In the morning, Asher had a drawing class. Amelia took him to the class, and Isabella enjoyed a solid nap. After Amelia brought Asher back, Isabella had lunch with the child and played in the garden afterward.
While they were having fun, Andrew’s blue Porsche drove into the garden.
“Daddy!” Asher saw the car and ran towards it.
Isabella followed, smiling as she approached them. “Andrew, why are you back so early?”
“I canceled a social engagement to spend more time with you and get to the Harris family early. This way, we can return home earlier tonight,” Andrew replied casually.
In reality, the evening engagement was unavoidable, so he had Ryan cover for him. Ryan complained bitterly, saying Andrew had ruined his chance to date.
Three of them entered the villa together. Isabella handed the child to Amelia, went upstairs to change clothes, and then left with Andrew.
As Andrew’s car drove into the Harris family villa, David and Elowen eagerly came out to greet them.
David didn’t seem to have changed much, though he looked a bit more haggard, possibly due to career setbacks. Elowen, on the other hand, was radiant and cheerful, dressed flamboyantly with a diamond necklace around her neck, a far cry from the timid country girl she once was.
Isabella merely smiled mockingly at her. According to Lily, Elowen had been restless lately, even pestering David to take her on a tour of Moonlit Art Inc. She was almost ridiculed for being so unsophisticated.
Elowen wanted to get involved with the company, but with Robert in charge, she was easily dismissed. This upset her, and David had to appease his ‘favored concubine’ by personally requesting a commercial shoot for Elowen.
Elowen thoroughly enjoyed playing the star role and finally settled down.
“Isabella, you’re back. Your father has been eagerly waiting for you all morning,” Elowen said eagerly, her eyes shifting between Andrew and Isabella.
“Andrew’s busy with work. He pushed back an engagement to come here,” Isabella replied half-heartedly.
David, maintaining his father-in-law demeanor, didn’t appear overly enthusiastic. It would have been disgraceful for him to grovel before Andrew. Fortunately, David valued his pride; otherwise, Isabella would have felt embarrassed too.
“Come inside. Your grandmother is also looking forward to seeing you,” David said with a dignified air.
Andrew took the electronic key and opened the trunk, which contained gifts for David. They were expensive but lacked originality.
David seemed very pleased. In his mind, the more valuable the gift, the more it demonstrated his importance.
While directing the servants to move the gifts, Elowen noticed Andrew’s car. He didn’t visit the Harris family often, but each time, it seemed he drove a different car. This one looked brand new.
“Andrew, you got another new car. This one looks really impressive,” Elowen commented.
Given Andrew’s status, he didn’t respond to her. Isabella casually replied with a “Yeah.”
David’s face showed a hint of embarrassment, annoyed by Elowen’s lack of discretion. “Elowen, stop your stupidity. Andrew’s status isn’t such that he’d only have one car.”
Just as David finished speaking, Ava and Lily happened to come out. Lily quickly added, “Mr. David, I heard Andrew’s garage has more cars than we have shoes in our shoe cabinet. Is that true? Can you take me to see them sometime?”
“You want to see cars? I’ll give you a day off on the weekend to go to a car dealership and look around,” Ava said, giving her a glare.
Lily stuck out her tongue and gave a sheepish smile.
Elowen, however, was in awe, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Andrew. She thought to herself that, as a woman, she considered her looks and figure to be no worse than Isabella’s. How could Isabella be so lucky to marry such a wealthy and handsome man? Meanwhile, she had to live an unacknowledged life with David, an older man, always watching his moods.
Isabella paid no attention to Elowen. Upon seeing Ava, her face lit up with a smile. “Aunt Ava.”
“Miss Isabella, you’re back. I made your favorite ginseng duck soup,” Ava said, smiling as she took Isabella’s hand, and they walked into the villa chatting and laughing.
However, as soon as they entered the living room, they heard faint sobbing.
Isabella instinctively frowned and looked at Ava questioningly.
Ava sighed and said helplessly, “Miss Aria came back this morning, beaten black and blue. She’s crying with Mrs. Ada right now.”
Isabella nodded, and the group walked into the living room.
In the living room, Mrs. Ada and Aria were sitting on one side of the sofa, while Emily and her husband Stellan sat on the other side. Victoria hadn’t come back, claiming to be busy with work. She had just had a miscarriage and was probably still recovering.
As Isabella and Andrew entered, Stellan greeted them warmly. David then took his two sons-in-law upstairs to the study.
Isabella had just sat down on the sofa in the living room when Mrs. Ada started to criticize her.
“Isabella, ever since you married Andrew, you’ve become so haughty. You rarely come back home, let alone care about or manage any family affairs.”
Isabella barely lifted her eyelids at Mrs. Ada’s sarcastic remarks, having grown accustomed to them.
“Cousin Aria, what happened to your face?” Isabella feigned surprise as if she had just noticed.
Mrs. Ada was momentarily speechless, holding Aria and crying softly again, which made Isabella’s head ache.
On David’s birthday, this grandmother and granddaughter cried as if someone had died, showing no consideration for the occasion.
“Mrs. Ada, Aria, please stop crying. Crying won’t solve anything,” Elowen tried to comfort them.
Mrs. Ada finally stopped crying, holding Aria and looking at her bruised face, her heart aching again.
After a brief silence in the living room, Mrs. Ada and Elowen exchanged a glance, and then Elowen smiled at Isabella. “Isabella, we’re all family. Your cousin was bullied like this; you can’t ignore it.”
Isabella nodded and looked at Aria’s pitiful state. “Cousin really is pitiful.”
“Idris is just too much! Isabella, you must stand up for your cousin!” Mrs. Ada said angrily.
“Grandma, how do you expect me to stand up for Cousin? Hire some bodyguards to beat up Idris? Assault is against the law. Besides, what if they go too far and cripple or kill him? That would be a legal responsibility.”
“This…” Mrs. Ada was at a loss for words.
Elowen gave an awkward cough and said with a forced smile, “We live in a society ruled by law; we can’t use violence. Mrs. Ada means to have Andrew put pressure on the Hayes family.”
Isabella couldn’t help but laugh coldly to herself. Mrs. Ada had a good plan, thinking she could use Andrew as a tool whenever she wanted.
Isabella might not understand business well, but she knew that economic pressure could hurt both sides. Why would Andrew sacrifice anything for Aria?
“I’ll mention it to Andrew,” Isabella said respectfully. She only promised to bring it up, but she made no guarantees about the outcome.