Ch. 2021..2025

Chapter 2021

Although Decker's father had always cared a great deal for him, it did not change the fact that he was a b*stard child whose mother was a mistress. He was grown up despised by people around him and even now, he was devising a scheme to steal away the assets that were to be rightfully inherited by the true son of his father. 1

Isabel's stomach grew sick at the thought of having a child with this despicable man. It filled her with disgust and disdain.

Decker frowned and said, "He won't end up like me, I'll make sure to make the necessary arrangements so that our child will inherit all of my wealth.”

Isabel was at a loss for words. She had never seen someone as shameless as he was.

She said without pulling back any punches, "Decker, you better give up, it’s never going to happen. I'm never going to be with you, let alone have a child with you."

Upon noticing that she was preparing to leave again, Decker paced upto her again and asked stubbornly, "Have | not given you enough? What else do you want from me?”

Isabel snapped. "| want you to leave me alone!"

Decker frowned, his face darkened instantly.

"Isabel, there’s a limit to my patience," he said darkly.

It seemed like Isabel had incited his wrath with her indifference.

“What? Are you going to slap me again?" Isabel was not afraid to provoke him at all, she said while turning the side of her face toward him.

Decker gnashed his teeth. "Isabel..."

"Mr. Rockwell, here you are." Suddenly, Isabella's voice came from the end of the corridor.

She quickly approached when she saw Isabel and Decker standing together.

Decker's expression morphed instantly as he transformed into a kind and doting man in the blink of an eye. Isabel could not stand the sight of him playing at his usual tricks. She shot him a sideways look and walked away. This time, Decker did not pursue after her.

As for Isabella, she shot Isabel a glare while approaching Decker.

Isabel hardly acknowledged her at all. She did not even return a look.

Soon, she returned to the banquet hall.

Meanwhile, Isabella went upto Decker.

She took Decker's arm affectionately and asked, "Mr. Rockwell, why were you with Isabel? Do you two know each other?" Decker smiled faintly and spoke, "We do."

Isabella seemed affected by this. Still, she made sure to not overreact and only enquire half-heartedly, "How long have you known each other?"

"| came to Westchester because of her," Decker said while peering into her eyes.

Isabella stiffened. She could not even muster a fake smile.

Decker smiled, and gently brushed the side of her cheeks. " Before | met you, | invited her to dinner with me and she splashed a face full of wine on me."

Isabella was taken aback by this and expressed angrily," How could she do that to you? How disrespectful!"

"Yeah. You're so much better than her."

Isabella seemed pleased to hear this, evident by the corner of her lips immediately turning up into a wide smile. She leaned into him and said, "You flatter me too much, Mr.

Rockwell. I'm so lucky to have gained your admiration at all."

Decker smiled and gently pinched her cheeks before leading her back toward the banquet hall.

As soon as he walked into the banquet hall, he subconsciously darted a glance at a relatively remote corner of the banquet hall. Isabel was seated at a round table with two fellow actresses who were her close friends.

He spied on them for several seconds before retracting his gaze and promptly wiping away the gloom in his eyes.

He had been as patiently as humanly possible with her and offered her the best conditions one could hope for.

It was her fault for not knowing what was good for her. From here on, she had no right to blame him for resorting to harsher measures.

Chapter 2022

It was a very brief banquet that concluded in no time.

Isabel bid farewell to Ramona and Triss before having her driver take her back to her place. Coincidentally, she chanced into Roland again when she was about to reach her place.

He carried a briefcase in hand and wore a black suit as usual. Due to his tall and striking figure, it was very easy to spot him walking down the street. His melancholic figure adorned underneath the streetlights made for a very appealing sight.

Isabel asked her driver to slow down. Then she leaned out the window to gawk at him for a while. When they were within earshot, she called out, "Roland!"

Roland turned around.

There was hardly a hint of fright in his eyes, he was cool and composed as usual.

Isabel asked, "It’s the weekend today, why are you still at work?"

He stated, "There's still a lot of work that needs to be taken care of."

Isabel made a look, alright then.

She asked the driver to stop, then she scanned the area to make sure no paparazzi were lurking around. Then, she opened the door and got out of the car.

Due to the long hem of the dress she wore, she had to fold it into her hands and carry it around as she walked toward Roland. When she looked up at him again, she noticed that he was eyeing her up and down. He must be admiring her outfit, perhaps her figure as well.

