She absolutely could not let Serena say anything that sounded like accepting Nicholas!
Isabella fought to suppress the turmoil in her heart, forcing a perfectly composed smile onto her face.
After entering the room, her objective was clear: she had to make Serena understand that Nicholas was her man! She had to make Serena back off!
Isabella walked gracefully toward Nicholas in her high heels, the shyness in her eyes deepening. "Nicholas, why didn't you tell me you were coming? What a wonderful surprise."
Her posture suggested a deep intimacy between them, and her words declared that his arrival was a surprise meant for her.
The Lancaster and Blackwood families had always been on good terms.
She was confident that, in front of their families, Nicholas would play along and save her face.
Isabella's smile grew sweeter, and she shot a sideways glance at Serena, her eyes filled with provocation.
Her clumsy performance was laughable.
And Serena did indeed laugh out loud.
Her laughter carried a faint, mocking tone.
Isabella's expression stiffened slightly. She looked up, biting her lower lip, and glared at Serena with resentment.
What was that country girl laughing at!
What right did she have to look at her with such a mocking expression?
Was it so funny that she and Nicholas were close?
Before Serena came back, she and Nicholas had been engaged.
Even if Nicholas didn't acknowledge it now, the childhood engagement was an undeniable fact.
What was so funny about an engaged couple being close?
Isabella was filled with indignation, as if to prove her intimate relationship with Nicholas.
She even raised her hand to place it on his shoulder. "Nicholas, why aren't you saying anything?"
However, before her hand could touch him, Nicholas stood up in one fluid motion, effortlessly avoiding her touch.
He then took a long stride and positioned himself behind Serena.
His long, slender fingers rested casually on the back of Serena's chair.
It seemed as if he had merely changed his position, wanting to lean in and speak with Serena.
But anyone could see...
He was avoiding Isabella.
He didn't even spare her a glance.
His indifferent attitude made the smile on Isabella's face freeze, and her hand was
left hanging awkwardly in mid-air.
The air itself seemed to congeal.
A wave of embarrassment and
humiliation washed over Isabellan et
rushing to her head and making her face flush bright red
"Nicholas..."
Isabella's voice trembled, on the verge of breaking.
Her pupils constricted in shock. She couldn't believe Nicholas would humiliate her like this in front of the Lancaster family.
What was even more unbelievable...
Was that Nicholas was standing so intimately close to Serena!
And he had initiated it?
"Ms. Isabella." Nicholas finally seemed to notice her, his eyes lifting slightly to give her a passing glance.
The extremely formal address was a stark contrast to the intimate "Serena" he used for her sister.
His thin lips curved into a smile, but
the words that came out were cold
and emotionless
The
"We're not close
way you address me makes me uncomfortable."
His words were cool, distant, and detached.
So cold that Isabella's face turned pale, and she was overcome with shame and humiliation.
Her eyes began to well up, tears pooling in them.
She hoped to use this pitiful, wronged expression to get her family to stand up for her.
To make her family publicly acknowledge her previous engagement to Nicholas!