In my state of panic, I stopped the servants and shouted, “Wait! I didn’t say anything about moving out, Mom!”
“You don’t want to stay with me?” Isabelle’s expression turned gloomy with displeasure.
She had me at a loss for words. While there was technically nothing wrong with me staying with her after her return, this house belonged to both Christopher and me, so it meant a lot to me.
Although it was just a tiny apartment unit, it was the warmest and coziest place for me. Christopher had prepared this place as a safe haven for me when I was being bullied by Lyle. This was the place he brought me to when Lyle and Crystal made me homeless.
If he had not done that, I could very well have slept out on the streets.
“But this is my house. It’d be a waste to just leave it empty.” I didn’t dare mention Christopher in front of her as I didn’t want to upset her even further.
“So what? You could just tidy the place up and rent it out for some passive income! The mansion I bought is so spacious that you can even alternate between living upstairs and downstairs anytime you like!” Isabelle said with a smile. She was clearly satisfied with my reply earlier as she didn’t even say a word about the men’s toiletries in the house.
“But… But…” I was about to protest further but kept quiet when I recalled Sabrina’s words. I then stopped the servants who were packing my stuff and said through clenched teeth, “Please leave everything the way it is. Since you’ve bought a new house, you could just replace all these items with new ones instead. We’ll have a fresh start!”
In actual fact, I didn’t want Christopher to return to an empty house and get upset.
“That works, too!” Isabelle then motioned at the servants and said, “All right, put everything back where you found them. I’ve got tons of money to afford things of much higher quality anyway! Come on, let’s go shopping! We need to replace those rags of yours with some decent clothes! Besides, it’s my fault you’ve barely been able to buy yourself anything nice throughout these years.”
She brought me into her car and handed me a platinum-colored card. “Here’s some pocket money. Spend it however you like, and feel free to ask me for more if you run out. No need to be too frugal, okay?”
I recognized that card – it was only a grade lower than the black card Christopher gave me. After accepting the card and stuffing it into my handbag, I went shopping with Isabelle and bought a bunch of stuff before moving into her new mansion. It was next to a huge lake and had a balcony with a great view of the lake.
“Mom, do you know about Dad being hospitalized?” I asked while leaning against the balcony.
Mom was sitting on a recliner with a glass of wine in one hand and a cigarette in the other. She looked like a completely different person from who she used to be, and I couldn’t help but find her a little unfamiliar. The mother that I once knew had changed so much with the passing of time that I barely recognized her anymore.
“Nathan is in the hospital?” Isabelle looked up all of a sudden and blinked a couple of times before breaking into a disdainful smile. “I bet he’s been drinking too much coffee and staying up late too often, huh? Honestly, he should’ve collapsed long ago from overwork! I take it that he went looking for you?”
“Yeah!” I saw no trace of affection for Dad in Mom’s eyes at all. Perhaps whatever they had going between them was long gone…
“Mom, what if… What if Dad were to beg you to spare the Tanner family? Would you be willing to do that?” I asked cautiously.
“Your dad told you to say that, didn’t he? He sure is a smart one for seeking your help. He knows I don’t see anyone else but you.”
Isabelle pursed her lips into a faint smile; I couldn’t tell what she was actually feeling. “I helped him build the family business from scratch using my own money, and guess what? He goes on to keep a mistress using that money and even has a daughter the same age as you! As if that wasn’t bad enough, he even wanted me to place Scarlett before myself! Things probably wouldn’t have been any better for me even if I stayed.”
She then turned to look at me as she continued, “How about… I give you everything the Tanner family owns as dowry? I mean, everything is technically mine to begin with anyway. It’s clearly stated on the shareholders’ agreement that I am the rightful owner of the Tanners’ assets, even though Nathan has probably destroyed that document by now.”
