Izabe was no fool. She knew Casey was pulling a fast one on her. All his excuses about tooth extraction for a movie shoot or cosmetic purposes were in BS. She figured Casey had his reasons for keeping her in the dark and decided not to pry too much, though her curiosity often got the better of her.


    "If you''re afraid of the pain, maybe don''t go for the other tooth extraction."


    Casey''s hand, which was covering his mouth, stiffened instantly. He gave a slight smile and said, "Well, if I don''t do it, I''ll be all lopsided."


    Izabe quickly changed the subject, asking, "Where''s the ce you''ve arranged? I''ll go with you."


    "Right here."


    As Izabe turned around, she said, "I''ll just let the director know, wait for me here while I go grab my bag."


    "Sure." Casey watched as she walked away, his face darkened instantly as Nathaniel emerged from a corner.


    "Mr. Dempsey, long time no see." Nathaniel held a cigarette between his fingers, not lit, just twirling it around, giving off a casual vibe.


    "What are you doing here?" Casey''s attitude towards Nathaniel was as icy as it was towards Brett.


    "I''m one of the investors for this show, and I organized tonight''s celebration. Why wouldn''t I be here?" Nathaniel replied sarcastically, "Casey, aren''t you curious about my rtionship with Izabe?" "I couldn''t care less, can you leave?"


    Ignoring Casey''s cold response, Nathaniel went on, "Izabe used to be my lover."


    Casey''s face turned ashen, but he didn''t fly off the handle as Nathaniel had expected.


    "You mean Bell, your former lover who''s long gone?" Casey replied nonchntly.


    Nathaniel''s casual demeanor vanished instantly, reced by his usual cold front: "When did you find out?"


    "Before you, at least."


    So Brett knows too? Was he the only one out of the loop-thest one to find out Bell had be Izabe?


    Nathaniel''s emotions were all over the ce, he wasn''t sure whether to feel sad or angry.


    "Since you know about Izabe''s identity switch, you must also know about her past with Brett. Knowing all this, do you still have feelings for her?"


    As Nathaniel was talking, he noticed something off about Casey''s reaction. It seemed Casey hadn''t regained his memory yet.


    If he had, if he remembered how Izabe had endured 28 needles inserted into her fingertips to save him, he wouldn''t be acting this way over her past rtionship with Brett from three years ago.


    ncing behind him, Nathaniel continued, "Casey, you should be grateful you bear a resemnce to someone else. Otherwise, you wouldn''t have even had a chance with Izabe. You''re nothingpared to the dead man in Izabe''s heart, and you''re nothingpared to Brett. At least Brett had Izabe once, you''re just a shadow. I know her past better than you do."


    Before he could finish his sentence, Nathaniel was met with a punch to the face. Casey was so quick with his attack that it caught everyone off guard, even Brett.


    Nathaniel was taken aback by the sudden assault, and before he could even steady himself, Casey had him by the cor. Casey shoved him to the ground, straddled him, and began pummeling him. Each punch was aimed at Nathaniel''s face, like he wanted to beat him beyond recognition.


    Maybe it was Nathaniel''s timing, or maybe it was because what he said mirrored Brett''s words. Casey''s pent-up rage finally erupted.


    Seething with anger, Casey''s eyes were full of fury. He didn''t care who was watching. His punches were ruthless, leaving Nathaniel bloody, and no one dared to intervene.


    "Casey!"


    It was as if Casey was deaf to all sounds but his own rage. Suddenly, he felt a tug at his waist, causing him to stop in his tracks. He turned around stiffly to look at Izabe.


    It was strange. He was the one throwing punches, but when he saw Izabe, he felt an inexplicable sense of guilt. He choked back a sob, not wanting Izabe to notice, and quickly turned back around, letting go of Nathaniel and tossing him aside.


    Nathaniel looked quite a mess. His carefully styled hair was now disheveled, his face marred with injuries, and blood was trickling down the corner of his mouth. His tongue was lightly pressed against his mrs, failing to suppress the pain he was feeling.


    He couldn''t believe he had been beaten by Casey. He thought he could at least put up a fight against Brett, but Casey''s speed and strength exceeded Brett''s.Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    He was diagnosed with an illness over a decade ago. If he hadn''t been sick, he could have been even stronger, right?


    Nathaniel tried to move his shoulders, limbs, and neck. Luckily, nothing was broken, but if Izabe had been a momentte, his hand might have been fractured.


    "Izabe, I don''t know if you choose your men blindfolded. They are all violent. Did you see what he did to me? I was beaten out of the blue. Stay away from this guy. If heys a hand on you one day, he might kill you with one punch." Nathaniel knew Izabe had a fear of domestic violence. She had been a victim before, and it took her a long time before she even considered getting married.


    He was hoping to y the pity card again in front of Izabe, but he forgot that Izabe wasn''t Bell. Bell genuinely had the hots for him, and she would worry sick if he got even a minor injury. But Izabe was a different story, even if he was on death''s door, she wouldn''t bat an eye.


    Casey, on the other hand, was feeling particrly on edge and scared. He knew Izabe had a distaste for violence. He was fretting over the thought of her leaving him because of his violent actions.


    He hung his head low, his hands tightly clenched together, like a student who''s messed up and is about to apologize to the teacher.


    Nathaniel continued the provocation: "He nearly knocked my teeth out."


