Twisted Ties of Love (Izabella Salotti and Brett) novel Chapter 110

Brett looked at the IV tube connected to Izabella's arm. She relied on it to sustain her as her body shrank and her life slowly became fainter.

Brett didn't know how long he had been standing there until his legs started to feel stiff. He glanced at the clock on the wall – it was already 9:30 pm.

Izabella's eyes were still open, seemingly not wanting to sleep.

"You should get some sleep, Izabella," Brett said softly.

As if hitting the shutdown button on a machine, Izabella obediently closed her eyes as soon as Brett finished speaking.

Listening to her steady breathing, Brett reached out and touched Izabella's pale face, his finger trembling when he saw the wound on her neck.

"Doesn't it hurt when you scratch it so hard?" Brett mumbled to himself, his expression a mix of pain he didn't even realize.

Brett took a deep breath, moved the bedside chair and extended it into a bed. It looked like he was sleeping next to Izabella.

He lay there on his side, wanting to hold her, but knowing he couldn't touch the fragile Izabella now.

Unable to sleep, Brett propped up his head and watched Izabella's sleeping face. The room was so quiet that he could hear the ticking of the clock.

Late into the night, Brett suddenly heard a noise and saw a figure sitting up on the bed in the darkness.

Startled, he became completely awake and saw Izabella sitting on the edge of the bed, her head bowed as if sleepwalking. After a while, she looked up towards the window and reached out her hand, almost falling down. Brett reached out and pulled her back by her clothes.

He thought she was sleepwalking. But after pulling her back, he saw her eyes wide open, staring intently out the window.

"Izabella, what are you looking at?"

Izabella pointed outside. "A child is crying out there."

Brett covered her ears and leaned in close. "Izabella, you are having hallucinations."

Izabella remained still in Brett's arms, and after a while, she shook her head in a daze, saying, "It's not possible. Ears don't lie. If they did, why doesn't he believe me?"

Her words didn't make sense, but Brett understood. The "he" she was talking about was himself.

Like when Kaley fell down the stairs, he believed what he heard and saw and blamed Izabella for pushing Kaley.

"I'm sorry, Izabella. There's no child outside. If you want children, we can have many as you want."

Their reflection in the window showed them embracing. Izabella stared at it but looked past it at the night sky.

There seemed more stars in the sky than usual.