Twisted Ties of Love

As soon as Casey was admitted to the hospital, he was whisked away into the ICU.

Izabella was left outside, her gaze lingered on the closed doors, her voice hoarse with pain. "How could he have been in the city?"

She remembered what Presley had told her: Casey's surgery would take ten hours, and if he could wake up within 48 hours, he would be out of danger.

But she had only left the city 50 hours ago. Deducting the travel time, it had been less than 25 hours since Casey's surgery until he woke up?

Casey was weak before the surgery and couldn't even get up. Izabella couldn't fathom how he could've dragged his feeble body onto a helicopter to come and find her.

Izabella squatted down, burying her face in her hands. Her palms were hot and feverish, and she was wearing Casey's jacket. It had kept her warm before, but now, no matter how tightly she wrapped it around herself, she couldn't escape the cold.

Wendy squatted down next to her, gently hugging Izabella. "Casey went to the city to find you. Dr. Felton's estimate of a ten-hour surgery was a conservative one. It only took seven hours. We never expected Casey to wake up so quickly, but in retrospect, it makes sense."

Wendy's tears started to fall. She wiped her eyes, her voice choked with emotion. "When Casey was unconscious, Dr. Felton told us to keep talking to him, to keep him aware of our presence. It was thought that if he lost consciousness completely, he could become comatose or even die. We spoke to him for hours, but he didn't respond until we played your voice. That's when he woke up. He insisted on finding you when he woke up. We couldn't stop him, and our parents didn't want to hinder him anymore, so they arranged for a helicopter." Wendy knew these words would only make Izabella more heartbroken, but she didn't want to hide the truth from her.

Izabella's heart clenched painfully at Wendy's words. Casey was a man who would risk his life to protect her.

She stood up, her gaze locked onto the ICU's closed door. She could only imagine Casey, stumbling and staggering towards her, calling her name.

Everyone thought he would collapse from the pain, but he persisted until he reached her, keeping his suffering hidden from everyone.

"Izabella, Casey loves you so much. He won't leave you. He pulled through once, he can do it again. You have to believe in him."

Izabella's eyes were red and puffy, her makeup smudged and her face pale. She forced a smile, her voice a whisper. "I've always believed in him. He always keeps his word, doesn't he?"

Despite it not being winter yet, her hands were freezing. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't warm them. She put them in her pockets and felt something. Pulling it out, she found a piece of peppermint candy.

Casey knew she liked sweets and disliked the bitter, so he always carried candy with him. Whenever she was upset, he would give her candy, a habit since childhood.

At his house, candies could be found everywhere.

"Cry Baby, here's some candy. Don't cry anymore."

Izabella unwrapped the candy with trembling hands, popping it into her mouth. Just like in the past, once the sweet coating dissolved, only the sour taste of peppermint remained. But she had never forgotten that taste, cherished it for over a decade, even though peppermint made her allergic.

Once she had the candy, she wouldn't cry anymore. The candy was supposed to be sweet.

Liar, this candy wasn't sweet at all. It's sour and bitter, the bitterness reaching her heart. Casey, this candy wasn't good at all. Can you buy me another one?

She was still just as easy to console, a sweet piece of candy enough to stop her tears.

God... Izabella had never asked for anything in her life, but could you not take Casey away? He was all she wanted, all she had, all she had left.

Izabella leaned against the cold wall, waiting outside the ICU. After three grueling hours, her feet numb from standing, the doors to the ICU finally opened.

Presley emerged from the room, not

noticing Izabella at first. He only

realized she was there when he

turned around to talk to the Dempsey family and saw her

standing alone.

She was just standing there, clutching the candy wrapper, her eyes red and swollen, looking like a frightened child. She was so seared and unsure, not even knowing where to put her hands.

Presley looked at her, and for some reason, he was reminded of "Izabella". It had been six years since her death, and the memory of her had slowly faded over time.

But now, every detail of her life came rushing back, as clear as if she was standing right in front of him.

Presley swallowed, bitterness filling his mouth, and motioned for Izabella to come over.NôvelDrama.Org holds © this.

Izabella hoisted herself up, her stiff legs carrying her forward, her whole body moving like a marionette led by unseen strings.

"Doctor, how is my brother?" Wendy asked urgently, several pairs of anxious, red-rimmed eyes fixed on him.

Dr. Felton removed his surgical

mask, revealing a comforting smile. "Don't worry. His will to live is strong and he's out of immediate danger No virus was detected in his system, but

We will need to observe him for

another couple of weeks just to be

sure."

Bunny let out a sigh of relief first, her tense muscles loosening as her body went limp. Beck, quick to act, caught her before she could fall. "You alright?"

Bunny shook her head.

"You all should rest for now. We wouldn't want him to wake up to find you guys collapsing instead."

Beck asked, "Thank you, Dr. Felton. Can we go in to see him?"

"Absolutely."