Chapter 3 3.Stepmother

After Isabella and Andrew reached a preliminary consensus, a woman in her thirties entered with a respectful demeanor. She was well-dressed and had a clean appearance. She introduced herself as a professional maternity nurse named Amelia.

She understood that it wasn't very practical for a man to take care of a newborn baby all by himself, so they needed a maternity nurse. However, she had heard that maternity nurses were paid quite well, and this man had no money; the expenses were all on her, and it made her feel a bit sorry.

She subconsciously glared at Andrew, who seemed puzzled by her glare.

"The baby is chubby and adorable. Let me hold him," Amelia walked to the bedside, extending her hands with a smile.

However, Isabella instinctively held her son tightly, and her eyes suddenly welled up. She couldn't bear to part with him and had second thoughts.

The atmosphere in the room instantly fell into silence.

Andrew, with his firm lips lightly pursed, looked at her thoughtfully. "It's not like we're saying goodbye forever; you have the right to visit."

"Baby, he doesn't even have a name yet," Isabella said softly, looking pitiful.

"You can come up with one," he said.

"I haven't thought of one," her mind was in a mess.

"Then think of one now," he waited patiently.

She furrowed her brow lightly and thought carefully for a while before saying, "How about Asher?"

It means "blessing" in Hebrew; all mothers wish for their children to have a smooth and fortunate life.

"Sounds good," he nodded without any objections.

Afterward, Amelia took Asher from Isabella.

With Ava's support, Isabella followed them for a long way.

It was raining outside the hospital, and her eyes were wet too.

"Ma'am, if you can't bear to part with him, why don't you leave the baby behind?" Ava asked her.

She shook her head with a wry smile. "I can't take him back to the Harris family, can I?"

"Since Mrs. Eleanor's divorce, it is no longer a real home for you" Ava sighed.

Isabella's damp eyes gradually became firm and cold, and her hands by her side slowly clenched into fists. "I want to go back and take back everything that belongs to me."

The day she was discharged and returned home, the sky was overcast, and dark clouds seemed to hang overhead.

The car slowly drove into the estate and stopped in front of an old villa.

The villa's exterior walls were covered with green ivy, and the yard was filled with pink and purple roses. Her mother had planted these flowers herself, but now that her mother was gone, it was a lonely garden that exuded a sense of desolation.

Raindrops started to fall from the sky, and it felt like the flowers were weeping as the raindrops landed on their petals.

She dragged her heavy suitcase, step by step, walking on the cobblestone path toward the villa.

This mansion was her mother's dowry, and now, it was occupied by David and another woman. She couldn't help but find the irony in the situation.

Her father, David, was originally just a low-level civil servant. Later, he married a wealthy businessman's daughter, Eleanor Allen, who was her mother. With the financial support of her mother's family, David had a successful career and was now the Deputy Mayor of Ithaca town in charge of finance.

Isabella entered the villa alone, and there was no one to greet her, let alone a warm welcome, as she had expected.

In the living room, David, Emily, and Charlotte were sitting on a luxurious leather sofa, chatting and laughing, appearing very harmonious.

Isabella's intrusion shattered the cozy atmosphere. She had just been caught in the rain, her hair was still dripping, and she looked a bit disheveled, making her seem out of place in this household. She had already become an outsider.

"Isabella is back," Charlotte was the first to stand up and warmly greeted her.

She took good care of herself. At the age of forty-five, she looked like she was not yet forty.

"Aunt Charlotte," Isabella's voice was very subdued.

She remembered the first time her father brought Charlotte and Emily home.

"Isabella, this is Aunt Charlotte. She's a friend of Daddy's. She's staying at our house with her two daughters for a while," David had said to her back then.

This "for a while" had ended up lasting for a decade.

A faint cold smile curled up at the corner of her lips.

She walked up to David, respectfully calling out, "Dad."

"You finally decided to come back, you're such an embarrassment. You've tarnished the Harris family's reputation!" David's face, previously showing a smile, was now replaced by anger. He slammed his hand heavily on the coffee table in front of him upon seeing Isabella.

"Does that mean you don't want me as your daughter anymore?" Isabella asked calmly without being intimidated by his anger.

David glared at her in frustration but didn't say anything. Severing the father-daughter relationship was something David couldn't bring himself to do. Politicians value their reputation the most.

"Look at the two of you, father and daughter acting like bitter enemies. David, calm down a bit. It's a good thing that the child is willing to return," Charlotte spoke at the right moment, smiling as she walked over to Isabella, holding her hand with a concerned expression.

"Isabella, why did you come back alone? Even though he's a love child, it doesn't sound good if it spreads. But after all, he's your biological child, and your father's first grandchild. If you bring him back, we can help take care of him."

Hiding a dagger behind a smile was Charlotte's typical trick. She had been grateful for Charlotte's protection when she was younger, not realizing that every time Charlotte 'protected' her, David would only become more furious and dissatisfied.

As expected, after Charlotte's words, David's expression turned even uglier.

Isabella pulled away from Charlotte's hand, her smile sweet but insincere, not reaching her eyes. "Thank you for your concern, Aunt. However, you'd better not worry about my affairs. Instead, pay more attention to your daughter. She's had repeated miscarriages, and it's not good for her health. If she continues to have habitual miscarriages or infertility, it will be troublesome."

Emily used to date the son of a real estate tycoon but later found out that he had a history of drug use. She was forced to break up and secretly terminated her pregnancy.

Although Charlotte kept this matter a closely guarded secret, there's no such thing as a completely sealed secret in this world. Only David remained oblivious to it.

"Emily had a miscarriage? What's going on?" David was furious once again.

And Isabella, dragging her suitcase, moved up the stairs, unruffled. As for how to explain this to David, it was a matter for Charlotte and her daughter.

Isabella's room was at the end of the third floor, and it was the largest and most luxurious room in the entire villa, aside from the master bedroom.

She pushed the door open, and everything in the room seemed the same, but instead of her dolls on the bedside, there were Emily's clothes in the wardrobe, and Emily and James' wedding photos adorned the vanity.

She stood in the center of the room and casually placed her suitcase to the side, then called Ava.

"Ava, thank you for clearing out all the unrelated items in the room. Oh, first, clean the bathroom. I want to take a shower."

"Okay, Ma'am."

Ava was swift and efficient, and when Isabella came out of the bathroom after her shower, everything of Emily's had been thrown out, even the curtains and beddings had been replaced with new ones.

She sat in front of the vanity, drying her hair, looking beautiful and serene, like a painting.

At this moment, the room's door was suddenly pushed open, making a loud bang, and Emily stormed in.

"Isabella, who gave you the right to touch my room!"

Isabella looked at her through the mirror in front of her, surprised by how Emily had barged in so confidently. She had underestimated Emily and her mother's shamelessness and thick skin.

She put down the towel in her hand, slowly stood up, and looked at Emily with a smile. "Sister, James is already yours. You took my husband, and now you want to take a room as well?"

"It's because you couldn't keep a man, and being dumped is your own fault. Don't blame me," Emily's tone was full of mockery.

Isabella smiled and nodded. "Indeed, I don't have your talent, Sister. James always says he wants to take responsibility for you. Are you sure you haven't told him that you're still a virgin? If he finds out that you've also had an abortion by another man, what do you think his reaction will be?"

After listening, Emily's face turned pale, clearly feeling guilty.