Love's Rich Twist

Isabella Wilson staggered with unsteady steps, leaning against the wall as she clumsily ran forward, muttering indistinct words. Her hair was in disarray, and her clothes were disheveled.

"Can someone help me?" She cried out in desperation.

While having dinner with Dr. Hudson, he not only kept pushing her to drink, but he also sneakily spiked her drink with drugs.

Just as he was about to make a move on her, she managed to escape.

After a short stroll outside, Isabella's legs gave out, and she tumbled to the ground.

Suddenly, a pair of sleek leather shoes appeared in front of her, a beacon of hope.

She instinctively grabbed onto the man's leg, softly pleading for help.

"Help me, please!"

The man bent down to help her but was taken aback when he saw her face.

"It's you! What brings you here?" He asked.

Isabella's thoughts were a jumbled mess. Her unfocused gaze strained to see the man's face clearly but failed.

"Help me! He's looking for me."

The man glanced around and quickly helped her up and into the nearest room.

Even inside the dimly lit room, they could still hear footsteps outside.

Isabella's body felt like it was on fire, every inch crawling with unbearable itching and burning sensations.

With a soft moan, she leaned against the man, biting her lip to suppress an overwhelming urge.

"Ah..."

A barely audible moan escaped her lips as she clutched onto the man's arm, struggling to maintain a standing posture.

Sensing her distress, he asked with a frown, "What's going on?"

Her voice was so delicate that she even surprised herself.

"Someone drugged my drink."

She confessed while subconsciously caressing the man's neck.

As he grabbed her hand, he asked, "Do you realize what you're doing?"

Isabella's delicate voice quivered with tears.

"I don't feel well. Are you a sex worker?"

"Please help me. I'll pay you," she begged.

In the dimness, his deep eyes glinted with a sharp intensity.

Isabella, already in a daze, couldn't make out much, feeling a sudden urge to be close to him like a desperate need for affection.

She even lifted her leg to rub against his lower half and kept muttering pouty sounds of discontent.

"I already told you I'm not feeling well. Aren't you going to do something about it? Are you even a man?"

Without hesitation, the man wrapped Isabella in his black trench coat.

"I'll show you right now if I'm a man or not."

He held her tightly as he led her away.

They made their way upstairs from the club to the hotel suite, where Isabella eagerly tugged at his shirt.

She was so urgent that she even accidentally popped one of his buttons.

Bathed in the light, she held the man's handsome face until her cheeks flushed.

"Why do you remind me of someone I loved?" She murmured.

Before he could reply, Isabella boldly planted passionate kisses on his neck and collarbone.

"It hurts so much..."

His cool body temperature against hers felt like a refreshing contrast. She felt like a thirsty traveler in a desert stumbling upon an oasis and couldn't control her craving for more.

Her bold moves began to unravel the self-control he had kept up until then, igniting a spark of longing and unrestrained desire between them.

He gripped Isabella's chin firmly, making her meet his gaze.

"Isabella, look at me. Do you recognize who I am?"

Struggling against the drug-induced haze, Isabella tried to focus her eyes, but she couldn't make out who the man in front of her was.

"It's okay. I don't mind that you're not a professional..."

"Ah!"

His forceful kiss cut off her words.

The intensity of the kiss overwhelmed Isabella, clouding her thoughts and erasing all sense of rationality.

In the heat of the moment, she discarded her shirt onto the floor. Their clothes landed haphazardly on the floor, leading a trail to the bed.

Before long, his heavy breathing and her melodic moans filled the room like a symphony.

Their passion lasted until the early hours of the morning, only stopping as the sky outside started to brighten.

As Isabella slowly opened her eyes, her body felt heavy and sore, aching all over.

The discomfort and pain in her lower body were particularly overwhelming.

She remembered meeting Dr. Hudson last night and pleading for his help for her father.

However, he had betrayed her trust by drugging her drink and attempting to violate her.

She recalled managing to escape after a struggle and ending up sleeping with a sex worker due to the effects of the drug.

The evidence of her encounter with a man—disheveled bed sheets, sounds of water from the bathroom—served as a stark reminder.

Isabella trembled at the realization of what had happened.

She scrambled to get out of bed, wincing at the discomfort in her body, hastily throwing on her clothes in a rush.

