Twisted Ties of Love

Chapter 257

Izabella was overwhelmed with fear, and even she herself didn't quite know what she was afraid of. Maybe it was the fear that the nightmare was real, that she and Brett couldn't make it to the end.

Izabella loved Brett, and that was a fact she could no longer deny. She wanted to get close to the truth, yet she was afraid to face it.

What if Brett had been deceiving her since the day she lost her memory? What should she do?

It was like a bird that had just escaped from its cage, only to find a bigger net waiting for it outside. Not to mention the traps on the net - a single wrong move and she'd be toast.

Izabella could only console herself that the things Brett was hiding from her were to keep her from getting hurt. Anyway, Brett truly loved her.

Since Izabella often had nightmares, Brett had called Stevenson back.

They both got up as the sky was getting light.

"Why not sleep a little longer? It's still early," Brett asked.

"I can't sleep anymore." Ever since she had been woken by the nightmare at midnight, she hadn't been able to fall back asleep.

Brett looked at Izabella's haggard face and couldn't help but tentatively ask, "Can you still remember your nightmare from last night?"

Izabella shook her head. "I can't remember."

"I thought you might regain your memory."

Staring at him, Izabella asked flatly, "Do you want me to?"

"Let it be," Brett said, reaching out to touch her soft hair.

She nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I think it's best to let it be. If I can't remember, then so be it. After all, it's in the past. Now I have you, and I believe you'll always be good to me, never deceive me, and never bring me pain, right?"

Brett's face stiffened, and his hand stopped stroking her hair. His gentle expression instantly turned uneasy.

Izabella's words were like a sharp weapon piercing his heart, and the pain in his chest spread throughout his body. He held Izabella tightly in his arms, his arm trembling due to some reason.

What he brought to Izabella was deception, lies, pain, and countless moments of despair. He couldn't turn back, even if it meant going through fire and water. Even if he fell into the depths of hell, he would hold onto Izabella tightly.

"Bella, I will love you well." This was his promise to her.

Love was a heavy burden in the chest, but it's also light and casual between lips. Anyone could say it, but there were few who were willing to give everything for it.

Brett had a paranoid personality and had lived in a loveless environment for many years. He longed for deep love and to be loved. Although he once had it, he didn't know how to cherish it, so he had to resort to imprisoning Izabella like a pet in a cage to keep her.

He could never be tolerant when it came to his love for Izabella in this life, and he could never let go. No matter how others judged him, all he wants was Izabella.

At the dining table, Izabella ate breakfast absentmindedly. On the surface, everything seemed as usual, but Izabella felt that something was changing.

In the morning, Stevenson came to check on Izabella, asking her how she was doing lately like an old friend. Exclusive © content by N(ô)ve/l/Drama.Org.

"I'm doing fine," they hadn't seen each other for a few weeks, and Brett hadn't given Stevenson many opportunities to chat with Izabella.

After lunch, they went about their own business. Izabella took her stomach medicine and felt a little drowsy.

"If you want to sleep, go to sleep," Brett said.

Izabella softly murmured in agreement, rubbing her bleary eyes. She usually napped at this time, so she slept whenever she could.

After Izabella went to bed, Brett and Stevenson went into the guest room.

"Why did you call me here this time?" Stevenson casually sat down in a chair.

"Do you have any drugs that can control dreams?"

Stevenson looked at Brett's serious expression and stiffened slightly. "What do you mean?"

"She's been having frequent nightmares lately, and she even called out a person's name last night. I'm afraid."

Before Brett could finish, Stevenson sneered and interrupted, "You, afraid? It's just a nightmare. When did you become so scared? Taking that kind of medicine will cause you to dream more."

Brett's eyelashes flickered. He was always careful with matters of the heart, always anxious and fearful. He had also explicitly told Stevenson that Izabella would leave him as soon as she regained her memory, and what he feared most was Izabella's departure.

Curiously, Stevenson asked, "Who did she call out last night? Is that person important?"

"You wouldn't know even if I told you." The name that Izabella had spoken in her dream was important, and he had to admit it.

Stevenson understood Brett's expression and asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"The medicine she took last night doesn't seem to be effective anymore. Can you prescribe something else that can disturb her nerves, or increase the dosage?"

"It's impossible to increase the dosage. Do you really want her to become an idiot?"

"If it can keep her from leaving me, I'd rather she become an idiot!" Brett almost shouted the last few words.

Stevenson was stunned, and as he stared into Brett’s bloodshot eyes, he felt that this man must be crazy.

The damage Brett had caused to Izabella was irreparable, and what he said was just superficial.

"Meow~" The sound of a cat outside the door disrupted their conversation and Brett's thoughts.

