Twisted Ties of Love novel Chapter 373

Izabella gently suggested, "Why don't you hold it?"

Casey, once again, felt uneasy. He had no idea what to do.

In the end, it was Izabella who gingerly placed Nikki into his arms. His movements were stiff, as if he were holding a newborn baby. Every move he made was done with utmost caution. He was afraid he might hurt the little kitten.

Watching his awkwardness, Izabella couldn't help but laugh. "You won't hurt it, you know. Try petting its back. Nikki used to love being petted and having its neck scratched."

Casey started to seriously groom the cat, scratching its neck and working so hard that he broke out in a sweat.

Nikki, at first, was a bit tense but relaxed once she realized Casey wouldn't hurt her.

Izabella reached out to stroke Nikki's little head, her fingertips trembling slightly when they touched the damaged ear.

Casey noticed her reaction. He had many questions he wanted to ask.

For instance, where did the cat come from? And what happened to cause its burns?

He chose not to ask because he knew these were painful topics for Izabella.

"Nikki's pretty important to you, huh?"

"Very important, incredibly important." She would never forget the fire that day. Nikki tried to save her, licking her cheeks. Nikki dragged her by the collar, trying her best to pull her out. It was severely burned in the fire.

While Izabella was trapped in the ruins, Nikki's claws were ripped out. But it didn't seem to feel any pain as it scrabbled around in the ruins, trying to find her.

Nikki barely survived several times in the animal hospital. It kept pulling through with Izabella's support.

Back at the villa, it would kiss every picture of Izabella. Eventually, Nikki secluded itself in the room where Izabella had been burned to death.

Casey thought to himself: if he wanted to win Izabella's heart, he first had to win over Nikki.

He held the cat and massaged it. Finally, he leaned in and rubbed his face against its back, thinking, “Nikki, see how hard I'm trying? Please let your mom be with me. I'll buy you all the treats you want and carry you when you can't walk, so your mom won't get tired.”

Izabella, unaware of Casey's thoughts, laughed and asked him, "What are you doing?"

Casey instinctively looked up at Izabella, but he didn't expect their faces to be so close. He nearly kissed Izabella.

In that moment, Casey's heart was about to explode.

Swallowing hard, Casey felt they were way too close.

"I'm," He stuttered and struggled to put together a complete sentence: "I'm just playing with the cat."