Before leaving, Isabella checked her wallet and saw there wasn't much cash left.

She had spent almost all her cash after arriving in this foreign country. She then kept a 500 euro bill, the largest value in her wallet, on the bedside table.

Worried that the man might not notice it, she used his phone to press the bill down for emphasis.

As the sound of running water suddenly stopped, she grabbed her bag and hastily fled.

She was eager to escape the surreal night and wanted to forget it all.

Two days later, back in her hometown of Riverdale, Isabella went straight to the hospital to see her father.

A nurse handed her the bill as soon as she saw her.

And as she glanced at the amount, she felt a wave of overwhelming wash over her.

After multiple failed attempts, Isabella finally reached her stepmother, Kiera Wilson, on the phone.

"Why haven't you taken care of Dad's medical bills? Don't you know he needs those expensive imported medications to survive?"

Isabella's voice quivered with frustration and anger.

The local doctors were stumped by her father's condition because the surgery needed was beyond their skill set.

That's why Isabella had to take a chance on that shady doctor, traveling far and wide in search of a glimmer of hope.

She still hadn't found a suitable doctor for her father's surgery.

Her father's health would only deteriorate further without his vital medication.

Kiera's icy tone pierced through the phone, echoing with a bitter truth. "Do you think we're still the rich Wilsons like before?"

"I told you, our company is on the verge of bankruptcy. Forget about your father's medical expenses! The mansion we live in will soon be taken to pay off debts!"

The realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She hadn't imagined the situation to be this dire at all.

Kiera kept talking without waiting for Isabella's response.

"I've been running around like a headless chicken trying to find solutions these past few days, and all you do is come to me asking for money. I've told you the simplest and quickest way to solve our problems is for you to get married, but you call me crazy!"

"Fine, you'd better come up with a good solution to fix all of this. Whether your father can keep on living or not depends on you," Kiera said angrily.

In a mix of frustration and resignation, Isabella finally hung up the call. Looking through the ICU window at her father, hooked up to machines, her heart clenched with worry and sorrow.

He was her only family in this chaotic world—someone she couldn't abandon.

Two minutes later, after wrestling with her emotions, Isabella called Kiera once more.

"Fine, I'll go through with the arranged marriage," she said.

Isabella reluctantly found herself on yet another blind date. As she sat in the cafe, her smile seemed frozen in place.

The guy sitting across from her appeared quite self-satisfied and wouldn't stop talking.

"Miss Wilson, I hope you are okay with me asking about your health. Have you had a recent check-up?"

"I don't mean to offend, but you see, our family business is pretty significant, and we're looking for someone to carry it on. If we have just one child, he'll be lonely. But with a few more, life will be easier for them."

Isabella forced another smile and asked, "Any plans for a big family in the future?"

The man raised a hand with chubby fingers.

"Let's start with five - conservatively speaking! I'm in my prime, and I have plenty of money to raise children. You can focus on giving birth because I can hire lots of nannies to take care of the kids. Let's aim for one each year. Time's ticking! How about we start now?"

Isabella nearly choked on the sip of coffee she'd just taken.

She slammed her cup down on the table and retorted icily, "You want me to keep giving you babies?"

"Are you looking for a wife or a baby-making machine? Ever consider the toll childbirth takes on a woman's body?"

"You better take a good look at yourself! Do you want to see my medical report? Can I ask about your health condition first?"

Isabella's sharp words caught the man off guard, and he visibly shook with anger.

Seeing his reaction, Isabella wanted to warn him not to be mad.

She coolly pointed out, "For someone with high blood pressure, it's crucial to manage your emotions and avoid blowing a gasket."

Upon hearing this, the man strained to contain his rage and shot daggers at Isabella with his furious gaze.

She then checked the time on her wrist.

Isabella announced, "Clearly, we are not a match. Please leave, and don't waste my time on the next blind date."

As the man stormed off, Isabella motioned for the waiter to clear away his empty coffee cup.

Her next date was a guy named George, a dapper man in his forties who had reportedly been through two divorces, according to Kiera's intel.

George came across as a typical trust fund kid, coasting on his family's wealth without any hobbies other than splurging on women.

Isabella greeted him politely and watched closely to see how he would showcase himself.

