Alexander walked straight out of the mansion.

The assistant looked over at him puzzled. As did Madam Mary. Then, the assistant chased after Alexander.

Just as he reached the gates, he saw Alexander looking through the rubbish bin by the gates, looking for something...

Even though the rubbish in York Garden was cleared daily, there was still a stench from the bin.

The assistant froze momentarily before rushing forward with his hands covering his nose. "Mr. Smith, it's dirty here, what are you looking for? I'll get someone to find it for you..."

Alexander continued searching through the trash wordlessly, as though his assistant hadn't spoken. Just then, a spark brightened his eyes when he spotted black plastic.

The assistant retreated backwards, looking as Alexander opened the plastic bag. In a daze, he stood by the rubbish bin, frozen, looking straight into the bag.

The cake was in ruin, the butter cream spilling over the bag. There was also deflated balloons inside that were emitting a horrible smell.

In that instant, Alexander was at a loss for words. He stood there, a heart-wrenching pain exploding through his body. He stood trembling, with the plastic bag in his hands.

The assistant didn't know what he saw, but he knew that something was wrong. He just stood silently at the side, not daring to even breathe.

Alexander remained paralyzed in the same position for a long time before finally blinking his eyes. He continued to stare down at the mess in the bin, trying to decipher how the cake had looked like originally. After another long while, he blinked before placing the plastic bag back in the trash bin. He then brushed past his assistant, as though he wasn't there, heading for the backyard.

When Madam Mary saw Alexander entering, she immediately greeted him "Mr. Smith", but he brushed past her as though she hadn't spoken, walking straight for the bedroom. He entered the room and shut the door, leaning against it, staring up at the crystal lights in deep thought.

Madam Mary wasn't lying.. She had planned a surprise for him yesterday.

Madam Mary mentioned that it was the first time she had made a birthday cake...

If he had come back home yesterday, it would have all been his. Why didn't he come back? Why didn't he come back?

His eyes started to sting, his throat choked up to the point he couldn't breath normally. He reached to cover his face with his hands, a wrenching murmur escaping his throat, "Alexander, why didn't you come back?"

By the time he came went down, he was back to his frosty, distant self. He had showered and changed into a fresh set of clothes. Without a word, he walked to his car.

The entire journey, Alexander remained in the same position as when he just entered the car, his gaze staring out the window in deep thought.

The atmosphere in the car was thick.

The assistant focused on driving, his gaze staring straight ahead, not daring to make any sudden movements.

Isabelle wasn't in York Garden for lunch, she had gone to the hotel restaurant with Camila.

Yesterday, she didn't sleep well and her mood wasn't the best, causing her lack of energy. She randomly picked a few food before finding a place to sit down.

Isabelle was hungry, but she couldn't work up an appetite. Her actions were slow and draggy.

Camila carried a plate over, the contents almost spilling over. She sat down and placed a white bowl in front of Isabelle. "Izzy, they just made chicken soup so I got you a bowl."

"Thank you," Isabelle replied. She opened the cap and the thick meaty aroma flew out. The smell didn't whip up her appetite but instead sent her stomach churning.

The chicken soup in this hotel was made by an international chef , the taste was superior, and it was considered their specialty. Isabelle had always been a fan, but somehow, when she placed the lean meat into her mouth, it tasted weird, making her feel uncomfortable. She spat the meat out and reached for her own plain vegetables.

"What's wrong?" Camila asked, inaudibly with a full mouth.

"My stomach doesn't feel well." Isabelle didn't eat much but she felt full. She placed her chopsticks down and looked at Camila. " It's probably the alcohol from yesterday."

After her meal, she returned to her room and laid on the bed in exhaustion, falling asleep instantly.

That evening, she was deep in sleep when she was woken by Camila.

Isabelle opened her eyes in a daze, before murmuring in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? You have a scene at night, hurry and get some food before going to the set!" Camila replied before ripping her blanket off.

Isabelle looked out the window, realizing that it was almost dark. She looked at her watch instinctively, it was almost 6 pm in the evening. She was awake in an instant, rushing to prepare herself before getting a meal with Camila.

She still didn't have much an appetite, not finishing the cold plate and bowl of plain porridge she'd randomly picked.

Beside her, Camila was devouring half a plate worth of Chilli fish.

The fish had a strong smell that sent Isabelle's stomach churning. In the end, she couldn't even bring herself to finish her porridge, her stomach in a frenzy, making her nauseous.

There was quite a lot of crew members having their meals. Isabelle was afraid to cause a scene, so she placed her chopsticks down and signaled that she was going for the bathroom, and rushed out of the restaurant. But once she reached the bathroom, the nausea disappeared instantly.

Isabelle washed her hands and returned to the restaurant. But the moment she inhaled the aroma coming from inside her stomach started churning once more. Remembering that she didn't have much of an appetite anyway, she sent Camila a text, deciding to rest in the lounge area nearby.

The scene that night required a lot of actors, while Isabelle rushed to get her makeup done, Helen and Jake were already there, doing their makeup.

Isabelle greeted them before sitting on her designated seat.

Isabelle's makeup artist was an experienced woman in her mid thirties. Dressed in a peach-colored dress, she had on a light spritz of seductive perfume. While she was helping with the makeup, the strong scent irritated Isabelle, causing her stomach to churn once more.

She had to endure through the long makeup process, but by the end, the feeling grew so overwhelming, she could barely keep it in.

Isabelle suppressed the urge to vomit, enduring till the makeup was complete before she hurriedly moved away from the makeup artist. This time, it took a long while before she could calm the storm in her stomach.

After she changed, she walked to the set with Camila. The director was talking to the actors that were filming today, emphasizing on the main points. When he saw Isabelle, he immediately waved towards her.

Beside Alexander, Helen moved to the side instantly, leaving an empty space beside him for Isabelle.

Isabelle paused. Lifting her lids to look at Alexander's clothes, she took a heavy footstep over. She looked straight at the director, never once glancing at Alexander.

The director spoke enthusiastically for about twenty minutes before getting the actors to position themselves.

Isabelle and Alexander had to enter together, hence their positions were near each other. After the director's command, Alexander looked towards Isabelle instinctively. When she felt his gaze, she remained oblivious, pretending not to know anything, never returning his gaze, walking stiffly without waiting for him.

Alexander stared at Isabelle back, following after.

When she heard his footsteps, she turned stiff, forcing herself to stay calm with each step forward.

Once she reached her spot, she stopped. Shortly after, Alexander stood beside her.

Alexander's elbow perched near Isabelle's elbow. With just a small movement, their skins would touch.

They didn't speak, not even looking at each other, as though they were two strangers, even the surrounding atmosphere was distant.