There was still filming the next afternoon, hence at 11.40 pm, everyone started leaving.

Isabelle had sat in Alexander's car to the interview, so when everything ended, he told her "Wait for me, I'll drive you back" and went to settle the bill.

Several others had drank too much. Isabelle helped to send some of them into cabs and made sure to see them off before turning back to the main hall of Resplendent.

Alexander was standing under a lamp in front of the counter, signing his name.

Isabelle didn't walk up to disrupt him, just stood far away, observing him. His actions were swift and decisive. He passed the counter staff his card , and when she had passed the card back to him, she said something in agitation. Alexander nodded faintly, and before she passed a book over, he took the pen once more, bending to sign his name.

After getting his signature, the counter staff used her phone to secretly snap a photo of him. He seemed to have sensed it but didn't expose her, just placed down the pen and took his card back. Turning around, he instantly saw Isabelle standing by the door and took large strides towards her.

Alexander's car was parked at the entrance of Resplendent. He pulled out his car keys and unlocked it, opening the door for Isabelle. He shut it after making sure she had entered and was seated. He entered the driver seat and glanced at the clock, it was currently 11.55 pm.

He started the car, casually turning his steering wheel. Once he exited Resplendent, he didn't speed up but instead stopped his car by the side of the road.

Isabelle frowned, turning her head in confusion. "What's wrong?"

Alexander remained silent, staring at his phone screen, and silence settled in the car. He stared at his phone from 11.59 pm to 00.00 am before suddenly retrieving a paper bag from underneath his seat. Passing it over to her, he said in a gentle voice, "Happy Birthday."

Isabelle looked at the paper bag in front of her, her brain not able to process what had happened. She sat in a daze, looking extremely adorable.

Alexander felt tenderness wash over him as he looked at her. In an even gentler voice, he spoke once again. "This should be the first time I wished you Happy Birthday."

Isabelle blinked, suddenly remembering that it was her birthday.

Every year during her birthday she would hold a party, but due to the busy filming schedule, she wasn't able to find any time. Besides, she and James were a married couple to the public, so Alexander would be required to act as him if she were to hold a party, causing a lot of trouble. When Williams family and Davis family had called to ask her about it, she dismissed them instantly, stating that she was too busy filming.

Today, when she woke up, she could still remember that the next day was her birthday, but as the day got busier, that information was completely forgotten.

When Alexander realized that Isabelle wasn't going to react, he spoke the third time. "Aren't you going to look at your present?"

Isabelle snapped out of her daze, reaching out to take the paper bag from Alexander, then impatiently tearing it apart. Inside, there was an exquisite looking gift box. As she reached for it, she turned to ask him shyly, "What is it?"

"I remember someone told me that presents must be opened without knowing the contents."

On his birthday, she had said this very thing after giving him his present.

He actually used her words on her... Isabelle pouted, her slender fingers starting to unwrap the wrapper.

Alexander saw her slight pour and tenderness washed over him. In that instance, he had an impulse to reach out and ruffle her hair.

Isabelle tore the wrapper open carefully, and in the end, a red box came into sight.

Alexander started to feel nervous, remembering the present he had specially prepared for her many years ago being tossed into the rubbish bin.

His hands clenched into fists.

When she opened the box, inside lay a porcelain doll.

Not long ago, a designer in Global Entertainment had specifically taken her portrait and turned it into a cartoon. The porcelain doll was the cartoon version of her.

Isabelle had never expected him to turn the cartoon version of her into such a pretty porcelain doll; it was adorable. Happiness and joy flashed through her eyes. She turned to face him. "Thank you."

Looking at her obvious happiness, Alexander started to calm down, but he still needed to seek affirmation. "Do you like it?"

"I like it!" Isabelle replied without any hesitation. As long as it was from him, she would like it.

When he saw the firmness of her words in her eyes, he was finally able to calm down.

In the five years that they had been apart, he had always set an alarm to remind himself of her birthday.

Every year on her birthday, he would prepare a present for her. As he got richer, the presents he prepared started to become better, but he was never able to send them. Even if he had sent them, he would have had to get someone else to deliver it to her, and he was also afraid that his presents would end up in the bin, just like five years ago hence he never sent anything to her.

Tonight when his phone had reminded him, he decided to get her a gift in return for the present she had given him.

Even if he wasn't sure if she cared.

At that time, it was already late and the malls were closed, making it difficult for him to buy a gift. He was troubled for a while before remembering that not long ago, he heard someone say that in Mount Street, there was a doll maker that specialized in porcelain dolls. His dolls were unique and exquisite, so Alexander got his assistant to send him there.

He didn't let his assistant follow along because the doll that he was about to give her was different from all the other dolls.

The porcelain doll was hollow inside, and he had placed a letter with everything he had wanted to tell her in there; all his inadequacies and why he wasn't able to say it afterwards.

She was his deep, forbidden love, and this was the only way he could tell her some things.

Maybe she would never get to see it, or maybe in the future, when they completely lost contact would she finally see the secret hidden inside the porcelain doll.

