Twisted Ties of Love

At dinner time, Wendy took over all of Casey's responsibilities, even throwing him a challenging gaze out of nowhere.

During the meal, Izabella could sense the intense sibling rivalry between the two. When Casey tried to sit next to her, Wendy quickly claimed the spot, forcing him to sit on Izabella's left instead. Every time Casey tried to serve Izabella some food, Wendy would simply have the servant bring that dish directly to Izabella.

Caught in the middle of this power struggle, Izabella couldn't help but look up at Casey with amusement. He was glaring at Wendy with such intensity that had they not been at the dinner table, he would have probably grabbed her by the collar.

Wendy, meanwhile, remained aloof, focusing all her attention on Izabella and ignoring her brother completely.

After dinner, Bunny asked Izabella to stay the night, seeing as it was getting late.

After some thought, Izabella agreed.

"Would you be sharing a room with Casey?" Bunny asked, surprising Izabella.

Realizing the two were living together but hadn't progressed to sharing a bedroom yet, Bunny found it amusing. Despite Casey's outward enthusiasm, he was surprisingly shy when it came to these things. Feeling Bunny's scrutinizing gaze, Casey shifted uncomfortably, his ears turning red. "Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked defensively. "You need to be married to share a bed."

In Casey's mind, marriage was a sacred bond, and there were certain things that should only be done after marriage. He wanted to take responsibility for Izabella and give her a sense of security. He wanted to spend every waking moment with her, but he was afraid he wouldn't be able to control himself.

Thinking about this, Casey started to wander his gaze nervously.

Bunny wanted to laugh but held herself back. She hadn't expected her son to be so rigid and spineless.

"We have plenty of rooms," she said dismissively. "I'll ask one of the servants to prepare one for you."

Just as Izabella was about to agree, Wendy appeared out of nowhere. "Don't bother," she said. "Let Izabella share a room with me." She looked at Izabella with anticipation, waiting for her response.

Izabella figured that Wendy's sudden change of heart must have had something to do with the present she had given her earlier that day.

"Is that okay?" Wendy asked, trying to sound cute. She wrapped her arms around Izabella's and swayed from side to side, putting all her effort into persuading her.

Casey, however, wasn't having any of it. He stepped forward, pushed Wendy away, and positioned himself protectively in front of Izabella. "Back off," he said. "Bella doesn't like sharing a room with others." "How would you know?" Wendy retorted. "Izabella hasn't said anything yet. We girls can have lots of things to talk about at night." She then turned to Izabella and said, "Izabella, please stay with me tonight. I can tell you stories about when I was a kid."

Her brother was tall and broad, standing like a wall between her and Izabella. Wendy knew that she had a rare opportunity to spend the night with her idol. If she missed this chance, she didn't know when the next one would come. Besides, knowing her brother's jealous and possessive nature, she knew that he probably wouldn't give her such an opportunity again.

Izabella wasn't particularly interested in Wendy's childhood stories. What she was interested in was Casey.

Casey had a poor memory and rarely talked about his past.

Moreover, she was still bothered by what Beck had said during their chess game. The more she tried to ignore his words, the harder it was to do so. But she couldn't find an opportunity to ask him about it. Now that Wendy had offered to share her room, maybe she could learn something from her.

Having made up her mind, Izabella gently pushed Casey aside and said, "Alright, I'll share a room with Wendy tonight. Mrs. Bunny, there's no need to prepare another room."

Casey looked as though he had been struck by lightning. He stared at Izabella in shock, his expression gradually falling as if he were an abandoned puppy.

Bunny turned to Izabella for confirmation. "Are you sure you want to share a room with Wendy tonight?"

Izabella nodded, confirming her decision.

Wendy was so ecstatic that she jumped up and down. She grabbed Izabella's hand and said, "I'll take Izabella to my room then."

Bunny reminded her, "Take good care of Izabella, Wendy."

"I know," Wendy replied.

Once the girls had left, Bunny looked at Casey, who was still standing there as if in a daze. She patted him on the shoulder in a comforting gesture and said, "You could learn a thing or two from your sister." "Mom," Casey called, stopping Bunny as she was about to leave. He asked nervously, "Nothing weird will happen between them, right?"

"Of course not," Bunny said dismissively. "At most, they'll cuddle in their sleep, maybe even take a bath together." She couldn't resist teasing her son before she left.

Casey was speechless. He didn't dare ask any more questions about what was considered normal.

Izabella usually went to bed early. She followed Wendy into her room, which was spacious and clean. She had expected Wendy's room to be decorated like a princess's chamber, but it was surprisingly simple and tidy.

Wendy seemed to forget her nervousness once they were inside. "Izabella, you can freshen up first. I'll wait for you. The bathroom's over there. There's body wash and shampoo. Oh, and you didn't bring any pajamas. Would you mind using mine?"

Izabella was still adjusting to Wendy's sudden warmth.

"That would be fine," she replied.

Wendy picked out a white lace nightgown. Her intention was obvious, though Izabella didn't notice. She simply thought that the nightgown was a bit revealing, but it was no big deal since she was only going to sleep in it.

After having a shower and washing her hair, Izabella came out to find Wendy had prepared a towel for her to dry her hair and a hairdryer on the bedside table.

