Can't Win Me Back (Isabella and Nathan)

Chapter 2

Under the sunlight, she performed peculiar shadow dances while humming an off-key tune: *"...lyrics..."*

Nathan observed Isabella's antics, a hint of confusion surfacing in his eyes.

This wasn't the Isabella he knew.

Stepping out of his car, Nathan strode toward her, his face dark with annoyance over the trouble she had caused.

"Bella, who let you out on your own? Your wounds haven't even healed!" he reprimanded.

The moment Isabella saw him, she instinctively jumped a meter away, clutching her chest in a defensive gesture. Her startled expression and wary gaze filled Nathan with a sense of unease. ""Who are you?" she asked timidly.

"I'm your husband," he replied impatiently.

But Isabella clearly didn't believe him. She turned on her heel and bolted into the shop adorned with a skull motif.

Nathan followed her with long strides.

Inside the shop, Isabella cowered behind the hypnotist, Ezekiel, peeking out cautiously with terror in her eyes.

Even Nathan, as dense as he could be, realized something was wrong. Isabella didn't recognize him.

His hawk-like gaze sharpened as it landed on Ezekiel, cutting through the air like a blade. "What did you do to my wife?" he demanded coldly, his tone dark and foreboding.

At that moment, his only thought was that Ezekiel had drugged Isabella with hallucinogens or hurt her, causing her mental breakdown.

Ezekiel tossed a contract toward Nathan. "Your wife contacted me two months ago, insisting I perform hypnosis on her."

Seeing Ezekiel's professional badge, Nathan finally realized this was the globally renowned hypnotist people praised as nearly godlike. But he couldn't understand why would Isabella seek hypnosis? Flipping through the contract Isabella had signed, he noted how meticulously detailed it was, with clear terms and transparent fees. Yet, the listed services sent shockwaves through his mind:

1. Help Isabella forget her birth, her father, and the existence of her Sis.

2. Help Isabella forget her married life, erasing all traces of Nathan Hill from her memory.

3. Help Isabella forget the pain of undergoing a kidney transplant.

...

Final item: Teach Isabella to love herself.

Nathan's tall and imposing figure visibly stiffened as he processed the implications. His deep, calculating gaze flickered with resistance.

He looked at Ezekiel in disbelief. "You forged this, didn't you? Isabella would never do something like this."

Ezekiel calmly explained, "At first, Isabella only wanted to forget you. But after seeing my reasonable fees, she decided to add a few more items. We verbally agreed I'd erase all her past memories in exchange for her entire fortune.

"In short, Isabella is now penniless. Do you still want her?" Ezekiel added lightly. "She did mention that if you no longer wanted her, I should send her to Rainbow Bridge."

Hearing the words "Rainbow Bridge," Nathan's towering frame shook. His striking features cracked like ice under the sun. Rationality slowly returned, and he replayed the last three months in his mind.

Each time he visited Isabella in her hospital room, she had been sound asleep. He hadn't thought much of it, leaving her room to spend time with Victoria instead. Now he realized how negligent he had been.

Isabella must have been avoiding him, pretending to sleep. She had planned this for two months. She didn't want him anymore.

His chest tightened with an inexplicable discomfort. He felt played.

Looking at Isabella's innocent, untroubled expression, Nathan grew restless. Finally, he let out a wicked laugh. "Isabella, drop the act. No hypnotist is so skilled they can wipe away all memories. This is just a scam."

He reached out roughly to grab her, but Isabella darted around, evading his touch. She clung to Ezekiel's arm, pleading, "Master, I don't want to go with him. He's so mean to me. If I go with him, he'll only hurt me. He won't treat me well. Please, don't hand me over to him." Ezekiel sighed, "Isabella, you were the one who gave me his phone number."

"I changed my mind," Isabella said tearfully.

Reluctantly, Ezekiel turned to Nathan. "Mr. Hill, I now understand why Isabella wanted to erase her memories. You are likely the person she trusted most, yet you have no patience for her. Did you ever know how much pain she was in?"

Nathan's body stiffened, the frost in his sharp gaze melting slightly.

Ezekiel continued, "Your wife suffers from severe depression. If I hadn't helped her, she'd have had no other path but death. Do you know why she hasn't taken her own life? She told me it's because those who commit suicide cannot reincarnate. She's already experienced the agony of loneliness and doesn't want to endure it in death. That's why she placed all her hope in me."

Nathan's bloodshot eyes burned with anger. "Are you done? You're nothing but a charlatan. You think I'd believe your nonsense hypnosis? Did you drug her or harm her to make her lose her mind? Isabella was always emotionally stable."

Ezekiel replied calmly, "Believe what you will, but my words stand. Take your wife home and treat her well. If you can't, then send her to Rainbow Bridge that's her final wish."

Nathan clenched his fists, veins popping as he glared at Ezekiel. "If I find out you've harmed her, I'll make sure you rot in prison."

Ezekiel chuckled nonchalantly. "Mr. Hill, I assure you I haven't hurt your wife in the slightest. The success of the hypnosis owes much to her active cooperation."

Turning his piercing gaze to Isabella, Nathan growled, "Bella, if you don't want to die, come home with me."

Isabella shook her head.

When Nathan momentarily let down his guard, she bolted from the shop with surprising speed.

He was dumbfounded. She acted as if he were a monster.

In the end, Nathan found her under Rainbow Bridge, curled up like the day he had found her four years ago.

But though Isabella remained the same bright, innocent soul, Nathan was no longer the cold-hearted man he used to be.