Chapter 552

Simon waved his phone dismissively. "It's nothing major, but I have boundaries to maintain. What if my girlfriend gets the wrong idea when she finds out I bought cat toast for another woman?" His relationship had blossomed over a shared love of toast.

It was destiny. That evening, after wrapping up work with an empty stomach, Simon had stopped at a humble toast stand. There, by pure chance, he'd encountered the campus queen.

Being alumni, exchanging contacts came naturally. Two months of relentless pursuit later, she'd finally agreed to be his girlfriend.

He couldn't risk compromising their special toast tradition now.

Isabella remained oblivious to this significance.

After enduring a humiliating day at the hospital, the last thing she expected was Simon nickel-and-diming her over twenty dors.

The absolute nerve!

Too exhausted to argue, Isabella transferred the money and stormed off.

She found herself in a deserted alleyway, kicking pebbles with frustration.

How had everything gone so wrong?

Alexander had made his position painfully clear - their childhood bond meant nothing now. The realization brought hot tears to Isabella's eyes.

The evening breeze carried memories of her shattered past.

At sixteen, when most girls worried about prom dresses, Isabella had watched her world collapse. The Morgan family's downfall left her with only Andrew.

Penniless, they'd begged distant relatives for shelter.

From privileged heiress to charity case overnight - the humiliation still burned.

Their reluctant hosts put them to work in the fields.

Andrew, barely fourteen with pianist's hands, shouldered most of the labor. Those delicate fingers grew calloused and scarred within months.

Then came the day Andrew left with Alexander and never returned.

The villagers whispered about kidnappers - ruthless drug cartel members who enjoyed torturing hostages.

Each passing day brought fresh horrors. Police reports described psychological torment, physical abuse. Isabella stopped eating, praying endlessly for Andrew's safe return.

But fate dealt its cruelest blow. The cartel's twisted game: only one could survive. Andrew chose Alexander.

Isabella's last hope died when Alexander returned alone in that police car.

No body. No closure. Just bloodstained clothes for a makeshift grave.

The cartel had stolen even her right to mourn properly.

For years, depression consumed her - until Alexander reappeared, offering the lifeline she'd desperately needed.