Twisted Ties of Love

Izabella stood on the stage, her hand clutching her award, the other holding a microphone. She bowed deeply to the crowd and the cameras, her head bowed for what seemed like forever. The room fell silent for nearly five seconds, then suddenly erupted into chaos.

Izabella's announcement had sent shockwaves through the industry, even those watching the live broadcast were in disbelief, turning to the internet to make sure they weren't hallucinating.

Izabella had just won the title of Best Actress at an international film festival. How could she possibly be retiring from the industry?

She was a legend. Her first film had won her the Best Actress award, and her TV series 'Blood Ties' had topped the ratings. Her glory days had just begun, so why was she suddenly announcing her retirement on such a platform?

In the past, there were artists who had announced their retirement only to return a few years later, but Izabella was different.

In silence, she jumped from the peak and announced her retirement on such a grand stage. There was no turning back now.

Just recently, the internet had recovered from a massive crash, only to be paralyzed again. Not just the internet, all digital platforms experienced a lag.

Izabella's retirement was the top trending topic, followed by her winning the Best Actress award.

The irony was striking.

Fans and internet users were waiting for Izabella's explanation, hoping she would look up and say, "It was all a joke." But when Izabella finally lifted her head, her dark eyes showed no sign of humor.

From the very beginning, Izabella had no plans of staying in the entertainment industry forever. In less than a year, she had wiped clean all the "non-existent stains" from her reputation. Dressed in a black evening gown, she stood on the stage feeling more pure than ever.

Izabella handed the microphone to the stunned host beside her and walked off the stage without a backward glance. She left with an air of nonchalance, showing no signs of reluctance. Everyone watched her thin figure disappear, a seemingly delicate figure that might fall with a slight push. But all the years of online hate, insults, and slander had failed to break her. Of course, the hardest hit were Izabella's fans. Those watching the live broadcast were already in tears.

Many of these fans used to be haters, but they had turned around. They had once despised Izabella and watched her career from the sidelines.

Now, watching the proud figure on the screen, they couldn't help but wonder, if they had been a little kinder to Izabella back then, would she have chosen to give up at this moment? "Izabella, I'm sorry."

Izabella had been on countless trending topics, with half of them being negative. But this was the first time an apology had made it to the trending list.

Fans and internet users changed their profile pictures to a white background with the words: "May Izabella have a bright future."

Izabella had been in the industry for nearly five years. She had debuted with a tarnished reputation, and now she was leaving in all her glory.

As the news spread, some expressed regret, some were confused, and some were just there for the drama, questioning Izabella.

The world would never run out of critics and trolls.

They began to speculate. At such an important international film festival, why hadn't Casey, Izabella's co-star, shown up?

Was the rumor true? Was Casey in a critical condition in the hospital because he had saved Izabella?

As soon as Izabella left the stage, she was surrounded by bodyguards. Despite their efforts, they couldn't keep away the swarming paparazzi.

Izabella stood her ground, holding the award she and Casey had won together. She looked impassively at the faces around her, their mouths opening and closing with questions. "Izabella, can you tell us why you're leaving the industry?"

"Will you ever come back? Don't you think it's a waste to leave just after winning the Best Actress award?"

"Is the real reason you're leaving because you feel guilty? Because you put Casey in the hospital."

"Can you tell us about Casey's condition? Is he not here because he's in a critical state?"

The cameras followed Izabella, almost shoving the lenses in her face. Those who had tuned into the live broadcast were taken aback by the pointed questions.

They had heard that Izabella was retiring, but what did this have to do with Casey?

Internet users quickly connected the dots. There had been rumors that Casey had been hospitalized and resuscitated multiple times.

The official statement from Casey's team had put an end to the rumors, but many had suspected something was off.

Now, the thin veil covering the truth had been torn apart, revealing everything.

Some claimed to work at the hospital and said Casey had a contagious virus. He was being treated every day and was now unconscious.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

And why did he have the virus? Because he had tried to save Izabella when she was kidnapped, and the kidnappers had injected him with a deadly virus. All this was because of Izabella.

Casey had a huge fan base, both male and female, and he had been in the industry longer than Izabella. He had more work to his name and no scandals. The only person he had been romantically linked to was Izabella, and he had happily admitted it.

His fans couldn't accept the fact that Casey was lying in a hospital, his life hanging by a thread. "How dare Izabella show her face here to accept an award?"

"So it's true. She's leaving the industry out of guilt for what she's done to Casey."

"Izabella is the one to blame for this. If it weren't for her, Mr. Dempsey wouldn't be in this state."

"I heard Casey is fighting for his life in the hospital. If anything happens to him, I'll never forgive Izabella!"

Izabella wasn't watching the live broadcast, but she could imagine the comments on the internet. She turned her gaze to the media in front of her.

The blinding camera flashes were all

focused on her. She hadn't had a

good night's sleep in a long time and her dry eyes couldn't adjust to the

bright lights. A foggy veil seemed to cover her dark eyes.

Izabella covered her eyes with a hand, and amidst the clamor, heard a voice ask, "Did you kill Casey, Izabella?"

They had used the same method to drive Bell to death. Now, they were trying to do the same to Izabella.

You have to admit, these people are lucky, still blissfully ignorant of the fact that they've collectively taken a life.

Izabella's throat tightened, her grip on the trophy in her hand unsteady as she found herself awkwardly sandwiched in the middle.

In her heart, she thought, if Casey hadn't made it, she would have preferred to die here.

A buzzing sound filled her ears, her bodyguard standing firmly beside Izabella to protect her from any harm. Yet, Izabella still felt suffocated, as if she was trapped in a shrinking sealed space, her breath hitching with the growing pressure.

No one stepped forth to aid Izabella. After all, this was a muddy situation, a mess of their own making. Even if Izabella badn't announced her retirement from the showbiz today, the burden of Casey's mishap would have forced her to step down eventually. This was the perfect example.

Whispers floated around the audience, [Why hasn't Mr. Dempsey shown up yet? Is Izabella going to announce her retirement from the industry here? Could it be Casey is already dead?] "Who the hell said I was dead?"