The highest point of the swing didn't reach past two-meter height, so it would take only a few seconds to fall. However, when Isabelle fell, those few seconds felt like they dragged on, passing much slower than they should.
She felt weightless. Her eyes tightly closed in a state of panic as chaos raged in her head. In her heart, she thought that she was done for.
When the swing neared the height of a ground floor, she fell without any warning. Even if she was lucky enough not to get severely hurt, she wouldn't be able to avoid a light injury. Since she had the role of the second female lead, she had quite a few of scenes. If she were injured, it would hold back the entire filming process. By then, people would inevitably complain.
The sound of the wind rushed into Isabelle's ears. She quietly gritted her teeth and balled up her fists. She mentally prepared herself for the coming bone-breaking pain.
Isabelle was on the verge of colliding with the ground when a nearby figure launched itself towards her. It crashed against her, cushioned her fall and mitigating the worst of the impact. Everyone on the set froze, staring mutely at the scene of the accident.
Isabelle was a little dazed, for the pain she had anticipated never came. She felt like she was having a dream. Eyes closed, she didn't budge for a long time.
Isabelle wasn't heavy, but having fallen from a high distance, she still crushed Alexander, making him a little dizzy. For a long while, he lay on the ground like a cushion. Suddenly, as though he had realized something, he sat up and took Isabelle, who lay on top of him, in his arms.
Her hair messy, she lay with tightly shut eyes and didn't move an inch, as though she had fainted.
Alexander's eyes flashed with worry, and his handsome face drained of blood.
"Isabelle?"
When Isabelle heard Alexander's voice, her brows slightly creased. She came to the realization that the only reason why she hadn't felt any pain from her fall from the swing was that she was on top of someone.
And that person was... Alexander? He rushed over to save her.
From the bottom of her heart, in that instant, Isabelle was bewildered.
Seeing that Isabelle's eyes were still shut, Alexander didn't make a move. He couldn't help but reach out to gently pat her face. That was when he discovered the red, bloody trickle going down her forehead.
Alexander felt like something had ruthlessly clutched his heart, and his fingertips suddenly trembled. Anxiety and panic climbed through him, his mouth gaped open, but he couldn't speak.
The director who was staring at the monitor abruptly snapped out of it and hurriedly rushed over to Alexander and Isabelle. His actions also woke up everyone in the area. One after the other, everyone present came flocking to the scene of the accident.
The director was the first to reach Alexander and Isabelle. He lowered his head to see Isabelle with both eyes tightly shut. His expression was a little flustered, and he directed his words to Alexander, "Mr. Sm..."
Alexander suddenly raised his head to reveal cold, intense anger-filled eyes. With a sharp tone, he interrupted the director, "WHAT THE HELL! Each and every one of you.. What are you doing?! Hurry up and get the car started to go to the hospital!"
Alexander screamed at the director so loudly that he instinctively took a step back and frantically nodded his head. "Yes..."
"Hurry!"
The usually cold and quiet Alexander, in that instant, had no patience at all. Even before the director could reply, he interrupted him again, a little agitated. His expression was so vicious, you could practically describe it as horrifying. If the director was too slow by a single second, he would kill someone.
Frightened, the director didn't dare reply to Alexander. He even forgot to order the other people to do it and ran out to the car park himself.
Seeing Alexander's state, one by one, people who originally stood nearby were frightened and froze in their tracks, too afraid to take a single step forward.
Isabelle snapped back to reality, shocked by Alexander's two consecutive angry roars.
The hospital? Take her to the hospital? She wasn't hurt, why take her to the hospital?
Her brows twitched, and she opened her eyes. She was about to say something to stop them, but instead, her she was taken aback by what she saw.
The Alexander in front of her was one she hadn't seen for as long she had known him - pale-faced, his eyes worried and confused, as though he was terrified to lose something.
That instant, Isabelle felt like something hastily smashed into her heart. She stared at Alexander, and fell into a daze.
Camila, who was originally too afraid to come close because of Alexander, saw Isabelle open her eyes. She asked right away, "Izzy, how are you?"
When Alexander heard Camila's voice, only then he realized that Isabelle had already opened her eyes. He anxiously assessed her for a while, before believing that she hadn't any major injuries. That was when he discreetly let out a sigh of relief.
Everything was then gone in the blink of an eye as Alexander quickly gathered back any hint of emotion. His expression recovered back to its usual calm and stoic self.
Alexander transformed so quickly; Isabelle creased her brows. She stared back at him but couldn't find any trace of anxiousness or confusion in his expression.
Isabelle lips gently moved when she turned her head. She shook it at Camila, then quietly said, "I'm fine."
