As the two protagonists—Emmett and Isla—showed up, the crowd's laughter grew louder when they saw Isla get publicly humiliated.

Some of the onlookers were eager to stir things up. They deliberately asked her in a sarcastic tone, "You've confessed 99 times yet he's not fond of you at all, Isla. Aren't you supposed to work harder on it then?

"When's the next confession? We can all come watch and give you some pointers. How about it?"

Isla tightened her grip on the tattered love letters. Her knuckles turned white from the effort. She was about to speak up when she saw the mocking gazes from around her. She decided to hold her tongue.

She scoffed and raised the love letter high in her hand. She then declared loudly, "Fine, the 100th confession will be at the central square of the university, at 9:00 am on December 3rd. Everyone is welcome to come and watch!"

After that, Isla ignored everyone's reactions. With reddening eyes and gritted teeth, she left the scene with her head held high.

That day, she skipped her morning classes and headed home.

Water poured steadily from the faucet, filling the basin to the brim. Isla dunked her head into the water without a second thought.

She only got up when her lungs started to burn. She gripped the counter as she gasped for breath. The haze of anger clouding her mind finally started to lift.

Isla stared at her calm reflection. She then started ripping apart the entire stack of love letters. Then, she started burning them. Finally, she flushed them down the drain.

…

The club, which had been dormant for some time, suddenly announced a meetup over the weekend.

Isla decided to attend as she needed to submit her club withdrawal application.

As soon as she opened the door, she saw Emmett, who never attended such activities, unexpectedly there. She pretended not to notice him and kept her gaze straight. She sat in a corner alone.

Sadie's best friends immediately slipped into their usual routine when they saw Isla.

One said, "How did you manage to get Emmett to come, Sades?"

Another replied, "It's definitely because Sades loves a lively crowd! After all, everyone knows that the campus heartthrob only listens to Sades."

Isla couldn't be bothered with their little tricks. She casually reached out for an orange and started peeling it.

Once everyone had arrived, the club president, Candice Draketon, announced the start of the game.

Isla was not interested at all, but she was dragged into it anyway. She could only force herself to play along with the dull truth-or-dare game.

Emmett finally lost after seven or eight rounds. The group erupted in excited cheers.

"Oh my!" someone exclaimed.

Another announced, "Emmett drew the card that requires him to kiss anyone of the opposite sex in the room for three minutes!"

Someone asked, "Hurry and tell us who you'll pick to take the punishment with you, Emmett!"

Isla knew Emmett would never pick her, and she was uninterested in who his choice was. She looked down and toyed with the dice in her hand.

As expected, he picked Sadie, but he requested for the lights to be turned off.

The room was pitch black, with only the sounds of heavy breathing and the occasional whispers from the members.

The lights went on after three minutes, and Emmett returned to his seat. Sadie stood stunned in place, looking pale. Her lipstick was still vibrant on her.

Emmett had not kissed her.

lsla briefly glanced at Sadie. When Candice announced the start of the next round, Isla tossed the three dice in her hand casually. Unfortunately, all three dice landed at one—the lowest possible score in the game.

She accepted her loss without a word and pulled out a card from the stack. It was the same card as before, with the exact same punishment.

Everyone present started getting excited at once. Their gazes flickered between Isla, Emmett, and Sadie.

Isla pretended not to notice it. She casually spun the game wheel, and the pointer landed on Adrian Greyson, a junior who was sitting across from her.

For a moment, everyone held their breaths, thinking that she was about to back out.

However, Isla got up without further ado and made her way to Adrian. She said nonchalantly, "Sorry in advance, Adrian."

Adrian was dumbstruck. Just as he was about to stand up, Emmett got up abruptly and kicked the coffee table away.

When everyone was confused, he coldly interrupted, "We've been playing for so long, I'm a little tired now. Don't you think it's time for a break?"

Emmett's roommates immediately agreed with him. Candice had no choice but to announce the halt of the punishment.

During their break, some of the women said that they were hungry. Emmett's roommates immediately dragged the other guys in the room downstairs to buy snacks.

