Chapter 97: A Long-Lost Feeling
When Isabella brought up that incident, William was momentarily speechless, not knowing what to say.
Isabella didn't even bother with the sauce stain on her collar. After breaking free from William, she turned and walked away, her face clearly showing the annoyance and impatience of someone being harassed.
William took a long stride, intending to catch up with Isabella, but Joseph wasn't about to give him the chance.
He extended his arm to block William's path, then strolled casually in front of him.
Joseph hadn't attended Isabella's wedding back then—he only knew she'd left the racing team suddenly and decisively.
The next time he'd heard about Isabella was in the news, when William, this business mogul, had gotten married in what became international headlines.
Back then, coverage of their so-called "wedding of the century" had been everywhere.
Joseph only knew Isabella had married some wealthy man, but had never understood what kind of person that man really was.
Now that he'd met him, Joseph felt nothing but pity for Isabella.
She'd wasted eight precious years on a man like this.
Completely worthless.
"You don't even deserve to speak to Isabella. A man like you isn't worthy of her!"
Joseph kept calling Isabella by her name with such familiarity that it continuously grated on William's sensitive nerves.
When had their affairs become the business of some random young punk?
William stared intently at Joseph, his eyes dark and cold. Then he suddenly laughed—a sound that radiated complete disdain from the inside out.
If Richard were standing here instead, William might consider him somewhat threatening. But Joseph was like a clown.
William clearly understood that Isabella was only parading this boy around to make him angry.
Showing off in front of him gave off a ridiculous sense of trying to teach a master his own craft.
"Whether I'm worthy of Isabella isn't for you to decide. We're legally married, and this is a matter between Isabella and me. It's not your place to interfere."
William's smile widened, as if mocking Joseph's complete lack of qualification to lecture him. After staring at him for a long moment, he dropped another bombshell: "Our family affairs certainly don't need an outsider's interference."
The word "outsider" clearly pushed Joseph beyond the circle of Isabella's life.
And successfully ignited his anger.
He looked up and glared at William: "Then we'll see about that. Let's find out who Isabella really considers the outsider."
With that, Joseph walked around William and strode back to their table.
Isabella sat with one hand supporting her head, waiting for Joseph to return so they could finish eating.
"You don't need to stoop to his level. He's always been like this," Isabella said calmly when she saw Joseph's indignant expression.
Richard had been much more effective at dealing with William.
"I just can't stand it! He's the one who cheated during marriage, the one at fault—what right does he have to point fingers and yell at you? Back home, I would've found some guys to chop him up and feed him to the dogs in the wasteland!"
Joseph was naturally just speaking in anger. Isabella switched the chicken soup's position on the table, placing it in front of him.
"Try this chicken soup. I saw online reviews saying it's this restaurant's signature dish!"
After the argument with William, Isabella had lost her appetite for dinner, so she just chatted with Joseph while sipping soup and picking at her food halfheartedly.
They left quite a bit of food on the table by the end.
"Let's go." Perhaps because William was also there, Isabella felt dispirited and called for Joseph to leave after standing up.
Outside, the city lights were just beginning to twinkle as the day drew to a close, but the nightlife of Seaside City was just getting started.
Having finally returned to the country and secured Isabella's agreement, Joseph was thrilled. After dinner, he wasn't ready to go back—instead, he enthusiastically wanted to drag Isabella around the city.
Isabella wanted to get home quickly to spend time with Olivia, but she couldn't resist Joseph's persistent coaxing and had to call the nanny to explain the situation.
"There's nothing much to see in the city. Whatever shopping centers you have back in Valeria, we have similar ones here. Even the merchandise is pretty much the same," Isabella explained somewhat helplessly.
Highly developed cities were all quite similar, and for Joseph, Seaside City might not even be as interesting as back home.
"Isabella, it's been a long time since you've driven, hasn't it?" Joseph stood beside his sports car and suddenly asked with considerable weight in his voice.
Isabella nodded. "I haven't touched a car since coming back eight years ago. My previous life was either working in the lab or dealing with cars. I got a bit tired of it."
Plus, she'd originally planned never to race again for the rest of her life.
Joseph's appearance had disrupted Isabella's previous plans.
He pulled the Ferrari keys from his pocket and tossed them to Isabella. "I heard Seaside City has a mountain road that's perfect for racing. Lots of people use it as a track at night too. How about we go run a few laps?"
Isabella caught the keys, feeling quite surprised.
"Are you sure? Maybe I should show you my bank account balance first? If I crash your LaFerrari, I can't afford to pay for it!"
Forget her bank account—even if Isabella sold everything she owned, she couldn't afford to replace it.
Joseph waved his hand magnanimously: "It's just a car! I've got plenty more in my garage! If you have fun today, even if this LaFerrari gets totaled, that's just its destiny!"
After saying this, Joseph immediately got in the car and quickly fastened his seatbelt, as if afraid Isabella might change her mind.
Gripping the steering wheel again, this solid and long-lost feeling instantly excited Isabella.
Her blood began to surge throughout her body, as if clamoring and forcing Isabella to remember those passionate, exhilarating times.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go, Isabella!"
Joseph cheered and had already pulled out his phone to record Isabella.
"What's worth filming about this? It's not like it's an F1 track." Isabella slowly pressed the accelerator and smoothly drove the car out of the restaurant's garage.
Joseph shook his head. "That's completely different! You've already run dozens, hundreds of laps on international tracks, but this is your first race after your comeback, and I'm here with you!"
"If I post this in our team group chat, they'll definitely be jealous, especially Zack and Samantha! Before I came, they didn't even believe I could convince you!"
Isabella laughed again but ignored Joseph, driving the car toward the stretch of road he'd mentioned.