When she finished speaking, her eyes returned back to Alexander. From his face, it looked like he was feeling nothing. Perhaps, when she opened her eyes just now, the anxious expression he had had was all just a figment of her imagination.
"Are you really okay?" Helen couldn't help but ask. "Are you hurt? Stand up and take a walk."
When Isabelle heard Helen's words, she realized that she was held in Alexander's arms. Her face flushed slightly red as she hurriedly got up from his grasp. She stumbled a few steps back before managing to open her mouth to say, "Really, I'm fine."
"That's good. You scared us to death just now. To fall from such a height, you could've landed badly and got half of your body paralyzed. Luckily, Alexander had quick reflexes and caught you."
When Helen said this, she let out an obvious sigh of relief, clearly shocked by what had just happened.
That was when Isabelle looked Alexander in the eyes. She bit her bottom lip and thanked him in a low voice, "Mr. Smith, thank you for earlier."
Alexander didn't make a sound. He just reached his hand out and pushed against the ground. Perhaps because he had sat for too long, when he got up, his eyebrows furrowed a little. He used the strength in his hands to support himself against the lawn. He pushed up with great effort, and slowly stood up.
The director, at whom Alexander had screamed to get the car ready just now, came running back with a head wet from sweat. He was panting for breath when he said, "Mr. Smith, the car is ready..."
Mid-sentence, he saw Isabelle standing up, alive and well. In a bit of a daze, he said again, "Miss Isabelle, are you okay?"
Isabelle nodded.
"Then, do you still want to go to the hospital?"
Isabelle hurriedly shook her head again. "It's okay. I'm fine."
"It's best you go to the hospital to have a check-up just to be sure," Helen said, "Also, your forehead is bleeding. Don't let it leave a scar..."
Isabelle raised a hand to rub her forehead where she was hurt. "It's just a scrape. It'll heal up in two days. It won't leave a scar at all. I really don't have to go to the hospital."
The director couldn't make the call, so he looked at Alexander for his opinion.
Alexander glanced over at Isabelle, who had just smudged the blood from her cut all over her forehead. His tone of voice suggested 'no' wasn't an answer when he said, "Go to the hospital!"
"You really don't have to go through all that trouble..."
Isabelle hadn't finished her sentence when Alexander cut her off to say, "Miss Davis, you have just had an accident and you are a part of the cast which we have invested in. You may say that you're fine now and don't need to go to the hospital, but if you turn around later to go in for a check-up and find that there really is a problem and try to extort us - then what do we do?"
Isabelle opened her mouth to explain that she would never do that, but Alexander simply didn't give her a chance, answering his own question, "Also, don't forget that you are a signed artist of my Global Entertainment. If you don't go to the hospital after an accident, I certainly don't want to hear any scandals about abuse against artists from my company!"
As Alexander spoke, he snatched the car keys from the director's hand, and then went straight for Isabelle's arm. Holding her, he rushed to the parked car not too far away.
After just two steps, it looked like he had suddenly thought of something. He stopped in his tracks and glared at the director with a cold look, causing the director to slightly shiver in fear. A second later, Alexander raised his arm with the car keys. He pointed at the broken swing not that far off and said mercilessly, "Before I get back, I want you to give me a reasonable explanation. Tell me, how can a swing break like that for no reason!?"
When he finished, Alexander turned his head and, dragging Isabelle's arm, stalked out.
~*~
Alexander raced to the hospital in his car. The two of them didn't speak at all on the drive from the villa to the city. It was at least a two-hour drive, but he reached the public hospital in an hour and a half.
Alexander simply wasn't looking for Isabelle's opinion at all. He dragged her straight to the emergency ward, signed in, and shouted to the doctor, "Give her a full body check-up!"
Without even looking at Isabelle, he took long strides out, and left.
The full body check-up took a long time. Alexander stood in the hallway, waiting, slightly bored.
Every now and then, he would raise his hand and press the left of his back. His brows creased hard, as though he was enduring something.
In the end, it was like he couldn't take it anymore. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket, wanting to divert his attention. However, just as the cigarette settled between his lips, Alexander saw the sign on the wall, saying in large letters, "No Smoking". He angrily took the cigarette from his mouth and shoved it back into its pack, and into his pocket.
He stood in front of the window in the hospital's hallway. He stared out at the pitch-black night sky for a while, thinking back to the cut on Isabelle's forehead. It wasn't serious, but the cut was on her face. He pulled out his phone and called his assistant.
As the assistant was already in the city, he rushed over to the hospital with a small bottle of medicine in just half an hour after picking up Alexander's call. He handed him the bottle.
"Mr. Smith, this medicine is almost finished. All that's left is this one bottle. If you give this to Miss Davis, you won't have any left for yourself."
