Chapter 143: When you're down, everyone kicks you.
Richard had looked down on Laura from the very beginning.
He couldn't understand what had happened to William's taste in women that made him so obsessed with this Laura.
What was so special about this woman that made William so reluctant to let her go?
"Since you dared to do something like this in front of everyone, apologizing shouldn't be too difficult for you, should it?"
Isabella was being merciful—if it were up to Richard, he would have made sure Laura could never show her face in these circles again.
Laura bit her lip again. She knew she could act however she wanted around Isabella, but she absolutely couldn't afford to offend Richard.
Richard held a special position—not only was he William's friend, but he was also the heir to the Spencer family fortune, destined to be William's equal in status.
If she crossed Richard, William's parents would be the first to demand they break up.
Her mind racing, Laura pinned her hopes on William, expecting him to step up and defend her.
However, when she looked toward William for support, Laura was disappointed to find him staring intently at Isabella.
He didn't seem to care at all that Laura was being cornered by Richard and Isabella.
After weighing her options, Laura couldn't find any other way out, so she gritted her teeth and reluctantly bowed her head slightly toward Isabella and Richard.
"I was wrong."
Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzzing, completely inaudible amid the noise of the awards ceremony.
Isabella raised an eyebrow. "Speak up! You were plenty loud when you were arguing with me earlier, weren't you?"
Laura clenched her teeth and raised her voice slightly: "I was wrong. I shouldn't have deliberately stuck my foot out to trip Isabella. I'm sorry!"
With that, Laura covered her face in humiliation.
Isabella could see right through her—Laura didn't think she'd done anything wrong at all. She was just afraid of facing consequences that might hurt her interests.
People this utterly selfish never learned to put themselves in others' shoes.
Isabella gave a reluctant nod, and Richard didn't continue pressing Laura. The two groups settled back into their seats and endured the rest of the awards ceremony in relative peace.
By the time Isabella got home, she felt more exhausted than after a full day in the lab.
Mainly because she'd had to maintain perfect posture throughout the entire ceremony, constantly mindful of her appearance.
Fortunately, Mary had already prepared dinner, so Isabella could enjoy a hot meal as soon as she walked in without worrying about picking up Olivia.
After dinner, Isabella noticed she had three missed calls.
All from the same person—Joseph.
She called back, and Joseph answered immediately, as if he'd been waiting by his phone.
"Isabella, you nearly gave me a heart attack! I called so many times—I thought your ex-husband had cornered you again!"
Isabella laughed helplessly. "Did you need something?"
"The Canvia Championship is about to start, and there's a fan meet happening domestically today. I heard Valeria's Snake Racing Team even sent some of their main race members over."
There was always this kind of event before each season, and many teams chose this time to announce their newly signed drivers.
For longtime fans, this was also a chance to get to know their favorite drivers better.
Isabella had attended fan meets before, but always while wearing her helmet.
Mystery had always been Isabella's signature style on the team.
"I had Samantha fly over your old helmet—it's in my hotel room right now. Isabella, what do you think about making a surprise appearance?"
Victoria's return to racing would definitely ignite this year's Canvia Championship.
Just thinking about it made Joseph's blood pump with excitement.
What Isabella thought about, however, was the overwhelming online backlash when she'd left the team.
Some people suspected Victoria had been caught using performance-enhancing drugs by the racing committee. Others went so far as to speculate that Victoria was transgender and had been disqualified for that reason.
"I'll come with you, but I don't plan on revealing myself just yet. I just want to observe."
She wondered how many new drivers Snake Racing Team had recruited this year, and how many of those rookie drivers they planned to use as fuel for their team's development.
Since tomorrow was her day off, Isabella didn't need to request leave. After saying good morning to Olivia, she drove straight to Joseph's hotel.
Joseph was unusually formal today. Though he still wore his facial piercings, he'd put on a navy blue suit that made him look considerably more mature.
Isabella had simply thrown on a white t-shirt and jeans. Since she wasn't the star of today's fan meet, her outfit prioritized comfort above all else.
Joseph looked Isabella up and down, then grinned. "Wow, Isabella, I never realized you'd look this gorgeous even in simple clothes!"
Isabella patted his back lightly. "Stop joking around. Remember to keep your emotions in check in front of the reporters later—watch your image."
The Romantic Racing Team had fallen to its current underdog status largely due to malicious propaganda from its competitors.
This year's championship favorite was undoubtedly the Snake Racing Team.
As soon as Joseph and Isabella appeared, someone shouted, "Joseph's here!" and suddenly a dozen microphones materialized in front of his face.
"Joseph, we received word that Snake Racing Team extended an invitation to you. Why did you refuse Snake's better benefits and salary to stay with Romantic Racing Team?"
"What's your take on Romantic Racing Team dropping out of this year's top three championship contenders?"
"Is there any hope of Zack returning to racing?"
Their questions wove a suffocating net that trapped Joseph in the center.
None of them actually cared about his answers—a single micro-expression would be enough for reporters to analyze and sensationalize into tomorrow's front-page headlines.
"There's been online speculation that ever since Victoria left Romantic Racing Team, the team has been in decline, never achieving the same championship results. Some even suggest that without Victoria, the Romantic Racing Team wouldn't have survived this long! What's your response to that?"
Joseph instinctively wanted to fire back with cutting remarks.
But just as the words reached his lips, he remembered that today he represented the entire Romantic Racing Team.
These reporters wanted exactly that—for him to lose his composure, even explode in anger. That would satisfy the public's thirst for drama.