Isabel did not feel uncomfortable despite him blatantly eyeing her up and down since there was not a hint of pervert about him. She even felt safe enough to let the hem fall and pose for him, twisting her waist left and right.

“How's the outfit, how do | look?" she asked cheerfully.

Roland pursed his lips and looked away awkwardly.

He commented briefly, "It’s alright."

Isabel smiled, and lifted the hem of the dress again before starting walking with him. “Roland, are you going to take a break from work tomorrow?" she asked candidly.

It was Sunday tomorrow.

Roland peered at her. "Why are you asking me this?"

"No reason, | was just wondering if you’re going to take some time to rest tomorrow."

Roland said solemnly, "There are two international meetings tomorrow as well as several documents that need my signature for approval."

"Okay." Isabel sighed and gently patted his shoulder." Thanks for your hard work." She was mimicking what she thought was the idea of an attentive superior encouraging her subordinate.

Roland did not react.

Soon, they arrived at the gate to Isabel’s apartment.

Isabel stopped and said with a brisk smile, "Here's me, bye." Roland grunted and told her goodbye.

With that, Isabel walked inside.

She walked down the path until she was nearing the corner, then a thought suddenly occurred to her to turn around to have a look. She immediately noticed a figure standing by the gate facing her.

The figure was clad in the shadows. Due to the distance between them, she could only make out its silhouette while the face was a blur.

Still, it was not hard to tell that it was Roland.

Why was he still here?

Was he worried about her walking alone at night?

There was nothing to worry about. She was already inside the compound of the apartment and the place had security guards.

She waved at him, then she reached for her phone to text him. "This place has security patrols, don't worry about me. Go home and get some rest."

Roland replied, "Okay."

 

Chapter 2023

When Isabel looked up again, Roland's figure had disappeared from the looming shadows by the entrance.

She suddenly felt strangely lonely.

With a long sigh, she turned around the corner and retreated into her apartment.

A month later.

The serialized drama that Isabel was filming had finally come to a close, and the scenes for the grand finale were wrapped up.

Over the course of the month, she had been with the crew nearly every waking hour to ensure the consistent quality of the final few episodes. She hardly went back to her place to sleep at night.

Now that the show was a wrap, she felt like she had regained her freedom at last.

After having a grand feast with the crew, she left the film set.

Amanda had recovered from her illness and came to pick her up in person.

On the way back home, Isabel sat with Amanda in the rear. Amanda began going through the upcoming itinerary.

First of all, she was going to start joining the variety show The Wonder as the guest star. The Legend of the Goddess would also begin filming next week, then there were a few miscellaneous gigs and whatnot tossed in. All in all, her schedule was packed throughout the rest of the year.

Although she was passionate about her job, she had to admit that it could be rather exhausting at times. She sighed weakly and asked, "Amanda, do you think there's a chance | could get a month off?" Amanda rolled her eyes and replied sarcastically, "How does a year off sound?"

She immediately followed up with a long sermon. "Do you know how hard Isabella had been going at it lately? Not only has she accepted two guest star roles in two popular variety shows, but she also recently took on a handful of high-quality scripts as well. | didn’t even get a chance to go through those scripts before her team snatched them up. If you don't step up, she's going to surpass you and leave you in the dust before you know it."

Isabel seemed unfazed. "We'll see if she has what it takes to surpass me, I'd like to see her try." There was no use in hoping and praying that Isabella did not catch up to her. Besides, what else was she supposed to do? Her schedule was already filled to the brim as was.

Amanda shot her a sideways look before relenting. "Alright, I'll give you a day off. Get some rest tomorrow and recharge. I'll pick you up in the morning the day after tomorrow. We're going to the set at The Wonder." "Alright, you got it."

That was when Carla, who was in the passenger seat the entire time, suddenly turned to Isabel. "Sister, this looks bad, something happened to Triss."

Isabel sat up straight immediately. "What happened to her?" "Check your feed, | don't know what's going on but it seems like there's a new scandal revolving around her."

Isabel urgently reached for her phone. The first keyword on the trending list caught her eye immediately: Triss Ravine - Casting Couch Regular. She clicked inside and was bombarded with countless blasphemous articles about her that said everything that could be said.

