Chapter 40 Living at School
"Mrs. Taylor, Ms. Isabella Taylor has already left."
Owen looked troubled.
If he had to find her now, he wouldn't even know where to start.
Olivia pressed her hand against her chest. "What does she mean just leaving like that? Is she not planning to come back? Is she disowning me as her mother?"
Owen kept his head down, not daring to speak.
Olivia slammed her coffee cup hard onto the floor with a loud crash.
"Did I do something wrong? What did I do wrong? She completely ignored Bianca's wellbeing just to fight for the position of the Taylor Family's daughter, and she even attacked her fourth brother!"
"As her mother, what's wrong with teaching her a lesson? I'm doing this for her own good!"
How could Isabella be so willful?
How could Isabella be so disobedient?
What exactly did Isabella want from her?
Chase stood at the stairway, taking in Olivia's loss of control.
He walked over. "Mom, I'll send Isabella a message and get her to come back."
He pulled out his phone and opened his chat with Isabella.
It was completely blank.
They'd added each other the day Isabella came to the Taylor Villa - Hayden had them do it. It was just going through the motions though, since they were siblings after all, they couldn't not even have each other's contact info.
After adding her, Chase had never initiated a conversation with this so-called sister.
Isabella had been tactful enough not to bother him online either.
Chase typed out a line in the input box, glanced over it to make sure it was fine, then sent it.
"Isabella, come home now. It's not too late."
After sending the message, he didn't look away immediately, wanting to see how Isabella would respond.
However.
Without warning, a red exclamation mark appeared before his eyes.
"..."
[You are not yet his/her friend. Please send a friend verification request first. You can only chat after the other party accepts.]
Chase froze completely.
Had Isabella... deleted him?
How was that possible?
A hint of panic that even he didn't notice flashed through Chase's eyes as he quickly called Isabella.
"Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later. Sorry..."
"Well?" Olivia glanced at him. "What did Isabella say?"
Chase was somewhat shocked. "Isabella deleted my contact and blocked my number too."
"What?" Olivia looked incredulous.
She quickly had Yves bring her phone over to contact Isabella, only to discover that she too had been blocked and deleted by Isabella.
After realizing this, Olivia was both surprised and furious.
"She just won't stop! First running away from home, now blocking and deleting us! What is she trying to do?"
——
Isabella disappeared for a whole week.
She didn't come home for an entire week.
The whole Taylor Villa became like a tomb because of it.
Hayden was eating lunch when he glanced at the empty seat, couldn't help but put down his fork, and looked coldly at Olivia. "You lost her yourself, you figure out how to get her back!"
Olivia clenched her fists, feeling wronged. "Is this my fault? She's the one being willful!"
Hayden said sternly, "If you hadn't made her kneel, would she have refused to come home?"
"So what if she doesn't come home? Why are you so anxious? I don't believe she can really give up everything the Taylor Family has to offer. She's just a young girl - what can she do out there? When she has nothing to eat or wear, won't she have to come back..."
While Hayden and Olivia argued endlessly inside, a figure quietly appeared at the Taylor Villa entrance.
Owen exclaimed: "Mrs. Taylor, Ms. Isabella Taylor is back!"
Hearing this, everyone at the dining table looked up toward the entrance.
Seeing Isabella, Olivia froze for a moment, then sneered sarcastically the next second: "You actually know to come back?"
See, she was right.
Isabella had finally gotten out of the mountains and could enjoy the Taylor Family's wealth and luxury - how could she possibly abandon everything within her grasp and rashly leave home?
Didn't she come back obediently after all!
"I'm just here to get my own things." Isabella glanced at her coolly and went upstairs. "I'll be living at school from now on."
Olivia stood frozen in place, looking at Isabella's retreating figure in disbelief.
Isabella went into her room and started packing her clothes and other belongings, quickly filling up her suitcase.
She pulled the suitcase and headed straight downstairs.
The Taylor Family members' faces all looked rather unpleasant seeing this scene.
"What are you doing?" Chase stared at her intently. "It's been so many days already, haven't you made enough of a scene?"
He never understood - Isabella was clearly the one who did wrong, yet she was the one throwing a tantrum?
What was this about? Was she really going to run away from home?
"If you want to leave, then leave! Who cares about you?" Gabriel was very angry. "Someone from the countryside with such a temper - do you really think you're a rich young lady?"
Without Isabella, this family would be so much better.
No one would compete with Bianca for things anymore, and no one would bully Bianca.
This should clearly be a good thing, so why did he feel irritated?
Tobias frowned. Seeing Isabella about to leave with her suitcase, he felt inexplicably annoyed.
"Isabella, leaving is your choice. You can't blame others. Don't say later that the Taylor Family drove you away."
Hayden had a bit of a headache. "Isabella, stop making a scene..."
Isabella cut him off. "I'm not making a scene. I'm just planning to live at school. I don't know what the problem is."
Hayden was slightly stunned. He looked into Isabella's eyes - they were completely calm, indeed showing no signs of throwing a tantrum.
Hayden felt something was very wrong with Isabella like this, but couldn't put his finger on it.
"Then let her go!" Olivia said coldly. "There's nothing wrong with living at school. Hayden, don't stop her."
Once Isabella suffered a bit at school, she'd naturally come back.
Could she really be planning to completely cut ties with this family?
Could she bear to?
Isabella glanced coolly at Olivia and walked out dragging her suitcase.
Seeing her like this, Olivia was so angry her chest hurt. "Over such a small matter she won't even live at home anymore - what? Am I her enemy?"
How did she end up with this kind of daughter?
——
Isabella walked along the path at Stellar High School pulling her suitcase.
Isabella's appearance was too striking, attracting almost everyone's attention.
She wore a simple T-shirt. At 170cm tall with a slender, willowy figure, waist-length hair, bright eyes, white teeth, and skin as fair as snow, she was so beautiful people couldn't look away.
"Look, look, over there - such a beautiful girl, that presence, just wow."
"So pretty! How come we've never seen her before?"
"Who is she? Which class? Does anyone know her? Does anyone have her contact info? I want to add her."
"..."