Chapter 99
POV ISABELA
“Isis! Wait!”
My voice echoed through the corridor, breaking halfway.
I ran after her, my heart racing, lungs burning, and legs nearly giving out, trying to catch up as she crossed the stadium like she was running away from me.
Like I was the problem.
Like I was someone she didn’t even want to look at anymore.
“Isis, please!”
But she didn’t slow down.
Didn’t look back.
Didn’t hesitate.
She ran as if every step was an attempt to get away from me… from everything I represented in that moment.
We rushed down the stairs.
Almost stumbling.
We passed through an empty side hallway, far from the deafening noise of the stadium, where the sound of the crowd turned into a distant echo.
And then…
We reached the parking lot.
The contrast was immediate.
Silence.
Cold.
Empty.
As if the world had stopped there.
Isis stopped suddenly.
So abruptly that I almost ran into her.
She turned around.
And the moment I saw her face…
Something inside me broke.
Red eyes.
Tear-streaked cheeks.
Uneven breathing.
But it wasn’t just sadness.
It was worse.
It was a disappointment.
It was pain.
It was something I had never seen directed at me.
“Isis…” My voice came out weak, almost pleading.
She didn’t answer.
She just raised her phone with a trembling hand.
“Is this true?”
The question came heavily.
Sharp.
My stomach twisted.
My eyes dropped to the screen.
And there they were.
The photos.
Me.
Noah.
Walking into the hotel.
Leaving.
Too close.
Too intimate.
Too exposed.
And the headlines.
Cruel.
Merciless.
My breath caught.
The world spun around me.
“Isis… I can explain…”
“Explain?” she cut me off, her voice rising instantly.
Anger took over.
“Explain what, Mom?”
She shook the phone in front of me.
“That you cheated on Dad? That you destroyed our family?”
Each word hit like a blow.
Direct.
Relentless.
“That’s not how it happened…” I tried, my voice failing.
“You ruined everything!” she shouted, her whole body shaking. “You threw everything away!”
My chest tightened painfully.
“Isis…”
“Fifteen years!” she went on, her voice breaking between anger and tears. “Fifteen years of marriage… for this?”
Tears streamed down her face.
“For some little fling!”
The word hit me like a punch.
It hurt.
More than anything.
“Isis, no…”
“You’re so much older than him!” she fired back without thinking. “You should be ashamed!”
My body went rigid.
“You’re acting like a slut!”
“Isis!” My voice came out firm this time, cutting through the air. “Watch your words.”
But she didn’t back down.
Didn’t hesitate.
Her pain was bigger than any limit.
“That’s exactly what you are!” she snapped with contempt. “Just another woman!”
My heart shattered a little more.
“A woman who cheated on her husband…” she continued, “who works every day to give us everything!”
My phone vibrated in my pocket.
Relentless.
Nonstop.
But I couldn’t even think about answering.
The world had narrowed down to that moment.
That conversation.
That pain.
That girl…
Looking at me like I was a stranger.
“You destroyed everything…” she said, her voice lower now, but even more painful. “Our family… everything…”
Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably.
I couldn’t hold them back.
“I’m not the one who destroyed that damn marriage!” My voice came out louder, more desperate than I intended. “It was your father!”
Silence fell like a bomb.
Isis frowned.
Confused.
“What?”
I took a shaky breath, my chest tightening even more.
“Your father cheated on me, Isis…” I said, my voice trembling. “For months…”
She went still.
“With his secretary.”
The words hung in the air.
Heavy.
Difficult.
But necessary.
For a second…
I thought she would listen.
That she would understand.
But then…
She shook her head.
Slowly.
In denial.
“No.”
“It’s true…”
“No!” she insisted, louder. “You’re lying!”
My heart clenched.
“I’m not lying…”
“On top of being vulgar…” she said, her eyes full of tears, her voice dripping with contempt. “On top of being just another woman…”
She swallowed hard.
“You’re also a liar.”
That went straight through me.
Deep.
No defense.
“Isis…” I whispered.
But she wasn’t listening anymore.
Or maybe…
She didn’t want to.
“I never thought you were capable of this…” Her voice broke.
And for the first time…
I saw it.
Not just anger.
But disappointment.
Real.
Deep.
Irreversible.
My heart shattered completely.
“Daughter…”
“Don’t call me that!” she screamed.
Her voice echoed through the empty parking lot.
Heavy.
Painful.
Final.
I froze.
“I’m ashamed of you…” she said, quieter now.
But that…
That hurt even more.
It felt like the ground disappeared beneath my feet.
“Isis…”
But she was already stepping back.
Pulling away.
Like I was someone dangerous.
“I never want to look at your face again.”
Tears fell uncontrollably down my cheeks.
“Please…”
But she didn’t stop.
“I hate you.”
My heart broke for good.
No repair.
No coming back.
“And I’m ashamed…” she continued, her voice trembling. “Ashamed to be your daughter.”
The world went silent.
Completely.
Absolutely.
And then…
She turned.
And ran.
Once again.
Getting farther away.
This time…
From me.
Forever.
Or at least…
That’s what it felt like.
And I stayed there.
Frozen.
Unable to move.
Unable to breathe properly.
With an empty chest…
And at the same time crushed from the inside.
Alone.
With my heart completely shattered.