"Izabella, I can dry your hair for you," she offered.

"No need, I've got it. You can go ahead and shower."

How could Wendy miss the opportunity to blow-dry her idol's hair at close quarters? "I prefer showering before bed, not sleep yet. Izabella, take a seat, I've got the hairdryer plugged in." She flicked the switch without hesitation and a gust of warm air hit Izabella's damp locks.

Izabella resigned herself to the chair, submitting to the hair drying service.

Wendy was gentle, her fingers sinking into Izabella's long hair, testing the heat. "If it gets too hot, just let me know."

"Hmm." It was now Izabella's turn to fall silent, while Wendy behind her seemed to have found her voice.

Waving the hairdryer, she praised Izabella, "Izabella, your hair is so nice."

She would lavish praise on whatever she saw. One moment she was complimenting hair, the next skin, and then figure.

Izabella had never had a female best friend, or many friends for that matter. The closest female friend of her age was Dr. Amelia, who had once treated her.

But even their relationship wasn't this close. Izabella was at a loss how to deal with this version of Wendy. She suddenly doubted whether the cold-faced Wendy she knew was just a figment of her imagination. "Wendy, weren't you going to tell me about your childhood?"

"Wait a sec." Wendy finished drying Izabella's hair, grabbed her tablet from the bedside, and turned it on. The screen saver was a picture of Izabella.

Wendy tried to hide it when she saw Izabella's picture as the screensaver, but it was too late. Izabella had seen it.

She had opened the tablet in front of Izabella. It was impossible to pretend it hadn't happened.

Wendy chuckled awkwardly, flicked her finger across the screen, and started showing Izabella pictures from her gallery to divert the conversation.

"Let me show you some of my old pictures, Izabella. This is my first birthday, learning to walk, family photos, me at my first Thanksgiving."

Izabella was distracted by the pictures, but something seemed off.

These were Wendy's photos from childhood to adulthood, essentially a record of her growth. Among these photos, Wendy had taken pictures with many people including family photos, but Casey was conspicuously absent.This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.

Izabella had to scroll quite a bit before she found pictures with Casey from recent years.

She asked nonchalantly, "Didn't you like taking pictures with your brother when you were younger?"

"I like it, but I just didn't get a chance."

"Your brother didn't want to?"

Wendy paused, her gaze lowered as if in deep thought, and after a while, she reluctantly agreed.

Izabella frowned slightly. She hadn't inquired too much about Casey's past, only that he had undergone heart treatment abroad. Was that why there were no pictures of his childhood?

But from Wendy's tone, it seemed like Casey didn't like taking pictures, which was strange considering he had chosen to work in the entertainment industry.

Initially, Izabella had suspected that

Casey was Ryker, but Casey had always vehemently denied it, saying he had been abroad for heart treatment and had never been shot. Given that Ryker was shot in the chest, shoulder, and leg, and she had seen Casey's body without any scars, she dismissed the idea.

"Did your brother have heart disease in the past? Did he have surgery?"

"How did you know, Izabella? Did my brother tell you?"

"Yes, he mentioned it. But I'm curious. If he had heart surgery, how come there are no scars on his chest?"

"Nowadays, medicine is so advanced, even cancer can be treated. What's a few scars? He insisted on working in the entertainment industry and acting, so he had the scars removed for the sake of his image." "Do you mean he had his scars removed?"

Wendy didn't understand why Izabella seemed so shocked, but she nodded in confirmation.

A wave of weakness washed over Izabella, and it was only then she realized that the world had changed significantly in the three years after her death.

As Wendy said, even cancer could be treated now, what were a few scars?

Could it be possible that Casey was Ryker? He was shot in the chest but didn't die, and Nathaniel and Brett had been lying to her all along.

Izabella covered her trembling lips

with her hands, her mind went blank.

When one was overwhelmed with emotion, one felt as if they were in a

void, as if their soul had left their body. She fell into deep thought, going over and over the possible sequence of events in her head.

For example, Casey had indeed been hospitalized abroad, perhaps due to a gunshot wound that affected his nerves, causing him to fall into a coma. After waking up, he had the scars removed.

Five years ago, she was hypnotized by Brett and couldn't remember anything. Could the same have happened to Casey?

But the main question still revolved around Brett and Nathaniel.

Brett had tried to drive a wedge between Casey and her, telling Casey that she only saw him as a substitute for Ryker.

How did Brett know that she had always loved Ryker, and why was he so certain when he told Casey about it?

Seeing Izabella in a daze, Wendy called out to her several times but received no response. She started to panic and shook Izabella's arm. "Izabella, what's wrong?"

Izabella looked up rigidly, confirming word by word, "Wendy, is Casey really your brother?"

"He is my brother. Although I hate to admit it, our relatives always say we look alike. And you can see he looks a lot like my dad too."

"Did you guys grow up together?"

"Well." Wendy started to dodge the question with her eyes.

A pang of realization hit Izabella, prompting her to ask further, "Do you know a guy named Ryker from Happy Nest Orphanage? Your brother wasn't abroad for hear treatment but because he was shot in the chest, right?"

Wendy was so shocked her mouth fell open. She looked at Izabella in disbelief, "Izabella."