Brett walked towards the door. "Anyway, whether it's hypnosis or medication, I don't want Izabella to remember everything. You better figure out a way for her not to dream."

"That's easier said than done. How can we control dreams?"

The cat outside the door kept meowing. When Brett looked outside, he froze, his hand on the doorknob. His entire back was covered in cold sweat due to the extreme panic that gripped him, and his body froze in place as he stared blankly at Izabella, who was holding a cat outside.

A wave of despair engulfed him, making it hard to breathe. His throat choked up, and his eyelashes trembled softly.

"Bella." He took a step forward, as if to grab hold of the person in front of him.

But as Izabella saw his movement, she staggered back, clutching the cat to her chest.

Her step back was like a stab in the heart, setting a boundary and showing fear of his approach.

Brett clenched his fists, unable to speak, stiffly standing there as if struck dumb.

Still in the room, Stevenson couldn't see what was happening outside the door due to his sitting position. He found it strange that Brett was standing by the door for so long.

Before Stevenson could finish asking "What's up?", he froze. Why was Izabella here? Didn't Brett say she was already asleep? When had she come here, and how much had she heard?

A flood of questions filled his mind, and soon Izabella answered the burning question in his heart.

"Brett, you said you'd never lie to me."

Brett struggled to say, "I..."

Izabella looked like she was holding back tears, but these tears still rolled down her cheek.

The cat in her arms seemed to sense her sadness, meowing uneasily before finally breaking free and running away.

"Why did you give me the drug to mess with my nerves? Why did you want me to lose my memory, even if I turned into a fool?" At this moment, her mind was buzzing, unable to focus, all stuck on what Brett had said.

He'd been lying to her all along, treating her like a fool, trapping her here. She'd thought about this day, but she couldn't bring herself to believe that the Brett who loved her would deceive her.

"Bella, listen to me, it's not what you heard."

"Then tell me how it is!" Izabella's eyes were filled with tears, powering her enraged shout. Her tightly-wound nerves suddenly snapped, "Brett, which of your words are true? On one hand, you say you love me and would never deceive or betray me, but on the other hand, you've spun me a web of lies from beginning to end. Do you know? I'm terrified! I'm afraid of giving my heart sincerely but living in a lie, and that I might give myself to you, only for you to strike me with a fatal blow. I'm scared that the person who brings me hope will drag me into despair!"

Izabella choked back her sobs, her tears streaming, "I have nothing left, do you understand? I only have this heart."

During this time, she was deceiving herself, afraid of the truth in her nightmares.

She loved Brett, and believed he loved her, too. But after hearing the conversation between Brett and Stevenson in the living room, her heart sank, deeper and deeper.

She remembered everything he had said, especially: "If she could be with me, I'd rather she become a fool."

Brett stood in silence, his eyes were full of sorrow, as if she had done something to hurt him.

"Tell me, which are true and which are lies?"

Izabella wiped away her tears, "Is our marriage a lie? Is my orphan status something you've fabricated? Are all the encounters, accidents, and feelings between us nothing but lies to deceive me?"

With every question, Izabella's heart tore painfully. The tearing and opening of the wound made the pain inside overwhelm her entire body.

She felt so heartbroken that they were seemingly so close, but the connection between them was a web of lies. Now that the lies had crumbled, nothing left between them.

Like a wind-dried rock, they seemed tough on the outside, but would crumble easily.

"Bella, I did all of this for your own good, and for our future. You said you loved me and would never leave me." Brett hurried forward, lifting his hand, only to have it harshly slapped away by Izabella.

"Don't touch me!" Izabella was like a porcupine with its spikes out, protecting herself subconsciously, completely ignoring others' feelings, only to hurt them with the barbs on her body.

"The thing I hate most is when someone claims they're doing something for my own good and then messes with my thoughts and freedom. This so-called kindness is more disgusting than maggots in a sewer."

She didn't know what had happened between her and Brett before she lost her memory, causing him to manipulate her memories in such a way.

She had only lost her memories, not her intelligence. From Brett's fear of her regaining her memory, it seemed that what happened between them was something extremely horrible.

She could only imagine the tip of the iceberg, with the more terrifying truth waiting for her.

Brett frowned, "Bella, how could you think that way? Can't you feel my good intentions for you?"

"Brett, do you think I'm an idiot?"

Brett looked down at her, his brows furrowed with a deep, lingering worry, "Don't overthink things. Our past relationship is what it is now. Just stay by my side and don't leave me. My promise to you will never change. Bella, I admit there are lies between us, but in our relationship, they're insignificant. Can't we just act like we haven't heard anything today, and nothing happened, and live our lives as usual?"

"Izabella, you are more important to me than life itself. If you're sad, I'll be a million times sadder."

Izabella might have been moved by his words in the past, but how could she trust him now?