Chapter 109 His Vows

Susan completely lost it. "No... no!"

"People who hurt others usually end up hurting themselves. It's better to avoid doing things you'd regret later," George said, feeling pretty smug as he walked away.

'I’ve been waiting for this day, to see Nicholas and Susan get what they deserve. Next up, Isabella,' George thought, rubbing his forehead. 'This is gonna be tough.'

That black car was still parked under Isabella's building every day.

Isabella knew it was George. But she had no plans to acknowledge him. Still, this unresolved issue was making her uneasy.

"Ms. Neville, there's another storm warning, and a typhoon is coming. I'll head to the supermarket to stock up on fruits and veggies so we don't have to go out," Lisa suggested.

"Alright."

Lisa went out while Isabella played with Frederick, who was babbling away.

The weather changed fast.

The wind whipped the autumn leaves against the windows.

Isabella glanced outside; the sky was thick with clouds, signaling another heavy rain.

The car downstairs was still there, which annoyed her, so she kept playing with Frederick.

Suddenly, the cups on the table started clinking. Just as Isabella was about to get up, she realized the whole room was shaking.

It was an earthquake.

She grabbed Frederick and tried to run outside, but the shaking was so intense she couldn't move. Things in the house were toppling over and crashing to the ground.

George, sitting in the car, felt the earthquake too. He jumped out and ran upstairs, ignoring the heavy rain.

Isabella panicked. She had never experienced an earthquake before. She wanted to escape, but the intense shaking made all her actions futile.

"Help!" she screamed, holding Frederick tightly.

George was outside the door, banging on it frantically, but no one opened it. He kicked the door with all his strength, and finally, it gave way. He rushed in, seeing the chaos, and shouted, "Isabella, Isabella, where are you?"

Isabella was hiding in the bathroom, trembling with Frederick in her arms.

"Isabella, where are you?" George shouted, finally hearing Isabella's weak voice, "Here."

Following the sound, George found Isabella. Her face was covered in tears; she was genuinely terrified. Even when Joseph had hung her over the river, she hadn't been this scared.

"Honey," George ran over and hugged Isabella tightly. "Don't be afraid, I'm here, I'm here."

He took Frederick from her arms, held her hand tightly, and they ran out of the three-story building amidst the shaking ground.

A second after they left, the building collapsed. Though they escaped, the earthquake was far from over.

With the storm, collapsing buildings everywhere, and the constant screams and running people, the entire city seemed like it was in chaos, exuding a terrifying aura of death.

"We need to keep moving and find an open space. The buildings here could collapse at any moment," George said.

The ground was riddled with cracks of varying lengths and depths, so they couldn't drive.

George found some disposable raincoats in the car and quickly put two on Isabella and two on himself. He held Frederick tightly in one arm and gripped Isabella's hand with the other.

The ground started shaking again, and they were surrounded by ruins.

Even with the raincoats, their hair was soaked by the storm.

"We need to find a place that's both safe and sheltered from the rain," George said.

Isabella nodded, but with the constant shaking, finding a safe spot was tough.

They reached the main road in the center, and the scene was even more tragic—screams, complaints, cries, and chaos mixed with despair.

The once glamorous metropolis had turned into a city of despair, filled with cracks.

George could feel Isabella's hand trembling. Frederick, at least, was being good, not crying or fussing, which was a small comfort. "Don't be afraid, I won't let anything happen to you and Frederick."

Isabella was truly scared. She feared that Frederick, who had barely spent any time in this world, would have to leave it. Frederick was the center of her universe.

The ground shook violently again.

Isabella closed her eyes tightly, trembling, as a sixty-story skyscraper in front of them leaned, about to collapse.

The buildings were all damaged. George wanted to find a corner to shelter from the pouring rain. After what felt like an eternity of walking, George and Isabella finally found a corner to take shelter from the rain.

"Let's rest for a bit, save our strength." George helped Isabella take off the raincoat and held her in his arms. She felt his body warmth, and her frozen body began to warm up.

"Do you think we can really get out of here safely?" Isabella asked, desperate.

"Of course, we already escaped," George said firmly.

"But I feel like we're going to die here."

George placed Frederick in Isabella's arms and held both of them tightly. "No, I won't let you die here."

"George," Isabella looked up at him. "If we really die here today, can you answer a few questions for me?"

"I can answer them even if we don't die here. Don't think like that." George held her tighter.

"Did you and that Susan really have a child?" Although Isabella had seen it in the hospital, she wanted to hear George say it himself. Only then would she give up.

"No," George replied.

"Don't lie to me just because we're about to die."

"I'm not lying to you. Susan was pregnant, but it wasn't my child," George explained seriously.

"How can you be sure it's not yours? Didn't you live together?" Isabella was full of doubts, just like she had once doubted Juniper's child.

George lowered his head and smiled.

His smile made Isabella even angrier, and she pushed him hard.

George stopped smiling and tried to look more sincere. "No, I never lived with her. Don't overthink it."

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"You're my wife. If I lie to you, may I die a horrible death," George said.

Isabella didn't believe his vows. "You know whether you had sex with her or not."

"My relationship with the Miller family isn't what you think." George didn't intend to keep too many secrets from Isabella. "Nicholas and Susan treated me like crap. They wanted me to be obedient, to take the fall for them at critical moments. They were determined to groom me into a perfect puppet."