Chapter 54: By Your Side All the Way

At first, John wanted to give Isabella a little time to herself. Maybe after she had cried her eyes out, she would come back to her senses and discuss everything with him. But as John stood at the corner watching Isabella continuously weep, her sobs worsening by the minute, he felt even more pity for her. He walked towards her and sat beside her, yet she continued to cry. He sat there for a while, waiting for her to at least notice him.

It didn’t take long before she lifted her head and looked at him, shaking her head sideways. “You didn’t have to come for me, okay? You didn’t have to save me. The minute you knew I was the one in danger, you should have just left. He’s going to put you in so much trouble right now. It is all my fault. I made a mistake. I made a huge mistake by accepting what he wanted. I made the biggest mistake of my life by even giving him the chance. I shouldn’t have done it, and now I am regretting it,” she wept.

John was speechless, unable to say anything. He suddenly felt all the pain that Isabella felt. He saw the way she reacted when she found out he was the one coming for her. All that was more than enough for him to finally believe her.

“Then why can't you report him? Why can't you ruin him for good? I heard that Lily was planning to do that, not until she suddenly changed her plans. Why didn’t you follow her advice? Why did you continue to go around with him even when I promised to expose you? Yet you tried your best to cover up for James. You shouldn’t be doing that anymore. You are not a child, and he cannot continue to manipulate you,” John said to Isabella, who laughed bitterly.

“He did not manipulate me. I did it of my own free will. I willingly accepted what he wanted because I thought Alex was not enough, only to see that I had placed myself in a very tight spot. I had to face so many things, and now even my best friend is turning her back against me just because I did not let go of Alex but still gave James a chance.” 

Isabella reached out to John, who was unable to offer any advice at that moment. Even Isabella knew she was wrong, and John could see it very clearly. 

“The best thing for you to do right now is to make things right. I don’t know how you want to do it, but you have to make things right with everyone. Prove to yourself that you have changed and that you are not getting yourself involved with James. James is not someone you can carelessly play with. He has plans. Look at the way he stared at me. Look at the way he threatened to deal with me if I did anything stupid. Please, please stay away from him. Tomorrow is the family dinner, and I expect you to end everything there. If you have to tell Alex at that moment, I don’t mind backing you up. Just let me know. But Alex would not leave you, and at the same time, James needs to set you free. Yes, you must have accepted to be in this with him, but he is not ready to set you free, and that is very bad.”

John tried to explain, and Isabella nodded. “Yes, I will try my best. I’ll try my best to stay away from him,” she muttered as she tried her best to stand up. John escorted her back to the hostel, making sure she had gone into her room before walking away. 

“He’s just like his brother. No difference,” Isabella thought to herself as she entered her hostel room, only to see Tricia still weak and in a panic. Tricia stood up immediately and rushed to hug Isabella. “I am so sorry. I could not do anything. I swear. I thought maybe my words would give him a little threat, but it didn’t. I am sorry. At the moment when you signaled to me and told me that he had an upper hand, I immediately kept quiet. I did not want to implicate you for tomorrow. I’m sorry,” Tricia pleaded as she hugged Isabella tightly. Isabella hugged her back.

“You don’t have to be sorry. You tried your best, and I was the one who made you stop all this. I am ready to face it to the end,” she muttered. 

Meanwhile, Rachel was not yet asleep as she smiled to herself. She had already gotten a record of whatever they had just discussed. Rachel had patiently waited for Isabella to come back because she knew she would get insights she did not even expect. 

The next morning, Isabella was preparing for the dining party while Rachel rushed to Lily’s hotel. Tricia was still fast asleep when a loud bang came at the door. Isabella stood up and unknowingly opened the door, only to see Lily. 

This time, Lily attacked her with a slap. “I told you to stay away from him! You didn’t listen! Now, last night you went to give your body to him, right?” Lily yelled. 

Tricia immediately stood up without thinking twice. She already knew that Rachel was behind this. “So Rachel told you, right? Rachel has become the one who whispers words to you. She’s so dumb, and you are so foolish. If you were sensible enough, you wouldn’t have come here just to pull her down, claiming that she did something. And so what? And so what if she did something? What does it change? It changes nothing, okay? He doesn’t belong to you, and besides, she has let go of him. What else do you want? She doesn't want to be with him again, okay? He’s the one forcing himself on her!” 

Tricia tried to explain as Isabella was still trying her best to hold back the realization that she had just been slapped by Lily. She turned to Lily, who was still looking at her angrily. “What? Why are you staring at me like that? If you look at me any angrier again, I might slap you for the second time!” Lily said.

As Isabella, who had already changed from last night, rushed at Lily and gave her two hard slaps. Lily was unable to hold on and staggered to the ground, only able to grab the door to regain her composure as she looked back at Isabella, who laughed. “Yes, you give me one, I give you two. And if you don’t stop this rubbish you are doing, if you don’t stop this stupid mentality of yours, I might end up going back to him. Maybe do it in your presence so you can see that he does not belong to you. If you want him, go to him and have him. I have nothing to do with him anymore, I promise you that.”

Isabella said, laughing. “I really laughed. You think I don’t know? You think I don’t know that you are going to see him again today? And if possible, you guys will sneak around today. Do not worry, I was also invited. I have found a way to go there. I will make sure to ruin everything for you. If James does not open his mouth and tell Alex the truth, I will tell Alex the truth myself so you can let go of him,” Lily warned as she hissed and then stomped away, leaving Isabella and Tricia shocked. 

“Mostly Tricia, who did not understand what was going on. What exactly did she just say she’s going to do?” Tricia asked curiously, wanting to know what she was missing.

“James is the brother of Alex’s aunt’s husband, and we are going to meet today. I don’t know how I’m going to end all this,” Isabella stuttered as Tricia scoffed.

“Then I’m going with you. I won’t let you go there alone. It’s too dangerous.”