For instance, "Triss has been sleeping around since the start of her career, she's notorious for sinking her claws into every successful man she can find. A few years back, she accidentally got on the bad side of a certain investor and that's when her career went downhill since her usual fling decided to ditch her. If it wasn’t forthat film she shot with Isabel back then, we would've completely forgotten about her already.” "| heard what truly kicked off her career over these last few years isn’t because of that web novel-adapted film, but it's because she managed to get acquainted with a few big names in the business. | know some insiders and they all tell me that Triss has a bit of a reputation."

Someone else leaked a photo of Triss sitting on another man's lap. The man’s face was blurred out but Triss' was completely unaltered.

Things continued to ramp up from there as people began to call for boycotts and to banish her from the scene.

Isabel was furious.

She recognized that picture and the circumstances that led to that picture being taken. It was taken three years ago when they were celebrating the success of a film they shot together. The man in the picture was a certain senior executive of an entertainment company. He was invited to the celebration dinner since he was one of the major investors.

At that time, he had too much to drink and began trying to get with Isabel, but was brutally shot down. Chances were he identified another target in

Triss who seemed to be an easier target, so he immediately took her into his arms without her consent. Triss was afraid of upsetting him and tried to gently persuade him to let go of her, which only excited him further. That was when he began to ramp up his antics and started fondling her.

Naturally, Isabel could not stand for it. She immediately pulled Triss off of the man and harshly reprimanded the unruly man so he would not direct his anger at Triss but at her instead. "Hey old fart, this is a formal celebration dinner, mind keeping it in your pants? If you want that kind of fun, go somewhere else instead of exposing your filth here.”

Amanda was already her manager back then and due to her significant status in the entertainment industry, the man was afraid to retaliate. He sucked it up and scuttled away.

It was then that Triss and Isabel began to develop a close friendship. This picture had been around for a long time. Why did it suddenly surface online now of all times?

Triss largely kept to herself. She never tried to fight for roles with anybody and it was unlikely that she would have stepped on anybody's toes at all.

 

Chapter 2024

Chapter 2024 Amanda briefly looked at her feed before asking, "Has Triss made some enemies lately?" Isabel answered, "I don't think so."

Ever since that one time several years ago when her career was derailed because she refused the advance of a certain businessman, she had been very cautious. Now that her career was finally looking up again, she would not act rashly.

Amanda speculated. "Then this means that somebody is running a smear campaign on her." Isabel frowned.

The entertainment industry may seem glamorous on the outside, but anyone in the know would tell you that it was very treacherous and one had to watch their back at all times. Even though Triss was never one to stir conflict, someone must be envious of her success and wanted to ruin her.

“Let her management team deal with it, don't worry about it." Amanda advised kindly. Isabel did not respond. She went to the chat group between her, Triss, and Ramona. The group was usually very quiet, so there was not much activity going on most of the time.

Isabel sent a message to the group, "What's with the news I’ve been seeing online? Triss, have you got into trouble with anyone lately?”

As soon as she sent the message, Ramona showed up as well. "I just saw the trending page as well. Triss, do you know if there's someone who might be targeting you for some reason?"

Two minutes later, Triss replied, "| don't know what's going on either. I've just been doing the same thing I’ve always been doing. Most of the time, I'm either filming or I'm resting at home. | haven't even been joining any variety shows lately or seeing anyone at all.”

Ramona was furious. "Who in the hell is this? Why would they do this to you? | can't believe it!" Isabel asked, "Triss, do you or your management team have any solutions?" This was not the time to be upset, they had to get down and dirty to remedy the ongoing situation.

Triss told them, "My agent helped me contact a PR team and we’ve contacted a lawyer to issue warnings. The problem is that the picture of me sitting on that man’s lap is everywhere on the Internet. | don’t think a lawyer's letter is going to stop people from spreading the picture."

Ramona was at a loss. "What should we do??" Triss did not respond. Based on Isabel’s impression of Triss, she was probably going through a depressive fit right now.

She considered for a moment before asking, "Triss, let me help you clarify the story behind the picture online. Would you mind if | do that?"

Triss replied in a matter of seconds, "| don’t mind, but are you sure this won't affect your reputation?"

Most people would understandably prefer to avoid getting tangled in complicated scandals such as this, especially considering how negative the public opinion of her was currently. If Isabel spoke up for her, there was a chance that she would face the scrutiny of the public as well.

