Back then, Mrs. Clark stormed in angrily. Emily thought they had compromised and arrogantly said with her chin raised, “Isabella had her wedding at a top hotel in Paris. As another daughter of the Harris family, my wedding shouldn’t be any less grand. I didn’t like any of the hotels in Ithaca town, but an Italian castle would be nice. If the standard is lower than that, I won’t get married.”
“If you’re afraid of being laughed at, then it’s better not to have a wedding at all. Our Clark family is small and humble, and we can’t compare to the Turner family, the head of the four major financial groups,” Mrs. Clark said sarcastically.
“You, what do you mean?” Emily was a bit confused.
Mrs. Clark sneered, “I mean exactly what I said. If you want to get married, get married. If you don’t want to, then forget it.”
Mrs. Clark showed no mercy to Emily. And since Stellan was very afraid of his mother, Emily’s wedding didn’t happen in the end, and Mrs. Clark saved even ten thousand dollars.
For the past month, Emily had been staying at the Harris family home, and no one from Stellan’s family had come to explain the situation. Mrs. Ada and Elowen certainly wouldn’t stand up for Emily, and David was increasingly displeased with this daughter. Emily was not having a good time at the Harris family home and probably wouldn’t last long before she returned to the Clark family in disgrace.
Lily kept chattering on and on, but Ava interrupted her impatiently. “Enough, why are you telling Miss these irrelevant things? Miss’s time is precious, talk about something important.”
Ava pulled Isabella aside, looking around cautiously and lowering her voice. “Miss, you should be wary of Elowen. She’s not trustworthy. I’ve noticed that she’s been subtly inquiring about Moonlit Art Inc. Recently, Lily eavesdropped and heard her pestering your father, trying to get her cousin from her maternal family into the company. Isn’t she overstepping her bounds?”
Isabella’s lips curled into a faint, cold sneer. She had always known Elowen was not content, but she didn’t expect her to be so audacious as to reach into the company.
“If she reaches too far, she risks getting her hand chopped off,” Isabella said half-jokingly.
“Miss, you must keep this in mind,” Ava warned worriedly.
“Ava, don’t worry, I’ve got this,” Isabella said, crossing her arms and leaning against the kitchen counter, casually grabbing a piece of abalone from a plate and popping it into her mouth.
“Oops, Ava, your marinated abalone is still the best,” Isabella said, smacking her lips and giving Ava a thumbs up.
“Miss!” Ava stomped her foot anxiously, worried that Isabella, being young, might be deceived by Elowen.
Isabella pulled out tissues from the box and carefully wiped her fingers, looking very patient. As she wiped her hands, she spoke in a casual tone, but her clear eyes were serious.
“Ava, rest assured. Elowen is a greedy woman who isn’t even worth a plate of marinated abalone. She doesn’t deserve to be on stage. She wants to get her cousin into the company, but David surely didn’t agree, right?”
“Mr. David said the company doesn’t need more people at the moment and will arrange it when there’s a vacancy,” Ava replied.
After hearing this, Isabella let out a mocking laugh, thinking to herself that David’s way of brushing off women was really unsophisticated.
“David might be generous with women, but it’s only limited to jewelry and bags to keep Elowen happy. Wanting the company is a ridiculous dream. He’s never had genuine feelings for any woman; it’s just mutual exploitation.”
Isabella crumpled the used tissues into a ball and tossed them into the recycling bin at her feet. Then, she walked out of the kitchen in her high heels.
As she stepped out of the kitchen and was about to go upstairs, she heard voices coming from around the staircase corner.
It was Aria’s voice.
“Idris, you saw it just now, right? Even if I ignore Isabella, she still comes over to flatter me. So what if she’s married to Andrew? She’s still a daughter of the Harris family and has to listen to my uncle and grandmother. My grandmother dotes on me the most, so whatever I say, she has to listen to. As for your family’s little business, it basically comes down to what I say,” Aria said arrogantly.
Idris laughed obsequiously, “My wife is indeed capable. Aria, we’ll rely on you for this project.”
“Hmph, that depends on your behavior. If you dare to mess around with those cheap women again, I’ll have my grandmother and uncle deal with it. You know, Turner family could crush your family like an ant,” Aria threatened.
Idris continued to smile ingratiatingly, “Sure, sure, I wouldn’t dare. I’ve long stopped paying attention to those vixens outside.”
“Hmph, smart of you.”
Then Idris immediately handed over a contract, “I’ll leave this to you. Honey, as long as Andrew signs this, our project can start. A billion in startup funds is just pocket change for him.”
Aria casually took the contract and replied, “Got it.”
After they left, Isabella emerged from the corner, her lips curling into a mocking smile.
Aria had indeed made some progress, knowing how to leverage her resources and advantages. Unfortunately, she had the wrong idea. She thought she could flaunt the Turner family’s name and act high and mighty within the Hayes family. A good idea, but the Turner family didn’t owe her anything and had no obligation to be her weapon.
Isabella returned to the living room, where she saw Andrew surrounded by the Harris family members. He smiled faintly, his face expressionless, but his brow already showed signs of aloofness and impatience.
She walked over and took his hand affectionately, saying, “Honey, didn’t you say you wanted to see my room and my childhood photos?”
Andrew stood up from the sofa with a smile and politely said to everyone, “Excuse me.”
The two of them went upstairs, entering Isabella’s room.
With the door closed, Andrew crossed his arms and leaned slightly against the door, a smile playing on his lips as he surveyed Isabella’s room.
“This is the first time my dear wife has invited me into her room,” he teased.
She smiled and pointed to the small sofa opposite the bed, “Feel free to sit.”
Andrew walked over and sat on the sofa. His tall frame looked quite out of place on the one-meter-long sofa.
“Did you live here from childhood?” Andrew asked.
“Yes,” Isabella nodded. “It hasn’t changed much. The room was designed by my mother. At the time, David wanted a son, so my mother designed it with a boy in mind. Later, when I was born, they painted the walls pink. It’s a bit mismatched.”
Andrew nodded in understanding and then said, “Where’s the photo album? Didn’t you invite me to see your childhood photos?”
Isabella turned to the dressing table, pulled open a drawer, and took out two thick photo albums, handing them to him.