Chapter 6 Insight

• “I will draft a contract that details our rights and responsibilities. This is a fake marriage, so if you come across anyone you like during this period, please put it on hold until a year after our marriage. Then we can get a divorce. My promise still stands even after that, and I will not deprive you of your reward. We can get into a binding contract if you want.”
• Isabella noticed some papers and a pen under the handbrake, so she grabbed them and wrote a string of numbers on the paper before handing it to Saber. “This is my number. You have three days to consider my offer. I will not entertain any late requests.” Having said that, she got out of the car and headed toward the main door of the villa.
• With a perplexed expression, Saber looked at the sticky note in his hand. He was stunned by her resolve and decisiveness. But more than that, he was surprised by how aggressive she was.
• He let out a chuckle while his eyes were fixated on Isabella’s distant figure. She’s so stubborn.
• “I’m back, Isabella. No matter what you want to do, I will support you,” Saber said softly. Do whatever you want. No matter what happens, I’ll clean up after you.
• Isabella might not know who he was, but José did, so Saber knew Isabella was safe.
• The dinner was going on amicably in the household when Isabella came in. “The young miss is back!” Miranda announced in delight.
• Isabella stood at the doorstep, ignoring the surprise and disdain on the trio’s faces. She looked down and greeted them, “Dad, Aunt Amanda.” After that, she went to sit in her spot and took the bowl Aunt Miranda gave her.
• She hadn’t had a bite since this morning, and now she was starving. Earlier on, Saber had offered to take her out for dinner, but she refused him. This was the demon she had to face sooner or later, and Isabella would rather do it now.
• “You’re late, Isabella. Where did you go? Mom and Dad were worried sick about you.” Amanda and Yvonne exchanged glances. José was looking stormy.
• Isabella finished her soup with her head hung low and put her spoon down. She ignored the leftovers on the table and said, “I went to visit Grandpa and Mom. I told them that Jonas and I are no longer bound by the engagement.”
• José sneered. “They must be rolling in their graves.”
• But Isabella kept quiet with her head down.
• “Isabella, you’ve upset your father today. Embarrassing him in front of the guests was unbecoming of you,” Amanda said softly.
• “Don’t blame Isabella, Mom. She’s the young miss of the Sera family and the heir to Sera Entertainment. Dad’s not going to dwell on this. If he does, the shareholders will start pointing fingers at him again.” Yvonne stole a glance at her father.
• José’s face darkened even more as he glared at Isabella.
• Despite that, Isabella continued with her dinner in silence. She was already numb to their tricks.
• Yvonne and her mother could always rile her father up easily with their seemingly harmless words. José would then yell at her and even abuse her physically.
• From her father’s perspective, one of her biggest sins was that she didn’t take after his last name.
• Surprisingly, José didn’t fly into a rage today. Instead, he merely snorted and left the dining table.
• After taking a glance at her daughters, Amanda put down her cutlery and went after her husband.
• After her parents had left, Yvonne didn’t bother keeping up her polite façade.
• She looked at the silent Isabella and noted sarcastically, “I didn’t think you’d still be alive. I would have killed myself out of shame if I were you. I mean, poisoning yourself or hanging yourself from a rope is better than living this way. Isabella, your fiancé slept with your best friend because he’s disgusted with you. Aren’t you sad? How do you even have the appetite to eat?”
• Isabella finished the last bite and put her spoon down before looking at Yvonne. “I found someone who wants to marry me,” she said calmly.
• Yvonne chuckled. “Stop dreaming. Him? Marry you? Do you really think you’re the noble young miss of the Sera family?”
• Isabella merely stared at her with a deadpan expression. Yvonne had always put on the façade of a demure lady in front of everyone, so only she knew Yvonne’s true nature.
• Seriously. Isn’t she tired of pretending? I mean, I’m only acting dumb and vulnerable because of her and her mother, but nobody is forcing her. So why is she doing this?
• “What are you looking at?!” Yvonne roared at Isabella. Every time she saw Isabella’s face, Yvonne was filled with jealousy. Life is so unfair! How can she be blessed with a rich family and a gorgeous face at the same time?
• Yvonne swept the plate before her toward Isabella, but the latter got up in time. As a result, the plate fell to the ground and smashed into pieces.
• “What happened?” Amanda asked from a distance.
• Yvonne stared daggers at Isabella. Usually, Isabella would have put the blame on herself and apologized to Amanda, but today she only gave the furious Yvonne a sidelong glance and remained quiet.
• Miranda replied to Amanda fearfully, “Madam, I smashed a plate by accident.”
• Isabella and Yvonne turned to look at Aunt Miranda at the same time. After briefly giving her the death stare, Yvonne left the dining room. Tugging at Isabella’s arm, Aunt Miranda whispered, “Hold it in, Young Miss. It’ll all be over in a bit.”
• Hold it in? That was what Aunt Miranda had been telling Isabella since she was a child, and they were also the last words from Isabella’s mother.
• But today, she understood that tolerance would only worsen her circumstances.
• Isabella quickly went to take a bath and change out of that humiliating dress before going back to her room on the second floor.
• Her room was originally a storeroom. There was only a lone window inside, and the lighting was atrocious. Whenever she wanted to bathe or use the restroom, Isabella had to go to the servants’ quarters.
• Aside from Aunt Miranda, none of the servants saw her as the young mistress of the family. The luxurious room designed by her grandfather and mother was given to Yvonne a month after she and her mother moved in. On the other hand, she was allocated a different room every time she made a mistake. In the end, Yvonne and her mother stopped changing her room after Isabella shifted to this shabby storeroom.
• This was the result of her putting up with them.
• Isabella curled up on the bed. The room was humid, and the only way to get some ventilation here was by opening the door.
• But she didn’t feel like moving or opening the door. When she closed her eyes, scenes of the happenings today flashed across her mind. Now she could finally watch all the events unfold as a spectator.
• She didn’t know when Jonas and Stella got together.
• Ever since Jonas came back, he started working in his family’s company, and they didn’t have a lot of opportunities to meet up.
• Since Isabella didn’t like to trouble anyone with her affairs, she never disturbed Jonas when he worked. She knew he wanted an obedient and gentle girlfriend, so she played the part.
• Since Jonas’ return, their families spent all the festivals together, and those were the happiest days of Isabella’s life.
• Jonas didn’t mistreat her, but he wasn’t the best boyfriend in the world either. However, he seemed to get along well with Yvonne, even though Jonas hated her when they were kids.