Twisted Ties of Love

"When the roadside flowers bloom, you may take your time returning." Casey's voice was soft and low, the words slipping out as if they were an unconscious confession of the heart. Words meant to be warm left a tang of bitterness in Izabella's soul. Her eyes, trying to hold back the tears, betrayed her with a telltale sting.

Back in her bedroom, Izabella's gaze immediately fell upon the divorce papers sitting on the nightstand, right where she'd left them. The only difference now was the evident creases marking the pages, signs o being handled and contemplated over and over again.

"You didn't throw it away?" Izabella asked, her voice wavering slightly as she eyed the signed document.

Shaking his head, Casey replied, "I wanted to wait for you to come back and explain-just in case you really wanted to leave, you know?" His lips curled into a bittersweet smile at the end of his sentence. The days Izabella had vanished nearly broke Casey. He had gambled with his life, frantically searching for her while preparing for the worst outcomes: finding Izabella and meeting a tragic end with Brett if he refused to let her go, or succumbing to his own failing health before he could find her leaving her free rather than chained by a piece of paper.

Casey never believed that Izabella would leave him for someone else. He just didn't have faith in his own health.

Swallowing hard, Izabella asked, "Why are you such a fool?"

"Because I'm Ryker Dempsey," he said.

He was the Ryker who would wait in place for her, too afraid to come closer. His inferiority complex was deeply rooted in his foolishness. Everyone used to call him a fool, unworthy of Izabella, without even the right to be by her side. He could only watch her from a distance, silently protecting her.

For over fifteen years, Ryker harbored this foolishness, letting it seep into his bones. He first saw Izabella beneath the wisteria at the orphanage, feeling an inexplicable familiarity. Clutching his favorite orphanage treat, a simple cookie, he'd saved it for ages, but when he saw her, he couldn't help but give all of it to her.

Even the orphanage director was stunned. Ryker, though foolish, never sought to please anyone.

He was a wild spirit, like a lone wolf fiercely guarding his food, sharing it for the first time with someone he had just met.

After Izabella left the orphanage, without her contact information, Ryker was desperate. He pestered the director daily to call her, sending messages, pacing around in anxiety.

He eventually learned of Izabella's birthday-May 21-and though the other kids had gifts for her, he had nothing. Apart from helping with chores and catching the occasional rat, he felt useless. When the May cherries ripened, bright and round, he thought they matched Izabella perfectly. He wanted to make her a pair of cherry earrings, but one cherry seemed too little. So, he made a string of them, much like a skewer of candied fruit.

Her car still parked in the orphanage lot, he'd polish it every day, ensuring not a speck of dust remained.

Washing the car became his ritual as he waited for her return, which finally happened two months later, as summer was blending into autumn.

That day, Izabella wasn't alone; she brought another man with her her husband.

She was already married.

The director mocked Ryker, "Forget about it, you're just a fool. How could someone like her ever fancy you? Even if you weren't foolish, you'd stand no chance. Do you even know what her husband does? He's the wealthiest man in R City-rich and handsome. Would someone accustomed to the finer things in life stoop to pick trash with you?"

Ryker listened to half of the director's words, the message clear: he was unworthy.

People said Izabella married well, that her husband treated her kindly. But was that the truth?

Ryker saw the contempt in Brett's eyes, a sense of superiority over everything.

Love should be equal, not one towering over the other.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

After that day, Izabella disappeared from Ryker's life.

He knew so little about Izabella; he didn't even know she had been married, let alone what she did or where she lived.

Knowing she had connections at the hospital, he took a menial job there, arriving before dawn, more diligent than the watchdog at the gate.

Never before had he been so devoted to a single cause, waiting eagerly, ignored by the very person he longed to see.

His pocketful of cookies grew, his candy stash too large to carry. He couldn't bear to eat them, having no one to share with. Dependence on someone is like a child in kindergarten, waiting to be picked up and taken home.

In the hospital, he waited with bated breath until Izabella reappeared.

But her words, "You're just a fool. There's no chance for us," shattered the courage he had mustered with such joy.

An unwanted stray dog, no matter how much it rolled on its back, exposing its soft belly, would never find someone to stoop down and offer a gentle touch.

He wasn't exactly discouraged; his inferiority complex simply deepened.

Perhaps it was his overwhelming sense of being a fool that drove him with an unprecedented determination to regain his normalcy.

Regaining his memory was an accident. After cutting off Lucas's hand, fearing capture, he didn't dare return to the orphanage and hid away until he was caught and confined to a dark room.

His hands were broken, his legs shot through, and he endured tortures untold. He lost track of time, couldn't see the sun, and didn't even know when it was day or night.

Nathaniel conducted numerous drug experiments on him, including one that destroyed his nerves, which was deemed a success.

And it was during that time he regained all his memories, remembering the nine-year-old girl named Izabella who clung to his back at the amusement park, licking a candied apple and declaring her wish to marry him.

Time had flown; the girl who wanted to marry him had grown into the stunning Ms. Izabella. Even as a fool, he couldn't help but be drawn to her.

Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to bring her back safely that time.

Now, Ryker had become Casey, and the timid vulnerability from his past lingered on, Even after learning that Izabella cared for him, he couldn't help but wonder-if he reverted to the fool with nothing, could he still keep Izabella by his side?

The day Izabella walked out, Casey was left grappling with his own. insecurities. Had he appeared too weak? Did Izabella doubt his ability to stand up to a guy like Brett, leading her to leave? Or did she simply believe Casey couldn't

protect her?

It was one of those nights when Casey's dreams betrayed him. He was chasing Izabella's silhouette, running till his breaths were ragged, his chest tight as if all the air had been squeezed out of his lungs.

He reached out to grab Izabella, but with every look she cast over her shoulder, she seemed to drift further away. An icy wind whipped through his fingers.

"Casey, let's get a divorce."

"Izabella, don't leave me." I'll get better, I won't let anyone hurt you, I can take care of you, I'm not that fool anymore.

"Casey, wake up, you're having a nightmare again."

These nightmares had become a nightly occurrence for Casey, leaving him on edge. He wouldn't share what he saw in his dreams, only calling out for "Izabella" in his sleep. Sometimes Casey would jolt awake, sitting on the edge of the bed in silent vigil, not speaking or returning to sleep for hours until Izabella found him.

Izabella confided in Bunny about Casey's nightmares.

Bunny paused before speaking, "He was like this when you were gone, too. We all thought it would stop when you came back. It didn't."

"Has he ever been like this before?"

"Yeah, when we first took him in, he was even worse. It got to the point where we had to hypnotize him, make him forget his past." Bunny's voice softened with the memory.

Seeing the concern etched on

Izabella's face, Bunny tried to

aredd

reassure her. "Don't worry, Izabella. Casey will be alright. He's just really scared of losing you, but it'll pass: Remember the night we went to fetch you? Fearing Brett wouldn't let you go, Casey had explosives ready in the trunk of the car."

Back then, Casey had steeled himself for a fight to the death, yet he managed to mask the turmoil inside with a calm facade.