59

“Isabella stared at him blankly before realizing, her cheeks reddening like cooked shrimp.
“‘Who cares if you remember!'” She muttered, scrambling up from the ground using both hands and feet, hurrying upstairs.
Shortly after, Amelia and Asher returned.
With Asher around, Andrew and Isabella had to display ‘spousal affection.’ Last time, they inadvertently argued in front of the child, and the baby cried endlessly. After that lesson, they dared not repeat the mistake.
The baby had been reading children’s books lately-‘The Pea Princess,’ ‘Little Red Riding Hood,’ ‘The Adventure of the Gingerbread House,’ and some books on good habits.
One book showed parents pulling bedsheets while the little baby sat swinging on top.
Asher stood in front of Isabella, holding the book and his small blanket, looking at her blankly.
“‘Swing, swing,’ Asher tilted his head back, pointing at the book with his tiny finger.
“‘What?'” Isabella didn’t catch his meaning because Asher’s speech wasn’t very clear.
Andrew walked in wearing a shirt, seeing the scene. He smiled warmly and naturally reached out to pat his son’s head. He rarely smiled or joked but was very indulgent with Asher.
“‘Daddy, swing on the swing.’ Asher said in a babyish voice.
“‘Alright.'” Andrew nodded.
Asher joyfully climbed onto the bed and clumsily spread out his little blanket, lying down on it, eagerly looking at his parents.
Andrew rolled up his shirt sleeves, grabbing the front ends of the bedsheet and gesturing for Isabella to take the other ends.
The two of them swung the bedsheet back and forth, and the baby lying inside laughed incessantly.
The child’s happiness naturally brought joy to Isabella as a mother. What wasn’t joyful were her arms. The baby weighed more than 20 pounds; it was fine for a while but became unbearable after a longer time.
Fortunately, after Asher played for a while, he started yawning. Amelia carried him back to the children’s room.
Isabella felt her arms sore and painful, almost feeling like they weren’t her own. She picked up the open book and complained discontentedly, ‘Who wrote this book? Come out, I promise not to hit you! It’s exhausting!’
Meanwhile, Andrew listened to her childish words, shaking his head and chuckling. He was much older than her, yet in Andrew’s eyes, Isabella was still a half-grown child who, by some twist of fate, became his child’s mother.
Isabella lay on the sofa for a while then returned to her room to pack.
‘Heading on another business trip?’ He stood tall against the door, softly inquiring.
‘Right.’ She nodded.
Most things were already packed messily into her suitcase.
‘Tomorrow, I’m flying to Paris to attend the Oscars Annual Awards Ceremony.’ Isabella casually placed the luggage in the corner, looking up, tapping her chest, and said somewhat proudly, ‘With “The Mermaid Princess,” I’ve been nominated for the Best Newcomer Award.’
‘Congratulations.’ Andrew’s tone was flat, no visible emotion on his handsome face.
Isabella felt his congratulations were insincere. But then again, there was nothing much to congratulate.
‘I’m just a nobody. What’s there to congratulate?’
Although Isabella gained a lot of popularity with “The Mermaid Princess,” her qualifications were shallow, and her acting was ordinary. Olivia had no hope for her to win.
In Olivia’s words: ‘The main purpose of this trip is to walk the red carpet.’
Andrew wasn’t familiar with the entertainment industry and just casually asked, ‘Is winning important to you?’
‘The Oscars have high credibility. Having it is better than not.’ Isabella finished speaking, stretched lazily, yawned, and said, ‘I have to get up early tomorrow to catch the flight. I’ll sleep first, goodnight.’
After saying that, she pushed him out and closed the door.
Andrew emerged from the guest room and stood alone on the outdoor balcony, smoking.
The night was cool, the cold moonlight penetrating his slender silhouette, emitting a sense of inexplicable loneliness.
Between the fingers of his left hand was a cigarette, its glow flickering in the night breeze, the smoke curling into the wind. Andrew smoked while tapping on his phone, the screen intermittently lighting up and dimming, the dialed number continuously going unanswered.
Andrew’s brows furrowed slightly as he disconnected the call, dialing Ryan instead.
“It’s so late, what’s up, Alpha?” After the call connected, Ryan’s lazy voice came from the other end.
“Parker, what’s he up to? Can’t reach him.” Andrew’s voice was deep.
Ryan’s voice carried a teasing tone, “What else could he be doing at this hour? He must be in bed with some starlet. Do you need him for something?”
“The Best Newcomer Award at the Oscars is in play. I need him to save it for me,” Andrew instructed.
“The Best Newcomer Award has already been decided. Parker has a new fling, deeply attached, and has already promised the award to her,” Ryan lamented from the phone’s end.
“He wants to boost his woman; I want to elevate my woman. Let him handle it himself,” Andrew’s voice remained low and authoritative.
Ryan sighed mournfully. This wasn’t about handling; it was clearly an obligation.
“Boss, Isabella doesn’t have enough qualifications for the Newcomer Award. Why not just present her with the Best Actress of the Year!”
“Fine,” Andrew replied lightly.
Ryan nearly choked on his words. Isabella doesn’t have the credentials for the Newcomer Award; giving her the Best Actress directly would clearly signal to the public that there’s manipulation behind the scenes.
He had seen people protect others, but never this extreme.
…
Unaware of all this, Isabella was still annoyed about having to rise early for her flight.
On the way to the airport, Olivia was driving, and Isabella was trying to catch some sleep in the passenger seat, lacking any semblance of grace.
Olivia cursed her for being a pig reincarnated.
Upon reaching the airport, before getting off the car, Isabella hurriedly reapplied her makeup. As a public figure now, she had to maintain her image constantly, especially at places like airports, where the paparazzi lurked.
Dragging her luggage, Isabella entered the airport and ran into Victoria’s entourage at the security checkpoint.
Due to the same talent agency, they had booked the same flight, both in business class. She prayed they wouldn’t be seated together.
“Isabella.” Victoria saw her, smiling warmly, affectionately taking her hand. “I was just telling my assistant how much you love sleeping in, making you get up early for this flight must be so hard for you. I was worried you’d be late, but seeing you now, I’m relieved.”
Victoria’s care made Isabella feel a shiver down her spine. Victoria truly lived up to being an actress, always acting. However, it wasn’t exhausting for Victoria; Isabella was the one feeling drained.
She discreetly withdrew her hand from Victoria’s grasp.