Chapter 353
“Cold-hearted?” Isabella’s scoff echoed inside the helicopter as she glared down at Alexander. “I suppose I am. But nothing compared to you. So artificial, yet you don’t even come close to that phony girlfriend of yours! You both plotted to trap me, to win my trust and seize my fortune, didn’t you? Ha! Keep dreaming!”
Her voice, sharp and icy, cut through the night air as the helicopter climbed higher.
Alexander flinched at her words. She had known his scheme all along?
How had she become so perceptive?
The timid, foolish girl who once trailed after him—how did she transform into this shrewd, cautious woman?
His fists clenched as he watched Isabella being carried away. Why was she so merciless? Couldn’t she see his feelings had turned genuine lately?
One day… He would make her love him. He swore it.
Frustrated, he kicked a loose rock in the cave. His eyes fell on the makeshift bed of hay he’d prepared. He had been so close. They could have bonded. But it was all wasted.
Damn it. He wanted her desperately.
Images of her lean, proud figure haunted him.
Inside the helicopter…
Maxwell handed Isabella a fresh set of clothes. “Ms. Montgomery, please change. Don’t catch a cold.”
“Alright.” She took the clothes and moved to the helicopter’s small restroom.
As she showered, her bathrobe reminded her of standing before Nathaniel wearing nothing but that. Right. Nathaniel. Oliver.
She had promised Oliver she would call once things settled. She hadn’t contacted them yet. She wondered how they were.
She finished quickly and stepped out. “Any word from Nathaniel?”
“Well…” Maxwell avoided her gaze. “Ms. Montgomery, are you certain about him? Shouldn’t you reconsider what those four men told you?”
“What’s to reconsider? William is a good man, but you can’t force attraction. He’ll remain a colleague.” She towel-dried her hair and sat.
Maxwell sat beside her, insistent. “But Nathaniel slept with another woman five years ago! He has a son! You’d be a stepmother if you married him!”
“Sounds perfect. I skip nine months of pregnancy and get a ready-made child! Every woman’s dream. You’ll never understand the agony of childbirth.” She leaned back lazily and reached for her phone.
Maxwell was speechless.
It was hopeless. She’d lost all reason! How could she twist facts and turn disadvantages into advantages? Would William adopt a child immediately if he heard this?
Isabella ignored him, switching on her phone to contact Nathaniel and Oliver. Her screen flooded with countless messages and missed calls.
Her Do Not Disturb mode had been activated somehow. All notifications were silenced, hidden.
She opened the chat. Her screen was bombarded.
[Mommy! Mommy! Where are you?]
[Mommy! Daddy and I are searching for you! Please reply!]
[Mommy, Mommy! Waaa! Do you hate Momo now? Don’t you like us anymore?]
[Momo misses you! What did I do wrong…? Did I upset you? Mommy, please don’t vanish.]
Isabella frowned. Had she accidentally enabled Do Not Disturb?