Isabella stayed in the apartment for one night. The next morning, Asher saw his mother at home and happily danced around. However, she had to catch a flight in the afternoon and could only spend the morning with him.
When she was about to leave, Asher grabbed her skirt, refusing to let her go, crying and calling her mom relentlessly. Isabella’s eyes were red when she left. She even had the impulse to quit the entertainment industry altogether and become a full-time mother at home since Andrew could afford it.
However, this impulsive thought was only temporary. She still had to finish filming the suspense drama she had started and couldn’t quit the jobs she had already accepted.
Living in this society meant following its rules. Professionalism was still necessary.
She began working in Rochester town the next day. It happened to snow that day, but it didn’t affect the filming progress. She had two scenes to shoot, one of which was quite challenging. The male lead, Emrys, had limited experience, so it took nearly five hours to shoot.
The director called out, “OK. That’s a wrap.” Actors began leaving the set one by one, and the crew dismantled the lights and equipment. The director approached Emrys, not entirely satisfied with his performance that day, and advised him, “Emrys, find some time to rehearse with Isabella. There will be many scenes requiring eye contact and emotional interaction in the future. We’ll never finish this movie if we have to do multiple takes every time.”
“I understand, director,” Emrys humbly nodded.
After returning to the hotel and having dinner, Emrys took the script and went to Isabella’s room.
“Emrys, is something wrong?” Isabella asked.
“Isabella, do you have some time? The director wants us to rehearse the upcoming scenes together,” Emrys said, holding up the script.
She hesitated for a moment, then propped her head on her hand and said with a hint of fatigue, “Sorry, I’m feeling a bit unwell. Can we rehearse at the studio tomorrow morning?”
“Why are you suddenly feeling unwell? Do you need a doctor to come and check on you?” Emrys asked politely, expressing concern.
“Maybe I caught a chill during the evening scenes. I’ll take some medicine and get some rest,” she said.
“Alright, I won’t disturb you then. Get some rest,” Emrys said tactfully, even though he knew her ‘discomfort’ was just an excuse.
She closed the door and returned to the living room. Olivia was sitting on the couch, looking puzzled. “When did you get a headache?”
“It’s just an excuse. Emrys could tell, couldn’t you?” Isabella looked at Olivia as if she were naive.
Olivia was still puzzled. “Why lie about feeling unwell?”
“It’s late at night, and a man in my room. Do you think that’s appropriate? If word gets out, everyone will think rehearsing scenes is just an excuse, and it might lead to gossip,” she said helplessly.
As a public figure, there were many frustrations.
“This industry is full of gossip every day, so it’s not surprising,” Olivia said nonchalantly.
“With so much gossip, what will Andrew think? He trusts me once, twice, three times, four times… If it happens too often, it will affect the trust between us! So, it’s better to avoid such things and be careful,” Isabella said.
“In the end, it’s all for Andrew,” Olivia joked after listening.
Isabella didn’t say anything. Instead, she walked to the window and watched the snowflakes falling outside. It was the first snow of the winter this year. She had always loved snow, feeling that it was a romantic occurrence.
As she stood by the window lost in thought, the doorbell rang again.
“It couldn’t be Emrys again,” Olivia muttered as she leisurely got up from the sofa and walked towards the door.
Isabella had already made it clear to Emrys that she wasn’t interested. If he still came, it would be truly inappropriate.
Olivia opened the door and was stunned to see another man was outside.
“Olivia, who’s there?” Isabella turned and asked, then saw Andrew walking in.
He was wearing a charcoal gray long coat, looking even more tall and dignified. He stopped in front of her, still carrying the scent of snow and wind.
Her eyes widened in astonishment, unable to speak.
“Cat got your tongue?” Andrew chuckled lightly, affectionately reaching out to lightly touch her nose with his fingertip.
Only then did she react, excitedly wrapping her arms around his neck and tiptoeing to kiss him on the lips. “Andrew, what brings you here?!”
Before he could answer, Olivia’s coughing sounded from the doorway. She covered her eyes with her hand, pretending not to see anything.
“Mr. Andrew, Isabella, you guys talk. I’ll leave and make sure not to disturb you tonight,” she said, about to step away, but Andrew interjected, “No need to trouble yourself. I’ll take Isabella out for a stroll.”
“Wait for me for a moment. Let me change my clothes.” Isabella said, quickly walking into the room and putting on her coat before coming out.
