Alexander bolted up from his seat abruptly as though he had met with an urgent matter, frightening Isabelle. She paused slightly before lifting her head. "What's wrong?"

Alexander pointed to the entrance of the cave calmly, saying, "Nature's call."

Before waiting for her to respond, he headed out of the cave.

He randomly chose a path, and after walking about fifty meters, he stopped.

Having left in a hurry, he was still holding on to the fruit. He held it in his mouth and reached for his phone. He pressed the on switch and stared at the screen in anticipation, and miraculously, it actually lit up. He could even get a signal! Several texts came through, producing multiple beeps.

Deep in his heart, he couldn't help scolding the phone. What kind of phone was this? It could actually turn on after being soaked in water for such a long time?

Alexander exhaled, as he thought of the woman that was still thinking of ways to contact someone, something flashed past his eyes. He hesitated slightly before tossing the phone away.

When he was out getting fruits, he realized that there were multiple traps in the forest. This meant that there was a village nearby and it was highly likely that someone would be here today to reap their gains. When they came to claim their prey, the two of them would be able to follow them back, but before that, he would be able to spend quality time with her...

Alexander strolled back into the cave leisurely. He sat back down on the log and faced Isabelle, who was still munching on the fruit. In a calm tone, he asked, "Right, before I left, what did you want to ask me?"

"Do you have your phone with you?"

Alexander replied honestly, "I do."

Surprise clouded her eyes: "Hurry and take it out, maybe it can still work. If it works, we'll be able to get help!"

"Yea." Alexander nodded accommodatingly before raising his hand to reach into his pocket. Frowning, he reached for his other pocket. He then pulled the entire pocket out before looking back at Isabelle in despair... In a comforting tone, he tried to reassure her, "Maybe it's in the jacket."

As he spoke, he reached for the jacket at the side. He touched the pockets as Isabelle stared at him with anticipation and hope. Just then, he pulled out his wallet really slowly.

He frowned and stood up, dusting his pants slightly. He spoke next in a curious tone as though he was talking to himself. "It's weird, I remember bringing my phone with me."

Isabelle's lifted spirits were dashed in an instance, but she still helped him analyze the situation. "Maybe you dropped it when you jumped into the stream?"

Alexander nodded. With a placating expression, he agreed to her words, "Maybe..."

Just as Alexander had predicted, at about noon, an elderly and middle-aged man came into the cave. In one hand, they held hunting guns and in the other, they had a random assortment of animals.

They seemed surprised to see living humans so deep inside the deserted forest. The historical robe that Isabelle wore shocked them further. They froze, thinking that they had encountered a monster.

Alexander explained their predicament to them in detail, and only then did the two hunters seemed to calm down and regain their senses. Without hesitation, they agreed to help both Isabelle and Alexander come back to safety.

The forest road was harsh. With her leg injury, Isabelle wasn't able to tread through by herself, so Alexander carried her instead.

Even thought the elderly man had a full head of white hair and long snowy beard, his footsteps were swift and agile, with no indication of his age. But when he saw Alexander with Isabelle on his back, he slowed down significantly, even helping to support him when the path started to became harsher.

Through the conversation, Isabelle found out that they were father and son and were hunters. The elderly man didn't speak much, but the younger man smiled cheerfully as he told them that they were lucky to have met them since they would only come every three to five days. If they had been here any earlier, they might have had to wait for up to three or four days.

It was only three hours later when they reached the entrance of the village. It was rather small and filled with wooden houses.

While they were walking over, the pair realized that Isabelle was injured, so the moment they reached the village, they led them to the only health center.

The village was rural and surrounded by mountains. Even though roads had just been built, the conditions in the village were still harsh. The medical center wasn't very advanced, and there was only one doctor who applied a thin layer of medicine onto Isabelle's wound.

After the wound was treated, the hunters brought them to their home. The moment they entered the house, the younger man shouted. Moments after, a middle-aged woman came out. When she saw Alexander and Isabelle, her gaze turned curious, and her husband explained the situation. She turned back to Alexander and Isabelle, enthusiastically welcoming them into the house for a meal.

