"I was always curious and wanted to ask you about who you like..." Isabelle tried to appear curious, as though she was just being gossipy.

She thought that she looked relaxed, but deep inside, her heart was bleeding. She took several deep breaths inwardly, trying to control her emotions, allowing herself to seem nonchalant when saying the words that had sent her to tears multiple times. 'No matter who I like, it will never be you.'

Isabelle appeared calm, even curling her lips upwards into a small smile before lowering her lashes to shield her hurt and sorrow. She continued to joke with ease, "Don't you know how hurtful that was? I was just being curious, but you had actually said that.... Am I that bad?"

In that instance, Alexander was even more confused. That sentence wasn't part of any of his memories. He frowned, trying to recall what had happened five years ago, before they had grown apart.

At that time, they hadn't met for a few months and finally reunited in a gathering held by James. That time, he had just heard from James that he was going to marry Isabelle. It had been the worst moment of his life. He felt despair closing in on him and on the second night of the gathering, he didn't speak to Isabelle. He just kept drowning himself in alcohol. And at the end of the night, he dreamed that he had met her and had spoken to her.

Alexander could sense that what she was saying was from the night he was drunk. He sunk into silence for a long while before asking, "Was it five years ago on the night of James's gathering?"

"Yea," she replied faintly.

"That night, the girl I love had married someone else, so I wasn't in a good mood. I drank too much and mistook you for a hallucination..."

Hallucination... Isabelle didn't know how to explain her current emotion... She could barely breath. Her grasp on the blanket tightened, but she forced herself to react normally. "So on that night, you mistook me for the girl you love? You thought that she was the one asking you, that's why you said that?"

Alexander's lips pressed into a thin line, sadness creeping onto his face.

After a long while, he explained faintly, "That sentence wasn't for the girl I love, it was for myself."

So that's how it was.... That sentence was not meant for her, but the girl he loved wasn't her either... Isabelle's happiness was soon drowned by a layer of sadness. She struggled to keep the smile on her face.

"I really thought you meant it." She paused slightly before continuing, "But the girl you love must be blessed, having you love her for such a long time."

Alexander lifted his lips lightly, but he didn't speak. The entire room was so quiet that even the sparks of light from the candles could be heard. After a long while, Alexander finally spoke, but instead of replying to her, he called her lightly, "Izzy..."

Isabelle raised her head in confusion, looking up at him. "Huh?"

Alexander stared at her, his eyes a mixture of emotions. He wanted to tell her that she was the girl that he loved, but he was afraid that if it went wrong, they couldn't even be friends.

When someone has totally lost something, he never wants to return back to that stage. The five years without her was the worst time of his life and he never wanted to relive that again.

His heart was in a mess. After a long while, he finally cleared his throat. "You are worthy of love."

This was the first time that Alexander had praised her. Isabelle took a deep breath of his familiar scent, another sudden impulse forming in her mind. She really wanted to ask if she was really worthy of love. If she was worthy, then what about him? Why didn't he love her?

The more she thought, the more she wanted to ask him. She was really going to call for him, but as she looked at him, he was staring back at her with a deep gaze, as though waiting for her to speak. In that instance, she lost all her courage.

This was the best time of their relationship and she didn't want to do anything to jeopardize this moment.

After all, even if she was a girl worthy of love, that didn't mean that he would love her.

She swallowed the words back in, finally saying in a faint voice,

"Goodnight."

After a long while, he replied in an equally faint voice, "Goodnight."

This was the end of their conversation. They closed their eyes, pretending to be asleep, but deep inside their hearts, they were both thinking of their deepest secret.... He loved her; She loved him.

Isabelle had no idea how she fell asleep that night, but when she woke up, it was already 11 am in the afternoon and Alexander was no longer beside her.

The candles on the floor had already been extinguished, leaving an empty glass containers behind. The balloons on the wall were the same as the previous night, reminding her that it was not a dream.

She looked at her phone and saw many blessings from her family and friends. As she brushed her teeth, she started to reply to them one by one. By lunch time, Camila had arrived to fetch her to the filming set.

Isabelle began packing her things, but before she left, she suddenly remembered that Alexander had prepared a cake for her. She told Madam Mary to pack it for her and she brought it along to the filming set.

That afternoon, Alexander didn't have any scenes, so he didn't turn up.

But in the few minutes they were apart, she realized that she really missed him.

After she was done with her scenes, she headed back to the hotel. Upon reaching it, she saw Alexander's car in the car park. Knowing that he was nearby, she suddenly remembered the cake he had prepared for her, which she could use as an excuse to meet him.

After returning to her room, she cut the cake and placed a large slice onto a plate. Just when she was about to leave the room, her phone suddenly rang...

It was from the front counter. "Is Miss Isabelle there?"

She held the cake in one hand and the phone in another. Bending down, she answered, "Yes."

"Hello Miss Davis, the front staff has two deliveries for you. Do you need me to send them up now?"

