Chapter 174 Not Looking Forward to It at All
As soon as Bianca walked into the house, she felt the oppressive atmosphere.
The moment Hayden saw her, he barked sharply, "Bianca! Get over here!"
Seeing this, Isabella quickly dragged over a small stool and sat down to watch the show.
This was the first time she'd seen Hayden lose his temper with Bianca like this.
Bianca walked up to Hayden. Before she could say anything, a slap landed on her face.
The sound of the slap was crisp and clear in the living room.
Chase and Tobias' hearts jumped at the sound. They stepped forward to intervene, but Hayden stopped them with a shout, "Anyone who dares move, just try! Getting beaten to death would be letting her off easy today!"
With that, another slap landed on Bianca's face.
Bianca was hit so hard she lost her balance and fell to the ground.
She immediately burst into tears, crying out loud.
"All you know how to do is cry! Having a daughter like you is such bad luck!"
"Do you know that the shameful things you did have spread all over the internet? You're not just embarrassing yourself, you're embarrassing the entire Taylor family. Because of what you did, we lost a project worth over three hundred million dollars!"
Bianca's face turned deathly pale at these words.
She had no idea the impact would be this serious.
"Dad..." she begged on her knees, "I was wrong, I didn't know it would turn out like this, I really was wrong..."
If she had known it would come to this, she never would have stolen Isabella's competition entry.
"Why did you do this?" Hayden took a deep breath. "If you can't compete with Isabella, you resort to these tricks? Why don't you spend that time improving yourself instead?"
"Isabella happens to be home today, so you better apologize to her right now!"
Bianca froze for a moment.
"What? You're not willing?" Hayden's expression darkened. "You did something wrong and won't apologize? What do you think you're doing?"
Seeing this, Chase couldn't help but speak up: "Dad, there's no need for an apology. Isabella didn't really lose anything."
As soon as Chase finished speaking, Gabriel's angry voice came from the doorway: "Chase, what do you mean by that? Just because there's no loss means she doesn't deserve an apology?"
He really didn't expect to walk in and hear Chase making such shameless remarks.
"Bianca replaced Isabella's competition entry. What was she trying to do? She was afraid Isabella would steal her award, wasn't she? She wanted to humiliate Isabella in front of the whole school, didn't she?"
"She did something so disgusting! And you're still taking her side. What, is she your real sister? You care about her that much? Then what about Isabella? Have you considered Isabella's feelings at all?"
Bianca bit her lip, looking embarrassed.
Chase was about to say something more when Hayden completely lost patience. "Bianca, what are you standing there for? Apologize to Isabella right now! Don't forget that Isabella is the real daughter of this family. Don't think apologizing to her hurts your pride. If I send you back to your biological parents, you'll be nothing!"
In the past, he hadn't paid attention to Bianca's petty thoughts.
But now, Isabella was better than Bianca in every way, and she was his real daughter. He had new plans for Isabella and couldn't ignore her feelings anymore.
When Bianca heard Hayden say he would send her back, her expression changed completely.
She finally realized how serious this was. She quickly turned to look at Isabella, crying, "Sister, I'm sorry, I was wrong."
Hayden also looked at Isabella.
After not seeing her for a few months, Isabella had become even more beautiful.
Truly his daughter!
If Isabella could marry into a top-tier wealthy family in the future, and the Taylor family formed a marriage alliance with such a family, the Taylor family would prosper along with them.
Hayden's gaze toward Isabella softened. "Isabella, Bianca was wrong this time. I've already disciplined her for you. Since you're home now, stay for a while. You've been away for so long, your mom and I really miss you."
Isabella looked at Hayden, sneering inwardly.
Miss her?
What a joke.
She understood Hayden too well. He was someone who would sell anything for power and money.
To him, family members were just chess pieces to be manipulated at will.
Back when the Taylor family was on the verge of bankruptcy and needed money, he hadn't hesitated to marry her off to a man in his fifties who had beaten three wives to death.
Now he probably saw some benefit in her again and was scheming once more.
"I don't blame Bianca," Isabella said graciously, collecting her thoughts. "Girls all have a bit of jealousy in them. I think Bianca just had a momentary lapse in judgment. I believe she won't do it again."
Hayden was pleased to see her being so generous and open-minded. He really appreciated this personality.
"Good, my dear daughter. Since you're home, stay here from now on," Hayden said. "Your mom and I didn't do well enough before and let you suffer. From now on, I absolutely won't favor Bianca. I'll treat you and Bianca equally."
"Okay." Isabella nodded indifferently, standing up to go upstairs. "I'm tired, I'll go rest now."
"Stay for dinner before you go up," Hayden said warmly. "Tell me what you want to eat, and I'll have the kitchen make your favorite dishes."
Beside them, Bianca looked at Hayden in disbelief.
Hayden had changed so drastically, completely different from when Isabella first returned to the Taylor Villa.
Why?
Just because she had made a mistake?
First Gabriel, now Hayden.
One by one, Isabella was taking her family members away from her.
No.
She absolutely couldn't just sit back and do nothing. Otherwise, this house would eventually no longer be her home!
"Isabella, your and Bianca's birthdays are coming up soon. Since you share the same birthday, I'm planning to hold a joint birthday party for you both. I'll invite many families who have good relationships with us. If you have any requests for the birthday party, feel free to tell me."
At the dinner table, while eating, Hayden brought up this topic.
Isabella's hand holding the fork paused.
Have her share a birthday party with Bianca?
That made sense. Now in everyone's eyes, she was truly the Taylor family's daughter. Hayden naturally couldn't do what he did in her previous life—only throw a birthday party for Bianca and not for her.
Hayden continued talking enthusiastically, seemingly eager to improve his relationship with her. "Isabella, what gift do you want for your eighteenth birthday coming-of-age ceremony? A sports car? A small villa? As long as I have it, I can give it to you."
"Oh right, you're a girl, you probably don't like those things. Think carefully about what you need and just tell me..."
"How do you want the house decorated for the birthday party? Flowers, dresses—I'll order you a ten-layer birthday cake and give you the most grand birthday party..."
The most grand birthday party...
Isabella clenched her palms.
The birthday party she had longed for in the past, the warmth she had desperately wanted but couldn't have, the love she had needed—all of it was now within reach.
But she didn't look forward to it at all anymore.