Ch. 2156..2160

Chapter 2156

Several hours later, inside Isabel’s new, luxurious bedroom.

They had left the windows open the entire time, inviting the billowing sea breeze into the room.

Snuggling on the giant bed was Isabel who was coddled inside Roland's arms. Both of them were resting against the headboard.

After Isabel recovered back to her senses, she crossed her arms in front of her and turned to Roland who was also staring into her eyes. She asked curtly, "So, will you tell me now?"

Roland grinned faintly and told her, "| have what you would call a side hustle" Isabel asked curiously, "What kind of side hustle?"

He remarked casually, "It's nothing crazy. | just show up as an advisor for companies who are dealing with financial crises and help them sort things out."

The way he put it, it sounded like something wholly unimpressive and mundane. However, the sheer fact of the diamond necklace worth hundreds of millions, and the enormous mansion they were currently residing in suggested differently.

Isabel eyed him suspiciously. ‘That diamond necklace you gave me and this mansion are payment for the work you’ve done for these companies?" Roland was silent for a moment before stating blankly, "Sort of."

If that was the case, his work was certainly not just any trivial work and went beyond common advising. The sort of trouble he had to untangle his clients out of must be the sort that threatened bankruptcy. Isabel was deeply awed by this and her impression of the man went up again.

Still, she could sense that there was something else to it. She narrowed her eyes into a suspicious squint and asked him interrogatively, "Is there anything else that | don't know?"

Roland grinned faintly. "Nothing else."

Isabel nodded perfunctorily. She lay her head against his chest again and looked around at the luxurious manor. After a brief reflection, she smiled and praised him, "Roland, you're amazing."

Before this, she was not so confident about his chances of taking Rockwell Corporation back all by himself. Now that she had seen proof of what he was capable of, she suddenly had an unwavering conviction that if anyone could do it, it was him.

Roland brightened. "Thank you.” “What are you thanking me for? | didn't do anything." He suddenly cast a solemn look at her. "Thank you for forgiving me, and for coming back to my side after what happened."

Isabel blinked rapidly, appearing like she was trying to process what he said. ‘| haven't said anything about forgiving you or wanting to come back to you yet."

She still remembered what it felt like when he had abandoned her and returned to Southboro without even bothering to say goodbye. It had hurt her deeply.

She just... she thought it must be hard for him to be all by himself in Southboro, which was why she decided to keep him company. She supposed she could give him a little credit for his willingness to apologize, but that was it.

After she said that, the room grew quiet. There was not so much as a whisper as both of them went silent.

She slowly turned to face him again.

Roland was still leaning against the headboard and looking at her with a profound look in his eyes. His expression was relatively calm, but she could recognize the turbulent emotions underneath.

It was as if he was already grieving their relationship.

She had not thought much of what she said initially, but upon recognizing his hurt, she suddenly felt slight remorse for having been so cruel.

She hurriedly sat up and stammered as she spoke, "W-why are you staring at me like that?” Roland went straight to the point, his voice shaky, "So, are you still going to leave me?"

Isabel considered it for a moment, then she told him, "Right now, probably not. As for what happens going forward, it'll depend on your actions."

Just like that, the light returned to Roland's eyes like a storm had passed. He reached forward and pulled Isabel into his arms. Isabel was startled. Before she could react, she was pinned to the bed again. She shoved him gently. "Hey... this wasn't the kind of action | was referring to..."

Isabel did end up living there. In addition to the wonderful scenery, she also had access to a private theater and gym.

 

Chapter 2157

Isabel spent her time relaxing and filling her stomach with good food. From time to time, she would go to the gym to keep up her fitness level.

Roland let her do whatever she wished. In his free time, he would bring her to interesting places in Southboro to sightsee. During their conversations, he would not bring up anything related to Rockwell Corporation unless it was

Isabel who asked about them, in which case he would answer all of her questions whatever they may be.

Now and then, she would fly back to Westchester for scheduled shootings for "The Wonder". Otherwise, she spent the majority of her time at the mansion.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye. It was a Sunday.

Around the evening, Isabel finished shooting the last episode of ‘The Wonder". Immediately after that, she got on a plane back to Southboro.

Coincidentally, she met Isabella on the plane. They were seated right next to each other.

Isabella seemed just as surprised to see Isabel on the same plane as her. She asked with a faux smile, "Isabel, are you going to Southboro too?"

Isabel glanced around the plane. All the seats were occupied, and there was no chance of her asking the flight attendant to assign her to a different seat. Left without a choice, she sat down and ignored Isabella's question.

