The air conditioner was on in the car. As Alexander was afraid Isabelle would catch a cold while sleeping, he grabbed a blanket from the side and pulled it over her.

Isabelle felt Alexander draw closer. Her whole body stiffened, and her hands balled into fists. She could only calm down after he had moved away. After a while, she heard him say to his assistant driving in the front, "Turn down the ac a little."

Deep down inside, Isabelle knew she had her suspicions, but because of how considerate Alexander was towards her, she started lying to herself.

For Alexander to care about her so attentively, how could he be so harsh as to abort her child? What's more, that child was his. They say even wild beasts look after their young. No matter how cold Alexander was, she wasn't the woman he loved. Yet he shouldn't be that cruel...

But when the nurse showed Isabelle her phone, it really was Alexander's assistant's name on her wire transfers log. It was from the bank's systems. It couldn't possibly have been faked...

Because Isabelle liked Alexander, her heart wasn't willing to accept such a devastating truth, and so she started to kid herself and find excuses for him.

The hospital clearly didn't have her abortion records, nor did she know that nurse. How could she just take her words seriously, and believe that Alexander aborted her child? Furthermore, who's to say she was even pregnant in the first place!

So she should ask Alexander...

~*~

The reason Alexander went to find Isabelle today wasn't to take her to the lunch date, but to take her to the hospital for a follow up.

He didn't want her to know that she once had a child. Not to mention, when they found out about the child, someone had already killed the baby whilst still in her belly. What's more, the culprit was someone she considered as family - her Aunt, Mrs. Williams.

He wasn't able to be a good father, so now he was filled with hate and thirst for vengeance, and he chose to bear the burden for her as well.

And so, last night, he thought of a way for Isabelle not to find out the truth and go to the hospital.

He told his assistant the plan in advance. As the assistant was about to reach the city hospital, he looked up at the rear view mirror and met Alexander's eyes. Seeing Alexander slightly nod his head, he immediately understood everything. He checked the condition of the roads left and right, then as he was about to exit the main road ahead, he turned the steering wheel to the left.

The car crashed into a fence by the road out of the blue.

~*~

Isabelle was torn for a long time, before she got the courage to open her eyes. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth, ready to ask Alexander. But in the end, just as the word "Alex" was about to leave her throat, the car suddenly shook. Out of the blue, her body smashed into the car door.

As everything had happened so suddenly, Isabelle's mind was still confused. Before she could figure out what had happened, Alexander had pulled her over, and worriedly looked her up and down. He anxiously asked, "Are you all right?"

Isabelle composed herself, but before she could speak up, he angrily lashed out at the assistant driving up front, "Do you even know how to drive!"

Alexander's screaming made the assistant apologize frantically. With a cold expression, Alexander silently pushed open the car door and carefully carried Isabelle out. He stopped a taxi on the road and walked over to it.

The taxi stopped in front of the City Hospital's entrance. Alexander paid, then carried Isabelle out and walked in.

Isabelle looked at the City Hospital she had visited just five hours ago. Her mind was full of the nurse's words that she would come come back for a follow up. For no reason, an unspeakable sense of fear came over her heart.

Previously, when Isabelle had accidents on set, Alexander would also take her to the hospital for full body checks. This time, it was the same as usual. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary on Alexander's face.

There were less people in the hospital than earlier that afternoon. Alexander put her down on the chair, as he went over on his own to get a ticket number. When he went to register, Isabelle saw him raise his phone and make a call. The hospital was quite noisy, and she couldn't see the words his mouth made, nor did she know who he was on the phone with. Perhaps, she was being a little sensitive, but that phone call made her feel an unspeakably uncomfortable.

Isabelle wasn't actually hurt. She sat there on the chair and thought for a while, before she got up and walked over to Alexander. As she was about to reach his side, he saw her, and his lips moved with no expression on his face. He hung up the call, then stared at her with furrowed brows. "Why did you come over? Are you in pain somewhere?"

She shook her head and smiled at him. "I'm absolutely fine. I was just a little shaken up back there. How about you? Are you hurt?"

Alexander's expression relaxed a little, and he said, "I'm fine."

Isabelle blinked, and said in a gentle voice, "As we're both fine, how about I not get the check up. I don't even have a single scrape."

When Isabelle said this, she stared straight at Alexander. He was still as water, unchanging. You couldn't tell his motive at all. With a calm tone, he said without much reaction at all, "Still, let's get a quick check, just in case."

Isabelle gave him a slight smile, and didn't argue with him, "All right."

After registering, Alexander took Isabelle directly upstairs, like he did before when she got into an accident on set. As before, she had a full body check up. There wasn't anything special about the entire process, so she gradually relaxed and thought that perhaps the nurse's words had really gotten to her.

Isabelle had done many check ups, all of which finished in the evening.

Who knew when, but Alexander had went out to buy here a bottle of yogurt. Seeing her come out of the examination room, he put the straw into the drink and handed it to her. They waited for the nurse to call out their name. Alexander let Isabelle wait there, as he went to go collect the check up results.