Lounging back in his chair and crossing his legs, George started chatting casually with an air of indifference.

"I've always been pretty open-minded. Honestly, I never saw myself settling down until I had to deal with my Dad. My one condition? Let's keep things open in our marriage."

A chilly smile crept onto Isabella's face as she asked, "What exactly do you mean by an open marriage?"

George seemed unfazed.

"It's simple: we play the loving couple in public but do our own thing behind closed doors. We're free to see other people without any complications. Plenty of celebrity couples do it, right? It's no big deal."

As he spoke, George's gaze turned lustful, focusing on Isabella's chest.

His expression then morphed into something lewd.

He licked his lips and winked suggestively at Isabella.

"And we can't forget about what we can do to each other as husband and wife. I have some pretty strong needs in that area."

Isabella fought the urge to toss her coffee in George's face.

She mustered a cold glare instead.

"With your scrawny and uninspiring appearance, it's clear you indulge yourself excessively. Aren't you worried about burning out?"

"Given your lifestyle, you probably have collected all kinds of STDs. How dare you think about infecting others?"

George slammed his hand on the table.

"Who do you think you are? Your family practically begged me to marry you, so don't act all high and mighty now!"

"Isabella Wilson, you better show some respect. If you apologize now, maybe I'll forgive you. Otherwise, your family's business can kiss goodbye to success!"

Isabella clenched her fists so tightly that her nails almost pierced her palms.

The pain kept her senses sharp.

Raising her chin defiantly, she declared, "I would never marry someone like you even if my family's company goes down! Goodbye!"

George stormed off, cursing under his breath, while the waiter cleared away the cups.

Isabella felt annoyed by the messy situation.

From the start, Isabella knew Kiera wasn't looking out for her best interests when setting up these blind dates.

The only common thread among these two guys was their wealth.

Personal traits and looks didn't even factor into Kiera's matchmaking equation.

Glancing at the profile of the third potential match, Isabella braced herself for what was to come.

The profile indicated that he was the 25-year-old heir of the wealthy Gordon family, currently receiving medical treatment abroad due to poor health.

She had a sneaky feeling that Kiera had selected him, hoping for a premature death so that they could have his money.

With just five minutes to go before their meeting time, Isabella picked up her phone to pass the time with a game.

As she sat there, a shadow loomed over her, and someone pulled out the chair opposite her.

"Hello, feel free to order a drink. We can get started once I finish this game," Isabella said.

After dealing with the disappointment of the first two dates, she was feeling rather sour.

"Tough luck for him," she thought.

The man replied kindly, "No pressure. Enjoy your game."

Then, she realized that she recognized the voice.

In astonishment, Isabella glanced up and locked eyes with the man seated across from her, completely stunned.

With his sharp eyebrows, striking nose, thin lips, and well-defined jawline, he had a perfectly perfect face.

Adrian sat there in a relaxed pose, his hands casually resting on his legs, exuding an air of composure.

"Miss Wilson, hello. Let me reintroduce myself. I'm Adrian Louis, the heir to the Gordon Corporation."

Adrian spoke while his deep, frosty eyes locked onto Isabella's.

"Remember three years ago, you turned me down because you thought I was poor?"

His words pierced Isabella's heart, leaving her momentarily stunned on how to respond.

She felt as if her heart had been completely shattered.

Trying to steady her emotions, Isabella reached for her coffee.

But her trembling hands caused the cup to clatter against the saucer, creating a sharp sound.

Anxiously scanning the cafe, she avoided making eye contact with Adrian.

Her mind was racing as she awkwardly faced him.

"Why are you here?"

Adrian casually crossed his legs with a smile.

"I wanted to see if you would feel any regret or remorse once you realized I'm actually rich."

Each word he spoke felt like a stab to Isabella's heart.

Furrowing her brow slightly, Isabella softly replied, "I'm sorry, but it seems we're not a good match. I should go."

As she stood up, she couldn't believe her ears when Adrian murmured something in a low voice.

"I worked so hard on the bed that night, and all you gave me was 500 euros instead of a simple 'goodbye'."

Isabella was completely taken aback, her eyes wide with shock.

She never imagined she had spent the night with Adrian instead of an ordinary sex worker.