Chapter 101 Gale's Ex-Fiancée
Five years ago, after our family fell apart, the four of us siblings were emotionally devastated. Brenda "kindly" took us in, only to leak our location to our enemies.
She betrayed Gale, and right after that, she married the heir of another family that had been hostile to ours.
After that, Gale seemed to have developed a fear of women and stayed single ever since.
I knew Gale was deeply hurt by Brenda, so seeing her dare to show up here, my mind instantly flashed with all sorts of bloody revenge scenarios.
In the lobby, Brenda was getting impatient. She tapped her knuckles on the front desk, "Did you tell him I'm here? I've been waiting for over ten minutes. Why hasn't Gale come to see me?"
The lobby manager put on a standard warm smile, "We've already notified Ms. Sorelli, and she will pass along your visit to Mr. Sorelli. Please be patient. If Mr. Sorelli is willing to see you—"
"How could he not want to see me!" Brenda snapped, cutting off the manager.
Her arrogant attitude was completely different from the gentle Brenda I remembered. Maybe this was her true face.
I walked toward Brenda, my heels clicking crisply on the marble floor. She turned at the sound, looked me up and down, her eyes showing both wariness and contempt.
"I heard you wanted to see me?" I said coldly.
"Who are you? I want to see Gale." Brenda looked at me like I was crazy, not recognizing me at all.
This wasn't surprising. I'd spent years abroad studying medicine and had met her less than five times, each time just briefly exchanging a word or two with Gale by my side before parting ways.
Though Gale's engagement to her was arranged by both families to strengthen their business ties, Gale took relationships seriously.
He treated Brenda well, worked hard to build their relationship, and satisfied her various whimsical demands.
The Brenda I remembered always wore proper dresses, spoke softly, and had just the right smile on her lips, looking gentle and harmless.
But how could a woman who managed to establish herself in a mafia family's arranged marriage be naive and fragile?
Gentleness was just her disguise. I never liked the calculation hidden in her eyes from the start. To me, scheming against outsiders was fine, but using it on people about to become family made me uncomfortable.
"I'm the Vice Chairman of Platinum Haven Hotel. Whatever you need to discuss, you can talk to me," I said.
Brenda adjusted her fur coat and sneered at me, "What do I have to talk to you about? You're not Gale. Where is he?"
"He's not at the hotel, and even if he were, he wouldn't have time to see you."
Brenda narrowed her eyes, her gaze cutting across me like a knife. "Looks like you know who I am. That's right, I'm Gale's ex-fiancée! What are you to Gale, his new lover?"
I sneered back at her, "Just an ex-fiancée—where do you get the confidence to throw your weight around here? Are you leaving on your own, or should I have security throw you out?"
"What gives you the right, talking to me like that!" Brenda raised her hand angrily to slap my face.
But before her hand could land, Adrian caught it, while Cole and James stood nearby, intimidating her with fierce looks.
"Let go of me!" Brenda's voice was shrill. "My hand isn't for lowlifes like you to touch!"
Adrian quickly released her and vigorously wiped his hand on his clothes. "You ugly woman, you think I want to touch you?"
Brenda pointed her finger at Adrian angrily, "Who are you calling ugly? Believe me, I'll tear your mouth apart!"
I frowned with displeasure. This woman had completely ruined the elegant, peaceful atmosphere of the lobby.
"Throw her out. Trashy people don't belong in Platinum Haven Hotel—they lower our standards." At my command, Adrian and Cole grabbed Brenda and dragged her toward the exit.
Brenda panicked, kicking and struggling. "Let go of me! I need to see Gale! If Gale knew you were treating me like this, he definitely wouldn't forgive you!"
A mocking laugh came from the entrance. "You want to see Gale, but you don't even recognize his own sister?"
I turned to look, somewhat surprised. "Julie, what are you doing here?"
"I came to bring you something." Julie walked into the lobby carrying an elegant paper bag, her face free of mockery, her eyes clear and calm.
She quickly walked over and stood beside me, looking at Brenda with a steady gaze.
Looking at Julie, I couldn't help but think of the perfume smell on Gale's sleeve and the scarf he wore this morning.
"Sister?" Brenda's expression changed instantly. "You're Isabella?"
In a flash, Brenda's arrogance and contempt vanished completely, replaced by gentleness and sorrow. She said in a heartbroken tone, "I'm Brenda! Don't you remember me? Have you been doing well these past few years?"
"No thanks to you, not too well." I curved my lips, my eyes showing cold murderous intent. "If you hadn't betrayed Gale back then, we wouldn't have almost perished in the flames while we slept!"
Julie looked at me in shock, then sharply turned to Brenda, clenching her fists tightly.
"I know you blame me, but I was forced too." Brenda's voice gradually lowered, looking at me with aggrieved tears. "My parents locked me at home. When I finally got free, I went to find you right away. The house had burned to ashes, and everyone said you were dead. What could I do? If I'd known Gale was alive, I never would have married Alvin Dawson!"
As she spoke, tears fell, her shoulders trembling slightly. "Isabella, let me see Gale! We've known each other since we were young, engaged for seven years. My relationship with him—it's not for you to decide for him!"
The people around started looking at her with complicated expressions—some sympathetic, some doubtful.
I didn't care about the bystanders' attitudes, but I looked at Julie with some concern. Her expression was calm, yet I felt uneasy.
"Ridiculous! You and Gale never had deep feelings to begin with, and on top of that, you cruelly betrayed him!" I wasn't going to let Brenda keep making a scene. Who knows what else she might say?
"Throw her out!"
Two security guards immediately stepped forward, each grabbing one of Brenda's arms and carrying her out. Brenda's heels scraped against the ground, her high heels fell off, and she was thrown out the hotel entrance barefoot like a piece of trash.
She sat crying pitifully at the entrance, showing no intention of leaving, so I had them carry her to another street.
Brenda called out Gale's name, her voice growing fainter. I rubbed my temples, about to thank Julie, when a Maybach screeched to a halt outside, and Gale hurried through the hotel entrance.
"I heard something happened?" Gale's eyes swept around the lobby before landing on Julie and me.
"Brenda came and made a scene here, wanting to see you. I kicked her out." I briefly explained what happened, then asked, "Do you want to see her? She hasn't gone far."
Gale didn't answer my question but looked at Julie instead.
Julie calmly handed me what she was carrying. "Bella, here are the tickets you wanted. I'm heading back now."
She turned to leave, and Gale stared blankly at her retreating figure.
Feeling frustrated, I quietly reminded Gale, "Aren't you going to chase after her?"
Gale glanced back at me. "We'll talk about other things later." With that, he moved like the wind, quickly catching up to Julie.