CHAPTER FIVE

Isabella's POV

“So, Isabella, your billionaire husband couldn't spare an hour to accompany you?”

Vanessa's mocking voice greeted me before I had even stepped fully into my parents' living room.

She was sitting beside Adrian on the sofa, wearing a fitted red dress and the silver bracelet he had given her.

I glanced at the clock.

I had arrived exactly when Mother requested.

Apparently, that was already a problem.

“Good afternoon to you too, Vanessa.”

She laughed. “Oh, don't be so sensitive. I'm only asking because Adrian and I came together. I thought Nathaniel would at least make an effort for his new wife.”

Thank goodness! I knew that shopping trip meant nothing. Nathaniel is still the same cold, distant man he was in my previous life.

I placed my handbag on the armchair.

He probably bought her those things to keep her quiet. Men like Nathaniel don't suddenly become affectionate. Isabella will soon understand how miserable that marriage can be.

I almost smiled.

Earlier that afternoon, Nathaniel had called to explain that an unexpected matter required his attention.

“I may be delayed,” he had told me. “You can go ahead if you're comfortable. I'll join you as soon as I can.”

He had even offered to arrange for Harrison to take me another day if I preferred not to go alone.

I had assured him that I would be fine.

Now, looking at Vanessa's delighted expression, I understood why she was so eager to believe he had abandoned me.

“Nathaniel had something to attend to,” I replied.

Vanessa exchanged a meaningful glance with Adrian.

“Of course he did.”

That's exactly what he used to tell me. Meetings, business trips, emergencies. Always something more important than his wife.

“Isabella!”

Mother entered the room carrying a tray of drinks.

Her smile disappeared slightly when she noticed I was alone.

“Where's Nathaniel?”

“He'll be joining us later.”

She frowned. “Later? Your father specifically invited both of you.”

“I know.”

“Couldn't you have persuaded him to come with you?”

Before I could answer, Father appeared.

“Adrian, my boy! I hope you haven't been waiting too long.”

He walked straight past me and shook Adrian's hand warmly.

“Not at all, sir,” Adrian replied.

“Wonderful! Vanessa showed us the gifts you brought. Very thoughtful of you.”

Adrian smiled modestly.

“It was nothing, sir. Just a little something to show our appreciation.”

“Nonsense! It's the thought that counts.”

Mother placed the tray on the table.

“Exactly. Some people believe expensive gifts are everything, but a considerate husband is worth far more.”

Her eyes moved towards me.

I knew that look.

Vanessa leaned against Adrian's shoulder.

“Adrian spent so much time choosing those gifts. I kept telling him not to worry, but he insisted.”

He actually complained about the prices for almost an hour, but they don't need to know that.

I took a seat.

Father poured Adrian a drink.

“You're building your investment business, aren't you?”

“Yes, sir. I'm hoping to expand our operations over the next few years.”

“Excellent! That's the kind of ambition I admire.”

He patted Adrian's shoulder.

“A man who starts with little and works hard will eventually achieve great things. Mark my words, Adrian, you're destined for success.”

I lowered my gaze to hide my amusement.

In my previous life, Father had said almost the same thing.

Back then, he had been praising Adrian for marrying me despite my supposed lack of accomplishments.

Now he was praising him for marrying Vanessa.

Some things never changed.

***

Dinner was served twenty minutes later.

Mother had prepared Adrian's favourite dishes, including roasted lamb and creamy mashed potatoes.

I noticed that the seafood pasta I usually enjoyed was missing.

It wasn't surprising.

Mother rarely remembered what I liked.

“So, Isabella,” Father began after everyone had settled, “how are things at the Blackwood residence?”

“Quite well, thank you.”

“And Nathaniel?”

“He's fine.”

Mother sighed.

“Your answers are always so brief. It's no wonder your husband doesn't find you interesting.”

I slowly lowered my fork. “Excuse me?”

“Don't look so surprised. Marriage requires effort, Isabella. A woman must know how to keep her husband's attention.”

Vanessa nodded sympathetically.

“Mother's right. Men like to feel appreciated.”

Especially rich men who have dozens of beautiful women throwing themselves at them. Isabella probably doesn't even know how to flirt.

I looked at her. “And I suppose you're an expert?”

She smiled.

“Well, Adrian and I have a wonderful relationship.”

Adrian placed his hand over hers.

“She's been very supportive.”

Father beamed. “That's exactly what a wife should be!”

Mother turned back to me.

“You should learn from your sister. Vanessa knows how to make her husband happy. Look at how devoted Adrian is to her.”

I glanced at Adrian.

He was already reaching for another serving of lamb.

“I'm happy for them,” I said.

Mother frowned.

“That's all you have to say?”

“What would you like me to say?”

