Andrew was dressed very casually today, wearing a light beige V-neck sweater and black casual pants, exuding a faint elegant charm.
“Do I look good?” He turned his head slightly, and their gazes briefly met.
His deep blue eyes were so profound that she felt a bit hesitant to look directly at him. Andrew faintly smirked. In fact, when she approached the door, his wolf instincts had already detected her scent, which was quite alluring to him.
“Yes,” she honestly nodded, smiling, “Your voice is quite nice too.”
His voice was low and magnetic, like a cello’s bass note.
“‘Good-looking’ isn’t much of a compliment for a man,” he said indifferently, showing no emotion, as he handed over Asher, who was in his arms. Asher was only a month old, and because he was a Hybrid, Andrew wasn’t worried about the baby revealing any wolfish features to scare the human girl.
Isabella immediately snapped out of her admiration. She took the baby carefully into her arms, and her movements were a bit stiff due to the lack of practice. The baby seemed to be challenging her; just as she got near him, he suddenly started crying loudly, waving his tiny hands and feet vigorously.
When the baby cried, she panicked, not knowing what to do. She tried to console him, saying, “Asher, be a good boy, don’t cry…”
Amelia, who was in the next room, heard the baby’s cries and quickly came to take the baby.
“Asher might be hungry; I’ll feed him,” Amelia said as she carried the baby away.
Isabella wore a frustrated expression and thought to herself, “Ungrateful little guy, he’s already forgotten his mom after just a few days.”
She sighed deeply and then told Andrew, “It seems like Asher has gotten a bit heavier.”
“Really? I haven’t noticed, carrying him every day,” he replied. Yes, wolf children did grow a bit faster than human ones.
Supporting her chin with one hand, she added, “Asher hasn’t grown enough for us to tell who he looks like yet. If he takes after his dad, he should be quite handsome.”
As she spoke, her gaze was still sizing up Andrew. “You may not have many redeeming qualities, but at least you have good looks.”
Andrew: “…”
He couldn’t help but feel that her words didn’t sound like praise, but more like sarcasm. She was undoubtedly the first person daring enough to mock him.
They were basically strangers, and there was an age gap between them, so naturally, they didn’t have much to talk about.
After asking a few questions about Asher, she naturally ran out of things to say.
She lowered her head to check the time and estimated that Asher should be done nursing. She turned to leave the master bedroom to check on the baby.
Asher had finished nursing and was peacefully asleep in his crib.
Isabella squatted by the bedside, watching him with a tender and affectionate expression. She gently lifted the baby’s tiny hand and kissed it repeatedly.
She left the nursery and found Andrew in the living room. He had changed into a sharp suit and seemed to be getting ready to go out.
“Are you heading out?” she asked.
“I have plans with a friend,” he said, casting a casual glance at her.
“Where are you going? I drove here, so I can give you a ride,” she said, picking up her handbag, and they left the apartment together.
Isabella’s car was parked right in front of the apartment, a white Audi A4.
She drove, with Andrew sitting in the passenger seat. He was tall and long-legged, so he seemed a bit cramped in this car model.
Her driving was steady, and she wasn’t driving too fast.
It was still about an hour before the evening rush hour, so there weren’t too many cars on the road. She drove while occasionally glancing at the rearview mirror.
“The Rolls-Royce behind us seems to have been following us,” she muttered.
Beside her, he rested his elbow on the car door, remaining silent and occasionally checking his phone, which emitted a vibrating sound.
He looked down at his phone and found a message from Beta Ryan: “Alpha, what’s the situation?”
Andrew typed a response with his fingers: “No need to follow, go to the company and wait for me.”
“Then, Isabella saw the Rolls-Royce Phantom behind her suddenly accelerate, swiftly overtaking her, and soon it disappeared from her view.
She continued driving at a steady pace, gripping the steering wheel.
Just as she entered the city center, her phone suddenly rang.
The call was from her department head, Professor Benjamin. His tone was serious and grave, instructing her to return to the school immediately, stating that there was an urgent matter.
After ending the call, she abruptly made a U-turn.
“Sorry, I have something urgent at the school. Isabella told Andrew and arranged for a car for him. Then, she slammed the brakes, and her car sped away.
He raised an almost imperceptible eyebrow but didn’t say anything.
When she arrived at the school, she headed straight to the student dormitory.
The apartment housed a total of four female students. The other two were not there, leaving only Penelope.
“Isabella, do you know that you’ve got yourself into a big mess!” Penelope looked as if the sky was about to fall and handed her the phone.
As it turned out, earlier in the morning, someone anonymously posted on the Ithaca University campus forum, exposing Isabella’s scandal of having an illegitimate child with detailed images.
The post had been up for less than two hours, but it already had hundreds of comments, ranging from praise to criticism. Isabella had become quite famous, but it was definitely not a good thing for her.
She glanced through her phone, unable to suppress a cynical smile. She had thought her stepmother and stepsister had some tricks up their sleeves, but it turned out to be these unsavory methods.
“Isabella, do you really have an illegitimate child?” Penelope asked tentatively. “You hardly attended classes in the first half of the year, and during the last exam, you were wearing a thick down jacket, and you looked much heavier.”
“I had a serious illness in the first half of the year, and the medical report from the doctor can’t be fake. I had to take hormone injections for treatment, which caused me to gain some weight,” she replied without missing a beat.
She and Penelope were just regular roommates and hadn’t become close friends.
“But…” Penelope still had her doubts, and her gaze kept scrutinizing Isabella.
Two months ago, Isabella had been as round as a ball, but now she had slimmed down to a beautiful figure.
“When I got better, I had to work hard to lose weight. I’m about to start my graduation internship,” Isabella casually replied and returned the phone to Penelope.
“What should we do about the forum post?” Penelope asked with concern. “Do you want to clarify or ask the poster to delete it?”
“I don’t care; let the truth speak for itself. If the situation escalates, the school will naturally remove the post,” Isabella replied.
Shortly after, someone pushed the door of their dorm room open from the outside. Another classmate stuck her head in and said, “Isabella, Professor Benjamin wants to see you in his office.”
Isabella sighed in frustration. She didn’t need to think twice to know that Benjamin was calling her because of the forum post.
The living area of Ithaca University was separated from the academic area by a large field and a media center. It took her over twenty minutes to walk to Benjamin’s office.
Inside the office, only Benjamin was present. This usually amiable elderly man was now wearing a stern expression.
His computer was on, displaying a large photo on the screen. Isabella was familiar with this photo; it was her last prenatal checkup just before she was admitted to the hospital. Although she was wearing a hat and a mask and had bundled up in a heavy down jacket, anyone familiar with her could recognize her.
“Isabella, do you have nothing to explain?” Benjamin asked with a serious face.