“Isabella, learn from your mistakes! Haven’t the past experiences taught you anything? How many times have I told you to stay away from James, but you just ignored my words!”
Isabella stared at him in bewilderment, first feeling lost, then a wave of grievance welled up inside her. She hadn’t done anything wrong to him, so why was he yelling at her like this?
Andrew, with his lips pressed into a thin line and anger surging, continued, “There were people guarding outside that room the whole time. If I hadn’t gotten there in time today, do you know what the consequences would have been?”
“I called you for help. If you hadn’t arrived in time, it would only mean you didn’t care about me. If that’s the case, no matter what the consequences, what would I have left to care about?”
Isabella shouted, losing control, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.
When she started crying, Andrew’s overwhelming anger largely dissipated. He pursed his lips and reached out to wipe her tears, but she pushed him away in her agitation.
“Andrew, don’t touch me!” she cried, wrapping herself in the blanket, feeling extremely wronged.
“I was scared to death today. Not only did you not comfort me, but you also scolded me. Now you want me to stay away from James. Next, will you want me to stay away from all men? Even if a male ant crawls near me, will you stomp on it just to feel satisfied?
Andrew, I have my own freedom. I have my social circle, my friends, and my work. I’m not your prisoner.”
Andrew was at a loss for how to console her, only managing to weakly say, “Isabella, please, stop crying, okay?”
Isabella kept crying and making a fuss endlessly. Andrew tried to comfort her for a long time but to no avail. Finally, he simply kissed her.
She struggled and resisted, pushing and hitting him, but it was useless. In the end, they both fell onto the bed, with Andrew pressing her down and kissing her passionately.
He held her tightly, spreading her legs and entering her body roughly. Isabella, gasping for breath from his kisses, whimpered and begged for mercy.
“Not making a fuss anymore?” He sat up in bed, his shirt slightly wrinkled, collar wide open, chest heaving with emotion.
She turned her back to him, still sulking and ignoring him.
He sighed softly, thinking to himself how he always had to coax her after upsetting her.
He hugged her from behind, whispering gently, “Alright, don’t be angry anymore. I was just too worried about you.”
She let him hold her. After a brief silence, she suddenly asked, “Andrew, if I had really done something with James today, would you still want me?”
“Fool, it wouldn’t be your fault. As long as you come back to me, I wouldn’t care about anything else.” Andrew’s arm tightened around her waist as if afraid that letting go would mean losing her.
Isabella was different for him. He could let go of Scarlett easily, but he couldn’t bear to lose Isabella.
If something had happened today, he would have lost control. He would have killed Thomas and James but wouldn’t have hurt Isabella at all.
“Isabella, promise me you’ll protect yourself,” he whispered hoarsely in her ear.
“Okay,” Isabella replied, her foot emerging from the blanket to nudge his thigh. “I’m hungry. Make me some noodles.”
Andrew suddenly grabbed her ankle, pulling her out from under the blanket. “First, let’s apply some ointment.”
“What ointment?” Isabella asked, confused.
“I was in such a hurry earlier; I must have hurt you,” Andrew said.
Isabella watched as he twisted open a tube of ointment, squeezing some onto his fingertip, and immediately understood his intention, her face turning bright red.
“No need, I’ll do it myself.” She snatched the ointment, wrapped herself in the blanket, and retreated to the corner of the bed, her face flushed and shy, looking extremely cute.
Andrew chuckled, a hint of mischief in his gentle eyes. “Are you sure you can handle it?”
Isabella, her hands covering her burning cheeks, wished she could disappear into a hole in the ground. She then glared at him indignantly.
Understanding the need to stop teasing, Andrew stood up. “Alright, I’ll go make you some noodles. Apply the ointment and come down to eat.”
Since the villa had been unoccupied for a while, the kitchen’s refrigerator was low on ingredients. Andrew simply made tomato and egg noodles. Before the noodles were ready, Isabella came downstairs.
She had freshened up, dressed in comfortable home clothes, her hair tied in a bun, and she sat obediently at the dining table waiting.
Before long, Andrew placed a steaming bowl of egg noodles in front of her.
As Isabella ate, she smiled and flattered, “Uncle Andrew, your noodles are always the best.”
“They can’t compare to delicacies,” Andrew replied coolly, sitting across from her.
Isabella knew he was referring to the elaborate meal James had treated her to. Andrew’s jealousy was apparent.
Isabella felt a bit helpless. “As long as I’m with the one I love, simple meals and plain clothes are enough. Andrew, even if you gave me poison to drink, I’d treat it as honey water.”
Though Andrew knew she was trying to please him, he couldn’t help but smile. He reached out and playfully flicked her forehead. “Enough, stop being cheeky. Eat properly.”
“Okay,” she said with a cheerful grin, continuing to eat her noodles.
After finishing her meal, she put down her bowl, wiped her lips with a napkin, and asked, “Did you find out who was behind today’s incident?”
His blue eyes narrowed as he looked at her. “Haven’t you ever suspected that James might have had ulterior motives and orchestrated the whole thing?”
She burst out laughing. “No way. I’ve known James since we were kids. I know exactly what he’s like. Even if he had the guts, he wouldn’t dare.”
Andrew smirked, knowing that James indeed had the desire but not the courage.
“Who was it, then?” Isabella continued to press. She was determined to beat up whoever was responsible.
“Thomas,” Andrew slowly uttered the name.
“Thomas, who can barely walk? Are you sure?” Isabella couldn’t believe it.
Andrew responded with silence, a hint of helplessness on his face.
Isabella, unable to hold back her anger, stood up abruptly. “I guess his illness isn’t severe enough. I’ll go help him out.”
She made a move to leave, but Andrew stopped her.
“You’re too impulsive. Even if you confront the Turner family now, you won’t be able to do anything to him. Thomas is terminally ill, the law can’t touch him, and my family will only protect him.”
“So we just take this lying down?” Isabella fumed.
“Listen to me, don’t be rash. I’ll handle this,” Andrew said.
“How?” Isabella demanded.
“Of course, with appropriate retaliation,” Andrew replied with a mysterious smile, a complex emotion flickering in his eyes.