“That you'll make more effort! Nathaniel is one of the wealthiest men in the country, yet you couldn't even convince him to attend a simple family dinner.”

“He said he'll be here.”

“And if he doesn't come?”

“Then he doesn't come.”

Mother stared at me.

“Honestly, Isabella, sometimes I wonder whether you understand how fortunate you are.”

She has everything Vanessa should have had, yet she can't even make herself useful.

Father cleared his throat.

“Speaking of being fortunate, there's something we need to discuss.”

I already knew what was coming.

“Adrian has been telling me about his plans to expand his company,” he continued. “He has identified several promising investment opportunities, but he needs additional funding.”

Adrian straightened.

“Yes, sir. With the right capital, I believe we could achieve significant growth within a few years.”

If only I could secure a major investor. The bank has already rejected my latest loan application.

I looked at him.

So his financial problems had already begun.

Father continued. “Nathaniel has considerable resources. I'm sure he wouldn't mind supporting a promising young businessman. We're family now, after all. Five million dollars should be enough to begin with.”

Five million dollars.

The man who had refused to pay my university tuition could ask for five million dollars without blinking.

And his thoughts made it clear this was only the beginning.

If she can convince Nathaniel to release five million now, we can ask for more later. Adrian's success will benefit Vanessa and that means the Whitmore family will finally have a proper business empire.

I turned my attention to Adrian.

In my previous life, I had spent four years covering for this man.

I wrote his proposals. I prepared his answers before every investor meeting. I sat quietly beside him while he repeated my analysis as though it were his own.

He had never walked into a difficult meeting without me.

Tonight, nobody would be whispering the answers to him.

I didn't need to tell my family that Adrian knew nothing.

I only needed to let him speak.

“No serious investor hands over five million dollars without asking questions,” I said. “If you want me to raise this with Nathaniel, I'll need to understand Adrian's business first.”

Father waved a hand. “Then ask. Adrian has nothing to hide.”

Adrian relaxed back in his chair, smiling. “Go ahead, Isabella. Ask me anything.”

What could she possibly ask? She's never run anything in her life.

Vanessa looked equally confident.

Good. Let Adrian show her what a real businessman sounds like. In a few years, his face will be on the cover of every financial magazine in the country.

I folded my hands on the table.

“Let's start with valuation. When you assess a company before investing, which method do you rely on? A discounted cash flow model or comparable company analysis?”

Adrian's smile didn't waver.

“Discounted, of course.”

“Why?”

“Because I never pay full price for anything.” He chuckled. “Buy low, sell high. That's the first rule of investing.”

Father laughed approvingly. “Sensible man!”

I waited for the laughter to fade.

“A discounted cash flow model has nothing to do with buying things at a discount, Adrian. It works out what a company's future earnings are worth in today's money. It's how investors decide whether a price is reasonable in the first place.”

Adrian's smile stiffened.

What is she talking about?

Across the table, Vanessa's fork paused halfway to her mouth.

Discounted cash flow? What is that? Why is he hesitating? He's supposed to know these things!

Adrian recovered quickly. “Terminology,” he said with a shrug. “In real business, we don't waste time on textbook definitions. I look for companies with momentum. Technology, for instance. That's where the money is.”

Technology.

I remembered exactly how that year ended for the people who chased technology stocks.

In my previous life, while everyone else rushed into that market, I had steered Adrian towards renewable energy instead.

He had called it instinct.

“Then let's try something practical,” I said. “Suppose the central bank raises interest rates next quarter. What happens to the value of the bonds in your clients' portfolios?”

He answered immediately. “They go up, obviously. Higher rates, higher returns.”

“They fall.”

He blinked.

“When interest rates rise, new bonds pay more,” I explained. “Older bonds paying less become less attractive, so their value drops. It's one of the first things any finance student learns.”

Adrian's ears turned red. “That's a matter of opinion.”

“It's a matter of arithmetic.”

Silence settled over the table.

Mother glanced at Father. Father frowned at his plate.

Vanessa set down her fork.

Why is he sweating? In my previous life, the newspapers called him the sharpest financial mind of his generation. Isabella can't possibly know more than him. She can't!

“One last question,” I said. “What's your firm's current debt-to-equity ratio?”

Adrian shifted in his seat. “Our debts are manageable.”

“That isn't a ratio.”

“I'd have to check with my accountant.”

“You're asking my husband for five million dollars, and you don't know how much your own company owes?”

Nobody spoke.

Adrian's knuckles whitened around his glass.

Then Vanessa's thoughts hit me, so loud and frantic that I almost flinched.

Say something, Adrian! Anything! Why are you just sitting there?

Her cheeks had turned a deep shade of pink.

