Isabelle didn't call ahead when she went to visit the Davis manor, but luckily for her, her uncle and aunt were in.
Seeing Isabelle back, they were unusually delighted. Since her parents had passed away when she was ten years old, they had taken her in. Over ten years had passed since that time. Their love for one another long surpassed just aunt and niece, uncle and niece. Isabelle was just like their own daughter.
The Davis family servants were also happy to see Isabelle. They brought over a lot of delicious snacks to the table, whilst calling her "Little Miss".
At first, the Davis' did want for Sophia to marry James, as biological parents understandably favor their own biological daughter. However, as the Williams family had their eyes set on Isabelle, they didn't have much of an opinion.
After Isabelle "married" James, she moved out of the Davis family manor. Also, because of filming, she rarely had time to come back, and so they bombarded her with all sorts of questions, afraid that life on her own was difficult.
Mrs Williams were also worried for Isabelle like this, but Isabelle wasn't moved by her concerns. Her responses were courteous and respectful, but now, having faced her aunt and uncle's concern for her, she was very moved and filled with warmth.
Although she lost her family at the age of ten, the heavens hadn't treated her so bad, giving her another family.
Isabelle wanted to stay at Davis manor for a while before heading back to the set, but her uncle and aunt were too nice. Under such great hospitality, how could she suggest she leave now? In the end, she stayed there all afternoon, playing chess with aunt. It wasn't until the evening that she said she had to leave.
At three in the afternoon, Mrs Williams called to specifically ask Isabelle's aunt to let her know when Isabelle was about to leave. So when Isabelle said she was going to go, her aunt gave Mrs Williams a call back.
Five minutes later, the Williams family's chauffeur appeared at the Davis family's door. Mrs Williams pushed open the passenger car door and courteously greeted the Davis', before turning around to say to Isabelle, "I've asked the chauffeur to stay behind for you."
Isabelle said with a smile, "Thank you".
Mrs Williams opened the trunk and pointed at the two boxes of swallow's nest. "They're ready made to eat. This afternoon, I especially asked Aunt Mae to prepare and choose top quality swallow's nest for you. You must have endured quite a lot on set. You've gotten so skinny, and your appetite hasn't been good these days, so you mustn't let yourself suffer. Take these with you to revitalize yourself."
Isabelle thanked her again. She politely chatted for a while, and then got in the car.
~*~
Mrs Williams didn't actually get in the car but stayed at Davis mansion.
When the family chauffeur left the neighborhood, it was already almost seven o'clock. On route to south of the city, it was surprisingly congested today. The route that would usually only take an hour, took whole two hours.
When they reached the hotel of the set, it was already ten in the evening.
That night, filming at a distant location hadn't yet finished, so the lower floor of the hotel was particularly quiet.
The chauffeur steadily stopped the car, got out first, and then opened the car door for Isabelle. After she got out of the car, he walked around to the trunk and carried the two boxes of swallow's nest that Mrs Williams has especially prepared for her. The chauffeur politely said, "Miss Davis, since you live in that house over there, let me carry it for you."
Isabelle saw the chauffeur carry the boxes with both hands, and said "Thank you" in a low voice. Then she turned around and walked into the hotel lobby with the chauffeur following respectfully two steps behind, boxes in hands.
The two of them didn't notice that there was a person sitting in a car not too far away...
~*~
Since Alexander took Isabelle to the hospital, he never left. At around eleven o'clock, he saw her get into Mrs Williams's car. With his head in the mud, he didn't think much. Nor did he know how long he sat in the car before he turned the steering wheel and slowly left. At dusk, he drove back to the hotel at the set, but he didn't go up. He sat there waiting for four whole hours until he saw a familiar car drive in through the rear view mirror.
It was the Williams family's car.
The car was parked at the hotel entrance. When the car door opened, the family chauffeur got out first, then went over to open Isabelle's passenger car door. He took two boxes out from the trunk and followed Isabelle into the hotel.
They must have given Isabelle some kind of supplements. They have always treated her like family. If James woke up, they would be the perfect family.
Alexander pulled down the car window and lit a cigarette. As he took a breath and blew out the smoke, an unspeakable pain emanated from his very bones.
~*~
Camila wasn't in the hotel room. The chauffeur put the boxes down in an empty spot on the floor and politely took his leave.
Isabelle didn't do much that day, but she felt this unspeakable sense of exhaustion. After a hot shower, she climbed into bed. Just as she was groggily about to fall asleep, the hotel door opened, followed by Camila's voice. "Swallow's nest. Izzy, can I have some?"
Isabelle didn't even blink, just gave Camila a "mm" as though to say yes. Then she flipped over and coincidentally faced the light by the bedside cabinet. The light left her uncomfortable, and so she opened her eyes to turn off the lights. But then, her line of sight landed on the box of stomach medicine she'd put aside last night.
Camila twisted the lid off a bottle of swallow's nest. As she ate it, she complemented on how good it tasted, then went over in front of Isabelle to ask, "Izzy, do you want to eat some? It tastes great."
Isabelle didn't eat anything that evening. She wasn't hungry at first, but with Camila's words, she suddenly felt an emptiness in her stomach. Even though she was just about to fall asleep, she stopped feeling sleepy with Camila's chatter and the sight of her stomach medicine. So she nodded at Camila, who put the bottle of swallow's nest in her hand, and cheerfully ran over. She gave Isabelle a bottle, without forgetting to twist off the lid, and handed it to her.