    "He should''ve knocked you out cold." Izabe cut him off coldly, she didn''t even want to spare Nathaniel another nce. She then grabbed Casey''s left hand and started to head out.


    She had only gone in to grab her bag, and a fight broke out outside. She instantly knew Nathaniel was stirring the pot.


    Casey was led out silently by Izabe. He watched the back of her head, her angry demeanor, and their sped hands, he could tell she was pissed.


    "Be, are you angry? I''m sorry, I shouldn''t have."


    Izabe pulled Casey into a secluded corner. For the first time, she was questioning him with a serious tone.


    "Why did you start a fight?"


    "I..."


    Before Casey could utter a word,


    Izabe cut him off. "Have you forgotten that you''re still recovering from your injuries? Did you think the car ident didn''t do enough damage, and you wanted


    ? bred nea


    a


    few more bones? If Nathaniel said something that upset you, just ignore him. There were other people around, do you want to end up in the news? Your reckless behavior just worries those who care about you."


    "But I can''t ignore the things he said." Casey forced a bitter smile.


    Izabe just stared nkly at him, she could sense a hint of trembling in his voice, like he was suppressing something.


    Casey''s lips were slightly cut, a battle scar from his confrontation with Nathaniel. Izabe wanted to take a closer look at his wounded lips, but he dodged before she could touch him. "Izabe, do I look a lot like Ryker?"


    Izabe froze for a moment, some of her memories were being reawakened. She asked lightly, "How do you know about Ryker?"


    "Nathaniel and Brett both told me that you only see me as his substitute. I didn''t believe them until I saw this picture." Casey said as he took out a picture from his pocket and showed it to Izabe.


    "I didn''t realize I resembled him so much, even our teeth are identical. Izabe, let me ask you: if I didn''t look like him, would you even spare me a nce?"


    Izabe''s silence was the answer-she wouldn''t.


    In fact, Casey knew from the get-go. He didn''t know what he was hoping for. He initially wanted to keep this secret to himself, pretend he was oblivious, and continue ying the perfect stand-in. Then, he


    Izabe just liked him, that she would be so into him that she would stare at his face in a daze, text him back even when she was having meals, say goodnight to him every night, and think of him whenever she ran into trouble.


    narcissistically thought


    "How many times have you looked at me, but Ryker was the one in your mind?" Casey''s eyes were filled with confusion.


    "The first night you came to my


    house, we watched a movie together, and you suddenly leaned in and touched my lips. I was so happy then, and now I feel like such a fool. You were thinking of Ryker when you touched my lips. You were thinking of Ryker when you didn''t want to call my name. The name of the Maple Group was created for Ryker. I was such a fool, it took Brett and Nathaniel to point it out for me


    to realize."


    Casey''s body was icy cold. He felt numb, like he couldn''t feel the cold. He stared at Izabe and said, "Do you remember the first ce we met? It was at the airport. I felt something different in your gaze at that time, I thought you felt the same way as I did, that we had feelings for each other."


    The more he reminisced about the past, the more bitter his smile became. He was about to break.


    Izabe opened her mouth, but she felt like she was choking, this feeling was extending all the way to her heart. She never thought of Casey as a recement for Ryker; even though they looked simr, she couldn''t help but get close to him. It did have to do with his appearance; she wanted to confirm if he was Ryker.


    She once thought about leaving Casey and not getting close to him anymore, but as they spent more time together, he gradually filled her heart. Even if he wasn''t Ryker, it was okay.


    "Casey, I''ve never thought of you as his recement." Izabe didn''t admit it, but this made Casey''s heart turn cold. "But you didn''t deny what I said before, don''t you think of him when you look at my face? Izabe, I hope you can forget about Ryker and be with me; let''s get married. What do you say?"


    Izabe stared at Casey''s face, an image of a slender figure in a worn-out white t-shirt shed in her mind. If he wanted her to forget Ryker, that was impossible. She couldn''t do it, and she wouldn''t be able to do it.


    How could she forget Ryker, who decided to carry her home even when he was facing death?


    Izabe, in her light, long dress, felt the wind lift her dress. This sensation was unbearably heavy. The deep autumn was not as cold as winter, but Izabe was freezing-so cold that her teeth were chattering. She shook her head with difficulty, looking at Casey''s mouth. "Did you pull out your teeth because of Ryker?"


    "Yes."


    "Then why did you lie to me before, saying you pulled them out for acting?"


    "I never thought about deceiving you." Casey''s eyes welled up with tears, his voice choked and hoarse. "I don''t want to be his recement, nor do I want to leave you, so I pulled out my teeth, so when you look at my mouth, you wouldn''t think of him, right?"


    "Casey, I..."


    Izabe''s voice was so faint that Casey didn''t stop.


    "Izabe, I get jealous, I get upset, I''m scared you''ll get bored of me, and I hate being someone''s standby. But this week after the car ident, I''ve been hiding in my room every day, thinking about how I should approach you if I wasn''t his recement?"


    Izabe listened, dumbfounded. She and Casey had always been cautiously probing each other, and this was the first time Casey had confessed his feelings to her, and in such a heavy way.


    Casey said sadly, "I''ve never felt so small in my life. I''ve never done this before, never loved someone this deeply, and never cried so hopelessly. Izabe, you''re the first andst person I''ve loved this much. Can you choose me just once? I swear I''ll be better than Ryker, gentler than him."