Everyone is staring at us. Mother looks confused. Father won't even look at him. Oh God, this is humiliating! Isabella is making him look like a fool, and he's letting her!

Her fingers twisted her napkin so tightly I thought it might tear.

No. No, he's only nervous. Geniuses don't memorise textbook definitions. Cole Global will still happen. It has to happen. I gave up Nathaniel for this!

I lowered my gaze to my plate.

Everyone at the table could see Vanessa's embarrassment.

Only I could hear her panic.

For the first time since we had both opened our eyes in this life, my sister was afraid.

She had snatched my future without ever asking who built it. Now, sitting beside the man she had chosen, she was beginning to wonder what exactly she had taken.

Vanessa forced out a laugh. It came out too loud.

“Honestly, Isabella. Adrian runs a company. He doesn't have time to memorise numbers for your silly little quiz.”

Please believe me. Please, please believe me.

Mother set down her glass with a sharp clink.

“That is enough, Isabella.”

I looked up. “I'm sorry?”

“What exactly do you think you're doing?”

“Asking the questions any investor would ask.”

“This is a family dinner,” Father snapped, “not an examination hall!”

“You're the one who brought five million dollars to the table, Father.”

His face reddened. “Don't twist my words! You've been sitting there deliberately making things difficult for your brother-in-law.”

Mother nodded. “Showing off those little courses of yours. As if a few certificates make you smarter than a man who runs his own company.”

Then Father's thoughts reached me.

I didn't understand half of what she asked. Even so, I could see the boy struggling. That's beside the point. She chose those questions to humiliate him.

Beside the point.

Mother's thoughts followed.

Poor Vanessa. Look at her face. Whatever Adrian does or doesn't know, Isabella had no right to embarrass her sister's husband like this.

Not one of them asked Adrian why a man seeking five million dollars couldn't explain his own business.

They had watched him fail three simple questions and they had decided the problem was me.

In my previous life, I would have apologised by now, simply to make the shouting stop.

This time, I stayed in my seat and waited.

Adrian set down his glass and smiled. It was the same patient, gracious smile I had once found charming.

“Sir, please. It's alright. I'm not offended.”

Father turned to him. “You're too generous, Adrian.”

“Not at all.” Adrian looked at me. “Isabella has read a few books and I respect that. But textbooks and real business are very different things. Real business is about instinct. Relationships. Knowing when to move. You can't learn that in a classroom.”

Mother sighed. “Such a gracious young man.”

Then his thoughts slid into my mind.

How the hell does she know all of this? She made me look like an idiot in front of them.

His smile never slipped.

She'll regret this.

The back of my neck went cold.

It was the same calm expression he had worn the night he stood above me, watching the blood spread beneath my head.

I pressed my palms flat against my knees beneath the table.

This was a different life. I was not his wife. And I would never again give him the power to frighten me.

I lifted my chin.

“Instinct doesn't change arithmetic, Adrian. And I won't be asking my husband to put a single cent into your company.”

Father slammed his palm against the table. The cutlery rattled.

“Apologise to your brother-in-law. Now.”

“No.”

Mother gasped.

Father stared at me. “What did you say?”

“I said no. I didn't humiliate Adrian, Father. His answers did.”

The silence that followed was so complete that I could hear the clock ticking in the living room.

Vanessa recovered first. She always did.

“You're only doing this because you're jealous,” she said, her voice trembling. “Your husband couldn't even be bothered to come tonight, so you're taking it out on mine.”

Mother turned towards me. “Is that what this is about?”

“No.”

But Vanessa had found her footing.

“Think about it, Mother. Nathaniel didn't come with her. He barely speaks to her. She knows he'd never give a single cent to her family, so she's trying to make Adrian look bad instead.”

Yes. Make this about her marriage. Anything but Adrian.

Mother looked at me with something close to pity. “Isabella, is that true? Does your husband care so little about you?”

Four faces stared back at me.

Vanessa looked desperate. Adrian looked as though he would happily see me disappear. Mother looked disappointed. Father looked furious.

I had spent years begging these people to see my worth.

Now they were sitting around a dinner table, demanding millions from a husband they had just accused of not caring about me.

“You refused to pay my tuition,” I said quietly. “You dismissed every qualification I earned. You tried to take the savings I spent years building, and when I refused, you withheld my dowry and told me never to come back asking for help.”

Mother looked away.

“I haven't asked this family for anything. Yet you invited me here to ask me for five million dollars.”

Father's face darkened. “Watch your tone!”

“No, you watch your tone. I've watched my tone for twenty-four years, Father. It never made you treat me any better.”

Father's jaw clenched. “You ungrateful girl. After everything this family has given you...”

“Given me?”

I almost laughed.

For twenty-four years, I had sat quietly at this table while they listed my failures.