Isabella scowled when she realized she was being ignored. She immediately dropped her fake friendliness and began taunting Isabel unabashedly, "You might still be relevant online now, but if you keep this up for a few more months, people will forget about you eventually. You should feel honored that I'd even give you the time of the day and talk to you at all!"

As much as Isabel hated to admit it, Isabella made a good point. Apart from "The Wonder", she had not managed to land any other roles of late. Her cold streak had lasted several months by this point.

The show that was previously postponed ended up choosing someone else to star in the landing role. When they were first informed about this, Amanda was so furious that she refused to eat for a day.

They had no other connections, and no potential leads to any new deals. Clarice had completely ruined Isabel.

However, the truth was a little more complicated than that. The long cold streak was partially due to Isabel wanting to take some time to rest.

If she wanted to get back to her previous hectic routine, she could easily pull it off. Clarice was not going to get in her way, even if there were ten of her.

She shut her eyes and continued to ignore Isabella.

Upon realizing that she was not being taken seriously at all, Isabella turned red with anger. She became extremely bitter and began to spite Isabel. “Isabel, | know you got back together with that Roland Rockwell, but let me tell you this, the Rockwells don't care about him at all-"

Upon noticing a flight attendant passing by, Isabel suddenly raised a hand to get her attention. "Excuse me, this lady is harassing me. Could you please get her to shut up and leave me alone?"

The flight attendant turned to look at Isabella. While Isabella turned pale with shame, she quickly put on her mask to conceal her embarrassment.

There was no telling if the flight attendant recognized her as the famous Isabella. Nonetheless, she did her job well and informed Isabella in a pleasant yet authoritative voice," Madam, please keep your voice down and stop disturbing this lady over here."

Isabella turned away and ignored the flight attendant.

The flight attendant smiled politely at Isabel before walking away.

With that, the two sat in silence. Isabel proceeded to adjust her seat backward and planned to get some shuteye.

That was when Isabella's annoying voice interrupted her again, "Isabel, I’m sure you don’t know this, but something is going down at Rockwell Corporation. They're about to go bankrupt."

This successfully drew her interest at last, and her eyes opened with a snap.

Isabella smiled sinisterly. "Decker has Clarice and the Houstons helping him, so he has nothing to worry about after Rockwell Corporation sinks. He'll make a comeback in no time. As for your dear Roland, he’s not coming back from that. He's screwed!"

She seemed to be having a good time taunting Isabel, evident by the wide grin she wore. She was eyeing Isabel the entire time to gauge her response, hoping to see that she had successfully gotten on her nerves.

Isabel pursed her lips tightly and put up a hand again.

The flight attendant walked down the aisle and approached her. "Yes, Miss Isabel, how may | help you?"

She gestured at Isabella. "She's harassing me again."

The flight attendant expressed a troubled look and turned to Isabella. "Miss Isabella, I’m going to have to ask you to be quiet.”

Isabella was surprised that the flight attendant managed to recognize her even with her mask on. She glared viciously at Isabel before turning away from her.

Isabel felt for the phone in her pocket.

The plane was about to take off, and this was not a good time to text Roland. She thought about what Roland had said to her last time.

He mentioned that something major was about to go down at Rockwell Corporation. Was this what he was referring to?

Chapter 2158

Chapter 2158 Several hours later, the plane landed on the runway of Southboro Airport. Almost all the passengers reached for their phones.

Isabel did the same as well. She promptly switched the airplane mode on the phone off. As if on cue, she received a text from Roland that read, "Are you here yet?”

She replied, "We just landed. I'll be home soon."

Her mind was still lingering on what Isabella told her, so she promptly asked Roland, "I heard something went down at Rockwell Corporation. Is it true?"

Roland replied, "Yeah, 111 wait for you at the gate. We'll talk in person." He had come to pick her up. Isabel smiled faintly and replied, “Sure.”

Just as she was putting away her phone, she noticed Isabella stealing glances at the display of her phone. It was clear as day that she was trying to peek at her conversation with Roland.

She dimmed the display and shot a look at Isabella. Isabella sneered, "Are you talking to your dear Roland? Has he told you about what's going on at Rockwell Corporation yet?" Isabel was in no mood to entertain her at all. She could not even be bothered to give her a second look.

Isabella saw red and began to throw snide remarks at her," His days as a Rockwell is coming to an end. Let's see how long you can keep up your smug attitude.”

The plane finally parked at the boarding gate.

After the announcement was made, Isabel took all of her belongings and proceeded out of the plane. She did not bring any luggage with her, so she made a beeline for the arrival gate.

She was walking down the hallway leading to the arrival gate when she saw Roland's slender and tall figure. He was very eye- catching since he stood a head taller than everyone else.

She immediately quickened her pace toward him.

