“Enough! Have you caused enough trouble yet?” David’s cold, angry voice interrupted Charlotte’s next words. “Do you have to create a scandal in the house?”
David would never favor Isabella. What mattered most to him was his reputation and political future.
One daughter causing harm to another and this sort of incident, if it became known, would severely damage his reputation.
Victoria understood clearly; this matter had to end here. Even if Isabella had outsmarted Emily, it was Emily’s own foolishness. They had no evidence, so what could they do to Isabella? Emily claimed Isabella admitted it verbally, but she didn’t have any recordings.
“Mom, maybe we’ve misunderstood Isabella. Emily’s miscarriage was accidental. She might have misinterpreted things due to her grief,” Victoria subtly tugged at Charlotte’s sleeve.
Since they had no evidence, arguing further would serve no purpose. The most crucial thing at the moment was how to deal with that foolish Emily.
“Isabella, my mom is just concerned and confused, please don’t get angry. After all, Emily is your sister. You can’t just sit back and watch. We’re going to the Brown family later. Will you come with us?” Victoria lowered her tone, trying to ease the situation.
Isabella nodded without refusing. “Although James didn’t do it on purpose, Emily’s miscarriage was indeed caused by him. We should talk about compensation. Mrs. Brown is a reasonable person and won’t evade responsibility.”
“…” Isabella’s feigned ignorance and innocence left Victoria irritated but helpless.
“Isabella, you’ve misunderstood us. Mom and Dad meant to talk about James and Emily’s marriage,” Victoria suppressed her anger, speaking gently.
“Didn’t they already break off the engagement? What’s there left to discuss?” Isabella continued feigning ignorance.
She had truly broadened her horizons today. She’d heard of arranged marriages, but never heard of miscarriage leading to renewed engagement.
“Even though Emily miscarried, the child was James’s. He has to take responsibility for Emily,” Victoria continued.
Isabella thought to herself: What responsibility when there’s already a miscarriage?
But she said, “You’re right, sister.”
“Then, thank you for accompanying us,” Victoria reached out to grab Isabella’s hand, but Isabella evaded.
“Sister, you and aunt can go. Discussing marriage isn’t suitable for me as a junior. Mrs. Brown values propriety; my presence would disrupt it.”
Isabella finished speaking and sat directly on the sofa in the living room, next to Aria, smilingly addressing Mrs. Ada, “Grandma, you said you liked bird’s nest. I specially brought a few pounds from Thailand for you to enjoy. And when it’s finished, I’ll buy more for you.”
“It’s so thoughtful of you,” Mrs. Ada smiled gently, then looked at David. “Aren’t you busy today? Why aren’t you at work yet?”
Soon after, David left with a serious face. With him gone, Charlotte and her daughter lost their vigor.
Mrs. Ada, seeing no lively scene, also took Aria back to their room.
After returning to her room, Charlotte, and Victoria walked into Emily’s room.
Emily lay on the sickbed, her face as pale as paper.
“Emily, we specially cooked bird’s nest for you. Drink it while it’s warm,” Charlotte sat down beside the bed and offered a warm bowl of bird’s nest to her.
“I don’t want to drink it!” Emily lost control and angrily asked, “Where is that despicable Isabella? Has Dad kicked her out? I don’t want to see her again.”
Charlotte’s hand got messy from the spilled bird’s nest, and she wiped it with tissues, keeping silent with her head down.
“You have no evidence. Dad wouldn’t do anything to Isabella,” Victoria replied coldly.
“Then just let it go!” Emily tightly gripped the blanket with her pale, dry hands.
“If not that, what do you want? Do you want to stab her? If you’re not afraid of going to jail, it’s up to you,” Victoria said bluntly.
Emily felt powerless to argue back against the scolding and started crying, whimpering, “What about James? Why hasn’t he come to see me? Now that I’ve miscarried, I don’t even know if Mrs. Brown still wants him to marry me.”
Victoria, seeing Emily still acting foolish, wished she could slap her hard to wake her up.
“All your secrets have been exposed by him. Where do you get the confidence to think you’re still the love of his life? Men are the most heartless creatures. Even if you didn’t miscarry, James wouldn’t marry you, let alone let you keep the baby. He’s been playing you from the beginning, Emily. Have you not grown up at all?” Victoria scolded her harshly.
Emily, tearful and pitiful, looked at Victoria. Even though she was foolish, she sensed that something was wrong. She just didn’t want to admit it and was unwilling to accept it.
“The most urgent matter for you now is to recover your health. When you marry into a prestigious family and have the power in your hands, you won’t need to worry about dealing with James and Isabella,” Victoria said, and her words seemed to have some effect. The maid brought another bowl of bird’s nest soup, and Emily obediently drank it.
Seeing her compliance, Victoria became slightly more satisfied. When Emily finished the bowl of bird’s nest soup, Victoria spoke slowly, “Next month is Mrs. Hannah’s birthday celebration. I’ll find a way to take you along.”
Charlotte’s eyes lit up at the mention of Mrs. Hannah’s birthday celebration. It was a rare opportunity to make an appearance among political and business elites.
However, Emily showed little interest. She still felt uneasy about the incident where Henry had humiliated her. “I’d rather not. I offended Henry, and it would be awkward to attend their family’s celebration.”
“Are you backing out because of such a small matter? Is your heart made of glass?” Victoria’s tone became a bit impatient. She had put in a lot of effort to get close to Caleb initially. If she had been as fragile as Emily, she would have shattered into a hundred pieces long ago.