Back in city, Isabelle was sent back to the Davis house. Even though her fever was gone, her ordeal was too frightening, so her aunt and uncle insisted she stay with them for at least two days.

Isabelle wasn't able to resist, so she agreed. When the housekeeper saw her, she was unusually happy and prepared a large variety of food for every meal, preparing all the dishes that she liked. Even if her aunt and uncle were busy, they would be back for every meal, and every time, they would nag at her to leave the entertainment industry.

Even though their constant nagging may seem annoying, it warmed Isabelle's heart. The next day, Camila came over with her phone, so whenever she felt bored, she would text Alexander.

On the third day, her aunt and uncle finally allowed her to return to York garden. Since they had no clue about her fake marriage, before they separated, she and James were still a couple in their eyes, so on the day she left, James had personally come to get her.

Seated on the passenger seat, Isabelle took out her phone to text Alexander out of habit: [What are you doing?]

Alexander seemed to be busy as he only replied after five minutes, [Meeting.]

Isabelle replied with a [Oh] before looking out the window, realizing that they were near Global Entertainment. Turning to James, she said, "James, you can stop at the turn in front, I need to drop by the office."

James nodded. "Do you need me to wait for you?"

"It's okay, Camila is in the office, so she can bring me over tonight."

"Okay," James replied, turning into the road ahead.

After the turn, they reached Global Entertainment in less than five minutes. Before leaving the car, Isabelle seemed to have recalled something important, and she turned and looked at James. "James, do you still remember about ending the marriage?"

"I remember." James leaned back and laughed lightly while teasing, "Izzy, ever since we were young, when have I disappointed you? Your hurry seems like you really hate me."

Isabelle laughed. "I was just reminding you!" Waving towards James, she said, "I'll leave now, bye James."

"Goodbye," James replied. After seeing her enter Global Entertainment, he turned to leave.

When Isabelle went up, Alexander was still in a meeting. Through the clear glass, she could see him sitting elegantly, his features handsome, his expression cold.

She couldn't help taking her phone out to snap a photo, sending it to Alexander. Through the glass, she saw him sweep a glance at his phone. His fingers swiped across the screen, and he frowned slightly, then looked out the window. His gaze fell on her.

Before Isabelle could smile at Alexander, he diverted his gaze away. With a layer of glass between them, Isabelle couldn't hear him, she could only see his lips moving slightly before he stood up. Under the scrutiny of the entire room, he pushed open the door, heading towards her.

Isabelle never expected him to leave in the midst of a meeting because of her randomly sent photo. When he stood in front of her, she snapped out of her daze, bolting up from the sofa to stare at the board directors behind him, and her face flushed instantly. In a whiny tone that didn't have a hint of reproach, she blamed him, "How can you come out?"

Alexander wore a white shirt, and when the ceiling light fell on him, he appeared dazzling. He lowered his head to gaze at her. Without bothering to reply to her question, he asked in his same emotionless voice with a hint of undetectable indulgence, "How's your body? Why did you come to the office?"

"I passed by so I came up for a look." Her lashes lowered as she spoke, worried that her true intentions would get exposed. She hadn't seen him for a while, so she came...

"Oh," Alexander replied, his gaze still focused on her.

Isabelle started to feel uneasy. She glanced at the room that was staring at them, and her face turned an even deeper shade of red. Softly, she said, "Aren't you in a meeting? Hurry back in."

"Okay," Alexander replied, but he had no intention of moving.

"Why aren't you going?" she asked.

"Right this moment," he said but still remained stationary.

Isabelle stomped her foot in frustration, her face so red it could bleed. Before she could rush him again, he said, "Wait for me." Turning, he entered the meeting room once more.

The meeting continued but Alexander was visibly distracted, staring out at Isabelle every once in a while, and even the board members were starting to get inattentive, glancing out at Isabelle.

~*~

When the meeting ended, it was already 6.30 pm, and Alexander rushed out of the room instantly. By then, all the secretaries had left and the open-spaced living room was empty. Isabelle sat alone, her head leaning against the sofa, the newest edition of an entertainment magazine in her hands, her eyes shut.

Alexander's footstep slowed. He turned towards the meeting room, signaling for the board members to keep quiet. They quietened instantly, and Alexander waved his hand once more, to chase everyone away.

In an instant, the entire floor was left just for him and Isabelle. He walked over and picked her up, carrying her away. Soon though, she opened her eyes in a daze and scanned the empty surroundings, crawling out of his embrace before asking, "What time is it?"

"6.30," Alexander replied. He then added, "I'll get my jacket, then I'll take you to have dinner."

~*~

Alexander got his assistant to leave before he personally drove Isabelle to dinner.

In the meeting, he seemed to have been paying attention to everyone's critique, but his mind had been actually wandering off. He was thinking of where to bring Isabelle for dinner, and in the end, he decided on "Peppermint Garden". While he was still in the meeting, he sent them a text to book a table.

