Chapter 167

167 She Is Back

Now, it was busy in the Wilson Manor.

Maids came in and out of Isabella’s bedroom.

Doctor Morris walked out.

“What’s wrong with Isabella?” Charlie asked with concern.

“She fainted because of hypoglycemia. Moreover, she has a high fever and light pneumonia,” the doctor said.

He took off the stethoscope and continued, “I prescribed her some medicine. Coupled with the drip, she will be recovered soon.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Charlie said with relief.

“Why does she suddenly get sick?” he asked with worry.

“Maybe she was slimming and happened to catch a cold. She seems to eat less before her performance,” Joseph lied.

.....

“Then you have to persuade her. Health is the most important thing,” Charlie reminded.

“Okay, I see,” Joseph answered.

After a while, he persuaded, “You can go back and have a rest. I will take care of the rest.”

Charlie nodded and left. After talking with the doctor for a while, he felt relieved a lot as he was sure that Isabella was fine. He asked the maid to take care of Isabella. Then, he returned to his bedroom to rest.

He had not slept in the past two days and one night.

Now that Isabella has returned safely, he can finally have a good rest.

The clouds gathered at midnight and then it began to thunder.

All of a sudden, a scream rang out in the Wilson Manor. It was Isabella who was screaming.

As Joseph’s bedroom was next to Isabella’s, he was woken up.

He opened the door and walked out to check. He saw the maids walking in and out of Isabella’s bedroom, and he scratched his head and sighed. “What happened?” he asked.

“Miss Isabella seems to be scared by the thunder. She went into the cupboard alone and cried. We tried to persuade her but she refused to come out,” a maid said.

“What?” Joseph asked in disbelief.

He rubbed his eyes and asked, “Is she done with the drip?”

“Yes, it’s finished an hour ago,” the maid answered.

“Alright, then you can leave,” Joseph ordered.

The maid left and Joseph walked into Isabella’s bedroom.

He didn’t need to look for her because he could hear her miserable crying in the cupboard.

He closed the door of the bedroom and went to open the cupboard.

However, the door of the cupboard remained motionless.

“Are you a child? Why are you afraid of thunder? Do you know that it’s scary to hear your miserable crying at the midnight?” Joseph asked.

However, Isabella didn’t answer him. After a sigh, he opened the door with force. Isabella rolled out with clothes wrapping around her.

She kept crying.

Joseph bent over and pulled off the clothes covering her head. Seeing that she covered her ears with her hands and closed her eyes, he forcefully pulled her hand away.

“Open your eyes!” he said.

“No!” Isabella refused.

“Isabella!” Joseph said seriously.

“If you don’t open your eyes, I won’t give you any food to eat! You’ll be starving the whole day!” he added.

Isabella opened her eyes, but when she saw Joseph, she covered her mouth and did not dare to make a sound.

Her eyes were full of tears.

She was afraid of him.

When she was in the Smith’s, she would be thrown into the cellar if she made too much noise and woke others up. She did not know what treatment she would receive here.

This was a reflex.

“Alas, you are a little fool,” Joseph said.

He then sighed and patted her head. “Are you afraid of thunder?” he asked.

Isabella said nothing but shook her head repeatedly.

“Did you have a nightmare?” Joseph asked again.

Isabella’s tears began to stream down. “T-they don’t want me anymore. They said that raising me was a waste of their food. They wanted me to die,” she sobbed.

“Who are they?” Joseph narrowed his eyes and asked, “The Smiths? You look dejected after you came back. What happened there?”

Isabella trembled and didn’t utter a word. She just kept crying. She seemed to be scared and hesitant.

Joseph sighed.

He didn’t ask her anymore. “It’s just a nightmare, isn’t it? You are timid,” he said with disdain.

Isabella bit her lips hard in horror, and her whole body curled up.

Joseph looked at her and stroked her disheveled hair. Then, he bent over and picked her up. After placing her on the bed, he comforted, “Alright, don’t cry. Now that they don’t want you, you can stay here, and I will take care of you from now on. Is it okay?”

Upon hearing that, Isabella stopped crying and looked at him blankly.

Joseph climbed onto the bed and lay down beside her, yawning. “Don’t be afraid of the thunder or the nightmare. I will be here to accompany you,” he said.

Then, he touched her forehead. “Fortunately, the temperature has dropped. Have a good sleep,” he said.

Isabella stopped crying, but her body still trembled in the quilt.

Joseph opened his eyes and turned to look at her tearful eyes. “You don’t look cool at all. You are always fearless, aren’t you?”

He turned around and pulled her into his arms. He then gently pecked on her forehead.

Isabella did not dare to move.

Then, Joseph continued, “When I was born, somebody told my grandfather that I was a one favored by the god. Well, although that person was just a swindler, my grandfather was very happy because of his words, so he held a party to celebrate my birth.”

Joseph’s gentle kisses seemed to have magic. Isabella calmed down gradually.

Joseph continued, “It is said that I have something to protect me. Demons and ghosts are afraid of me. Now that I am here, you can have a rest at ease.”

“Okay,” she answered, but her voice was hoarse.

“Aren’t you going to thank me?” Joseph asked.

“Thank you,” Isabella said.

Joseph didn’t expect Isabella would thank him without hesitation. He was stunned for a moment. He then smiled mischievously. Under her gaze, he kissed her lips. “I don’t need your thanks. We are even as long as you kiss me. You are sick now, so I won’t make things difficult for you. A kiss is enough,” he said.

Unexpectedly, Isabella took the initiative to peck on his lips.

While Joseph was stunned, Isabella said, “Deal.”

Joseph looked at Isabella in surprise. “What’s wrong?” Isabella asked.

Joseph didn’t answer her. Instead, he held the back of Isabella’s head and kissed her deeply. After that, he said, “This is the real kiss.”

Isabella was stunned.

That was the real Joseph she knew.

He was as shrewd and arbitrary as he used to be.

Then, under her gaze, Joseph hugged her and kissed her passionately.

In the beginning, Isabella was willing to kiss Joseph, but she didn’t expect to receive such an intense kiss. She had always been afraid of Joseph when he wanted to kiss her, but today, for some reason, she didn’t want to dodge.

Probably it was because he saved her today. Now, she wasn’t resistant to his kiss at all.