Isabel assured her. "It won’t. Don't worry about it."

Besides, she had been through the gauntlet several times, so she was practically immune to criticism by this point. All she cared about was that she could sleep with a clear conscience.

With that, she went to her page.

While she was still figuring out how she should structure the story, she suddenly received a text from an unknown number.

The contents of the message were short and elaborate. "Isabel, | heard you're a close friend of Triss, aren't you? It looks like she needs some help now. | would help you if you ask nicely."

She frowned.

No matter how she looked at it, the entire text reeked of Decker.

It also seemed highly probable that he was the one trying to defile Triss' name.

Asurge of anger rose to her chest, and she replied with a simple and elaborate text that read, "Scram."

After that, she swiped back to her page and began to compose a long- winded paragraph explaining everything. ‘There's nothing to see here. | remember that picture, it was taken roughly three to four years ago. We were celebrating the favorable of the web- novel adapted film ‘Furious Women’. Apart from the crew and the director, we also invited one of our investors which is the man you see in this picture. He used his position as a major investor and made Triss sit on his lap even though it was clear that she didn't want to. Then he refused to let go no matter what Triss told him. | remember being disgusted with his behavior and telling him off right then and there. He stormed off like a spoiled brat after that."

Right after she made the post, she heard Amanda grumbling at her. “Isabel, didn't | tell you to not get involved? You're only asking for trouble by voicing out at this time!”

Isabel said snarkily, "| get into enough trouble on my own anyway, this won’t make a difference."

 

Chapter 2025

Amanda was exasperated, she took a deep breath.

Isabel patted her on the back to ease her stress, then she continued scrolling through her phone. Her fans and Triss' fans were all sharing her latest statement.

Within minutes, the post had gained a tremendous amount of traction and had overtaken the previous "Triss Ravine - Casting Couch Regular" trending keyword.

There were many comments from netizens, some of the comments that received the most attention included: "Even Isabel is voicing out about this scumbag, | believe her." "Triss is friends with Isabel, isn't she? What if Isabel is just helping her?" "Isn't it natural for friends to help each other? Since she's speaking up for Triss at a time like this, this shows that she's a loyal and empathetic friend. If you ask me, this is further proof that Triss was framed." "If you take a closer look at that picture, Triss looks like she doesn’t want to be there at all. She's even trying to shove the man away." "It does seem like Triss was innocent all along.”

The public reception turned out better than Isabel imagined. Although there was still a minority that expressed doubts, the majority believed her.

Ramona must have seen the shifting sentiment online, and that was when

Ramona had always maintained a clean reputation. She was never a part of any scandals ever since her debut. This meant that her words carried a certain weight and successfully swayed the doubters as they seemed convinced at last.

In just half an hour, Triss’ innocence was proven, and her name was exonerated.

She tagged Isabel and Ramona in their group chat and thanked them fervently, "Isabel, Ramona, thank you so much!" Ramona was glad to have helped. "You're welcome, you should thank

Isabel. She was the one who spoke up first."

Isabel thought about the message she got from Decker and grew sullen.

She replied, "Don't need to thank me, | was just telling the truth."

She knew that she was the reason Triss was targeted at all as Decker was the one behind all this.

Still, Triss was very thankful for their help and expressed her gratitude repeatedly before finally giving it a rest.

Amanda heaved a sigh of relief. "You got lucky this time, you have to be more careful in the future and stay away from trouble." Isabel promised half-heartedly. "Okay, got it!"

Ding!

Decker texted her again, "Isabel, | just dug up some interesting news again. It turns out Ramona’s father had been regularly

seeing two mistresses for some time. He even has a b*stard child with one of them. What do you think people's reaction is going to be when they find out about this?"

Isabel stared at her phone wordlessly.

She had enough of this. With a deep, tired sigh, she sent a strongly worded message. "Decker, if you keep messing with my friends, don't get surprised when | return the favor and expose all your dirty secrets online! Which one do you think people are going to be more interested in-Ramona's family affairs or the private scandal of the Rockwells of Southboro?"

This seemed to do the trick, evident by Decker’s immediate silence afterward.

She scoffed coldly and put away her phone.

That was when she noticed Amanda and Carla staring at her.

Her expression softened as she asked, "What's wrong?” "Did something happen?" Amanda asked.

Carla added, "You looked so scary just now, it looked like you were going to kill someone."