He was gone for quite some time. When Isabelle finished her yogurt, he still hadn't come back, and so she went went to throw the empty bottle in the bin on the side. Then she went to find him.

Through the glass door, Isabelle saw Alexander give the doctor, who she'd just finished the check up with, a nod. He folded the paper in his hands and put into his wallet, then took out some papers from his pocket. He pulled the glass door open and walked out.

Alexander saw Isabelle and handed her some papers, as he said, "The check up results came out normal."

"I told you I was fine. You've wasted so much money and time at the hospital," whined Isabelle in a nagging tone. Then she casually flipped through the test results and rolled them up into her bag. She raised her head, and from the corner of her eyes, she stared at Alexander's wallet in his trouser pocket. She asked, "What took you so long?"

Alexander's expression didn't change when he said, "The doctor was busy, so had to take a call."

"Oh." Isabelle looked as though she really believed him, as they walked out from the elevators.

When they left the hospital, Isabelle and Alexander hailed a taxi. When the driver asked where they were headed, Isabelle rushed to say first, "York Garden."

The taxi driver responded and started the car up. Isabelle turned her head to Alexander, and said, "We don't have a car, and it's a little inconvenient to go back to the set right now. Let's go back home and get back to the set tomorrow morning."

Alexander gave a light "mmm", but didn't give an opinion.

Madam Mary was unusually happy when she saw them back. She asked the two of them if they'd eaten anything for dinner, then she hurriedly ran into the kitchen.

Even though it was late in the evening when they hailed the taxi, it was still hot outside. Isabelle was all sweaty, so when they went back to the bedroom, she went into the changing room to get pajamas and then took a shower. She came out of the bathroom with a towel, wiping her dripping wet hair. Seeing that Alexander had already taken off his jacket and was sitting on the sofa in a suit, on his phone, she asked, "Do you want to take a shower?"

Alexander nodded and put his phone down. He walked into the changing room and took off his trousers. He randomly picked up a towel and walked into the bathroom.

Isabelle heard the splashing sounds from the shower and immediately threw the towel away. She softly and quietly walked over to the changing room and picked up Alexander's trousers from his dirty laundry basket. She searched for while and pulled out his wallet. As she opened it up, she saw a line of bank cards and some gold cards for clubs and hotels. There was some cash in there too. She opened the inner layer of the wallet to find a piece of paper, and quickly pulled it out, and immediately saw her name.

It was her pelvic examination results with a single line written at the bottom from the doctor. Though it was barely legible, she made out the words: No blood clot, normal thickness, recovered well from the operation.

The splashing sounds from the shower were still there. The hand Isabelle held the paper with trembled uncontrollably. She felt as though something had slashed her heart in half, and her blood flowed like a river.

Who could say how much time went by. When Isabelle heard the shower stop, she hurriedly folded the paper back to how it was. She shoved it back into Alexander's wallet, zipped up the inner pocket, and put the wallet back into his right trouser pocket. Then she threw the trousers back into the dirty laundry basket.

She hastily walked out of the changing room and quickly sat in front of the dressing table. She grabbed the hairdryer in a fluster, plugged it in, and randomly dried her hair...

Isabelle had just started blowing her hair when Alexander came out of the bathroom. He changed into simple cotton pajamas, with his hair rubbed half dry. Seeing her drying her hair, he walked over, naturally took the hairdryer, and helped her dry her hair.

Isabelle didn't dare look at him at all. She just lowered her head and hid her face behind her hair.

The rims of her eyes flared up a few times, but she tried to push down the tears. When her hair was dry, she took a deep breath. She casually tied her hair up, and said, in a tone as though everything was normal, "I'll go see if Madam Mary has finished cooking dinner." Then she walked out of the bedroom.

When Isabelle came to the kitchen, Madam Mary had already finished. The soup made bubbling noises, as it boiled under the high heat. Madam Mary was crouching in front of the bin, peeling garlic. Seeing Isabelle come over, she immediately said, "Missus, dinner will be ready real soon. You can call Mr. Smith to wash his hands and come down now."

Isabelle nodded and walked over to the stove. She pushed out her head, and glanced at the soup on the hob. She clearly saw that it was pork ribs and corn, but she still asked, "What kind of soup are you cooking?"

Madam Mary said, "Corn and pork rips soup."

"It smells good," complimented Isabelle. She didn't know if it was the hot soup, but tears fell from her eyes and into her casserole.

Isabelle hurriedly wiped them away. Whilst Madam Mary wasn't paying attention, she said "I'll go call him for dinner", and walked out of the kitchen.

She didn't go upstairs, just turned to the second floor bedroom door and called, "Dinner time". She walked into the communal bathroom, and locked the door behind her. As she stood there in front of the sink, she looked into the mirror at her frighteningly red eyes.

