Chapter 27 Attitude of Indifference
Isabella pulled Olivia out of the elevator, and Olivia, being well-behaved, greeted Mike with a sweet smile.
Mike was completely charmed by Olivia's cuteness and smiled apologetically at Isabella, "I don't have any candy on me."
Isabella smiled back, "That's perfectly fine. Olivia just had a fluoride treatment at the dentist, so she should avoid sweets for a few days anyway."
"Is the little one feeling unwell?" Mike asked with genuine concern.
Isabella shook her head, then decided to be honest with him.
"I had a little accident and bumped my head."
The doctor's examination had shown that the injury wasn't serious, but she needed to monitor herself tonight. If she still felt dizzy and nauseous tomorrow morning, she'd need to return for further tests.
Having to request time off on only her second day of work, Isabella wasn't sure how to explain this to her supervisor.
Since Mike worked closely with Richard, honesty seemed like the best policy to avoid complications.
"You should definitely be careful," Mike said. He had his own business to attend to, so after a brief chat, they parted ways.
Isabella picked up her prescription from the hospital pharmacy, and after taking a taxi home, she reflected on the situation.
Even though she didn't need to be hospitalized, she still had to return tomorrow for her CT scan results. It was inevitable that she'd need to take the day off.
With a sigh, Isabella pulled out her phone and carefully crafted a leave request through the company's HR system.
Out of caution, she also sent a message directly to Richard.
She hoped he wouldn't think she was shirking her responsibilities, Isabella worried.
Setting her phone aside, Isabella let go of her various concerns. After a shower, she and Olivia settled on the couch to work on their new jigsaw puzzle.
Looking at the puzzle pieces, Isabella was reminded of the lavish promises Laura had made today.
This sparked Isabella's competitive spirit.
"Olivia," she suddenly called out, then corrected a piece Olivia had placed incorrectly when the little girl turned around, "when I have money, I'll buy you everything you want too."
After saying this, Isabella immediately felt a pang of regret.
Those words followed the classic playbook of deadbeat promises.
The kind typically made by unreliable people when making commitments they couldn't keep.
Even Isabella herself felt that her words sounded like she'd been influenced by Laura's tactics today, as if she was trying to prove something to Olivia.
"Then I want the newest dollhouse, and I want Mommy to take me to the amusement park again. Last time we went, people interrupted us, so next time I just want to play with Mommy alone."
Counting on her little fingers, Olivia seriously made mental notes of this promise.
What surprised Isabella was something else entirely, "Olivia, do you really believe I can do all that?"
Olivia looked at Isabella with eyes full of unwavering trust.
"I believe everything Mommy says!"
Olivia's confidence became Isabella's greatest motivation.
But she quickly realized the most pressing issue at hand.
Their stomachs began rumbling in symphony, creating a chorus of hunger pangs.
From the time Olivia got out of school this afternoon until now, they'd been so busy with everything that neither of them had eaten dinner.
"I really don't feel like cooking," Isabella said, tilting her head back to stare at the ceiling. Her head was still aching, and she genuinely didn't want to deal with preparing a meal.
"How about we order takeout?"
The idea popped into her head, and Isabella sought Olivia's opinion first.
Olivia immediately raised both hands and feet in enthusiastic agreement, "I want burgers!"
With household staff usually handling the cooking, it was rare for them to eat fast food from outside.
Children seemed to have a genetic predisposition toward fried foods—whenever eating out was mentioned, it inevitably involved burgers and fried chicken.
Isabella had loved such food as a child, too, so she completely understood Olivia's enthusiasm.
After placing their order online, mother and daughter continued working on their puzzle while patiently waiting for delivery.
Soon, Isabella's phone rang.
She was just marveling at how quickly the delivery had arrived when a familiar voice came through the line.
"Mom."
It was Nathan.
The moment she heard his voice, Isabella dropped the puzzle pieces she'd been holding onto the table.
She didn't respond, simply waiting for the caller to speak.
"Mom, are you busy right now?" Nathan's voice carried a tentative quality.
Isabella's tone was ice-cold, "You must have the wrong number. I'm not your mother."
She still remembered exactly what Nathan had said to her.
Nathan gripped his phone, clearly affected by Isabella's rejection.
"Mom, I really want to eat your milk caramel pudding and sea salt mousse."
Hearing him express longing for her cooking struck Isabella as odd.
Even before their falling out, Nathan had never been emotionally expressive.
In her memory, Nathan had never proactively told her he wanted or liked anything.
Isabella's instincts were correct—Nathan was currently sitting across from Laura, following her precise instructions for this phone call.
Isabella was his stepmother, so providing for her stepson was only natural!
These two desserts were what Laura was craving, and when she discovered she couldn't order them for delivery at this hour, Nathan decided to manipulate Isabella to get them.
Nathan's attitude gradually became more demanding, "If you can't make them and bring them to me within an hour, I'll never speak to you again!"
After delivering this ultimatum, Nathan felt quite pleased with himself.
He couldn't believe Isabella would permanently cut ties with him over a few harsh words.
Whenever he'd misbehaved as a child, Isabella would scold him but always choose forgiveness afterward. He naturally assumed this time would be no different.
He was even throwing a tantrum to manipulate her.
After hearing Nathan's demands, Isabella burst out laughing.
"Feel free to ignore me then."
With that, Isabella hung up directly and immediately blocked Nathan's number.
Having to deal with harassing calls from the whole family every day, when facing them, Isabella's already limited patience had completely run out.
After blocking the number, her world became much more peaceful.
Isabella woke up the next morning feeling remarkably better—no headache, no back pain.
Sensing she was fine, she decided not to let this interfere with her work. She could always go to the hospital after work to see if she could still pick up her test results.
Taking the subway to the office, Isabella reported to HR again.
She was told that today's assignments required direct coordination with Richard.
Carrying a stack of candidate files, she went up to the executive floor to find Richard.
When he saw Isabella enter, he looked somewhat surprised.
"Didn't you request time off?"
Isabella smiled, "I wasn't feeling well yesterday, but I feel much better this morning."
"Is your head still hurting?" Richard asked with natural concern.