Isabella was sitting comfortably in the living room when she had just arrived home, while Hunter went straight to the kitchen to prepare their lunch. The woman immediately took her phone from her bag and tried to call her younger brother.
"Loraine!" She was immediately connected and frowned. "There are many things we need to talk about. I hope you're free now."
"Yeah... I'm very free. I'll just be in my room all day," replied Loraine, sounding lethargic.
"Aren't you working? Didn't you say Mom's husband helped you get a job?"
"I got the job, but I will start next week. So for now, I just want to take the time to rest."
Isabella exhaled sharply, looking at the outside view from the wide-open front door. She bit her lower lip as if unsure where to start the conversation.
"What are you doing there with your husband?" Loraine asked.
"I didn't plan to bring him here, but he insisted on coming... And my real purpose is to meet Joe," Isabella replied, frowning as she recalled Joe. "I've decided to cancel my contract agreement with Hunter, and that means we will be husband and wife forever."
"Really?" Loraine sounded shocked.
"Yes," Isabella whispered, occasionally swallowing her saliva.
"How can that happen when he seems so untrustworthy? I mean... Hunter is a very wealthy man and he's also good at deceiving. At first, I wanted you to be his wife forever, but after thinking it over, it's dangerous for you. I'm worried he'll leave you once you've truly fallen in love with him... I'm afraid he'll abandon you when he gets bored or falls for a prettier girl. He's a perfect man, anyone would be tempted by him..."
"Loraine..." Isabella stopped her. "You don't have to worry because I've considered the risks, and I believe Hunter will never leave me."
"How can you be sure? We know he's a liar!"
Isabella fell silent, imagining Loraine's angry face, while also remembering Hunter's kindness and sweet demeanor that had truly made her fall in love, feeling as though her decision was already irreversible as if she were truly trapped.
"And you've told Joe this... He must be very disappointed," Loraine spoke again, sounding weak. "I'm mad at him because he made you wait too long and didn't help us when we were struggling... But I try to think positively that maybe he just wasn't able to. I don't know... It feels strange and sad."
"I know," Isabella whispered anxiously. "You don't have to worry... I won't regret this decision. You just need to pray that everything will turn out fine," she continued.
"I don't think everything will be fine. Mrs. Brown will be furious with you!"
"It's all because she got mad at me."
"What do you mean?"
"She found out about Hunter's kindness towards us... She told me not to fall in love with him, not to take advantage of him... She got so angry and treated me harshly," Isabella explained with a frown, twisting her shirt. "I got really upset and finally told Hunter... I didn't want to keep feeling confused about who to choose... And this is my decision."
"Wait... You told Hunter?"
"Yes... He got really mad and confronted his mother, threatening to expose all their lies if she dared to do anything bad to me. His mother had no choice but to let us cancel the contract and be husband and wife forever," Isabella explained, then took a deep breath, looking down. "And... I also ended my relationship with Joe..."
"Oh my God," Loraine whispered.
"This is my decision, please just support me... Don't complain too much or have bad thoughts about Hunter. I believe he will never disappoint me. Just recently, he and I visited my father's grave, and he made a promise," Isabella replied.
"Alright..."
"Um..." Isabella looked ahead again and stood up. "Now let's talk about this house... Yesterday when I arrived, I saw Uncle Jeremy here. He said he could get in because you gave him a spare key... He said he was just tidying up the rooms."
"Nooo!" Loraine immediately denied it. "I never gave him a spare key."
Isabella frowned as she looked at the door handle with a lock.
"But he got in... He could enter without breaking the door," she said.
"He must have planned this. He made a duplicate key!" Loraine snapped angrily. "What did he do to our house? Did he steal something from my room? My guitar... Or..."
"He stole the deed I kept in the drawer of my bedroom closet," Isabella said before Loraine could finish.
"Oh my God... the deed?"
"Yes... I can't find the deed, and I don't know if he was the one who took it. But Hunter suggested we confront him later to force him to confess... And if he sold this house using the deed, then he'll buy it back from the buyer," Isabella explained with a sad look in her eyes.
Loraine let out a sigh.