They were gone for 20 minutes. Seeing that they were still not back, Candice got tired of waiting and announced that the game would continue.

Isla placed her phone down and looked around. She noticed that Adrian was now gone—or to be exact, all other guys except for Emmett were now gone.

She knew this was another of his schemes, yet she refused to play along.

As such, Isla picked up the 17-ounce wine glass and raised it. "Since my appointed partner left, I'll finish the drink as punishment according to the game rules."

After that, she tilted her head up and easily finished the wine in her glass.

Emmett's expression instantly darkened. He hadn't expected Isla to pick drinking over him. He stared at her face, which was flushing quickly, and tightened his grip on the dice.

With half the group gone, the game lost its fun. As such, the meetup came to an end.

Isla was tipsy. She waited until everyone had left before taking out the club withdrawal application from her bag and passing it to Candice. She then leaned against the wall while trying to make it downstairs.

Just as she reached the stairway entrance, Isla groggily saw Sadie, who was nearby. Isla was about to pretend not to see her when she grabbed Isla's arm suddenly.

Sadie's eyes were filled with anger. "What's that look in your eyes when the lights came back earlier? I'm telling you—there must be a reason even if Emmett didn't kiss me! It means he cherishes me a lot!"

Isla almost burst out laughing when she heard Sadie's words. However, she knew that Sadie wouldn't listen no matter what Isla said to her now. She nodded and said, "What you said is right."

Isla tried to shake Sadie's hand off and leave. But Sadie tightened her grip as she continued to curse at Isla, refusing to let it go.

As the two of them struggled, Isla, whose steps were already unsteady, lost her balance and fell from the steep stairs.

Shocked, Sadie lost her footing and also tumbled down the stairs.

Hearing the commotion from upstairs, those who hadn't gone far quickly turned around to check what was going on.

Panic spread among them instantly when they saw that both of them were seriously injured.

In the end, Emmett was the one who contacted someone and got them sent to his family's hospital.

…

After the examination, the doctor said it was a bone fracture. There could be a risk of permanent disability if not treated immediately.

After finding out that both Sadie and Isla were injured, Emmett's gaze never left Isla. His heart broke when he saw sweat dripping down constantly from her pale face.

The operating room was ready, but there was only one surgeon capable of performing the surgery currently. Emmett had to decide the order in which to treat them.

He subconsciously glanced over to Isla, meeting her eyes coincidentally. There was no longer longing and passion in her eyes—only a lifeless calm.

Her gaze shocked Emmett to the core.

"Please make your decision soon, Mr. Cosworth. Who's going for the operation first?"

Isla lay on the stretcher, looking deathly pale. Just as she was about to black out, she heard him firmly say, "Sadie. Save Sadie first!"

The doctor soon pushed Sadie into the operating room.

As soon as the doors shut, Isla lost consciousness.

…

It was a day after when Isla regained consciousness. As soon as she opened her eyes, she reached for her legs.

She let out a relieved sigh after feeling that her legs were still there and were still responsive. Tears welled up in her eyes when she realized that she had survived the fall without becoming disabled.

Isla's parents rushed over as soon as they heard the news. They then upgraded her to the VIP ward on the top floor, where they took care of her carefully.

Sadie occupied the ward across hers two hours later. Emmett was the one who personally carried her in.

The doors to both wards were opened to make check-ups easier. As such, Isla could clearly see what was happening in the ward across from hers.

Sadie kept crying out in pain, so Emmett tried to distract her with various topics.

The hospital meals made by the logistics department did not suit her taste, so he personally went back to make her light meals.

When she complained about being bored in the ward, Emmett brought all sorts of interesting toys to keep her entertained.

Over the past ten days, Emmett and Sadie were so intimate that even the nurses couldn't help but gossip.

They wondered if the hospital director, Dominic Cosworth, was about to get himself a daughter-in-law soon.

Isla listened quietly without getting involved. However, she knew that Emmett was doing all this to put on a show for her.

After all, she had closed the door to her hospital ward countless times. As soon as it was closed, a nurse would come in to check on her.

The door was opened every time. There was no way for it to be a coincidence.