And Serena...
She had stolen the glory that should have been hers.
She had stolen Mr. Hank's gratitude.
She had snatched away the opportunity that should have been Isabella's to showcase her value and bring a partnership with Mr. Hank to the Lancaster family!
"Was this your goal?"
As if something had suddenly clicked, Isabella looked at Serena with a morbid, jealous hatred. "Serena, you did this on purpose... It was all on purpose from the very beginning... You just wanted to destroy me, you wanted to..."
"Isabella!"
Julian's sharp voice cut through Isabella's rising hysteria.
He strode over to stand in front of her.
His usually gentle eyes were now dark and cold as he stared at her.
That look was like a bucket of ice water poured over Isabella's head...
All her words died in her throat.
Her older brother had never addressed her with such chilling detachment...
He had never looked at her with such cold eyes.
But now, in front of all these people...
For Serena...
She felt a pang of sorrow and injustice. Her eyes, red-rimmed, stared back at Julian defiantly.
"What happened today was your fault," Julian said, his tone not softening in the slightest at her pitiful expression.
He laid the truth bare. "Isabella, you're the one who needs to understand who was really trying to destroy whom. Out of respect for you as my sister, I haven't spelled it out. Now... apologize to Serena."
Isabella's eyes grew even redder.
Seeing her usually gentle brother
looking so cold, she couldn't help but start to cry. "Julian, I'm the one who's hurt right now! Instead of comforting me you want me to apologize to her?"
Julian's gaze grew discernibly colder. "Isabella, you're hurt because you were outmatched. That's a consequence you brought upon yourself you just don't expect that Serena happened to know how to play the piano, and you didn't expect that she could actually save Mr. Hank."
His words were as blunt as they could be.
He might as well have tattooed "I'm the one who orchestrated this whole mess" on Isabella's forehead.
Isabella's face went pale, and she was about to argue further.
But then Catherine walked over.
She looked at isabella with deep disappointment. After a long moment she closed her eyes and said, "Isabella, you've been emotionally unstable lately. I'll have Agnes pack your things. You and Agnes will go stay at the villa in the countryside for a while When you've thought things through and
understood, you can come back to the Lancaster estate."
It was impossible to say she had no feelings for the daughter she had doted on for
twenty years.
Seeing her sobbing, Catherine felt a pang of sadness as well.
But if Isabella couldn't fix her attitude, couldn't understand her place, and continued
to act with hostility towards Serena, causing her trouble...
Then, the Lancaster family had already done more than enough for Isabella over the years.
From the very beginning, Catherine had made it clear that if Serena was bothered by Isabella's presence, then Isabella would have no place at the Lancaster estate. The only reason Isabella was allowed to stay was because of Serena's own words.
If Isabella couldn't understand that...
Then this was the only way.
Catherine was actually being very considerate of Isabella.
Sending her to the countryside villa was meant to give her space to calm down, to think clearly about what kind of attitude she needed to have to remain in this family.