"I'm so upset... I have no choice but to accept Hunter's help again. I need him... I don't want anyone else living in this house; there are too many memories," Isabella said again, and then her attention was drawn to a taxi that stopped on the street in front of the house.
"If I hadn't left the deed behind, maybe this wouldn't have happened. You're getting more and more trapped by Hunter's kindness."
"Loraine... I'll call you again later, someone's coming," Isabella said, then quickly ended the call. She swallowed her saliva, watching as Debby hurried toward her with a sour expression.
Her heart raced, instantly reminded of Joe's disappointment after she had made it clear they couldn't be together anymore.
'Dear God, does she know everything? She looks angry... Will she be as disappointed as Joe? Does she hate my decision?' she wondered, swallowing nervously as Debby arrived on the porch.
"Isabella," Debby called.
"Mrs. Robinson," Isabella replied as she walked toward the porch. "Um, I... um, it's nice to see you," she continued with a nervous smile.
Debby exhaled sharply, looking at Isabella intensely.
"Come in," Isabella invited.
"No need, I'll only be a minute," Debby replied curtly, glancing inside. "Are you here alone?" she asked.
"I..." Isabella grew more nervous. 'Damn, I can't say I'm here with Hunter!' she cursed inwardly.
"Or are you here with your husband?" Debby guessed. "He wouldn't let you go alone, would he? I know he wouldn't because he's trying to impress you!"
"I... I can explain." Isabella frowned, occasionally swallowing. "He... he is here, but it's only because..."
"Don't lie just to appear respectful here." Debby cut her off. "I already know everything, Joe told me."
Isabella froze, her heart pounding as she looked down.
"I didn't expect you to do this after you promised to go back to him," Debby said, shaking her head. "I used to believe you were a good girl and truly loved Joe, but everything changed in an instant just because you've experienced the rich life. You chose to stay with your paralyzed husband! You threw Joe away as if there was never any love between you... How could you be so heartless?" she asked angrily.
Isabella remained silent, her lips unable to form words.
"You should understand his situation... He couldn't promise you a future because he was trying to make himself worthy of you, preparing everything... But what happened?" Debby asked with fiery eyes. "You were so impatient... You chose that stranger over waiting for him. You shouldn't have doubted his seriousness because you've been together for several years..."
"You can't blame my wife,"
Hunter's voice from the living room caught their attention. He walked with his cane, then stopped beside Isabella and looked at Debby.
"How can you force Isabella to understand your son? She waited for so long, but what did your son do? He let her struggle and allowed her to marry me... Is that excusable?" Hunter questioned, narrowing his eyes. "A man who loves his girlfriend would do anything to help her get out of debt, not let her marry another man, then still demand her love. Isn't that selfish?"
Debby smiled cynically and crossed her arms. "Just admit you're doing all this to win her over! And after that, you'll throw her away!" she said, glancing at Isabella.
"I won't do that," Hunter replied, shaking his head. "I know you can't accept the fact that she left your son... You'll say anything to make her feel guilty and want to go back to him. That's cruel. She has the right to choose... She'll choose what's certain for her future rather than staying with your son, who never even mentioned continuing their relationship. She's a smart girl; she won't base her life solely on emotions!" he emphasized.
"Yeah... I don't think I need to explain the reasons to you because it's between her and Isabella!" Debby retorted with glaring eyes, then turned her focus back to Isabella. "You may be proud of what you've gained now... But believe me, this is only a temporary thrill for you. You will regret it, you'll beg to go back to Joe... And I won't let him take you back!"
"Keep your trashy words to yourself!" Hunter snapped. "My wife will never do that... She will forget about your son in no time... He won't mean anything to her anymore!"
"You're putting on an act to get her!" Debby gave a faint smile, then shook her head as she stepped back. "Isabella, you will regret this deeply. Trust me... And you won't be able to fix things as they were before. In my eyes, you're a terrible woman, materialistic, a tramp... And foolish!"
"Watch your mouth, damn it!" Hunter shouted.
"Please don't!" Isabella immediately grabbed Hunter, stopping him from walking toward Debby. "Don't listen to her... Don't..."