Chapter 6

Sophie cocked an eyebrow. "That's not a big deal, is it? It's not like this is our only client. Let's just take it slow."

Isobel sighed and lay down in the backseat, feeling a wave of helplessness wash over her. No matter how strong and resilient she made herself seem, she would still occasionally feel exhausted.

Ever since her mother's death, she'd been on high alert at all times. She'd constantly braced herself like a fighting rooster, afraid that she'd be crushed if she were to just let her guard down for a second.

…

It was late when she got home. Normally, Vincent would already be asleep at this hour. However, he was still awake that night. He sat on the couch with his back straight.

Isobel wanted to act like she didn't see him, but he stopped her. "Where have you been? Why are you back so late?"

She turned to look at him. "I'm surprised you have the time to bother about me today, Mr. Somner."

Vincent had treated her well when her mother, Elizabeth Greene, was still alive. However, Heather and Anna had moved in after Elizabeth's death. From then on, Isobel's relationship with Vincent had slowly deteriorated.

He was momentarily taken aback by her words but, surprisingly, didn't lose his temper. He merely patted the spot beside him on the couch and said, "Come here, Bell. I have something to talk to you about."

It felt like it'd been ages since he'd spoken to her so gently. Something had to be up, and she wanted to see what he was plotting. She pretended to be compliant as she sat beside him.

He sighed and said, "You know it hasn't been easy for us to get to where we are today, Bell. Do you think… You could give me what your mother left for you?"

Isobel's expression instantly shifted. "No way! That's the only thing Mom left for me before she died, and I'm not giving it to you, no matter what!"

Elizabeth had indeed left her something before her death—a key. The key led to Elizabeth's prized possession, but Isobel could only go to a lawyer to collect the item after she'd turned 24 and had encountered a problem she couldn't overcome. She was forbidden from using the item under any other circumstances.

Isobel was only 23 this year, so she had a year to go before she could find out what the item was. Vincent had still had legal custody of her when Elizabeth had passed away, so many important documents remained in his hands.

Five years had passed since then, but he'd refused to hand the documents over. It turned out this was his plan all along.

Vincent's expression darkened at Isobel's decisive rejection. After some thought, he said, "Hurry up and marry Ethan, then. Secure the partnership between our families, and I won't bring this up anymore."

Isobel barked out an exasperated laugh. "Do you even have a heart? You want me to marry Ethan when he's been messing around with Heather? Are you out of your mind? Or do you think everyone is like you and likes picking up trash that other people don't want?"

A crisp slap rang out in the living room. The room was spacious, so the sound echoed loudly. Isobel's face stung, and she cupped it as she looked at Vincent. Her eyes glistened with tears, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.

Just then, Anna returned from the hospital, having gone there to care for Heather. She saw the argument between Vincent and Isobel. She was secretly delighted but pretended to be anxious. "What's wrong, Vincent? How could you hit Bell? Couldn't you have talked things through?"

Vincent seemed to regret the slap but didn't want to admit it. He growled, "I'm your father! How can you say that about me?"

"If I could choose, I would rather have a beggar as my father than have you!" Isobel snapped. She held her head high as she stormed out of the house.

Fortunately, she'd bought her own place two years ago. It wasn't big, but it was decorated cozily. She'd bought it after Heather had snatched her room, and she'd wrapped up the renovations not too long ago.

When Isobel got back, she put some ice on her face to reduce the swelling. Vincent hadn't held back earlier, so her cheek had swelled quite a bit on her way home. She had to go to work tomorrow; she couldn't go around looking like that.

It was past midnight by the time she'd washed up and gotten ready for bed. She texted Sophie to say she'd be in a little later the following morning before going to bed.

Isobel was rudely awakened early the following morning by a phone call. She grabbed her phone, wanting to reject the call. However, her thumb hovered over the screen when she saw the caller ID. It was from Ethan's mother, Nancy Johnson.

Nancy and Elizabeth had been best friends. That was one of the reasons why Isobel and Ethan had known each other since childhood—their mothers had been practically joined at the hip.

Nancy was Isobel's godmother, too. The former had always treated the latter well, coming second to only Elizabeth. Because of that, Isobel didn't think it was appropriate to ignore Nancy's call, regardless of how big an asshole Ethan was.

Isobel answered the call before it could cut off. "Hi, Nancy."

Before that day, she'd always called Nancy "Nance". Yet that day, she wanted to use a more distant form of address.

Nancy faltered. Then, she sighed. "We know all about the nonsense Ethan and Heather got up to, Bell. He said he and Heather didn't actually do anything, so don't be mad, okay? Anyway, today's a special day. Don't let anything upset you. You're the only daughter-in-law I'll have."

Isobel only remembered what day it was upon hearing Nancy's words.