جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 67

~Isabel POV~The ride back to the Sterling mansion felt agonizingly slow, and my mind was a chaotic storm of runaway thoughts.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw those shoes sitting by the door, if Juliana saw them, she would know without a doubt that a woman had been in William’s room, it wouldn't take much for her to realize that woman was me, his own step-sister. I gripped the steering wheel, my knuckles white, wondering what I would even do if she began to suspect the truth. I supposed I would have to find out tonight at the gala.I finally drove up to the gate, and the sensors triggered the heavy black iron to slide open immediately as they felt the tires of my car. I desperately wanted to stop thinking about William. I tried to tell myself that maybe I was wrong, that he wasn't just using me to get information about my mom or whatever, but the logic was hard to ignore. How could he ever truly trust me or even like me when he was busy suspecting my own mother and having her

~Isabel~She smiled, shaking her head slightly, then leaned in close and whispered back, "I'm not a child, Isabel. I see the game you're playing. Don't lie to me, I saw your shoes by the door. I even took a picture of them." She added this last part, whispering even closer to my ear, I panicked inside. ‘She took a picture of my shoes?’ My mind raced wildly. ‘Think, think, think, Isabel! Say something to convince her they aren't yours!’"Mmh." I snorted and forced a bold smile, desperately trying to look confident instead of terrified, though I could feel my hand trembling violently against the glass cup I was holding. "And what makes you think those shoes were mine? Juliana, are you obsessed with me?"Her eyes widened in utter shock at my sudden counter-question, and she nearly choked on her own breath. She let out a loud, sharp burst of funny laughter that actually brought tears to her eyes. The outburst caused a few people standing around us to turn and shoot her a disapproving

~Isabel's POV~The ride back home was completely quiet, no one said anything at all. When we finally got to the mansion, I moved straight up the stairs, heading directly to my room, but the sound of footsteps following closely behind me made me understand immediately that I won't be left alone tonight. I opened my door and slumped down flat on my bed, exhausted.My mom came into the room just immediately after me, I sat up, facing her directly while I pulled out my feet from my shoes."What went wrong, Isabel?" she demanded. "Why did William act that way?""I don't know, Mum," I said, trying to sound as indifferent as possible. "Maybe when he gets home you can ask him yourself?""It clearly had something to do with you, Isabel! I saw him dragging you away from everyone, so don't play the clueless victim now!" she yelled at me."I really don’t know why he reacted that way," I pleaded, defending myself."Come on, Isabel, is William bullying you? Is that what this is?" "You can tal