Chapter 176

Chapter 176

"Ms. Bailey, I heard you two families are about to collaborate. Our company also has some business overseas. I wonder if there's any chance for us to get involved?"

"By the way, I heard you've been wanting to buy an estate. We happen to have one. Let me take you to see it tomorrow. If you like it, we can transfer it to your name right away."

Luna was about to marry Michael and rise to the top in one leap.

Of course these people had to butter her up beforehand, otherwise it would be hard to find opportunities later.

Luna was flattered to the skies by everyone. She smiled with growing satisfaction and glanced at Isabella from the corner of her eye. "No rush, let's talk another day. I'm so busy, still busy with the wedding. Anyway, I'm incredibly busy."

After saying this, she stood up directly and left surrounded by the crowd.

It was obviously done for Isabella to see.

Isabella sighed helplessly. She didn't take it to heart and turned to go to the other side, but ran into Joseph.

Their eyes met.

Joseph walked over quickly. "Why are you here alone? Isn't he with you?"

As Michael's brother, he understood best. Michael bringing Isabella to this party clearly meant he wanted to improve their relationship.

Isabella laughed self-mockingly. "I'm just a date. Have you ever seen a date who gets to make decisions?"

Her voice was neither loud nor soft, but carried a hint of bitterness.

Joseph opened his mouth. "How can you think like that? Your relationship isn't like that. How could you just be a date?"

That bastard, what has he been doing all this time?

To give Isabella such an impression.

No wonder he's been gloomy every day, looking unhappy. Turns out he never made things clear from the start.

Isabella shrugged. "Don't worry, I know my place. Besides, my family has already gone bankrupt. I'm not in a position to say anything. I should endure what I can endure. What's more, I'm not stupid. I know what I can and can't do."

"But I still need to thank you. Last time when my friend was hospitalized, you were there helping out. It's just that I've been too busy lately and haven't had time to thank you properly. I'll treat you to dinner when I get a chance."

Isabella was very grateful to Joseph.

Since returning to the country, she had troubled him again and again, which made her feel quite embarrassed.

Eric shook his head. "No need to be so polite. No matter what, we grew up together. If you need anything, just come to me. I'll definitely help if I can. But although I don't know what exactly happened between you and Michael, there must be some misunderstanding. Don't overthink things."

"I don't know what happened back then, but all these years he hasn't had a single woman around him. You have to believe that. As for the marriage alliance with the Bailey family..."

Some things hadn't been settled yet, so it was hard to say.

Isabella smiled, still looking indifferent.

Joseph was at a loss for words and sighed.

Footsteps approached.

Martin and Juan had walked over at some point.

Seeing Isabella, both of them froze for a moment.

Martin spoke disdainfully. "Never thought I'd see the day when you'd show up at a party like this. I thought you wouldn't attend such events anymore."

Mockery right from the start.

It made people uncomfortable to hear.

But Isabella's expression didn't change. "You're right. I never thought I'd attend a party like this either. Let's work together more in the future. This is my new business card."

As she spoke, she calmly handed over a business card.

Martin was stunned. "You're actually giving me your business card?"

"Is there a problem? As a qualified auditor who hasn't yet opened up the market in the industry, isn't self-promotion normal?"

Isabella's calm tone made Martin feel somewhat embarrassed instead.

Soon, Martin snorted and turned to leave.

Juan explained apologetically, "I'm sorry. Some things have happened in his family recently, so he's in a bad mood. It's not just you - he's like this with us too."

Thinking about it gave him a headache.

If it weren't for growing up together all these years, they probably would have kicked this person out of their circle long ago.

After thinking for a moment, Joseph took the initiative to talk about Martin's situation.

By the end, Isabella was stunned.

Although this kind of situation wasn't uncommon in wealthy families - after all, not every legitimate child had the ability and qualifications to inherit the company.

But Martin was still so young, yet he'd already been kicked out of the line of succession. Normally, they would wait until the older generation retired before deciding on an heir.

Could he really be so incompetent that he was kicked out this quickly?

Seeing Isabella's confusion, Joseph smiled and explained. "You don't understand. That guy is never satisfied. All these years he hasn't gotten married, not because, as he says, he's a playboy who never settles down, but because he hasn't found a suitable marriage alliance."

Speaking of marriage alliances, he sighed.

Martin considered himself the family heir, so his standards were extremely high. But he didn't think about how, before the heir was confirmed, the other party would also evaluate his abilities.

There were no secrets in their circle. With just a little inquiry and careful investigation, people would know what Martin was really like.

He was good at eating, drinking, and playing, but when it came to serious business, he was far from satisfactory.

Right after joining the company, he messed up several major projects, causing the company to lose hundreds of millions. Finally, he was sent to a branch office, but ended up making a mess there too.

Over time, the family abandoned him.

News of their family cultivating an illegitimate child quickly spread. How could any real wealthy family's daughter be willing to marry someone with no inheritance rights?

Over time, Martin realized this and became even more defiant, insisting on finding a wealthy heiress.

Waiting and waiting, this was the result.

"I see. I guess everyone has their own fate. But this has nothing to do with me..."

Isabella was halfway through her sentence when she suddenly saw Michael walking over with a box in his hand.

The distance gradually closed.

Michael stood in front of Isabella, his thin lips curving up as he handed her the box. "Take a look. This is a gift from me."

A gift.

Hearing these two words, Isabella's face changed. Trembling, she opened the box and saw the familiar property deed inside. Tears welled up in her eyes.

She looked at the property deed in disbelief.

Michael openly opened the property deed. "This is my gift to you. Are you happy?"

Of course she was happy.

But it was a property deed.

This was their family's house. With the house, they had security.

These years abroad, although her parents didn't say it out loud, they missed everything back home terribly. She had seen them secretly crying in the middle of the night countless times.

This was wonderful, so wonderful. The house was finally recovered.

From now on, they would have a home again and wouldn't have to wander anymore.