After the Secret Wedding Rise of My Queen

Chapter 173 Echoes of a Forgotten Past

Isabel gritted her teeth subtly. She'd guessed he would throw her question back at her, so she had a plan ready.

"I'm not that hung up on the emerald guardian angel pendant," she said casually. "I'm just curious, who was the girl who gave it to you? It's rare to see you care so much about something. Besides, Rachel lost her cool over it just now, making me wonder if there's some hidden story behind this." Xander could tell she was fishing for information, but he let it slide.

"Oh? And why do you think a girl gave it to me?"

"Because, traditionally, guys wear emerald guardian saint pendants, and girls wear emerald guardian angel pendants. Plus, if a boy gave it to you, then, well, that'd be interesting," Isabel teased, trying to distract him.

Xander chuckled and shook his head. Her playful side always made him feel helplessly captivated.

"You're right; it was from a girl," he admitted, looking her in the eyes. "Does that make you jealous?"

Isabel raised an eyebrow. Jealous? That hadn't even crossed her mind.

She'd seen a girl in her dreams who gave Xander an emerald pendant. She couldn't make out her face, but the girl felt familiar and warm, almost like she was a part of herself.

"So, who is she to you?" Isabel wasn't about to follow his lead and get sidetracked.

Hearing her question, Xander's face softened with a hint of indulgent amusement. His little troublemaker sure was a handful.

He held his hand out to her, and after a moment's pause, Isabel understood and placed the emerald guardian angel pendant into his large palm.

Xander looked down at it, his normally stoic face showing a rare trace of sentiment.

"Her name was Leslie. She was the daughter of my parents' close friends. Our families were tight-knit, always visiting each other. At one point, our parents joked about having us marry someday. She gave me this emerald guardian angel pendant when we were kids, saying she'd marry me when we grew up."

When Xander finished speaking, he noticed Isabel had gone entirely silent behind him.

Curious, he turned to look.

Isabel was lost in thought. Her memories, once hazy, were now coming back into sharp focus because of what he said.

Images flashed through her mind like a slideshow.

Leslie.

"Leslie." A gentle voice called out to her.

"Leslie!"

"Come to Mommy, Leslie."

your mother-in-law someday?" The speaker's face

Almost there.

It was her!

when

tinged with worry, called out to

everything, flames erupted in her mind, engulfing every

hand to her temple, a wave of

pale from the ache, and her lips pressed so

body lift off the ground, snapping her back

the doctor! Call the doctor!" He shouted

she looked up to see his worried, tense face,

course, there was a better time to be

down; I'm fine," she said

examined her closely. "You

fine. Maybe I didn't sleep well last night, so I got a bit of

tried to sound casual, lying

happened, those memories were both vivid and elusive. She couldn't

thing she was sure of: her headache was

ties to the Bennetts would be no ordinary one. Even if the Nelsons had vanished without a trace, she didn't believe a family that

rich voice

at her

thump, thump. Her heart started pounding

with my own health.

at her for a good ten seconds

take you upstairs so you can nap.

he continued carrying her toward

stunned. "Wait, put me down. I can

almost there." He had no intention of letting

carried like this. Every time he held her like a

if she got used to this treatment and

truth was, she didn't like depending on others. Her most incredible sense of security came from herself. She feared that if she became too comfortable relying on Xander, it

struggled to open her heart. Growing up alone, she'd learned

two brothers she

one thing. A partner was even riskier. So, she had to be extra cautious about who

the living room on his phone, Samuel looked up when he