Chapter 308

Isabella got home from work and found Michael had whipped up her favorite dish, pan-seared cod. As they ate, she shot him a playful grin.

"Hey babe, my period's over," she said with a wink.

But Michael didn't take the bait. He just smiled, brushed a strand of hair from her face, and said, "You must've had a crazy day at work. You look beat. How about you get some rest? We can pick this up when you're feeling better."

Michael could see how tired she was. He wasn't the kind of guy who let his urges take over. Sure, Isabella made it hard to resist, but he had willpower.

Isabella felt touched. She remembered their promise but knew she was exhausted.

"Thanks, hon," she said with a smile and kept eating.

That night, they just slept, nothing more.

Meanwhile, someone put a hefty bounty on Isabella online, drawing in some dangerous hitmen who started making plans.

The next day at work, Isabella had a weird feeling, like something bad was about to happen.

Juliet came by with some documents and noticed Isabella looked off. "Ms. Taylor, are you feeling okay? You don't look so good," she asked, concerned.

Isabella smiled and shook her head. "I think I just didn't sleep well last night. Probably too tired."

She chalked it up to work stress, not realizing it was a sign of something bigger.

After work, Isabella wrapped up her tasks and headed to the parking lot.

Leo was there to pick her up and drive her home.

But halfway there, Leo's face got serious. "Ms. Taylor, we're being followed."

Isabella's heart skipped a beat. She checked the rearview mirror but couldn't tell which car it was in the rush hour traffic.

"What's going on, Leo? What did you see?" she asked, nervous.

Leo squinted at the mirror. "A black Honda's been tailing us. I saw it in the parking lot but didn't think much of it. It's been on us since we left. I tried losing it, but no luck."

Isabella spotted the black Honda, with two masked figures inside.

"Should we call the cops?" she asked, grabbing her phone.

Leo didn't stop her. Instead, he handed her a bulletproof vest.

"Put this on. It's rush hour, so they probably won't shoot, but we can't be sure," Leo said, dead serious.

Isabella looked at the traffic around them and frowned. "What if we just park somewhere crowded? They probably won't follow us there, right?"

But Leo was busy with something on his phone. Isabella leaned over, confused, and saw he was messaging someone.

Suddenly, Leo put his phone away and said, "It's worse than you think. There's a $3 million bounty on you. That's enough to make some real crazies come after you. Crowded places might actually be more dangerous. You don't want a random pizza guy pulling a knife on you, do you?"

Isabella quickly put on the bulletproof vest. "Three million? Who would do this?"

Leo shook his head. "No idea. Maybe it's related to your press conference. I had a bad feeling after that, so I got this gear ready. Let's hope we're just being paranoid."

"What if we just stay in the car?" Isabella asked, her voice shaking.

Leo gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "I'm worried some nutjob might have planted a bomb under the car."

Before he could finish, the roar of motorcycles filled the air. Leo glanced in the rearview mirror, his face going pale.

"These maniacs!" Leo ignored the traffic lights and floored it.

Two guys on motorcycles, wearing leather jackets and helmets, sped up to their car, swinging steel pipes at the windows.

Isabella ducked down, hugging her head. The pipes cracked the glass but didn't break it.

The thugs looked surprised by the tough glass. While they were stunned, Leo swerved and hit one of them, knocking him down.

The other thug pulled out a disc-like object and threw it at the car.

Leo's face changed. He hit the gas and turned the wheel sharply.

The disc was supposed to stick to the car, but Leo's sudden turn made it fall to the ground. It exploded, startling everyone.

"These lunatics are using bombs! Is $3 million really worth it?" Isabella shouted, both scared and furious.

Leo shook his head. "You don't get it. Three million is life-changing for some people. The money you rich folks lose in a game could be more than some people make in a lifetime."