One was from Sophia. She had initially wanted to deliver the present personally but was sent overseas on a last minute business trip, hence she could only send it through postage. As for the other gift... Isabelle frowned slightly, curious as to who had sent it, but she was in a rush to go upstairs to find Alexander, so she didn't think much of it and said in a warm tone, "Yes please, I'm sorry to have to trouble you."

After she hung up, Isabelle informed Camila, who was devouring the cake, to collect the delivery for her before rushing out the door. After closing it behind her, she hesitated slightly before returning back to the room. She placed the cake down and tidied her hair. After examining herself for a long while, she reached for her blusher and dabbed a little on her cheeks. Pressing her lips together, she was satisfied with herself.

She reached for the cake once more and left her room.

~*~

Isabelle came to the entrance of Alexander's room on the top floor. At the door, she didn't forget to take out her phone to look at her reflection, making sure that she looked perfect before pressing the doorbell.

Alexander's assistant was the one that opened the door. When he saw her, he stood aside immediately. "Miss Davis, come in."

Isabelle walked in with the cake in her hands. She scanned the surroundings, and when she didn't see Alexander in the living room, she asked, "Where's Alexander?"

"Mr. Smith is in the bedroom." His assistant pointed to the bedroom before walking to knock on the door. After waiting for a while, Alexander's faint voice came from inside, "Enter." The assistant pushed the door open.

Alexander sat in front of the study table. He continued to stare at the computer screen without bothering to look up, as though he had nothing to do with the person that just entered.

His assistant was already used to Alexander's nonchalance, so he added, "Mr. Smith, Miss Davis is here."

The moment Alexander heard that Isabelle was here, he diverted his gaze from the computer screen to look at her, who had just entered the room.

A wide smile spread across her face instantly. It was sunset, and through the window, warm yellow rays were spilling into the room onto Isabelle's face, making her smile seem almost celestial.

Alexander stared in a daze for a while before raising from his chair, asking in a gentle voice, "Why are you here?"

Isabelle smiled at him, lifting the large cake in her hands. "I came to send you a a slice of cake."

Alexander pushed the messy documents aside, emptying a space for the plate.

The assistant had specially ordered Isabelle's birthday cake, so he knew that it was her birthday. He instantly gave her his blessing, "Miss Davis, Happy Birthday."

"Thank you." Isabelle smiled towards his assistant and place the cake on the empty space Alexander had emptied. It seemed rude not to offer his assistant, so she turned towards him. "Do you want a slice?"

The assistant nodded his head, accepting Alexander turned to glare at his assistant, forcing him to swallow his words. The man then turned to smile at Isabelle, forcing out his next words. "Thank you Miss Davis, but I don't really like sweet food."

"Oh..."

Isabelle turned and looked at Alexander. At that moment, there wasn't any expression on his face. He no longer had the strict expression he had used to face his assistant, and so Isabelle remained oblivious to what had happened, a faint smile on her face. She passed the fork she had brought up to Alexander and told him, "The cake is all yours."

Alexander replied with a faint "Yea", and when Isabelle wasn't paying attention, he swept his assistant a glance.

The man suddenly realized the situation and immediately said, "Mr. Smith, I just remembered that I promised my wife that I'll be home tonight for dinner, so if there's nothing more, can I go back?"

Even though Alexander was well aware that his assistant left because of his warning, he remained expressionless, as though nothing had happened, and nodded. "Yea."

The assistant turned to Isabelle and bade her goodbye before leaving the room.

After he left, Alexander glanced at the time on his computer. It was dinner time, so he asked, "What do you want to eat?"

"Anything..." After Isabelle had replied, she suddenly remembered that Alexander was busy with work before she had arrived. "Weren't you busy with work? Should we go after you finish?"

She paused for a bit, then lied, "I'm not that hungry yet since I just ate some cake."

Alexander thought about it before passing his iPad to Isabelle. "You can wait here."

"Okay." She reached for the iPad and pointed to the living room, so that she wouldn't disrupt him. "I'll wait over there."

Alexander nodded, not saying anything.

Isabelle smiled sweetly at him before hugging his iPad and leaving the bedroom, closing the door behind herself.

Alexander looked at the tightly shut door, standing in the same position for a long while before lowering his hand with a faint smile on his face. He pulled his chair and sat down to continue with his work.

After he finished, the skies were already dark. He turned and took a look at the time. Two hours had already passed. He suddenly stood up, remembering that Isabelle was still waiting for him in the living room.

He kicked her chair aside and took large strides to the door. When he pulled it open, he saw her lying on the sofa with the iPad in her hands, watching a movie. She was afraid that to disrupt him, so she had the iPad's volume set on really low.

Alexander slowed, his expression turning gentle.

Isabelle seemed to have sensed him, for she turned her head instinctively, seeing him. She placed the iPad on the sofa and sat up.

With a smile on her face, she asked, "You finished?"

