Chapter 20
Not far away, Ivana and Cassie were casually browsing. Cassie suddenly froze when she spotted Isabella at the counter. She leaned closer to Ivana and whispered, “Is that Isabella?”
Ivana didn’t expect to see Isabella while shopping. Her gaze fell on Isabella’s hand, noticing she was holding an emerald bracelet.
A smirk crept onto Ivana’s lips, and a hint of mockery flickered in her eyes as she thought Isabella was unworthy of such an expensive piece.
Feigning surprise, Ivana said, “I can’t believe Isabella is here. Let’s s go take a look.”
Ivana slowly approached with Cassie, suppressing the disdain in her gaze. She laughed lightly and asked, “Isabella, are you looking to buy a bracelet?”
Isabella was taken aback. She felt truly unfortunate to run into Ivana here.
She and the sales assistant both looked up to see Ivana, who was elegantly dressed in a pale pink long dress, her flawless makeup accentuating her gentle appearance
The pink pendant around her neck was particularly eye–catching, obviously quite valuable. Beside her stood Cassie, dressed in a form–fitting dress and looked noticeably duller next to Ivana.
The sales assistant’s heart raced with excitement, recognizing Ivana as someone wealthy. But Isabella merely glanced at Ivana before looking away, completely ignoring her presence.
Ivana felt a surge of anger, thinking. How dare this bitch ignore me? Her deception as Dr. Lovett is about to be exposed; I’ll see how long she can act so arrogantly!”
But when she saw the emerald bracelet in Isabella’s hand, a sly smile spread across her face. If Isabella wanted the bracelet, she would make sure she didn’t get it.
Ivana stepped forward, taking the emerald bracelet from Isabella’s hand to examine it. She found it pretty good.
Turning to the sales assistant with a smile, she said, Tll take this bracelet
Isabella’s expression darkened. She hadn’t expected Ivana to resort to the same trick again.
Ivana looked at Isabella with a feigned sense of apology and said, “Isabella, I want to buy this bracelet for my mom. After all, she’s taken care of you for so many years. Surely, you’ll let me have it, right?”
It was an obvious moral coercion, but Ivana wore an innocent expression. Isabella found her utterly hypocritical.
Cassie quickly chimed in, “Of course, Isabella will let you have the bracelet. Mrs. Stout has been dedicated to taking care of her all these years. If she doesn’t even give you this small thing, wouldn’t that be heartless?”
Although Cassie lowered her voice for the last part, everyone present heard it.
Isabella smiled, but inside she couldn’t help but scoff. Molly had never taken proper care of her.
Ever since Molly married Hudson, Isabella’s life had been miserable. Hudson gradually grew to despise her, cutting off her allowance and often making her eat leftovers. Ivana was outright lying.
But then a thought crossed her mind, and a sarcastic glint appeared in her eyes. She said deliberately, “I saw the bracelet first, okay?
She snatched the bracelet hack from Ivana’s hand, making it clear she had no intention of letting it go.
Ivana was taken aback by Isabella’s blatant disregard for her feelings and nearly lost her composure. Her hands clenched into fists as she started to curse Isabella in her mind. But with so many people around, she couldn’t afford to lose her temper.
Cassie’s expression darkened as she stepped forward, angrily pointing at Isabella, “Isabella, how can you be so shameless? What right do you have to compete with Ivana?”
Ivana felt a rush of satisfaction, though she didn’t let it show. Instead, she tugged at Cassie’s sleeve with a feigned expression of distress. “Cassie, don’t say that. Isabella didn’t mean to…”
11:47 AM
Chapter 20
Her attempt to calm Cassie had no effect; if anything, it only made Cassie shout louder. “What do you mean she didn’t mean it? She’s clearly doing it on purpose. She’s utterly disgusting!”
The two of them, playing off each other, only made Isabella’s amusement grow. She found Ivana’s competitive spirit amusing.
In the next moment, she handed the bracelet to the sales assistant, saying softly, “I’ll take this. Please wrap it up”
A chill swept across Ivana’s face. ‘Does this bitch really want to go against me?”
There were plenty of onlookers, and if Isabella actually bought the bracelet, Ivana would lose face in public.
As the sales assistant took the bracelet, Ivana looked at Isabella disapprovingly. “Isabella, why are you trying to spite me? You don’t even have the money to buy that bracelet
As she spoke, Ivana hesitated, glancing at the crowd with an expression that feigned difficulty but was meant to provoke. “You’ve bought so many things for those boyfriends of yours; your allowance from your parents must be long gone.”
The onlookers gazes toward Isabella changed. ‘Boyfriends? How many boyfriends has she had? they wondered.
Cassie stepped forward with a cold smirk, her gaze toward Isabella dripping with disdain. I heard back in college that she dated several boyfriends, practically worshipping them by buying them luxury goods, wasting Mr. Stout’s money. How pathetic
The crowd around them began to murmur among themselves.
This girl looks quiet and pretty, but I can’t believe she would do something like that.”
“Don’t judge a book by its cover, the more beautiful a woman, the more promiscuous she is.”
“The worst part is she uses her parents‘ hard–earned money to support men. It’s disgusting!”
Everyone chimed in, casting harsh judgments on Isabella.
Ivana felt a rush of satisfaction, thinking how clever Cassie was. ‘How does it feel to be trampled underfoot, Isabella?! She tightened her fists, trying to contain the excitement bubbling inside her.
Isabella felt a surge of anger. She had never received any allowance, so it was impossible for her to waste money like that. As for dating multiple boyfriends and buying them luxury goods, that was an outright lie.
Since Ivana had stooped so low, she decided not to hold back either.
Hearing the comments, Cassie wore a smug expression. Isabella always carried herself like a high–and–mighty goddess, and now she wanted to drag her down from that pedestal.
Cassie turned to the sales assistant and said, “Don’t waste your time. No matter how nice you are to her, she can’t afford your products.”
Not satisfied, she added with a scoff, “I wonder if touching your items will give her any diseases.”
The sales assistant hesitated, her eyes toward Isabella changing completely. She grabbed a soft cloth nearby and started wiping the bracelet, rolling her eyes at Isabella as she muttered, “Why waste time on someone with tio money?”
Turning with a smile plastered on her face, she handed the cleaned bracelet to Ivana. “Ma’am, here’s your bracelet.
The dramatic shift in attitude was shocking. Inside, Isabella couldn’t stop laughing coldly. She wanted to see these people embarrass themselves, the more exaggerated, the better.
Immediately, the pulled out her bank card from her bag and pretended to be anxious. “I want to buy it right now, and I’m
going to pay with my card.