"Peppermint Garden" was an open air restaurant in a vintage looking garden.

Alexander had booked the table beside the pond below the vines. The view was scenic and the company was one he was fond of, bringing a cheery spirit to the both of them.

Isabelle had been to "Peppermint Garden" several times and had a preference for some dishes. Hence, when Alexander was ordering, she picked an additional two dishes that she preferred.

Alexander ended his meeting at 6.30 and they reached the restaurant at 8 pm, so Isabelle was already starving. The dishes were served quickly, and the moment they were served, she held up her chopsticks.

Before Alexander could pick up his chopsticks, his phone rang. It was regarding business matters, so Isabelle ate quietly, not disrupting him.

Alexander had ordered a set of sweet vinegar prawns, and Isabelle really liked the sweet and strong taste, so initially, she ate with her chopsticks, but in the end, she placed them down to use her fingers. The sauce stained her entire hand, causing her to feel uncomfortable, so she decided to finish the whole lot. When there were only about seven prawns left, she realized that Alexander hadn't eaten.

Isabelle continued in embarrassment, but instead of eating the prawn, she removed the shells from the remaining ones.

The table was a little big, so when she placed the prawns into his bowl, she had to leave the seat slightly and stretch her hand out.

Even though Alexander was leaning against his seat while on the phone, his gaze was still focused on Isabelle, especially on her expression while she munched on the prawns.

Just then, he saw her stretch her hand across the table to pass him the prawns. He froze slightly, thinking that she was going to feed him. With an indulgent expression on his face, he leaned forward with his mouth open, biting away the prawn she was about to drop in his bowl.

Isabelle could distinctively feel the heat and moisture of his lips on her fingers. In just an instance, the numbing feeling disappeared together with the prawn in her hands.

She wasn't going to feed him, she was just about to put it in his bowl...

Isabelle couldn't help staring at him.

When he sensed her gaze, Alexander thought that she was looking for an appreciative gesture, so he moved the phone slightly aside before silently forming the words "thank you".

Was she the type of woman to randomly feed a man food?

Even though Isabelle was misunderstood, she was satisfied!

It was as though a piece of leaf had fallen into the lake in her heart, causing ripples to form and spread.

She lowered her head, her heart bursting. Reaching for the prawns, she continued to remove the shells seriously. When she was finished with on, she stretched her hand out to place it into Alexander's bowl, but this time, it was bit away by him once again.

The table was silent with only an occasional sentence from Alexander to the person on the phone. Towards the end, the person sent him a video, allowing Alexander to see the contents on his computer. While he monitored his screen, he leaned over to snatch away the food from Isabelle whenever her hand stretched over. Soon, it became a habit, and he didn't even have to look to know where the prawns would be.

As Isabelle saw his fluid movements, she looked back down in her bowl, at the last prawn, her eyes moving back and forth between his face and the bowl. She looked towards the prawn shell at the side and decided to tease him a little. Reaching out with her hand once more, she passed a shell over.

Out of habit, Alexander leaned over to nib on the food, but after taking a few chews, he seemed to have realized that something was wrong, and frowning, he spat it out. Lifting his head , he saw Isabelle smiling cheekily back at him, the last prawn dangling between her fingers.

She stretched out her fingers once more, and he lowered his head to get the prawn, his features relax. After another two sentences, he hung up, turning back to look at Isabelle. She was trying to get a tissue out of the packet, but since she only had one clean hand, she couldn't take it out no matter how hard she tried. Lifting her head to look at Alexander, she said, "Help me with this."

Alexander pulled a wet tissue out, but instead of passing it to her, he naturally reached over to help her wipe the hand clean.

Isabelle lowered her lashes to look as Alexander wiping her fingers, not rejecting his actions.

Even though she knew that their actions were intimate and ambiguous, she had no clue as to what he was thinking. Even so, she, who had been loving him for the past thirteen years, was satisfied with the intimacy.

In actual fact, Isabelle wanted to ask Alexander how a woman should prevent intimacy from happening... like, for a couple in a passionate relationship, is that really a good idea? But she didn't dare open her mouth to ask.

Everything has been going so well lately, what would happen if she carelessly asked such a question and shattered their wonderful time together? If there were to be a day when they went back to being friends, then they could still keep in contact, if she did not ask her questions now.

There was no doubt in Alexander's heart. He felt that Isabelle was relying on him, but relying on what exactly, he didn't really understand that. As of late, this woman was his own little brother's wife.

Above everyone else, he knew in his heart that he shouldn't get close to Isabelle, but he just couldn't control himself. He and Isabelle were getting along so well right now. Though he didn't know where exactly they were heading, but honestly speaking, of the thirteen years he's been in love with her, this was the first time in his life when he felt the slightest bit of sweetness. He really didn't want to kill his chances.

She didn't notice the few shots snapped of them. Neither did he.