The rain in that city was often short-lived, coming suddenly and ending quickly. No more than half an hour later, the big storm had calmed to a small drizzle. In the end, the dark clouds faded and a faint ray of light could even be seen.
That was when Isabelle came back to her senses, realizing that both of them had been standing in front of the window for such a long time.
She turned and saw that Alexander was still lost in his thoughts, staring out at the window. Remembering that she was called up by him, she asked, "Is there anything you need me for?"
Only after Isabelle spoke did Alexander remember that he had called for her. He had wanted to clarify that there was nothing going on between him and Sophia, but since they weren't lovers or a real married couple, it didn't make sense for him to do so.
He remained silent for a long time, trying to figure out how to go about explaining. In the end, he just randomly asked, "What about you? Don't you have anything to ask me?"
He was the one who had called her up, and now he was asking her what she wanted to ask him... Isabelle was struck dumb by his question. Shaking her head, she looked at him questioningly, "What should I ask?"
Alexander thought that Isabelle didn't understand his meaning, hence he hinted, "This afternoon when we were eating lunch with Sophia, you didn't have anything to ask me?"
The mention of Sophia dampened Isabelle's spirits that had been slightly lifted when Alexander ate and watched the rain with her. Moodily, she stared out of the window in silence.
Alexander stood beside her with surprising patience. He continued to wait, giving time for Isabelle to speak first. But after a long time, she still remained silent, and disappointment engulfed him.
What was he expecting when he had asked her that? Expecting her to mind what Sophia had said about him getting together with her?
Regardless of which woman was with him or had something going on with him, she had always been indifferent. Why should she start minding now?
Self-depreciation floated into his eyes. He couldn't help laughing at himself mockingly, as though he was really defeated by her. Helplessly, he said, "Me and Sophia..."
The moment Isabelle heard her sister's name, she couldn't help feeling a deep sense of fear surrounding her. At that moment, she was terrified that Alexander would say that they had gotten together. Unconsciously, she clenched her hands into fists, her lips tightening. She interrupted him with, "My sister is a good choice, she's pretty, has a good background, there's nothing bad about her... "
Before she could finish her sentence though, Alexander rudely commanded, "Go and take a bath."
Isabelle stopped in her tracks, stunned by the random command "Go and take a bath". She turned and was about to "Huh?" in response but was stopped by Alexander's expression. At some point, his expression had grown distant, his gaze cold. Even the surrounding air seemed to have gone cold.
Isabelle opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She just stood there, not moving.
Alexander pressed his lips together, his hands clenched tightly as though desperately suppressing his emotions. After about ten seconds of no movement, he spoke again, his voice laced with fury, "Didn't you hear me? Go and bath! Or are you expecting me to bathe you?"
Alexander's voice turned savaged towards the end, not giving Isabelle any room for objection. She trembled slightly, stumbled backwards. Turning, she hurriedly walked into the bathroom.
After she bathed and came out, Alexander was still standing with his back to the living room, a cigarette in his hands, taking deep puffs. Hearing the bathroom door open, he lifted his head slightly, observing Isabelle. The moment he saw her, he sucked in another deep breath before extinguishing his cigarette in a nearby ashtray. Casually, he turned around to stare at her. In a calm voice he said, "Didn't you ask me why I called for you? You think I have any other use for you? My body just needed you, I just wanted to have sex!"
~*~
Isabelle had already predicted it the moment he had asked her to bath but she had never expected him to say something so cruel the moment she came out.
My body just needed you, I just wanted to have sex...
Isabelle bit her lip, her hands tightening on her clothes, her face stripped of color.
Alexander seemed oblivious to her reaction. Lifting his hands, he undid his buttons and threw his shirt on the sofa. Bare-chested, he rushed into the bedroom. Upon passing her on the way to the bathroom, he slowed, saying, "Don't just stand there, wait where you're supposed to be."
Finishing, he brushed past her and stepped into the bathroom, slamming the door shut.
The moment Isabelle heard the door close, she shuddered. Tonight, the initial harmony had given her a new ray of hope.
Even if they couldn't have love, they could still go back to the times before when she secretly carried a torch, when he still cared about her.
Back then, even though he was distant, saying little, it was still much better than how he was now!
Alexander finished showering in an instant, casually threw on a robe and started drying his hair with a towel as he walked out. Isabelle was still at the same spot as when he had entered the bathroom, and he couldn't help frowning slightly. Taking large strides towards her side, he asked, "Didn't I tell you to go to where you're supposed to be? Or do you prefer this spot?"
The moment he finished talking, he grabbed her arm, pushing her onto the sofa before lying on top of her.
"Since this is what you want, I shall fulfill your desires... My body wants it after all!"
Isabelle trembled slightly, lowering her lashes instinctively to hide the hurt in her eyes.
Alexander lowered his head. When he was preparing to kiss her, he suddenly remembered something and reached out to tug her chin up. With mocking in his voice, he continued to humiliate her. "Isabelle, you climbed into my bed and became my woman, and now you praise your sister in front of me? Don't you find it disgusting?"
Ever since the day they married, Alexander had always been hurling cruel words at her. Even though she thought that she was immune to it, it still hurt every single time. Because she loved him, because she cared about him, she would always mind.
Isabelle paled. Praising her sister to him was considered disgusting?
Alexander tightened the grip he had on her chin, continuing, "Get this straight, I don't want her. You don't find sharing a man with your sister disgusting, but I do! Ever since the day I slept with you, I would never touch Sophia, so stop trying to praise her. I don't like her, and even if she thinks otherwise, it's all one sided and has nothing to do with me." He shouted out that last part.
