Chapter 15 Full of Isabella
The atmosphere at the dinner table in the Taylor Villa was tense that evening.
Tobias sat there with a stiff expression, not saying a word. Bianca called his name several times, but he seemed lost in thought, failing to respond.
Gabriel was acting even stranger.
His eyes were red, and it was unclear what had upset him.
Isabella, on the other hand, had a hearty appetite, eating her meal with gusto.
She even began critiquing the dishes, commenting on which ones were too bland and how others could be improved, instructing the kitchen staff to make notes for future changes.
It was a stark contrast to her usual shy demeanor, where she was too timid to even pick up the food.
Hayden watched Isabella's carefree behavior with mixed feelings.
From the first day Isabella arrived at their home, she'd carried an air of insecurity, clearly coming from a small town and lacking confidence.
People who are not confident lack the authority and presence to get things done.
But seeing Isabella now, Hayden felt that this was the way his daughter should be.
"I'm full. You all continue," Isabella said, putting down her utensils and standing up, having cleaned her plate.
Tobias glanced at Isabella's departing figure, finding the food increasingly hard to swallow. He put down his utensils as well, saying, "I'm full too," before heading upstairs.
Soon after, Hayden and Olivia also left the table.
Chase was working late at the office tonight and hadn’t come home.
That left only Gabriel and Bianca at the table.
"Gabriel, what's wrong?" Bianca asked with concern, glancing at Gabriel.
In this household, Gabriel was closest to her in age, and because he had been held back a grade, they were in the same year at school. They shared the most common interests and had the best relationship.
Gabriel stared at his plate, unable to eat. "Isabella is so infuriating."
"What happened?" Bianca blinked in confusion. "Didn't you buy her new clothes and give them to her? She must have been thrilled when she received them."
Though Bianca said this, she secretly clenched her fists.
If it weren't for the fear of Gabriel finding out the truth, she wouldn't have wanted to give Isabella that wretched girl anything. Who did Isabella think she was, to deserve Gabriel buying her clothes?
"She wasn't happy at all!" Gabriel snapped. "She threw the clothes I bought for her right on the ground in front of me!"
"What? How could that be?" Bianca was taken aback.
Since Isabella returned to the family, she had been trying to steal the brothers’ affection from Bianca. Receiving a gift from Gabriel for the first time, Bianca couldn't believe Isabella wouldn't be happy.
She must be pretending.
Gabriel clenched his fists in anger. "She even accused me of tampering with the clothes, saying wearing them would cause her skin to break out. I shouldn't have bothered buying them for her!"
The harsh words from Isabella made Gabriel feel like the whole world was against him.
He admitted that he hadn’t treated Isabella well at first.
When Isabella first came back, Bianca cried every night, fearing that Isabella would refuse to get along with her and might even drive her out of the house.
Seeing Bianca cry so much, Gabriel couldn't help but resent Isabella.
He even thought Isabella shouldn't have come back, as her return had stolen Bianca’s happiness.
So he put dead rats in Isabella's room and needles in her bed, to vent Bianca’s anger and warn Isabella that the brothers would always side with Bianca, and Isabella should never try to bully her.
Later, when Isabella pushed Bianca, causing her to fall down the stairs, Gabriel's hatred for Isabella grew.
How could a girl be so malicious?
So when Isabella fainted from being punished to kneel, he had thrown her onto the mountain.
But these actions only made Isabella's attitude toward him worse; she even threw the clothes he bought for her on the ground right in front of him.
"Gabriel, Isabella was probably just saying those things out of anger," Bianca said, her eyes darting around. "You bought me so many clothes, but only got her one. It’s understandable she might feel upset."
Gabriel frowned at this.
"Bianca, what are you talking about?"
Bianca was stunned by Gabriel's questioning gaze. "Gabriel, I—"
"Bianca, I'm telling you that Isabella treated me horribly, throwing the clothes I bought her on the ground. What does that have to do with how many clothes I bought? Isabella never said she was upset about only getting one piece!"
He couldn't understand why Bianca thought Isabella was upset about the number of clothes.
At least, he didn’t sense that Isabella had the feelings Bianca described.
Bianca was startled by Gabriel's raised voice and quickly said, "I'm sorry, Gabriel. I misspoke. I misunderstood Isabella's feelings."
Gabriel frowned, feeling irritated, and didn't want to say anything more.
Bianca pursed her lips and fell silent, her eyes slightly red.
Seeing Bianca's aggrieved expression, Gabriel opened his mouth to comfort her, but he was too upset, his mind filled with the image of Isabella throwing the clothes on the ground.
Bianca lowered her head, twisting her fingers, waiting for Gabriel to comfort her.
Every time she made such gestures and expressions, Gabriel would always notice and come to soothe her.
But this time, she waited for a long time, and Gabriel still didn't speak.
She had to raise her eyes and speak in a slightly tearful voice, "Gabriel, you—"
Before she could finish, Gabriel stood up and walked away.
Bianca was momentarily stunned.
Gabriel didn't look back at her, heading straight upstairs.
Bianca's face turned stiff with anger.
——
Isabella was alone in her room, carefully unwrapping the bandages from her wrist.
She glanced at it; the wound had almost healed.
But she still had to go to the hospital tomorrow for another rabies shot. The first shot had been administered on the night she was bitten by the dog.
The second shot was scheduled three days later, which was tomorrow.
Isabella made a mental note of this and informed the driver, Kai, to take her to the hospital at eight in the morning.
After getting ready, she went to the dining room for breakfast and ran into Chase.