Chapter 7

It was indeed a special day—Elizabeth's fifth death anniversary. Vincent had forgotten about it for the past three years; Nancy was the only one who remembered. She would accompany Isobel on a visit to Elizabeth's grave on this day every year.

Isobel felt horrible that she'd almost forgotten about it. She tightened her grip on her phone and shut her eyes as she thought of the moment Elizabeth passed.

Nancy said, "Let's visit your mother's grave this afternoon, Bell."

Isobel said, "Okay."

In the end, she didn't reject Nancy. After hanging up, she checked the time and realized it was only 8:00 am. She pondered the situation and decided to head to work.

Things weren't looking too good for the company. The only silver lining was that Remy had realized he'd gone overboard the night before and had given some of his family's business to Isobel.

He even sent her an ingratiating message to apologize. "Don't be mad at me, Bell. I only helped Ethan because he cried and begged me. I squeezed whatever I could from my dad's business partners. I'll give you all the advertising work the company needs once I gain control of it."

He also sent her a digital contract. "I'll have someone from the company liaise with you on this. Don't worry about a thing."

Isobel raised an eyebrow without replying. She couldn't bring herself to be mad at Remy, though. They'd known each other since childhood and had gone to the same school since middle school. He knew better than anyone how she felt about Ethan. It was understandable that he'd tried to get them back together.

However, she was the type who gave it her all when she loved someone and thoroughly let go when she no longer had feelings. Remy knew what she was like—that was why he'd apologized.

The business deal Remy had given Isobel wasn't worth much, but it was better than nothing. Still, it didn't do much to help the company's current situation. Her rent and mortgage payments would be due soon…

Isobel leaned back in her seat and pinched her nose bridge. After some thought, she decided to continue following up on the potential collaboration with Theodore. So, she pulled up her conversation with him.

She'd had Theodore's number for some time, but they hadn't spoken outside of a few texts the night before. The conversation had stopped after a brief exchange. She'd asked, "Where are you?"

He'd replied with a question mark but had still sent his location. That was where the conversation had ended.

In hindsight, it was rather humiliating. Isobel licked the corner of her lips before tapping away on the keyboard. It took a lot of writing and deleting before she finally typed out a proper message. "Mr. Stone, when will you be able to squeeze out time for me so we can discuss the proposal again? Or I can treat you to a meal."

When he didn't reply after a while, Isobel set her phone aside and busied herself with other work. She didn't receive a reply even until that afternoon after she completed her work. She stared silently at her phone for a while.

Then, she left the company and headed to the Goode residence to pick Nancy up. However, when she arrived, she saw Ethan there. His eyes were bloodshot—he looked like he'd spent the whole night up.

Once Isobel arrived, Nancy tugged Ethan forward and said, "Hurry up and apologize to Bell."

Ethan stepped forward and said, "I'm sorry, Bell. There's really nothing between Heather and me, and I promise I won't contact her anymore."

Isobel didn't respond to that. She ignored him and turned to Nancy with a smile. "Get in, Nance."

Nancy shot Ethan a look. He hurried forward to open the door for her before standing beside Isobel. He said, "I'll drive. I'll be your driver today."

She looked indifferent but didn't say no. Instead, she got into the backseat with Nancy.

…

Elizabeth's grave was in a cemetery on a hill east of the city. The roads curved on the way up, and Isobel looked out the window at the scenery.

Nancy chatted with her on the way and kept saying good things for Ethan. Isobel didn't want to rebuke her at this time, so she gave noncommittal responses.

When they arrived, Nancy and Isobel walked ahead while Ethan trailed them. It had just rained, so the path was a little slippery.

Isobel froze momentarily as she looked at Elizabeth's photo on the gravestone. Even to this day, she still couldn't believe Elizabeth had passed. One moment, she'd been smiling brightly at Isobel. The next, she died from a severe illness. It had happened in less than a month.

Isobel's eyes turned red as she remembered how Elizabeth had died. She placed a bouquet before the grave, unable to stop her tears from falling.

"Five years have passed in the blink of an eye, Liz. You don't have to worry about anything, okay? Bell is sweet and beautiful, just like you were," Nancy said.

She placed the things she'd brought before the grave and continued, "Ethan will care for Bell from now on, so you can rest in peace. I'll disown him if he dares bully her."

Ethan hurried forward and said, "Don't worry, Elizabeth. I swear I'll treat Isobel well."

Isobel rubbed her nose and turned away. There was no chance of anything happening between her and Ethan, but she didn't want to get into that before Elizabeth's grave. She didn't say anything.

Once they were done paying their respects, they made their way down the hill. On the way down, Isobel's phone buzzed. She checked it to see a reply from Theodore.