She didn't actually want to cry, but the tears still fell uncontrollably, until there were two knocks at the door. Alexander voice came in, "Izzy?"

Isabelle wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. She shouted "Coming!", and turned on the tap. She splashed a handful of water onto her face, and quietly spaced out for a minute. When she had calmed down, she turned off the tap and wiped her face with the towel beside her, then walked out.

Alexander sat in his usual place in the dining room. Madam Mary was carrying the soup. Seeing her come in, she attentively pulled her chair out.

Isabelle sat opposite Alexander. She took Madam Mary's soup, and gently said, "Thank you". She lowered her head and drank her soup.

Her and Alexander had eaten together many times before. When they ate, they didn't really interact with each other, and so the table was a little quiet. Isabelle's appetite wasn't good, but she forced herself to eat a little. In the end, she couldn't take it any longer and put her chopsticks down.

Alexander, who sat opposite her, glanced over at her bowl that was barely touched, and his brows furrowed. "Poor appetite? Or the food is not suitable?"

Madam Mary, who stood to one side, also asked, "Missus, what would you like to eat? I'll go and cook something else."

Isabelle's eyes stung, and tears almost fell. She lowered her eyes.

After ten seconds, she looked up at Alexander and gave him a sad smile. Her voice was calm. "I ate a little too much in the afternoon. I'm not very hungry right now, I'll eat later."

Alexander nodded, and didn't force her. Isabelle got up and walked out of the dining room. She heard Alexander say to Madam Mary, "Missus likes to eat porridge. Cook her porridge. When she's hungry, don't let her eat heated up leftovers."

Isabelle's fingertips trembled when she heard those words, and she quickly strode away.

When Alexander finished his dinner and went back to the bedroom, Isabelle was watching TV. He didn't disturb her, but sat next to her, accompanying her. At half nine, the drama Isabelle was watching coincidentally finished, and Alexander asked, "Do you want to eat something?"

Isabelle gave a light nod. Alexander got up and left. After a while, he came back carrying a steaming hot bowl of porridge.

As Alexander had said, she really liked eating porridge.

Every time Madam Mary cooked it, she'd add a little sugar. However, Isabelle felt like it was medicine; difficult to hold down with every mouthful.

She practically forced the entire bowl down without tasting the food. She put the empty bowl on the coffee table and went to brush her teeth. When she came out, Alexander and the empty bowl on the coffee table were gone.

Isabelle put on a basic layer of cream and climbed into bed. As she pulled her covers, she saw Alexander come back.

He asked, "Sleepy?"

Isabelle nodded, murmured something unintelligible, and shut her eyes.

Alexander didn't make a sound, and walked into the bathroom.

Isabelle wasn't sleepy in the slightest. She felt Alexander come out from the bathroom, softly turn off the bedroom lights, and gently get into bed beside her.

The bedroom was very quiet. Isabelle shut her eyes, as she laid there in a daze for a long time, without moving. She felt the long intervals between Alexander's breathing beside her, as though he was already deep asleep. Only then did she dare to gently open her eyes, turn her head, and look at him.

With the dimmed yellow night light in the bedroom, Isabelle looked at Alexander's handsome and flawless complexion. Perhaps it was due to his personality, but he even wore a cold expression between his brows when he slept.

She really wanted to lie to herself like she did later that afternoon. She wanted to help him make an excuse, and then summon her courage to ask if he really did abort her child. But she couldn't forget the pelvic examination results in his wallet: No blood clot, normal thickness, recovered well from the operation.

Operation? Blood clot? Thickness? If she had done the abortion operation...

That piece of paper crushed all of her fantasies.

She really didn't want to accept it, but she didn't even have the chance to kid herself anymore..

That was her child, and it was his! How could he have been so ruthless as to abort his own flesh and blood?

Because Isabelle was so mad, her body trembled, and she had the sudden urge to shake Alexander awake. But then, she gritted her teeth, and asked herself, why did he do it, why did he kill his own child? Does he not even feel the slightest bit torn or disturbed? How could he possibly sleep so well in the dead of the night?

Isabelle's tears fell without warning. In the midst of her anger, her face looked unusually pale, and there was an unspeakable pain in her heart for the child she had never even known she'd had.

She remembered how Alexander was suddenly so nice to her after the operation.

It was because he aborted her child. He felt sorry for her, like he owed her, and so was that why he treated her so nice?

The funny thing was, in these past few days, she had stupidly felt happy and loved by how he had treated her...

So much so that she even re-imagined that he had feelings for her. She was hopeful for their future together... But now, she finally knew that for the beauty of it all, a life was exchanged!

Isabelle's tears blurred her vision. She raised her hands to lightly wipe them away, and hurriedly turned around. With her back facing Alexander, her tears continued to cascade.

No matter how much she wanted to ask him what actually happened, in the end, she didn't have the courage to wake him up and ask.

Even if the truth was laid out unavoidably in front of her, she still wasn't willing to face it.

Or, perhaps, she was unwilling to accept it.