Under His Protection

Chapter 2 The Mark on the Neck

Timothy pushed the door open and barged in. He grabbed Yao’s high-necked shirt and saw the marks on Isabella’s neck. He was enraged, feeling like he could strangle this woman right then and there.

He grabbed Isabella’s neck, trembling with anger. “How could you be so despicable? A woman as filthy as you doesn’t deserve to be the wife of Newhouse. Since that’s the case, let’s call off the engagement. You’re not worthy!”

Even if the engagement were to be called off, it would be him who initiated it. This woman wouldn’t have the chance to leave him!

Angel, on the side, covered her smile and hurried over to tug at Timothy’s sleeve. With teary eyes, she pleaded for Isabella, “Timothy, please calm down. Isabella has grown up and has her own thoughts now. It’s my fault for calling you over.”

Upon hearing Angel’s words, Timothy regained his composure and released his grip.

For a moment, he had actually considered choking the woman to death.

No, he wouldn’t lose control because of her.

Isabella coughed violently, looking at the people in front of her, feeling numb.

Angel grabbed Isabella’s hand again, blaming herself, “Isabella, are you alright? It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have called you over.”

After saying that, tears welled up in Angel’s eyes, on the verge of falling. She looked at Timothy with a pitiful expression.

Seeing Angel like this, Timothy softened his expression. He had known since childhood that Angel was in poor health, so he was more lenient towards her.

Isabella watched the two of them exchange glances with a cold smile in her heart. “Fine, let’s call off the engagement. A woman like me indeed doesn’t deserve to be Mrs. Newhouse. I never wanted to be Mrs. Newhouse!”

Timothy’s expression turned cold. He leaned closer to Isabella and whispered in a voice only they could hear, “A woman like you, I wouldn’t want even if you threw yourself at me! I find you disgusting!”

Isabella couldn’t help but want to laugh inwardly. She had never intended to throw herself at him or become Mrs. Newhouse. Her previous attempts to please Timothy were just because of the so-called “childhood engagement.”

At this moment, Angel stepped forward and casually said to Timothy, “Timothy, Isabella is not a child anymore. Don’t blame her. It’s my fault for not disciplining her well. If I had cared more about Isabella on weekdays, this wouldn’t have happened. But Isabella has always been rebellious since she was a child and not close to me and Mom.”

Timothy was still angry at this moment, but hearing Angel blame herself, he couldn’t help but comfort her, “She’s just introverted. Don’t worry about her. If she were like you, she wouldn’t have done such a thing.”

Although Isabella was engaged to Timothy, Timothy rarely saw her whenever he visited the Casey family. She seemed to rarely appear in the Casey family, so Timothy’s relationship with Angel was better, almost like childhood sweethearts.

In addition, Angel had been in poor health since she was a child, so even if Timothy was angry, he wouldn’t take it out on Angel.

Isabella, on the side, listened to Timothy’s words and her expression turned cold.

She had seen this scene too many times over the years. She glanced at Angel, who was looking shyly at Timothy. When she saw Angel look at her, a hint of mockery and satisfaction appeared on her face.

Timothy saw that Isabella stopped talking and looked at Mary, “What do you think, Aunt? Should we continue the engagement?”

Mary actually wanted them to cancel the engagement very much. Only by doing so could her precious eldest daughter have the opportunity to marry into the Newhouse family and become a wealthy wife.

But she put on a helpless expression on her face, “It’s Aunt’s fault for not educating this daughter well and embarrassing the Casey family. Aunt is really sorry for you!”

Isabella looked at the three people with their hidden thoughts, feeling nauseous in her stomach.

It seemed like she had nothing to do here.

She didn’t even bother to say goodbye and left straight away.

The three of them, who were originally in conversation, fell silent as they saw her turn and leave.

Timothy subconsciously wanted to call her back, but before he could say anything, Angel had already playfully pulled his hand and started talking to him about other things.

Timothy withdrew his gaze, his mind in a daze. Suddenly, the image of the little girl he had just met appeared in his mind, who always smiled shyly and cautiously whenever she saw him.

Since when did she become so indifferent and cold whenever she saw him?

After leaving the Casey family, Isabella stood on the roadside for a while, suppressing the nauseous feeling.

At this moment, she just hoped never to come back here again. This place was like walking into a disaster every time, comparable to walking through fire and water.

With physical exhaustion and mental torment, Isabella wished she could cut off all contact with everyone and sleep for ten days or even a month when she got back.

But she couldn’t. She still needed to work. Without work, she couldn’t afford the rent, let alone food.

She called a cab on her phone and, after getting in the car, called her agent Audrey to ask when she would audition for that supporting role.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

Audrey was silent for a long time on the other end of the line before saying, “Isabella, I’ve reconsidered. I don’t think that role is very likable. Let’s look at other options.”

Isabella’s initial reaction was that it didn’t matter if the role wasn’t likable. She needed money urgently. But before the words could come out, she realized that this might be the end of it. With the hot search about her sleeping her way to the top, which smart director would dare to cast her?

“Alright, Audrey, I’ll go with your arrangement.”

Audrey let out a sigh of relief on the other end of the phone.

“Isabella, you seem tired lately. Take some time to rest. I’ll find you a new role. I’ve already talked to the company about the hot search, and they’ll handle it.”

As a somewhat tepid minor celebrity, how could the company care about her life and death? But Isabella still agreed, just to reassure Audrey.

After returning home by car, covered in cold sweat, Isabella endured the fatigue and took a shower. Afterward, without even bothering to blow dry her hair, she lay down and fell asleep.

She slept until midnight, waking up with a splitting headache.

Enduring the discomfort, she got up and took a cold medicine, then took out a piece of bread from her stash and ate it with cold water.

Living such a dazed life, Isabella spent three days eating only bread. When she felt a bit of strength, she would cook herself a bowl of noodles.

During this time, both Audrey and Timothy’s cousin Randall called, but Isabella didn’t pick up. When she called back later, she casually said that she had been watching movies leisurely these past few days to find some inspiration.

After all these years of acting, neither of them noticed anything strange about her. They just reminded her to rest well.

On the third day, Isabella finally fully recovered, her mind completely clear. It was at this moment that she suddenly remembered.

After that incident that night, no matter what, she should have gone to buy emergency contraception. But these three days had passed by in a daze, and she completely forgot about it.

Was it still useful to go buy it now?