As winter set in, the weather was getting colder. She was sensitive to the cold, so she wore a thick down jacket that wrapped her tightly. The collar of the jacket was lined with a thick layer of fur, giving her a fluffy appearance, like a cute little rabbit.
He smiled warmly at her and said in a clear voice, “Let’s go.”
They walked out of the hotel and didn’t go far, just wandering around near the film and television city.
In the evening, especially in winter nights, there were few people around the film and television city.
Andrew and Isabella walked hand in hand, their figures blending into the darkness as they moved forward.
She pointed ahead and said, “We’ve been shooting scenes here these past few days.”
“Well,” he replied warmly.
“When I was filming this afternoon, I slipped and fell while running from there. The road was too slippery, and I accidentally hurt my hand,” she said, extending her palm in front of him, sounding a bit coquettish, “It hurts quite a bit.”
His warm, large hand held hers, gently rubbing the injured area with his fingertips.
Her beautiful eyes blinked as she looked at him and asked, “Andrew, do you feel sorry for me?”
“Of course,” he nodded, holding her hand and leaning down to gently kiss her palm.
The night was cold, but his lips were warm. After the kiss, he gently asked, “Does it still hurt?”
At that moment, her face blushed completely, “It’s better now.”
After saying that, she shyly withdrew her hand, stuffed it into her pocket, and walked quickly ahead.
He couldn’t help but chuckle and quickly caught up with her.
She got tired and sat down on a bench.
She casually swung her legs and asked, “Andrew, what do werewolves do to their mates during courtship?”
He paused for a moment, “They will mark them, imprinting our scent on them, so other male wolves won’t covet them anymore.”
“Mark them? How do they mark them?” Isabella blinked curiously.
Andrew smiled and touched her neck with his index finger, the icy touch making Isabella’s heart skip a beat. Then his face enlarged in her pupils, revealing sharp fangs.
“Just like this…” He bent down, his breath touching her neck, his fangs lightly tapping her skin. “Bite their neck, imprinting our scent on them.”
She widened her eyes, her body stiffening, seemingly waiting for his next move. However, Andrew just licked her neck, then resumed his original position, smiling as he observed her embarrassed expression.
“Isabella, actually, I’ve marked you.”
“What? You’ve marked me? When?” She asked, surprised.
“When you were asleep…” he said cautiously, afraid she might get angry.
She punched his chest in frustration, pouting, “Andrew, you annoying ghost, why didn’t I notice anything?”
He held her fist and kissed it, “I’m sorry, Isabella. I was too eager back then. I was jealous of James. Out of my instinct as a wolf, I couldn’t control my possessiveness towards you. I wanted you to be mine.”
He then tousled her hair and looked into her gold eyes, overflowing with sincerity, “I marked you, and I promise to be loyal to you for the rest of my life.”
Isabella nodded somewhat satisfied and obediently leaned her head on his shoulder.
The snowfall intensified, and the temperature dropped. As they talked, their breath formed white clouds.
They stayed outside for a while before retracing their steps.
They reached a quiet street lamp, with their hotel just a dozen meters away on the other side of the wide road.
“I share a suite with Olivia. It might not be convenient if you come over. Do you want to book another room?” Isabella asked shyly.
Andrew smiled, a hint of mischief and playfulness in his eyes. He wrapped his arm around her waist, gently pulling her towards him until she fell into his embrace.
Their bodies pressed closely together, his warm breath lingering over her head.
“So eager to get a room with me, are you missing me, huh?” His voice, tinged with mischief, made her cheeks even redder.
She clenched her fist and lightly punched his chest. “Stop being so conceited. If you don’t want to stay in a hotel, you can sleep on the street tonight.”
The smile on his lips gradually faded, and he said seriously, “I have a flight back to Ithaca town in an hour. There’s a video conference tonight.”
“You flew all the way here just to spend an hour with me?” She looked at him bewildered.
“Otherwise? Have sex with you? I’m not that horny,” he chuckled.
Still feeling confused, she thought it made more sense for him to come over for sex. She looked at him with innocent golden eyes.
He gazed back at her attentively, his gaze gentle. His palm gently caressed her forehead, brushing off a few cold snowflakes.
“Who said that when it snows, we can hold hands and walk until we grow old together?”
Isabella slowly widened her eyes, looking at him in astonishment. She felt her vision blur, warm tears welling up.
This was her wish she had once written on a wish card, and he had kept it in his heart all along.