Several bodyguards immediately stepped forward, grabbing Isabella Thorne by both arms, and unceremoniously hurled her off the yacht.
She hit the deep-water harbor pier hard, rolling several times.
Covered in dirt and sand, her hair was a tangled mess, and her face was swollen and thoroughly disgraced.
She curled up on the ground, shaking her head frantically. "No... it's not like that. I'm the Lancaster heiress. I'm the daughter of the Lancaster family! They're lying... It's them. They're all lying..."
She looked up, glancing around.
But all she met were gazes of contempt and mockery.
Not a single person felt sympathy for her.
"Disgusting. A stray taking the spot of the real heiress, and she's still acting so arrogant."
"No wonder Mr. Blackwood didn't even spare her a glance just now. His real fiancée is right there. Who cares about a fraud?"
"Exactly. She isn't even fit to carry Serena's shoes!"
"Pretending to be some high-society socialite, but deep down, she's nothing but a thief!"
Lydia Brooks put on a look of sudden realization. "No wonder when our Captain first started at Marington College, this... Isabella Thorne went around spreading rumors. She claimed the Captain was some country bumpkin raised in the backcountry who got expelled before finishing high school."
"Turns out, she was just terrified the Captain would expose her as a fraud!"
Lydia scoffed, shooting Isabella a look of pure disgust. "You really are a psycho with a persecution complex. Knowing the Captain, she never even cared about you. If you hadn't insisted on jumping around like a clown, the Captain wouldn't have given you the time of day."
"Now, you brought this on yourself!"
Listening to the harsh mockery, Isabella's vanity-the one thing she had always worn with pride—was completely crushed.
She collapsed against the pier, covering her face as she broke down into despairing sobs.
It was over.
Everything was ruined.
To maintain her status, she had swallowed her pride to act as a faithful servant for Sebastian Doyle, enduring endless humiliation from Bianca Doyle.
And in the end?
She still fell into the abyss.
Her world had shattered.
Twenty years of a luxurious, high-society life were reduced to an absolute joke.
She didn't dare look up.
She couldn't meet anyone's eyes.
fet
A suffocating wave of despair washed over her, far more painful than the physical scrape of the pavement.
She was a fraud.
The daughter of a felon and a maid...
She could never wash away that stain.
Slowly, she lifted her head and stared at Serena, who stood on the pier with a
perfectly calm expression.
The sea breeze caught her hair,
making her radiant complexion and
let
features look even more
breathtaking in the sunlight content
But Serena's expression remained indifferent, completely unbothered.
She didn't even bother giving Isabella a second glance before turning to leave.
Nicholas Blackwood reached out
and took Serena's hand. His thumb gently brushed against her knuckles his gaze turning heredibly fond "Feel better now?" fo FindNovel.net
Serena's voice was light. "I wouldn't say I was angry. She's irrelevant to me."
Nicholas chuckled softly. "True. Irrelevant people aren't worth your time."
"Let's go. We should get on the ship."
Serena nodded and walked with Nicholas toward the ten-billion-dollar Golden Sovereign.
Isabella stared at their retreating backs, her eyes bloodshot.
Why?
Why did Serena get to stand there, admired by everyone, stealing all the glory?
Why was she left crawling on the ground, the laughingstock of them all?
She opened her mouth to scream, but a heavy lump formed in her throat, leaving her completely mute.