Isabelle felt that she hadn’t done anything heinous to warrant such an attitude from John. Besides, their relationship had been fine all along. Even though it wasn’t especially great, he had always been gracious to her.
How could their relationship suddenly take a nosedive just after the incident at the hospital? He didn’t even care to find out the truth and simply distanced himself from her just like that.
Isabelle pursed her mouth and took a few deep breaths before she stood up. “Okay, then please carry on with your work. I still have something to do, so I’ll take my leave first.”
John didn’t say anything and only looked down at his file. Feeling a little embarrassed, Isabelle got up and gave him a last glance before leaving.
Upon leaving the Constance Group, Isabelle felt irritated and uneasy in her heart. She didn’t drive away at once but took out her phone and dialed a number.
On the other side, Matilda was rather surprised at the incoming call. Squeezing her phone, she looked at the number for a long time. At this hour, Isabelle should be at work, so where did she find the time to call me? In the past, she was so busy she didn’t even have time after getting off work. Yet now she’s not busy anymore.
Matilda ruminated about the past before answering the phone. Isabelle’s cheery voice drifted over as she asked what Matilda was doing.
Matilda turned around to glance at Sophia, who was lying languidly beside her and nibbling on snacks. Then, she told Isabelle that she didn’t have anything going on and was watching some boring TV show.
Sophia turned to look at Matilda and gave her a thumbs up.
Isabelle replied that she still wanted to invite Sophia and Matilda out to a meal and asked if they had time. Matilda turned to look at Sophia, who nodded.
So, Matilda agreed. “I think we’re quite free today. But, Belle, aren’t you busy over there? Don’t you have a lot of work?” She remembered how Isabelle had kept turning a blind eye to her matters with the excuse of being busy with her work.
Isabelle said that it was fine. Then, she added, “I had too much on my plate previously, so I’ve handed some work over to others. It’s too much for me to handle everything alone.”
Matilda sounded quite happy for her as she said, “That’s great. You shouldn’t disregard your work.”
Isabelle quickly set a time and place for the appointment and asked Matilda’s opinion about it. Clearly, she had planned it a long time ago. Matilda answered, “Sure.”
Isabelle finally laughed. “Madam Flintstone, I’ll have to trouble you to inform Miss Gwendolyn and John about this. I’ll wait for you at the restaurant tonight.”
Matilda agreed and hung up the phone. As she put the phone down, Sophia took a bite out of her snack and said, “Look, I told you that she’d definitely call you, didn’t I? Isabelle is the kind of person who has a strong ambition to succeed.”
It might also have something to do with the family environment. She came from a strong background, so she naturally felt that she should succeed in everything. If she were a little behind, she would feel discontented. Therefore, when Sophia intercepted John’s interest back then, she must have been very unhappy about it.
Matilda leaned back in her chair. Both of them were sitting in the open space in front of the main building while eating snacks and basking in the sun. They couldn’t be more relaxed right now.
Matilda said, “I didn’t think she was like this before. I even thought that she coveted nothing and was very pleasing to the eye. Now that I think about it, it seems that I was really wrong.”
Sophia asked about the time and place of the appointment, then nodded. “Go and tell John about it. I want to see what tricks Isabelle can pull with the three of us there.”
Matilda nodded without speaking.
Old Mrs. Constance came out of the house and stood at the door looking at the two people sitting outside. The two women didn’t notice her. They were huddling close together and giggling about something they had said. Old Mrs. Constance laughed too. If there was a little kid around, then life would be enjoyable.
Once again, John and William returned from work at noon, and neither of them felt bothered by it.
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