Presents were never judged based on their monetary value. To Isabelle, even if someone were to give her the most expensive thing in the world, it would pale in comparison to the porcelain doll that was gifted by Alexander.

She looked at it, finding it more attractive every time she took another glimpse. In the end, she could no longer keep it in any longer and took out her phone and passed it to Alexander. "Help me take a photo."

When he heard her words, his lashes trembled slightly. He immediately concealed his thoughts, reaching for the phone with no emotion evident on his face.

Isabelle hugged the doll and pouted. With her clear eyes, red lips, and white skin, she looked adorable.

Alexander stared at the phone screen for a few seconds before snapping the photo.

Isabelle took the phone back and examined the photo. With a satisfied expression, she opened facebook and posted the photo with a short caption: "A birthday present as cute as me, wishing myself a happy birthday..." She ended it with a smiley emoticon.

Alexander sat at the side, taking her actions in. Without much expression, he said, "Lets go back to York Garden."

"Sure," Isabelle replied without hesitation. The phone in her palm vibrated, and she looked down to see that Helen had replied to her post. "Isabelle, Happy Birthday, you're adorable!"

Isabelle had garnered quite a few fans, and a few well known stars from the filming crew re-posted her post, so in less than a minute, there were many comments and blessings. It soon became the most popular post.

Isabelle's phone notification went off continuously. Due to the large influx of responses, she couldn't look at every one of them, but every time her phone went off, she would look down at the screen.

When the car steered into the road ahead, the traffic lights turned red. Alexander stepped on the brakes, stopping the car, and took out his phone for a quick look. He typed swiftly and placed the phone back down when the traffic lights turned green.

Just then, Isabelle heard another ring. She started to feel irritated and when she was about to dismiss the notification, she saw that Alexander had re-posted her photo with a simple "Happy Birthday".

Warmth spread through her, and she turned to see through the rear view mirror that Alexander was concentrating on the road. She bit down on her lip before replying to his post, "Thank you".

After she did so, she figured it was too obvious and so she replied to Helen, Jake, the director, and everyone else.

When they reached the next red light, Alexander took up his phone once again. Among a sea of notifications, he saw Isabelle's reply and replied again with "You're welcome".

In that instance, Isabelle had just refreshed her page, and when she saw his response, her lips curled into a smile uncontrollably.

She didn't continue to reply Alexander though, but every now and then, her attention would be drawn to him, sitting beside her.

In the car, even though the two of them didn't talk, the atmosphere felt particularly affectionate.

When the car drove past an old restaurant, Isabelle thought back to when Alexander and her had started to grow closer in the first year of high school. Every year, he would give her a birthday present, up until the year she graduated. Since then, she had not received any of his presents.

Back then, it was also coincidentally when their relationship started to gradually grow to become colder.

In high school, she treated her classmates at that restaurant many times.

After the car had long passed the restaurant, Isabelle turned her head and looked over at Alexander. "Who would have thought that you remembered my birthday. I thought you'd have forgotten it long ago."

Alexander stared straight at the neon lights on the street in front. The lights endlessly flashed across his face, which made his expression look slightly blurred. He was silent for around five seconds, then said, "I've never forgotten."

Her birthday, his mother's birthday, and the anniversary of his mother's passing were the most important dates these past years. He'd never forgotten them once.

Isabelle's heart trembled, and an unspeakable anxiousness came over her. She held her breath and asked, as though to confirm something, "You always remembered my birthday?"

"After celebrating seven birthdays, how could I forget?" As Alexander said those words, his tone seemed to reveal an indescribable sentiment.

Even though the birthday gifts he gave her in her youth were modest, he would spend that day with her every year.

From the first year of high school till the first year of university, it had been seven years. In those seven years, he had fought his very hardest to love her.

Seven years?

Those words instantly reminded Isabelle of their youth, and the days she persisted in loving him. She had cherished every one of his gifts, like they were the world's most precious treasures.

Isabelle's brows suddenly furrowed. That wasn't right. She only received six presents in the past. Why did he say 'seven years'? Did it include this year's present?

Isabelle thought of asking Alexander when her phone suddenly rang. It was an unknown number.

Isabelle swallowed her words and picked up the phone. The sound of a polite woman's voice came from the other line. "Pardon me, am I speaking to Mr. James's wife, Mrs. Isabelle?"

Isabelle was stunned for a moment. "And you are?"

"It's the hospital, Mr. Williams has just woken up. I called the Williams family, but nobody was available to take the call, so I could only contact you." "I'll be right there." Isabelle hung up the phone, and said to Alexander beside her, "We have to go to the hospital. James just woke up."

Alexander gave a gentle nod and silently turned the car around, towards James's hospital.

Along the way, from the bottom of his heart, he thought... with James awake, would that be the end of them?

Along the way, from the bottom of her heart, she thought... with James awake and how well their current relationship was, could they still be friends like this after the marriage was over?

Along the way, the two of them had different thoughts. One was afraid of breaking up,the other thought of starting anew.