The middle-aged women didn't expect the additional guests, so she was worried that there wouldn't be enough food and headed back to boil another two bowls of noodles.

After the meal, the woman brought them to the west house. She pointed towards a room and told them that she had prepared it for them.

The room had soil flooring and didn't have much furniture. The bed sheets were visibly fresh and clean but looked worn with stitching at the edges.

Beside the bed, there was a water flask and two cups on a black, wooden table. The cups looked new, clearly untouched since the day they were bought.

The middle-aged woman didn't disrupt them. She just told them to inform her if they needed anything before closing the door.

The cave conditions had been bad, so Alexander and Isabelle hadn't gotten much rest. On top of that, since Alexander had carried her for such a long walk, he was indeed tired. The moment they laid on the bed, they fell into deep sleep.

When Alexander woke up, the other side of the bed was already empty.

He frowned, bolting up. When he was about to find Isabelle, he caught sight of a set of clothes at the corner of his pillow. It was a simple white shirt and a pair of long black pants. On the floor, there was a bucket of water, beside which was a Thermos flask and a small towel.

Alexander's frown disappeared instantly. He walked towards the bucket and poured some hot water in. He placed the towel into the bucket before wringing it dry to wipe himself. Turning back to the bed, he put on the clothes and walked out of the room with the bucket.

The living area outside was empty, the door slightly ajar. He walked over and was mesmerized by the comforting and peaceful sight.

There was a large tree in the courtyard. He didn't know what species it was, but it was filled with pink flowers, its trunk thick and coarse, showing its age.

Isabelle sat below the tree, a little girl about seven years old beside her, leaning against a short table. The little girl had a pen in her hands and appeared to be practicing writing.

Isabelle was focused on the white paper, her tone soft and gentle when she spoke.

"No, it's wrong here... Nope, still wrong... Let me show you one more time..." As she spoke, she covered the little girl's tiny hands, patiently writing the words out slowly. "There, you can try again... Yes, that's great! It's really pretty, you did well..."

The little girl tilted her head up to smile sweetly at Isabelle before lowering it back down to continue practicing.

It was nearing dusk, the sun casting a reddish glow on the tree, the rays spilling onto Isabelle and the little girl.

Isabelle had already removed her costume. She had on a simple white dress, her hair tied into two long plaids.

Her face was clean, without any makeup, her white skin gleaming under the sun's rays; it was flawless.

The wind blew softly, causing a few petals to fall onto her and the girl's dark hair. Isabelle reached out to pinch the petals away carefully.

Alexander held onto the bucket, leaning against the door as he stared at the image ahead, mesmerized. His heart clenched, it felt full and at ease.

The little girl was the first to notice Alexander's presence. She held onto the pencil, her head tilted to the side as she stared at him, blinking slightly.

When Isabelle realized that the girl was in a daze, she lightly called out to her. She towards her line of sight, and when she saw Alexander at the door, she straightened and asked, "You're awake?"

Alexander snapped out of his daze. "Yea..." He took large strides forward and poured the water away before heading to the tree.

Isabelle turned to smile at him. "She's Daisy, the daughter of the family. He and his wife went to farm, and since she was reading, I decided to teach her a few words."

Alexander nodded his head lightly, looking down at the white paper.

When Isabelle had covered the little girl's hand, the words were neat, but when the girl had written herself, they started to curve weirdly in every direction.

A while after Alexander woke up, he and his wife came back from the farm.

While they were having lunch, Alexander asked where he could borrow a phone, sadly, the only family with a phone in the village wasn't at home in the afternoon. But when brother Chen was on the way back from the farm, he had seen that the door to the house was open, hence he immediately brought Alexander over.

Brother Chen explained Alexander's situation to the family, so they allowed them into the house and led them towards their phone. The house's owner signaled for Alexander to use it, and he walked over and entered his assistant's phone number.

The call went through instantly. The assistant's voice was drowned in anxiety. "Is there news from Mr. Smith and Miss Davis?"

Alexander paused for a bit before replying simply, "It's me."

"Huh?" His assistant asked curiously, seemingly in a daze. After a while, he shouted enthusiastically, "Mr. Smith? Mr. Smith is that you?"

