Hidden Lies and Her Suspension

He served her breakfast with a gentle smile, carefully placing the dishes in front of her. Isabella forced herself to smile back even as her heart ached.

She stirred her spoon absentmindedly and asked softly, "Why do you look so tired these days?"

He let out a quiet chuckle, his dark eyes glinting for a brief moment.

"I just have a lot of work, baby," he said in an easy tone, reaching out to brush a stray hair from her face.

"Okay," she murmured, trying to keep her voice steady while her chest tightened with questions she didn't dare ask.

As he grabbed his briefcase and adjusted his suit, she looked up and called out hesitantly, "Aren't you going to eat something before you leave?"

He paused mid-step, turned back with a playful smile, and leaned down to press a soft kiss on her cheek.

"No need, baby. I have to get to the company now, but I promise I'll come back early this evening," he said, his voice low and reassuring.

She nodded quietly, clutching her hands in her lap, her heart torn between love and suspicion. Watching his tall figure disappear through the doorway, she swallowed hard. He didn't notice the way her eyes glistened as he left for the company.

When Isabella stepped into the cozy coffee shop she and Chloe had built together, the warm aroma of roasted beans wrapped around her like a comforting blanket. They slipped behind the counter, moving in sync after months of running the café side by side.

Chloe paused while steaming milk, eyeing Isabella carefully.

"Isa," she began, voice low so the few early customers wouldn't overhear, "why are you still living with him? Don't tell me it's because of those seven chances."

Isabella bit her lip, her hands trembling slightly as she arranged fresh pastries in the display case.

"It's not that simple, Chloe," she whispered, her gaze unfocused. "I know it's foolish… but I can't just walk away."

A memory flashed across her mind—two years ago, before Cassian was supposed to marry her sister. She remembered him bursting into her family home, only to find her parents striking her relentlessly.

Without hesitation, he'd thrown himself around her, shielding her with his body and taking a blow himself. His roar of anger echoed in the hallway as he scolded her family harshly, his eyes burning with fury. From that day on, the beatings had stopped.

As Isabella recounted the story, tears shimmered in her eyes. She looked at Chloe with a pained smile. "He was the first person who ever protected me. How could I forget that?"

Chloe's eyes softened, the hiss of the espresso machine filling the quiet space between them. She nodded slowly, remembering how Cassian had helped Chloe financially when she was struggling to get the café off the ground. His kindness had kept their dream alive when it nearly collapsed.

At night, after finishing their work, Isabella quickly said goodbye to Chloe, got into a cab, and went silently to her villa. In the past, as soon as she entered the villa, she would see Cassian either waiting for her or working on his laptop.

But tonight, when she called him, a sweet voice answered from the other side.

"Sorry, Isabella," Melody said softly, "he's in a meeting right now and can't pick up the phone."

Isabella quickly hung up the call and let out a bitter laugh to herself, thinking, What kind of meeting happens at midnight?

But before deciding whether to take away his second chance, she wanted to ask him directly to confirm the truth. She waited until midnight, and when he finally entered the villa, she was there waiting for him.

He quickly slid in beside her and asked, "Why aren't you asleep?"

She replied softly, "I was waiting for you."

He immediately looked at her with a pained expression, then cupped her cheeks and kissed them gently.

"You don't have to wait up for me," he said.

She nodded silently. As he took off his coat, she asked quietly, "Where did you go? Why didn't you answer my calls?"

Watching him closely, she noticed his body tense up. He replied stiffly, "I was working. Where else would I be?"

She nodded again without a word. He quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead and hurried upstairs into his bedroom.

As she scrolled through her phone, Isabella saw a tweet from Melody. In the photo, Cassian was gently holding Melody at a pub, her face flushed red from drinking.

The caption read: "How can someone be so generous with an employee?"

Isabella stared at the post, feeling a wave of disgust wash over her. She slowly pressed the like button on the post, then set her phone aside.

She walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine. As she sipped it slowly, memories from a year ago flooded her mind.

One year after their wedding, when they first became intimate. She remembered how gentle he had been, how delicately he kissed her fragile body like it was made of glass.

She let out a bitter laugh, thinking about how foolish she had been to believe he had given his whole heart to her.

After she finished her drink and picked up her phone, Isabella saw a message from Melody:

Oh Isabella, don't misunderstand—there's nothing between us. He was just helping me because I'd been drinking a lot for days while working on the project. That's why he was holding me up.

Isabella was stunned by Melody's audacity. It was clear to her that Melody was pretending innocence but deliberately hinting that Cassian was close to her.

She replied to Melody, "Oh, he's very generous, that's just how he is. Even if he sees someone struggling, he'd definitely help—even a beggar."

But Isabella had no intention of defending him; she simply didn't want Melody to think she could climb over her head. Melody fell silent at Isabella's response.

Isabella quickly set her phone aside, took out a small bottle filled with seven paper stars, and dropped two of them into the trash.

As she thought to herself, "I will only give you seven chances. After that, I will leave. I don't want a man who can't control himself."

Why was Cassian acting like he loved her so much? Was he plotting something against her?