Alexander had got the medicine a few years back when he was filming in China and stumbled upon an old traditional Chinese doctor. He bought this scar removal ointment that was passed on by his ancestors. At the time, he often visited the doctor, as it was difficult to avoid getting hit whilst filming fight scenes in his historical drama. No matter how serious the injury was, as long as he rubbed the ointment, it would never leave a scar.
Hearing his assistant's words, Alexander's expression didn't change. He just took the ointment, shoved it in his pocket, and said in a dull voice, "If we get a chance to go there, go back and buy more from that old traditional Chinese doctor."
The assistant moved his lips but no words came out. In the bottom of his heart, he silently thought about the old traditional Chinese doctor who he'd met on a one-off chance. So many years had passed since they then, who would he find there when he went back to buy the medicine?
~*~
When Isabelle finished her check-up, it was already nine at night, and her results showed that there were no major problems. The doctor cleaned the cut on her forehead with some alcohol to kill all the bacteria. When she fell, she probably brushed her head against something and scraped a little piece of skin off.
Even though the doctor said it was nothing, Alexander still made Isabelle do all the different types of checks. When they confirmed that there was really nothing wrong, he returned the reports back to her. He then turned to leave the hospital. Isabelle gathered all her test results and shoved them into her bag, hurriedly following behind him.
Alexander didn't take Isabelle back to the crew but to York Garden. He drove straight to the villa's gates before stopping the car.
Madam Mary apparently had heard some movement. Before the car even pulled up, she had already walked out from the house.
Isabelle unfastened her safety belt. She got out of the car and greeted Madam Mary. Alexander rolled down the driver side's window and pulled out a bottle of ointment to hand it over to Isabelle. He took a glance at the cut on her forehead, and said in flat voice, "To prevent scarring."
Isabelle didn't put her hand out to take it, casually saying, "The doctor said it won't leave a scar..."
She even refused a bottle of ointment from him? Alexander's expression hardened, and he interrupted Isabelle again, "If it leaves a scar, who will be held responsible? Miss Davis, don't you forget that you are an actress, you rely on your face for your work. The audience would find a scarred face an eyesore. Please, have some professionalism!"
Alexander's words were merciless. When he finished speaking, he didn't even glance at Isabelle but directly threw the ointment to Madam Mary.
Madam Mary hurriedly put her hands out to catch it, before smiling and saying, "I've already prepared dinner. It's still hot, come in quick and eat." When she finished speaking, Madam Mary realized that Alexander wasn't leaving the car, and so she asked, "Mr. Smith, will you come home tonight?"
"No," Alexander callously shot out.
He turned the steering wheel, and turned the car right back around. Then he stomped on the accelerator and sped out of York Garden's courtyard.
Isabelle watched the quickly disappearing car. She slightly lowered her head, hiding the disappointed look in her eyes. Isabelle turned to Madam Mary, pretending everything was fine, and put on a modest smile. "Let's go in."
After dinner, when Isabelle went upstairs, Madam Mary handed over the ointment Alexander had thrown her. "Madame, master's ointment."
Isabelle looked at the bottle in Madam Mary's hands. She paused for a moment, took it, and walked upstairs.
She had been busy all day, and so she was naturally a little tired. After taking a shower, she crawled into the bed. But just as she was going to turn off the lights, her eyes caught on the small bottle on the cabinet by the bed's head. Holding the bottle in her hand, she shut off the lights and slipped under the soft covers. She shut her eyes, but sleep didn't come no matter what.
Why did Alexander save her? Did it look like he was worried about her just then?
But then, he gave her the cold shoulder soon after. Also, his words were hard to hear.
Isabelle couldn't help but turn over and look at the small bottle in her hands under the pale-yellow night's light. Did he give her the bottle because he really was afraid that it would leave a scar on her face or would affect her sight? Or perhaps, he simply didn't want her face to scar?
The more she thought about it, the more confused her heart became.
More than five years ago, coming back from NY after the first time they were alone together in a room, she had thought nonsense, like she was doing right now. She had thought that he was interested in her, but in the end, she was forced to realize that it was all in her head.
Moreover, five years ago, he had told her that no matter who he liked, it would never be her.
So why should she indulge in these fantasies? In the end, she'd be the only one left disappointed and hurt.
Isabelle bit her lip, hugged the small bottle with her eyes shut, and sadness slowly crept inside her.
~*~
Alex drove straight to his mansion on the mountain.
It was empty, without a single soul on it. He entered the password and walked in, then drank a cup of water before unbuttoning his jacket. He used his teeth to pull off his shirt, and lowered his head to find the back of his white shirt covered in red.