He originally didn't want to explain himself after she started praising Sophia. She probably didn't care whether he had anything going on with other women, but deep down in his heart, he still couldn't help clarifying himself.
In that moment, sadness and helplessness clouded his eyes. He clenched his teeth, lowered his head, and kissed her hard on the lips.
Alexander used so much brute force that the kiss was more like a bite.
Isabelle recalled the previous two times, the excruciating pain that had almost killed her, and she grew nervous. When Alexander was kissing her, she couldn't help trembling. Due to the pain, tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.
Alexander could distinctly feel Isabelle trembling. On instinct, he looked down at her face and saw the moisture in her eyes. He suddenly remembered the previous time, how she had curled up on the bed, her face as white as a sheet. Unconsciously, he tightened his grip on her shoulders, his expression still cold, but his actions grew gentler, softer.
~*~
When everything ended, Alexander lay on top of Isabelle. After his release, his brain became hazy, as though his entire soul had been emptied.
Alexander lay on top of Isabelle, panting. Unconsciously, he was about to stroke her hair, but before he could reach it, he clenched his hand into a fist roughly pulling it way. Turning, he came off her body. He took his robe and casually wrapped it around his body, then turned to look at Isabelle. Curled in a corner of the sofa, she was breathing heavily.
Coldly, he said, "For this transaction, text me if you have any advertisement in mind. If you don't have anything in mind, I'll randomly assign you one."
Finished, he walked towards the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind himself.
Isabelle was the only one left in the living room. The moment Alexander turned away, she reached for her clothes, shielding her naked body. She rested a while before saving up enough energy to sit up and put on her clothes.
She stood up and looked at the tightly shut bathroom hesitantly. In the end, she left his room without a word.
It was already 12 am and Camila was already asleep. Isabelle took a quick shower before quietly reaching her bed, yet her exhaustion had left her.
Tonight, she had no idea which sentence had infuriated him.
Tonight, she had no idea which sentence had infuriated Alexander.
She knew that he didn't like her, so she was always careful with her words in front of him, afraid that she would say something wrong, exposing her love for him.
Never would she have expected that the random excuse she had sprouted to hide her feelings for him could give him the power to hurt her so many times. She had wanted to stop their deal, but that had only infuriated him further. He said that only when he was sick of her would he let her off, or he would personally end her career in the entertainment industry if she refused.
She could stop acting, could give up the right to entangle herself with him, could get used to living with her one-sided love forever, but she could not abandon James.
James was a childhood friend. Due to her own selfish reasons, she had agreed to Mrs. William's suggestion. If she were to pull out, the Williams family would sink into jeopardy.
Tonight, he had mentioned that he didn't like Sophia...
The worries that had burdened her the entire afternoon started to relax a little. But soon after, she started worrying about Sophia's feelings.
~*~
Isabelle had a scene the next day, so she rushed to the set at 8 am. After she changed and got her makeup done, the filming began.
On set, she didn't interact with Alexander other than during filming. Due to the previous night, Isabelle stopped stealing glances at him, unlike what she would do on a normal day.
~*~
Alexander seemed to be in a horrid mood. During filming, he would loosen up a bit when the scene required, but every time the director shouted "Cut", his frosty mask would come back on, casting a pressuring atmosphere on the entire set.
The lunch for that day was still a buffet at the hotel's restaurant.
Since Isabelle didn't have any shows in the afternoon, she removed her make up and went straight to the restaurant with Camila. When they reached it, there weren't many people left in the hotel.
Isabelle filled her plate with food before finding a corner to sit with Camila. They passed a table of eight chairs with seven of them filled. Of those seven, three of them were third rated actors and the rest were filming crew. They seemed to be gossiping, and the moment Isabelle and Camila came close, they stopped talking instantly.
Once Isabelle and Camila were seated, they resumed talking but in hushed tones. From time to time, they would stick their heads to the middle of the table, seemingly sharing a secret. They would also take peaks at Isabelle and Camila.
Initially, Isabelle didn't pay them any attention, but halfway through her meal, she realized that more and more people were starting to look her way, some even pointing at her as they talked.
She started to have a bad premonition. She placed her chopsticks down, and, lifting her head, she asked Camila, who was sitting in front of her, "Did something happen today?"
Camila looked at a loss, shaking her head. With food in her mouth, she murmured " I didn't hear anything." After swallowing her food, she continued, "Something wrong?"
Just then, someone was using a chopstick to point at Isabelle. When Isabelle caught her in the act, the woman immediately turned away. Isabelle frowned, knowing that something about her must have spread among the crew.
Softly, she instructed Camila, "After your meal, go find out what had happened."
They stood up, leaving, but on their way, a conversation reached them.
The restaurant was on the fourth floor of the hotel, and on the way from the elevator, there was a smoking lounge.
Now that it was after lunchtime, there were about five people on the sofa in the smoking lounge, chatting as they smoked.
Some of them were loud while some of them were soft, but every word could be heard by anyone passing by.
"I told you, Isabelle didn't get her role based on capability. There are so many people with good acting skills, but I haven't seen anyone replacing the second lead on such a late notice!"
Unconsciously, Camila looked towards Isabelle.
Isabelle remained calm, signaling for Camila to remain quiet, not to alarm the people who were chatting. She then sat still, waiting for them to continue.
"Girls like her who look innocent are actually sluts deep down." This time, it was a third rated actor who started out as a model that spoke. Holding onto a cigarette, he laughed coldly.
Taking a deep breath, he blew out a perfect circle before using a demeaning tone to say, "But she sure is calm, either she doesn't know that her shameless act was exposed, or she just has thick-skin."