"Yea."

"Mr. Smith, is that really you? Where are you now? Oh, did you see Miss Davis? How are your conditions?" The assistant rambled on continuously.

"I'm with her now, we're both fine." Alexander paused momentarily before adding, "We're at..."

He turned to look at brother Chen, who understood instantly, and taking over the phone, he reported the village's name and its exact location. After the assistant had recorded the details, brother Chen passed the phone back to Alexander.

"Mr. Smith, I'll rush over right now."

~*~

When they returned back to brother Chen's house, his wife had already made dinner. The village people led a simple life: they slept early and woke up early, so after dinner, elderly Chen brought the little girl into the house to sleep while brother Chen and his wife stayed behind to clean up their hunting gains before turning in.

The village was extremely quiet once night set in. Besides the moonlight, there weren't any other light sources.

Isabelle had slept too much in the afternoon, so she laid beside Alexander, both of them wide awake.

The moment she shut her eyes, her mind started to run. The more she thought about random things, the more awake she was, and in the end, she flipped over. Using the faint glow from the moon, she stared at Alexander's perfect profile.

After staring for a long while, she blinked and whispered his name, "Alexander?"

"Yea?" Alexander opened his eyes as he flipped to the side. His eyes seemed like bottomless pits under the faint glow, captivating her.

Her heart jumped, and she lowered her lashes unconsciously, hiding from his gaze before continuing, "Thank you."

If it wasn't for him, she would probably be dead.

"It's fine." Alexander knew what she meant, and he replied warmly. His voice was cold and frosty but it still managed to warm her heart.

Alexander had jumped down the cliff to save her, so was it like in the dramas where one could sacrifice their own life for someone else?

Isabelle couldn't explain it, but a thought started to form in her mind. Her heart pounded rapidly as she continued to stare at Alexander's profile, and before she could process whatever was in her mind, she blurted out, "Alexander, why are you so good to me?"

Her question seemed to have startled Alexander. He remained silent, not knowing how to reply.

Only after Isabelle had asked the question did she realize what had happened, and she started to grow anxious. She held her breath.

When she realized that Alexander didn't react at all, she started to feel embarrassed. Desperately, she tried to find a way out, she thought randomly before finally thinking of something. "Alexander, are you guilty because of the death of the child? Is that why you're treating me so well?"

Alexander had been fretting about what to do, so the moment he heard her, he heaved a sigh of relief and replied with a faint "Yea."

He was indeed sorry for the death of the child, but even if the child hadn't existed, he would still have jumped into the stream without hesitation if the incident had happened again.

But there were some things that he wasn't able to let her know.

It was really because of the child... Disappointment clouded Isabelle's heart instantly, but even if he felt guilty, wasn't sacrificing his life a bit too much?

She wanted to pursue the matter further, but before she could ask the question, she paused.

She had wanted to ask him: Did you jump down the cliff because you like me?

Indeed, Alexander had treated her really well and done so many things that had caused her to be misled...

But what if she was wrong?

Isabelle's lips moved, but in the end, she swallowed her question, remaining silent.

Alexander, who was lying beside her, seemed to have suddenly remembered something important. He turned his head and stared into her eyes, his face solemn.

"I paid the hospital a large sum to keep your abortion a secret, how could you have found out about it?"

Alexander's question caused Isabelle's mind to freeze, but she replied honestly. "A nurse from the hospital sent me the form..."

She paused, seeming to have realized that something was wrong. Without continuing her sentence, she asked, "Hey, wait up. The nurse mentioned that you didn't want my child and that she was the accomplice. The only reason she sent the papers to me was because she was guilty and was trying to redeem herself... Why would she feel guilty about my miscarriage?"

Alexander didn't care for the second half of her sentence. With a frown, he asked,"What was in the delivery?"

"The abortion papers you signed."

"When did you receive them?"

Isabelle thought for a while. "On my birthday..."

Wasn't her birthday the day that James woke up?

Alexander's heart clenched tightly; he had understood everything in that instant.

Everything was planned by Mrs. Williams...