SHibiscus and Frost-gazetory

Part 1 Accident

Isabella stared at the mangled red sedan, her face drained of color.

"Hello."

The car window was tapped twice. A traffic officer stood beside the vehicle, gesturing for her to step out.

Isabella was one of the witnesses to the homicide.

"That car seemed to lose control. The man was holding a knife... the girl was dragged out, covered in blood..."

By the time the forensic work concluded, it was nearly two in the morning.

The mountain air was biting cold. A sharp wind swept through, and Isabella instinctively hugged her arms around herself.

Someone handed her a coat.

She accepted it.
Before she could finish saying "thank you," the man had already turned and walked away.

Isabella looked after the tall, slender figure in a white lab coat and froze slightly.

"Hey!"

She called out.

The man turned around.

Single-lidded eyes, a high-bridged nose, pale skin. A face so strikingly gentle it seemed harmless, almost boyish, inviting closeness. Yet his eyes were cold to the point of cruelty. One glance from them sent a chill straight down the spine. No matter how captivating he was, few women dared approach.

It was Elias.

How long had it been since she last saw him? Isabella could not be bothered to count.

But she remembered vividly what they had argued about the last time.

Making conversation for lack of anything better, she said, "Grandpa asked about you the other day."

Elias's gaze settled lightly on her face. Firelight reflected in his dark eyes, calm yet strangely seductive.

"What did he ask?"
His voice was flat, devoid of emotion.

Being stared at so intently made Isabella inexplicably nervous. She improvised, "He asked why you still don't have a girlfriend."

Elias continued to look at her without blinking.

"And did he ask," Elias said coolly, "why you still haven't broken up with him?"

Isabella fell silent.

That Elias could say something so cutting did not surprise her in the least. He had always been at odds with Sebastian. Their mutual dislike was common knowledge back in high school.

Of course she would not break up.

Isabella had never seriously considered separating from Sebastian. She was comfortable with the status quo and disliked change. Since they were together, marriage was the natural end point. In her vision of the future, Sebastian occupied the role of her partner. As long as he did not betray her, she was prepared to give him her whole life.

Her fingers moved sharply over the screen:
【Trying to see me make a fool of myself? I won't break up with him.】

No reply.

She had been ignored.

A faint awkwardness spread around the dining table.

"Well, there's really nothing to ask," her friends laughed nervously, trying to smooth things over. "Besides, Elias would never be interested in someone like me, a walking museum of cosmetic science, haha."

"Oh right, Bella, what was the number of that beautician your friend recommended last time?"

"I'll go check on the dishes. Let's eat soon."