Just as Camila said, the swallow's nest tasted amazing. Isabelle ate some. Since she didn't feel any pain in her stomach, she continued to eat it.
Camila was always a night owl. After eating the swallow's nest, she sat at the desk and went on the computer. Less than half an hour later, she yawned numerous times.
In the end, she couldn't stand it any longer. She got up and took a shower. When she climbed into bed, Isabelle was already fast asleep.
~*~
In the next few days, Isabelle still felt nauseous every now and then. She used to often have stomachaches, but they would only make her feel nauseous for two to three days. After her bodily functions recovered on their own, she would just be fine. Who knew that this time, it would last for a good few days, without any signs of recovery.
Isabelle couldn't help but feel uneasy. The other day, she wanted to go to the doctors to get it checked, but the next day, she ate something and the nausea and thought of vomiting had already disappeared. Even the red barbecue meat that she saw two days ago, didn't make her want to vomit anymore.
Her stomach didn't feel the least bit uncomfortable. She thought that everything was back to normal and that she had naturally gotten better, so she felt relieved.
Mrs Williams gave her forty whole bottles of swallow's nest. Camila would have one every night. They were said to help improve one's beauty. Though Isabelle didn't have one a day like Camila, she ate about five or six.
She didn't know if it was because she'd been so exhausted and busy with filming, but she always seemed to be sleepy. Even Camila was often yawning alongside her.
One night, when Isabelle was filming a night scene. It was only eight o'clock, yet she couldn't open his eyes. Whilst filming with Alexander, she still yawned, because of which they had to cut the scene short and re-shoot.
Isabelle drank half a bottle of cold water to wake herself up a little, as she wanted the second try to be the last. In the end, just as she had almost finished filming, she couldn't control her yawning and let out a few consecutive yawns, which caused another retake.
After Isabelle went on set, she had always performed well. Even with two consecutive retakes, the director didn't get angry. He just ordered her to take a half an hour's rest.
Isabelle didn't know what was wrong with her recently. She used to sleep seven hours, which was about enough, but in these past two days, she was madly sleepy. Even though the director didn't blame her for the retakes, they still delayed quite a lot of time. That, as well as the fact that it was also a night scene, it naturally made everyone have to stay behind and work through the night.
To ensure that the third take would be successful, Isabelle walked out of the studio on her own.
It was raining lightly, so the temperature outside was quite cold. Isabelle only wore a thin mini dress, so when she stepped out, her whole body shivered a little in the cold breeze, instantly waking her up.
To make sure she stayed awake, Isabelle took a slow walk outside. In the end, she reached a hibiscus tree which was in full bloom. She stopped to take a look.
Coincidentally, a gust of cold wind and water made the air moist. The petals from the hibiscus tree rustled and fell in the rain. Drops of water landed on Isabelle's exposed skin. It was so cold, she couldn't help but shiver. She hugged her shoulders and was about to tip-toe back into the studio when she felt someone drape something over her from behind.
Isabelle blanked out for a moment, then turned around. Who could say when he came over, but it was Alexander who was silently standing beside her.
As though he hadn't noticed the bewilderment in Isabelle's eyes, he reached his hand out and pulled his jacket tighter over her shoulders.
Alexander acted as though he didn't see the doubt in her eyes, he reached out to place a jacket over her shoulders before saying in a calm voice: "It's getting cold, be careful not to get a cold."
Ever since the birthday, Alexander and Isabelle had had a rather distant relationship, other than during filming, they barely communicated.
When she heard his voice, she looked away, thanking him faintly, "Thank you."
Alexander didn't respond. He continued to stare at Isabelle for a while more before following her gaze towards a patch of hibiscus flowers.
She stood silently with the jacket over her shoulders. Alexander's familiar scent clouded her senses, turning her mind into a frenzied mess.
Is he showing her care... If not, why would he get her gastric pills and bring her a jacket...
But if he cared, why did he suddenly get so mad at her?
Both of them stood in silence for a long while, staring at the blossoming hibiscus flowers. Just then, Alexander spoke silently, breaking the peace. " How's James? Is he going to wake up?"
"Yea," Isabelle replied lightly. After a bit, she added, "Since he moved, the specialists said that he would definitely wake up, but they weren't sure when."
As she spoke, she paid attention to Alexander, trying to find some regret. But after staring for a long while, she still wasn't able to spot anything in his frosty exterior. He acknowledged her words with a faint "Oh, it's good that he can wake up."
Isabelle hung her head, feeling a hint of sorrow. It wasn't that she was hoping James wouldn't wake up, but she was feeling upset that Alexander didn't seem to feel anything about the situation. It was as though the end of their relationship didn't matter to him.
She hung her head for a long while, trying to calm herself. She spoke in a low voice when she told him, "I'll go in first, I have a scene later."
Alexander remained silent, his gaze still focused on the blossoming hibiscus.
Isabelle stood for a while more, after confirming that he didn't intend to react, she removed his jacket, passed it to him, and walked towards the filming set.
When her footsteps got lighter and finally disappeared, Alexander turned around to look towards the direction she had gone. Under the dim lighting and empty surroundings, he looked lonely and desolate.
She should be happy if James woke up... Then, they would probably get together?
What about him? What was he going to do? Leave and stay alone forever?