445 You Are Not a Monster
“Wait!”
Isabella interrupted Joseph.
Her hair was a mess, and she still had ringing in her ears. Isabella thought that she looked terrible now. It turned out that she didn’t hear what Joseph had said, so she asked while rubbing her ears, “Joseph, what did you say? I am sorry. Can you repeat it? I still have ringing in my ears!”
“Say it again?” Joseph muttered.
He froze there. He was a little awkward because he didn’t know what to do next.
He needed the courage to tell Isabella how he really felt for her. Joseph had done it once, and he had almost run out of his courage for the time being...
Isabella was confused to see Joseph freeze there. She observed him carefully and noticed the ring box in his hand. She dragged herself out of the pool and jumped at Joseph. Isabella asked in excitement, “Joseph, are you proposing to me?”
Joseph calmed down, and he said with a nod, “Anyway, Isabella, I love you. I want you to be mine. I don’t want anyone to have me but me. And I, Joseph Wilson, will be yours.”
Hearing this, Isabella sat down in front of Joseph weakly and said, “Are you really proposing to me?”
.....
Joseph nodded seriously.
“You freaked me out by hanging me on the helicopter for 10 minutes, dropping me in the pool, and making me dizzy. You did so much just to propose to me? How long have you been preparing for this?” Isabella asked.
“I’ve been preparing for half a day. Don’t you like it? I thought that you love romantic stuff,” Joseph said gently.
Isabella laughed out suddenly.
She lay down and rubbed her belly as she laughed. She said, “It’s totally your style!”
Joseph panicked, ‘Why? You shouldn’t laugh like this after I said that! Is that funny? I am serious. I am not kidding!”
Isabella calmed down and stood up. She took over the ring from Joseph and hugged him tightly. She said softly, “Thank you. Joseph, I love you, too.”
Joseph couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He hugged Isabella and murmured her name, “Isabella...”
“Joseph, I love you. I almost lost myself. You are a trap for me, but I am willing to fall. Joseph, I want you to be mine only. I want to marry you. Since we love each other so much, we must spend the rest of our lives together!” Isabella said.
“Isabella...”
Joseph found him the happiest man in the world after what Isabella had said. He replied, “I promise that I will make you happy. I will not hurt your feelings in the future. I don’t want to break up with you again because of those misunderstandings...”
Isabella pushed Joseph away gently, looking into his deep eyes and at his exquisite face. She said, “I followed behind you yesterday.”
Joseph lowered his eyes and said, “Did you go to the hospital?”
“Yes.”
Isabella nodded and said, “I saw you and Stella go to the hospital together. But I told myself that I had to trust you. Cedric thought that I was insane. He wanted to take me back so I would never see you. He took me to the racing field and... I believe that Andy has told you all.”
Joseph’s eyes were dark. He held Isabella in his arms tightly and kissed her. He felt the mark bitten by Cedric and asked, “Were you scared?”
“I am not.”
Isabella shook her head and said firmly, “I am never afraid of Cedric. I am only afraid of you. They told me that you have a lot of women, so I can never have you. I dared not ask you because I was afraid that your answer would let me down...”
Isabella continued with tears, “I am afraid that you will treat me coldly and cruelly. I am afraid of losing your trust. Joseph, I have never betrayed you. Since I chose you, I have never thought of going out with another man. I can handle whatever pressure other people put on me, but the only thing I am afraid of is that you stop trusting me!”
“Isabella...”
Joseph rubbed Isabella’s back and said, “I am sorry about last night. I lost control. Does it still hurt? Was I an asshole last night?”
Isabella thought for a moment and replied, “Did you have a fever last night?”
“No,” Joseph said.
“But...” Isabella hesitated.
“But what?” Joseph asked.
“But you looked like you had a fever last time. You were insane. Do you always look like that when you get angry?” Isabella said.
The light in Joseph’s eyes dimmed again. He kept silent for a while and said, “I will not allow it to happen again. I will ask Doctor Morris to sedate me.”
Isabella’s eyes widened. She asked, “Why? You didn’t have a fever, but why you still couldn’t control yourself? That was not you.”
Joseph looked gloomy. He explained, “The second day after my mother died, I got sick. I had a fever for a month. Nothing worked on me. The hospital told my grandfather to give up. They said that I would lie on the bed for the rest of my life. But I woke up one day and looked normal. However, I will lose control when I have a fever since then.”
Isabella thought of what Cedric told her before. He told her that Joseph had seen the body of his dead mother, and it hurt his feelings a lot. Isabella said, “Does it mean that when you have a fever you will lose control and get insane?”
“Not quite like that.”
Joseph said in a deep voice, “When I have a fever or someone brings out my mother on purpose, I will lose control.”
Joseph put his hand on his forehead. He seemed to be in pain while he said, “I didn’t have a fever that night. It was because Uncle Michael mentioned my mother. I thought of something in the past and then I felt that my head was burning. I could only relieve it by destroying something. I thought that I could go back to normal after I am with you. I thought that my love for you could make me a normal person. But it doesn’t seem to be working...”
Joseph stopped speaking for a while. He held Isabella’s face in his hands and said seriously, “Isabella, I can be a monster out of control sometimes, as you said. I hurt you. I didn’t tell you this because I was afraid that you would take me as a monster. But from now on, whenever you find me getting weird, you have to bring me to Doctor Morris. You can’t...”
Isabella kissed Joseph before he finished his words.
Joseph widened his eyes in surprise.
Isabella left his lips. She tilted her head, licked her lips, and protested, “You are not a monster. But I do feel sad because you didn’t tell me this earlier. I thought that you disliked me. I felt bad because of that for quite a long time...”