Then, she practically launched herself at Roland, into his arms.

Roland hugged her firmly. She looked up at him.

Roland was smiling tenderly at her. He was very handsome whenever he smiled. He seemed to be in a good mood. She smiled affectionately and asked, "Did you miss me when | was gone?"

Roland said sincerely, "Of course."

She did not doubt him. She stood on tiptoe and planted a kiss on his cheeks. "Here's your souvenir. Come on, let’s go home.”

Roland smiled warmly and took her her bag for her, then they went toward his car.

As soon as he drove away, Isabella stepped out of the arrival gate. She glanced in the direction where Roland had driven off, and a look of contempt flashed across her face.

She could not believe that Roland still had the time and heart to pick up Isabel at the airport especially when something so major was going down at Rockwell Corporation. She did not know whether she should write this down as a show of his devotion, or sheer stupidity.

She cussed at the duo, then she got into the car sent to pick her up.

She sent a text to Clarice. "Miss Clarice, | just got off the plane. Are things alright over there?"

There was no response. After a minute, she sent Clarice another text. "By the way, do you know who | stumbled into on the way here? Isabel Ross. | even saw Roland coming to the airport to pick her up.”

She received an instantaneous response upon sending the text. Clarice asked, "Roland was at the airport? Are you sure it was him who picked her up?"

She replied, "I'm sure it's him." Clarice was currently in her office at Houston Corporation. She frowned when she read the text.

Rockwell Corporation was on the brink of bankruptcy, and their main office was already frantically scrambling for a solution. Even if Roland was not favored by his family and did not risk losing as much as Decker who was at the helm of the organization, surely he would at least have cause to panic?

Besides, Decker at least had something to fall back on in the event of bankruptcy, but what about Roland? He would lose his place in Southboro, then he would completely lose out on his fortune and his status in his family.

How could he still be whimsically picking up his girlfriend at the airport at such a crucial hour? Was he truly in love? Just the sheer thought of it made her frown heavily.

Then again, she was too busy convincing her father to extend Rockwell Corporation a lifeline. She neither had the time to care about Roland's personal affairs nor to care about what Isabella had to say.

 

Chapter 2159

Isabella waited for a reply for some time. Eventually, she gauged that Clarice was probably not going to reply any time soon, and with that, she put away her phone with a morose grunt.

Her purpose for coming to Southboro this time was to keep Clarice company. She had hoped that she could offer Clarice some emotional support during this current difficult period with what happened with Decker. Perhaps she could get closer to Clarice this way.

To her demise, Clarice still held herself above her!

Despite this setback, she did not plan to leave Southboro any time soon. Since she was here, she had the chance to witness Isabel's reaction to the downfall of her poor boyfriend getting kicked out of his family!

Meanwhile, shortly after Roland merged into the highway, Isabel asked the question she had long been wanting to ask, "So, what happened at Rockwell Corporation?"

Roland stated calmly, "Capital chain rupture." Isabel was taken aback by this.

Something as serious as a capital chain rupture was especially terminal for a corporation the size of Rockwell Corporation. If they did not receive relief in the form of any significant capital injection within the coming period, it was sure to spell the bankruptcy of the corporation.

However, this was not her main concern. She was more curious about Roland's previous claim. "Is this what you referred to back then?"

Roland pursed his lips. "Yeah." Isabel's eyes beamed.

Based on what he told her previously, he was going to take this opportunity to take over Rockwell Corporation. She wondered what his coming chess move would be.

As curious as she was, she suppressed the urge to ask.

Roland had not made his move yet, and besides, the situation was developing rapidly and things could change just as rapidly, hence it was better to save the questions for later.

After the dust had settled, he would claim victory.

"Isabel." Suddenly, she heard Roland calling her name.

She looked up and met the sharp, serious look in his eyes." Hmm?"

He pursed his lips tightly, and it seemed like he had something on his mind, only he did not how to verbalize it. She immediately noticed his ears reddening again. That meant that he was either nervous or excited about something. Her eyes flickered, and she asked, "Is there something you want to tell me?”

"If everything works out, will you..."

"What about me?"

"Will you forgive me?" He looked at her intently.

Isabel did a double-take.

That was it?

Was he still bothered by that?

She had stayed with him in Southboro for two months by this point. Shouldn't he be asking for her hand in marriage by this point?

She found herself a little speechless, but also amused at the same time. She grinned and told him, "I will forgive you whether you pull it off or not." Roland looked at her with a distinct look of surprise.

She reached over and straightened his collar for him, then she looked stoutly into his eyes. "Do whatever you were going to do and don't worry about a thing, as long as it's nothing immoral. What matters is that you've given it your all. The results will not change how | feel about you, and I'll forgive you no matter what."

