Chapter 269: You Only Have Yourself to Blame for Standing in the Way
With Brenda handling William's care, Isabella found herself with considerably more time on her hands.
Even her work became more efficient. She quickly organized the data and sent it back to Emily for the lab team to verify.
When Isabella stood up to stretch, she suddenly noticed the hospital room looked brand new—significantly cleaner than before.
Brenda was truly exceptional at housekeeping, working both efficiently and thoroughly.
Isabella immediately handed her a two-hundred-dollar tip without hesitation.
Brenda's gratitude toward Isabella deepened even further. But with nothing left to clean, she rolled up her sleeves, ready to give the entire room another spotless, corner-to-corner scrub-down.
She was constitutionally incapable of sitting idle—fast, thorough, and never one to complain.
"Could you let her take a break?" William said, looking tired just watching her.
Brenda straightened up, wiping sweat from her brow with a genuine, unpretentious smile. "Ms. Capulet gave me that tip because she values my work. I can't let her down."
William gritted his teeth, half-convinced Isabella was doing this on purpose just to spite him.
Isabella stood in the middle of the room stretching, watching William's mounting frustration with barely concealed amusement.
"Your mother called me here to take proper care of you, didn't she? Now someone's doing exactly that—exceptionally well, I might add. What's your problem?"
"I'm heading home to change. You two enjoy each other's company."
After finishing her stretches, Isabella tucked her laptop under her arm and headed for the door.
"Ms. Capulet, the room's only so big—I've already cleaned everything. What should I do next?"
Brenda hurried after her, eager for more assignments.
"Find a way to make William some nutritious meals," Isabella said. "And more importantly, make sure he does physical therapy. He can't just lie in bed all day—his muscles will atrophy. Get him up and moving regularly."
Sophia's real intention had been to torment Isabella.
Now she'd give William a taste of exactly how Sophia had once tormented her.
After Isabella left, William fixed Laura with a distinctly displeased look, his face radiating resentment.
"If you've got nothing to do, go home. Stop making things difficult for Isabella."
His tone wasn't a suggestion—it was a command.
"How is this making things difficult? I'm simply following Sophia's instructions. Taking care of you is Isabella's responsibility."
Laura's tone was self-righteous, her words seemingly logical but actually nothing more than sophistry.
"I chose to protect Isabella of my own free will. I never once expected her to repay me, and I certainly have no right to demand she take care of me now."
"What about me? I've stayed here taking care of you too. Why can't you ever see me?"
Jealousy burned like wildfire in Laura's chest, intensifying her hatred of Isabella.
She'd exhausted every strategy, deployed every charm, just to earn one word of praise or acknowledgment from William.
Everything she desperately wanted and could never quite reach came effortlessly to Isabella—who treated it all with complete indifference, barely sparing it a glance.
"I don't have feelings for you anymore. Nothing you do will make a difference. You're still young—why not redirect that energy toward someone who actually deserves it?"
William rubbed his temples, trying once more to reason with Laura.
"You come from an excellent family. Not just in Seaside City—across all of Suncrest State, there are probably countless people who'd want to form an alliance with you." William was growing tired of Laura's persistent clinging.
Laura reached out, attempting to take his hand and act coquettish.
When they'd first gotten together, William had loved it when she acted this way. She'd never needed words—just a gentle tug on his sleeve and she'd get whatever she wanted.
Why had everything changed?
What she'd once obtained effortlessly now slipped further away with each passing day. For Laura, this was its own form of exquisite torture.
"If Isabella won't take pity on you, can't you at least look back at me? I love you just as much. I'm willing to give you everything!"
Tears like scattered pearls fell onto William's hand, each one carrying a startlingly intense heat.
William simply withdrew his hand from Laura's grasp.
"When the feelings are gone, they're gone. No amount of words or actions will change that. Laura, stop wasting your effort on me. No matter how much time passes, I won't fall in love with you again."
William's initial decision to be with Laura had never had anything to do with love in the first place.
At most, it had been an act of rebellion against his family's arrangements—a search for excitement outside the bounds of marriage.
"If you never had any feelings for me at all, why did you choose to be with me in the first place? You lied to me!"
Laura's crying bordered on hysterical, but even that didn't earn her so much as a sideways glance from William.
Finally, she gave up. Her legs felt unsteady beneath her as she stumbled out of the hospital room.
Hatred spread through her like creeping vines, choking out every positive emotion in her heart.
In the car on the way home, Laura's mind fixed on a single thought.
If Isabella simply disappeared, she'd get everything she wanted.
Laura's gaze grew increasingly resolute, one hand clenched into a tight fist.
She'd had this thought for a long time now. From the moment it first took root, she'd known there was no turning back.
Isabella, don't blame me.
You only have yourself to blame for being in my way.
Isabella took a long, luxurious bath, washing away days of accumulated fatigue, then changed into a comfortable casual outfit.
After resting briefly on her own bed at home, Isabella prepared to head back to the hospital.
"Mary, please tell Olivia that I'll be busy with work for the next few days, so I won't be able to pick her up from preschool. Tell her to be good, and I'll spend time with her when I can."
By the time Isabella left, the sky had already begun to darken. Mary left with her to pick up the child from preschool.
The thought of returning to the hospital to face William's expression made Isabella feel distinctly irritated.
To kill more time on the commute, Isabella decided against driving and opted for public transportation instead.
After leaving her residential complex, Isabella turned into a narrow alley.
It was the only route to the subway station.
But the moment she entered, Isabella sensed something was wrong. The alley was unusually quiet today—unnaturally so.
Isabella turned to leave immediately, only to discover a burly figure had already blocked the alley entrance.