When Jacob got to his new in-laws house, he didn’t expect to be welcomed by the sight of his wife all but being thrown out of the house.As Isabelle stumbled onto the porch, he reached forward quickly and caught her arms, steadying her. “What’s going on?” he demanded, taking in her face. Her face was flushed, her lips pursed, while her eyes were teary and red.“Nothing,” she muttered, turning her face away from him and freeing herself from his grip. “What are you doing here?”Jacob looked towards the open door, where Isabelle’s sister had been standing a few seconds ago. Turning around, he spotted Kevin who was carrying several shopping bags. “Kevin, bring them into the house,” he told him.“Okay, boss,” Kevin agreed and walked past the couple into the house.“What is that?” Isabelle asked as she looked closely at the bags Kevin was carrying.“Gifts for my new in-laws,” Jacob answered, and then reached for her hand. “Come on, let’s go inside.”As Isabelle went back into the house in J
Isabelle was taking in the spectacle unfolding before her when Jacob took her hand and led her towards the front door. Of all the ways she had expected Jacob’s visit to go, that was definitely not one of them. She could still hear her mother and sister’s grumbling as the door closed behind them.Jacob kept his hold on her hand all the way to the front of the house. When he let go, he came to a stop and regarded her. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming to your parents’ house?”She looked towards the door, half-expecting her mother to appear with more flattering words for Jacob. While she did, she jogged her brain for an excuse to give Jacob. It wasn’t as if she could tell him that she came to collect money that her parents had promised on account that she married him…“Isabelle?” Jacob’s voice urged.Looking away from the door, she faced him and said, “I’m sorry about that. When I left the house, I got a call from my father asking me to come by immediately. I didn’t have time to te
After settling in her new home, Isabelle had one more thing to do: find a job. The sooner, the better. She was no longer getting any money from her parents, and Jacob’s financial situation wasn’t the best.So the sooner she got a job, the better it would be for all of them. Once she found a job, maybe she could look for a new apartment to rent. While the house they were living in wasn’t exactly the worst, it was practical at best. Living with Jacob in the same room when they were only pretending to be a couple had its own share of challenges she wished to fix soon.With a good job, she could be able to afford to rent a good apartment where they could each have their own rooms. Also, once she found a job, she would have fewer things to worry about and finally focus on finding ways to raise funds for Ruth’s medical bill.She had high hopes of finding a job quickly. Just the other day, she had received a call for an interview from Larson Group, a famous design company that was renowned i
“Yeah, please do tell us,” the man sitting next to her encouraged.Ann crossed her arms across her chest and pursed her lips before saying, “I just don’t have a good feeling about her, that’s all.”“That cannot be a good reason to not hire her,” someone pointed out. “It sounds as if you have a personal grudge against her. You need to give a good reason why you don’t recommend her for the position.”“I do not have a personal grudge against her,” Ann claimed firmly. “But yes, I know her from school. We were classmates. That’s why I know she might not be the kind of person we want in this company.”“What kind of student was she?”“The kind that cheats on exams,” Ann said. “Look, I didn’t want to bring this up because I’m not sure it’s relevant now, but who knows? Maybe she hasn’t changed at all. Back then, she copied a classmate’s design and won an award with it. The other student was disqualified. I have no idea how she managed to convince the professor that she was the original design
Isabelle looked up and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She eyed the pamphlet in his hands and shrugged. “Yeah.”Then she looked away again and focused on her laptop. But Jacob didn’t miss her tone, and how her face fell at his question.“And?” he urged.“I didn’t get the job.”“Oh,” he mumbled, frowning. “Can I take a look at your resume?”“Sure.”He took the document and sat back on the sofa. The more he scrutinised the document, the deeper his frown grew. From what he was seeing, it didn’t make sense that she wouldn’t pass an interview at the Larson Group.According to her resume, she was a top student at her college and even won a scholarship after winning a design contest. That aside, she had recently won a design championship. Both were enough proof that she was a brilliant upcoming designer.“Why were you rejected?” he asked after looking through her resume.“Probably because I didn’t pass the exam,” Isabelle replied. But even as she said that, she doubted it. She
Isabelle walked into the kitchen to the sight of Jacob standing over an overturned recycling bin, with several shattered beer bottles at his feet. He had a broom in one hand and a dustpan in the other, still as he looked at the mess he had made.When Isabelle appeared, he looked from the mess to her and then back again. “I…uh…” he began, then went to rub the back of his neck, but realised that was impossible with the dustpan in his hand. So he dropped his hand and shrugged.Isabelle was relieved that he didn’t seem to have hurt himself. But she couldn’t help but be amused at how he looked standing there looking at the mess he had made as if not sure how it had happened.He cleared his throat and looked at her. “I was sweeping and then…I hit the bin.”Yeah, she had guessed as much. Stepping forward, she reached for his broom. “Let me clean it up.”“No,” he said, stepping back. “Careful,” he added, looking down at the shattered glass. “Don’t step on them.”Isabelle stepped back from the
When Isabelle got to the Larson Group building, she headed up to the floor she had been on the previous day. However, when she emerged at the waiting room leading to the room she had been interviewed in, a well-dressed lady approached her.“Are you Isabelle Cruz?” she asked politely.“Yes, that’s me,” Isabelle replied.“Welcome to Larson Group, Ms Cruz. I’m Linda, the vice president’s assistant. Please come with me, the vice president is awaiting you.”Isabelle blinked. “The vice president?”“Yes. I’ll show you the way.”Isabelle went with the lady, surprised at the turn of events. She had expected to be led to an interview room. Why did the vice president want to see her?As they went, she noticed that many people stared at her. Did they know her? The previous day, nobody had really paid her any attention. But then she thought of the apology email from the company. Maybe the people here knew about what had happened with her interview?Linda came to a stop in front of a door and pushe
When Ann was asked to see the vice president first thing in the morning, she never could have imagined it would be concerning Isabelle’s interview and subsequent rejection. After having the panel reject her the previous day, she had slept like a baby, happy that she had finally executed her revenge.Keeping Isabelle out of the company almost made up for that time in college when she lost the scholarship to her. And, not only had she managed to cost her a job at the prestigious Larson Group, but also tarnished her reputation at the same time. She had been certain that once the word spread in the industry, Isabelle would have a hard time finding a job elsewhere.So, she hadn’t foreseen what was currently happening–sitting opposite a righteous-looking Isabelle, under the strict scrutiny of the Larson Group’s vice president.Why was Jason paying so much attention to Isabelle’s case, anyway? The man rejected hundreds of applicants daily and forgot about it. If he was acting as he usually d