Tonight, I was done defending myself.

It was their turn.

I took out my phone, opened the family group chat, and scrolled up.

Vanessa's eyes followed my thumb.

What is she doing?

“A few days ago, Vanessa shared a lovely message with all of us,” I said. “In case anyone has forgotten, I'll read it.”

“Isabella, put that away,” Mother snapped.

I didn't.

“‘True happiness isn't about marrying a wealthy man. It's about finding someone who genuinely loves you. I'd rather receive a simple gift from a loving husband than live in a mansion with a man who doesn't care about me.’”

Vanessa stiffened.

“Mother replied, ‘Beautiful, darling! Adrian is such a thoughtful young man.’”

I looked up at Father.

“And you wrote, ‘Money isn't everything. You've made a wise decision.’”

His face turned a dull, blotchy red.

“A few minutes later, Vanessa added, ‘Some people might have more money but I'll always choose love.’”

I placed the phone face up in the middle of the table.

“Money isn't everything,” I repeated. “That's what this family believed when Vanessa chose Adrian. So I'm curious. When did five million dollars become so important?”

Mother opened her mouth.

Nothing came out.

Oh no. Not in front of Adrian.

Vanessa found her voice first. “That's completely different! I was talking about love!”

“You were,” I agreed. “And tonight, you're talking about my husband's money.”

Her cheeks flamed.

“You also told Nathaniel, outside the Galleria, that marriage isn't about how much money a woman can get from her husband.” I tilted my head. “I agree with you, Vanessa. So why are you trying to get five million dollars from mine?”

Everyone is staring at me. Adrian is staring at me. How dare she humiliate me like this!

“You're twisting my words!”

“I'm reading them.”

Adrian cleared his throat. “Isabella, you've made your point. There's no need to...”

“You said something that day too, Adrian.” I turned towards him. “A sensible woman should understand the value of money. I agree. That's exactly why I asked you those questions.”

His eyes narrowed.

“It's also how I know you didn't come to my father first.”

Something flickered across his face.

“The bank rejected your loan application,” I said. “Didn't it?”

Adrian went completely still.

How does she know? I haven't told anyone. Not even Vanessa!

Vanessa's head snapped towards him. “Adrian?”

He forced out a laugh. “Who told you that?”

“Nobody had to. A man with a promising business borrows from a bank. He only asks his wife's family for five million dollars after the bank has already said no.”

Mother's hand drifted to her throat.

Father looked at Adrian. For the first time all evening, he didn't look proud at all. 

“It was one bank,” Adrian said quickly. “They're overly cautious with young firms. It means nothing.”

Nobody answered him.

Father tried to steady his voice. “Even if that's true, it's exactly why family should support...”

“Family?” I met his eyes. “Let's be honest for once, Father. This was never about supporting Adrian.”

He frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“You want Nathaniel to release five million dollars now, so you can come back and ask for more later. Adrian's success becomes Vanessa's success, and the Whitmore family finally gets the business empire you've always wanted.”

Father's face lost every trace of colour.

How... how could she possibly know that?

Adrian turned slowly to look at him.

Mother didn't look surprised at all.

That told me everything.

“You once told me certificates wouldn't make me useful,” I said quietly. “You were wrong, Father. They taught me how to recognise a bad investment.”

I picked up my fork.

“It's a pity I spent twenty-four years in one before I noticed.”

Father's chair scraped back so violently that it almost toppled over.

“Get out!” he roared. “Get out of my house!”

“No.”

He stared at me, his chest heaving.

“You invited my husband to dinner, Father. He said he'll be here.” I cut a piece of lamb. “So I'll wait for him.”

Mother pressed a hand to her chest.

I ate slowly.

The lamb was excellent. A pity nobody else seemed hungry anymore.

Father remained on his feet at the head of the table, as though he had forgotten what to do with his hands. Mother stared at the phone in the middle of the table. Adrian gazed down at his plate.

And Vanessa was staring at me.

The anger had left her face. What replaced it was colder.

Then her thoughts reached me, quiet and careful, as though she was afraid someone might overhear them.

The loan. Adrian didn't even tell me about the loan. So how did she know?

I kept eating.

The Isabella I grew up with cried whenever Father raised his voice. This one called our family a bad investment and went back to her dinner.

She gave Adrian up without a fight. She smiled when I chose him.

She smiled.

My hand stilled on my fork.

In our previous life, she was Adrian's wife. She would have known every secret he ever kept.

Oh God.

Did she come back too? If she did, why did she let me have Adrian even though he became wealthy? What the hell is going on here?

Good, I thought with a smug smile. My sister was beginning to put two and two together.

I relaxed back in my chair while relishing in advance the storm that was about to erupt. 

It was going to be one hell of a ride.