The calm, serene look in his eyes suddenly shifted upon hearing Isabel's words of encouragement. He was suddenly seized by countless emotions.

Before Isabel could get a closer look into his eyes, he embraced her tightly. He hugged her tightly and refused to let go. After a while, he said to her in a low, deep voice, ‘Thank you." After a brief pause, he vowed, "I will give it my all."

He would do everything in his power. He was going to claim victory and fulfill the promise he made with Odell. Then, their relationship would be legitimized at last!

Inside Master Rockwell’s room in the Rockwell household, ever since the drastic downturn at Rockwell Corporation, the already gray and aging Master Rockwell looked even frailer than before. Slumped against his chair, he looked like he was going to wilt away any second.

Decker stood in front of him and asked anxiously, "Dad, is there no other way we can pull ourselves out of this?"

Master Rockwell heaved a long sigh. "We're in too deep this time. | can't save us even with all my accumulated savings. The business partners and friends | have are no fools. They know there's no saving us as well."

Decker frowned, the look of resignation was stark on his face as he asked warily, "Is this it?"

The old man sighed tiredly. "It seems to me that our only lifeline at this point is the Houstons."

 

Chapter 2160

Chapter 2160 The Houstons? Decker's expression shifted.

He had already briefly told Clarice about the ongoing situation at Rockwell Corporation, and she had given her word that she would ask her father to help.

However, just like Master Rockwell said, their current predicament was far too great and nearly impossible to recover from. It was a tall task even when considering the vast amount of resources the Houstons had at their disposal. They may have to empty their vault just to help.

Would Clarice's father even agree to help? That was when Master Rockwell advised, "Decker, why don't you talk to Clarice? | know she cares a lot about you. Certainly, she will try to persuade her father to help us."

Decker frowned and said in a troubled voice, "Dad, | think her father might not help even if she threatened suicide right in front of

her. Although Clarice was the eldest daughter of the Houstons, she also had two younger brothers who took higher priority.

Another factor was that he knew her father initially planned to wed her to another man. Her father had always been less than pleased about the partner his daughter had chosen for herself.

Master Rockwell had considered this factor too, but with the way things were... He clenched his walking stick tightly. His age was truly beginning to show in the form of countless creases on his forehead. He said gravely, "If the Houstons won't help us, we have no choice but to declare bankruptcy."

Decker was just as bothered by this stone-cold fact.

It had taken all those years of plotting and scheming for them to seize Rockwell Corporation. How could it all come to such a sore ending? Was it truly all for nothing? How could this be?

Rockwell Corporation had come to a point where they were essentially staring into a bottomless abyss, so what were the chances that Houstons would be compelled to expend everything they have to help them?

For the first time, Decker felt like he was on the verge of breaking down. That was when Master Rockwell suddenly proposed, "There is another person who might be able to help us."

Decker looked at him with a glimmer of hope in his eyes." Who?" Master Rockwell said solemnly, "I don't know what his real name is, but everyone knows him as Mr. Bright."

Decker's eyes glowed with a ray of hope. "Are you talking about that Mr. Bright who has a reputation for helping and reviving companies on the brink of collapse? They say he's a miracle worker."

"That's him. Can you contact him?"

"| heard he's a very mysterious person and that nobody has ever met him in person. | do know someone who has enlisted his help at one point. | might be able to get in touch with him."

“Hurry up and find him. As long as he is willing to help us, we just might be able to tough this one out." “Alright, I'll do everything | can to try to contact him." Decker hurried out of the room after that. At the seaside mansion, after dinner, Isabel and Roland went to the home theatre, leading each other by the hand.

She mentioned she wanted to watch a movie and Roland volunteered to join her. Just like that, they commenced their impromptu movie night.

At the most inopportune moment when they were only a couple of footsteps away from the home theatre, Roland's phone rang.

"Give me a minute."

Isabel motioned for him to go ahead.

He pulled out his phone.

She happened to catch a glimpse of the caller ID that read ' Marcus’. It appeared to be his assistant. She tucked her hands in her pockets and waited, careful to not interrupt him.

He promptly answered the call.

The assistant told him immediately, "Sir, Decker got in touch with us. He said that he will do anything as long as we can help him out with the situation at Rockwell Corporation."

"Hm." Roland glanced at Isabel, then informed his assistant without a second thought, "Tell him that I'm busy right now and that I'll get back to him later tonight."

"Got it.”

He put away his phone and took Isabel's hand, leading her into the home theatre. The couch was soft and cushy, and Rox had already set up countless snacks and drinks for them on the table.

Isabel put on a classic film which they enjoyed in silence.