Alexander glanced at her smile, bliss and tenderness enveloping his heart. This was the most beautiful part of life: No matter how busy you were, the moment you finish, the person you love is there, waiting with the warmest smile.

He looked at her gentle smile for a long while before blinking. In a warm voice, he asked, "Hungry?"

"I'm fine." An hour ago, she was indeed hungry, but after such a long time, the hunger had gone away.

Alexander grabbed his car keys and wallet from the coffee table while saying, "Let's go, I'll get you some food."

He brought her to the White House Restaurant which cost at least five digits per meal, with an additional twenty percent of service charge. The restaurant was a place that money alone could not buy. It was said that the female waitresses here had a higher requirement than in "Paradise", the biggest nightclub.

This was the first time that Isabelle had entered in this restaurant, and it was just as the rumors had made it out to be. Just the entrance fee was seven digits and that's not inclusive of the meal. All the wine served was world famous and the servers were dressed in light colored qipaos which hugged their curvaceous figures and had amazing visuals. It was definitely a place that nourished the eyes.

Truthfully, the restaurant was extravagant. The food was good but it wasn't worth its price tag.

Even if the price wasn't worth it, Isabelle still had an enjoyable meal.

After their meal, it was already late and the entire city was lit up.

Alexander sped across the quiet night back the film set.

Isabelle didn't want to separate from Alexander just yet, so when the car stopped, she unwillingly unfastened her seatbelt and alighted from the car slowly.

The two of them walked side by side into the hotel entrance. The bellboy pressed the elevator after the two of them entered it. Alexander pressed his floor while she pressed her floor.

She looked at the red numbers on the elevator ascending ,one number at a time, reaching her floor in an instance. When the elevator doors opened, she turned around unwillingly to bid him goodbye.

Alexander nodded lightly, saying, "Goodnight."

Isabelle continued to stare at him for a while. Only when the elevator doors made a sound did she quickly exit. When she was about to turn and wave to him, the doors were already shut.

After Alexander reached his room, he ripped off his tie and removed his shirt before walking to the bathroom. Just then, he received a text from Isabelle, [Thank you for the scrumptious meal tonight.]

Alexander's actions slowed. With his free hand, he typed a few words, replying with [You're welcome.]

She quickly replied with a smiley face, saying, [I'll go and shower now, goodnight.]

Alexander responded with a [Goodnight], and after he confirmed that she wasn't going to reply, he entered the bathroom.

After coming out, he wanted to smoke out of habit, but when he touched his pocket, he realized that it was empty. He remembered that he had thrown it away. Instead, he poured a cup of hot water for himself and sat down on the living room sofa to watch television.

After flipping through a few channels, he switched the television off, tossing the remote control on the coffee table. That's when he saw the iPad. He picked it up and saw that Isabelle had been watching the movie "The Notebook".

He exited the movie and found that there was an additional chat software on his iPad. It was definitely downloaded by Isabelle, so he clicked in and realized that she hasn't logged out of her account. He entered the main page and began reading, sentence by sentence.

Most of her entries were about her feelings and what she wanted to do for that day and other random thoughts like "Randomly craving HäagenDazs", "Really wishing to watch a concert", "Having a meal with sis tonight". These words didn't seem to hold much meaning, and occasionally there was a photo of her in her entries.

Alexander scanned each entry in detail, all the way to five years ago, which was nearly a thousand and two hundred entries ago. Among them there were at least four hundred selfies, with almost twenty different hairstyles, thirty-eight shared songs, twenty-four overseas trips—NY taking up seven times—and three novels, with one recently filmed into a drama.

In the five years that they didn't have any interaction, he had constantly been wondering what she had been up to, and tonight, he had been been able to fill in on her life for those five years.

Alexander placed the iPad down and glanced at the time. It was already 00.00, and he was about to head to bed when his phone vibrated. He reached for it and realized that it was a month after Isabelle had a miscarriage and she was due for a checkup.

She didn't know that she had lost a child, how was he supposed to bring her to the hospital?

But she couldn't not go for the check up either... What if there were any complications?

Alexander stared at the phone screen for a long while, his eyes shinning when he thought of something. He lifted his phone and called his assistant.

After reaching her room, Isabelle took a shower before climbing into the bed to sleep. The next morning, she woke up earlier to wash up. Only after she was done did Camila wake up to bath in a daze.

While waiting for Camila, Isabelle recalled that Sophia had sent her a delivery. She walked around the room in search and found a box on the study table. She walked up and ripped off the packaging, find inside was a channel packaging. She opened it and found the latest earring design with a card in Sophia's handwriting. "Happy Birthday, Izzy."

A smile spread across her face when she picked up the card and the earrings. She packed the wrapper and packaging, realizing then that there was a letter beneath the box. The sender's information wasn't written, there was only her information.

She frowned, tearing the envelope open. She pulled out the paper and scanned the contents, her face paling instantly.