Chapter 845 The Cause of It All

Chapter 845 The Cause of It All

If she had known Atticus wouldn't care about such things, Olivia wouldn't have bothered hiding it.

But another thought struck her. She lifted her eyes to meet his. "What about Isabella? Do you think she might be upset?"

It wasn't that Olivia feared Isabella would misunderstand or blame her. They had been friends for years, and something so small would never shake that bond. She was worried about something else entirely — that mentioning Bianca's name might drag Isabella back to the memory of watching her jump to her death.

That had been a dark time. Isabella's emotions had been unstable, and every time Olivia tried to ask about it, Isabella shut her down. Eventually, she stopped asking.

Atticus gave her hand a reassuring pat. "She won't."

"Really?" Olivia's voice carried a thread of doubt. She feared Isabella might feel uncomfortable but hide it for the sake of appearances. The last thing she wanted was to be the cause of a shadow over Isabella's heart — especially today.

Atticus drew her into the seat across from him, his tone steady. "You know Isabella's character. That family couldn't touch her when they were alive. Do you think they'd have any power over her now? The dead can't wound her. Their fate was of their own making."

His voice cooled on the last sentence, a hard edge slipping through.

When the truth had come out — that Grace hadn't died of illness but had been murdered by Indigo and Harper, her husband and his mistress — the five Wilson brothers had wanted nothing more than to kill them with their own hands. But that choice wasn't theirs to make. It belonged to Isabella.

The pain of learning your mother was murdered by your own father was something no one understood better than her. Deciding Indigo and Harper's fate had to be her decision.

They had assumed she wouldn't be able to do it. She had already lost her mother; to end her father's life herself would be a burden few could bear. Atticus had even considered taking the decision from her — if she couldn't do it, they would. None of them would have hesitated.

But in the end, Isabella had stood there and watched as Indigo and Harper were executed, making sure they paid for what they had done.

"Isabella knows where she stands on matters like this," Atticus said. "She doesn't dwell on them. And as for her breaking up with Michael a year ago — that wasn't just because of Bianca's suicide. That was on me."

"You?" Olivia blinked. "What do you mean?"

Atticus nodded. "Isabella grew up without a father. She's always valued the bond she has with us, her uncles. Back then, we were terrified she'd get hurt again. Daniel had just died, and we couldn't bring ourselves to trust Michael. So we told her to try seeing someone else, to move on from him."

He leaned back slightly, his gaze distant. "Even if she had the baby, we weren't worried. The Wilson family can provide for any child. All we cared about was protecting her. We forgot to ask what she really wanted."

Olivia's chest tightened. She could see it now — how much Isabella had loved Michael, and how much she had loved her family too. That explained why she'd carried Michelle with such quiet composure, why she'd seemed to want nothing at all. She had been burying her feelings, trying to keep the peace.

"At first, we just thought something was off," Atticus continued. "We didn't know what it was until Michael showed up at our door that night. That's when I realized she'd never let go of him — and neither had he. That's when my opinion of him began to change."

He looked directly at Olivia. "It was me who refused to let her get back together with him. I didn't want her losing herself over a man again. Before Michael, she was wild and free, doing whatever she wanted. After marrying him, she endured too much."

Olivia felt the truth of that deep in her bones. She'd seen it herself, but she hadn't known the full story. She'd thought Isabella had simply wanted to help Michael out of old loyalty, and that their paths had naturally diverged after Bianca's death. She had never imagined Atticus had played a part in keeping them apart.

No wonder Michael hadn't shown his face back then.

Seeing her drift into thought, Atticus brought her back. "You know the rest. Their connection wasn't something we could sever. If they were willing to change for each other, I had no right to stand in the way."

In his mind, Michael wasn't the only one who had changed. Isabella had suffered just as much. She'd chosen to raise her child alone rather than start something new with another man — all because of Michael. She had closed every escape route for herself, betting everything on a future that might never come.

When Michael had gotten into trouble in Auroria, they had all been terrified. Isabella had been eight months pregnant, and her mind had been consumed with him. If he hadn't survived, she would have been devastated.

But he had survived. And when he proposed afterward, their grudges had meant nothing. They had to agree.

Olivia's eyes widened in realization. "So that's what happened. I thought she'd simply made peace with the past — that helping Michael rebuild was about their marriage and about Aiden."

Atticus's mouth tightened. "Aiden was good to her. When he was alive, she often visited him. I remember when the Brown family fell into trouble, and Aiden had only Stella left to care for him. I think Isabella's change in attitude toward Stella started then."

Olivia's brows shot up. "You're telling me Isabella forgave her mother-in-law — the same woman who made her life hell?"

Atticus gave a short, knowing smile. "Not forgiveness. I think she simply let it go."