Chapter 42 Leave Your Husband
Isabel had skipped college for a couple of days before Christmas, which caused her to miss some important classes. As her final semester was just two months away, it was crucial for her to attend the classes regularly, but Isabel failed to do so. Olivia, Isabel's best friend, became worried about her absence from college and the missed notes. Olivia tried to talk to Isabel on the phone a few times and suggested meeting with her to catch up on the classes, but Isabel always gave the excuse of being too busy with the guests in her house.
After several unsuccessful attempts to meet with Isabel, Olivia decided to take the matter into her own hands and pay Isabel a visit. Olivia's primary objective was to provide Isabel with the essential notes and catch up on the classes she missed. However, Olivia also wanted to meet Isabel's new family, particularly her husband, Mason. So she finally went to meet Isabel and was surprised to find that Mason opened the door for her. Olivia immediately recognized Mason, but Mason had no idea that Isabel had a best friend and it was Olivia.
"I came here to meet with Isabel", Olivia replied when Mason curiously asked who she was.
"Meet Isabel? Are you related to her?", Mason left more curious because he had never seen Isabel with friends other than her family. He had a low opinion of Isabel's social skills and believed that no one would want to be friends with her.
"Yeah, I'm her friend. Myself is Olivia", she introduced herself, but Mason frowned, feeling annoyed. Despite Olivia's attractiveness, Mason began to feel irritated that she was Isabel's friend.
Olivia continued to explain that although they had not met before, she knew Mason was Isabel's husband. This caused Mason to lose interest in speaking with her, as he wanted to distance himself from anything related to Isabel.
"Who is it, babe?" Addison's voice interrupted their conversation from behind, causing Mason and Olivia to glance at her.
"Babe!" Olivia muttered in surprise, not understanding why Addison was calling him that. Mason didn't bother to reply to Addison instead, he called one of the maids and asked her to take Olivia to Isabel. Without wasting a single second, Mason went straight to his room with Addison.
Olivia was still in shock, unable to ask Mason why the girl was calling him "babe". Nonetheless, she followed the maid to reach her friend. When Olivia finally reached Isabel, she was even more surprised to find her in a dark storeroom.
Isabel was taken aback by Olivia's sudden presence and began to wipe away her tears, hoping to hide her suffering from her friend. The maid left, leaving Isabel and Olivia alone in the storeroom. Neither of them spoke for a while, until Olivia finally broke the silence, although she was still in shock.
"What's going on, Isabel? Why are you in this dark room?", Olivia asked with a controlled rage, concerned for her friend's well-being.
Isabel couldn't come up with any immediate excuses, knowing that Olivia wasn't going to believe any of her lies. She was afraid of what Olivia would do once she found out what was really going on.
"Isabel, I asked you something. Why aren't you replying to me?", Olivia's patience was wearing thin as she watched Isabel remain silent.
"Olivia, you're supposed to call me before coming here. I told you that we have guests. How could you just show up without telling me?", Isabel questioned, hoping to change the subject and avoid revealing the truth.
But Olivia was not convinced and recalled seeing Mason with another woman.
"Who was the girl with your husband? She was speaking to him affectionately. Who is she?", Olivia pressed on, determined to find out the truth. Isabel felt helpless, knowing that Olivia had already met Addison.
Isabel remained silent, realizing that Olivia was determined to hear only the truth. "Olivia, you need to leave. I will talk to you after Christmas," Isabel spoke in a serious tone, but Olivia wasn't having it. She had already seen enough and wanted to know everything, while Isabel didn't want to involve her in her miserable life.
"I'm not leaving until you tell me what's going on", Olivia stated firmly. She couldn't believe that Mason was with another woman, and Isabel was suffering alone in a dark room.
Isabel was about to leave, but Olivia stopped her. "Please, Isabel. What's happening? Who was that woman with Mason? Why are you crying here?" Olivia's voice was raised with frustration, and Isabel couldn't contain her emotions any longer.
"What do you want to know, Olivia? You already figured it out, didn't you? The woman was my husband's girlfriend, and they're going to get married soon. And I was crying here because it's my safe haven to weep my heart out and suffer alone," Isabel's voice was filled with pain as she finally let out all her emotions that she had been bottling up for the past few days.
Nowadays Isabel had been putting up a facade of being fine, but inside, she was in unbearable pain from feeling unwanted. When Olivia pressed her to reveal what was going on, Isabel couldn't hold it in any longer and burst into tears. She collapsed onto the floor, her sobs wracking her body.
Olivia immediately embraced Isabel, holding her tightly as she cried. She had never seen someone in so much pain and didn't know how to comfort her. Despite her best efforts, Olivia couldn't calm Isabel down, and she too felt overwhelmed by the intensity of her friend's suffering.
Eventually, Isabel regained her composure and realized how vulnerable she had been. She found herself still in Olivia's embrace, and the warmth of her friend's body helped her to feel a little better.
"Isabel, are you okay now?", Olivia asked gently when Isabel's tears finally stopped.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you like that. I had no idea you were hurting so much", Olivia apologized, and this time she was the one who couldn't control her tears from her eyes.
"I'm okay. I'm sorry for breaking down like that", Isabel said, feeling embarrassed about her earlier outburst.
"You're so resilient, Isabel. Most people would have been destroyed by now, but you're one of the strongest people I've ever met", Olivia said, admiring Isabel's ability to handle so much pain and still appear composed.
"Don't exaggerate, Olivia. You need to leave", Isabel said, pulling away from Olivia's embrace.
She stood up and tried to act as though she had not just had a mental breakdown.
"I'm okay, really. You don't have to worry about me. I'll see you soon, but for now, please leave", Isabel requested, aware of Olivia's temper and how she could react.
"You can't stay here anymore, Isabel. Come live with me from now on", Olivia said firmly, not allowing any room for refusal.
"What?", Isabel exclaimed, surprised by Olivia's sudden offer.
"I'm asking you, please come with me. I don't want to leave you alone here", Olivia said, her eyes filled with hope.
"But it's...", Isabel began to object, but Olivia interrupted her.
"No buts. You're going to live with me and leave your husband forever", Olivia continued, believing that this was the only way to minimize Isabel's suffering.