Isabelle would always mock me with what happened in the Lane family when she was unhappy. Truth be told, I thought Crystal treated me way better than her at some point.
“You said before that you would give me time. Can you please give me some space during this period and stop mentioning the Lane family in front of me? If you’re unwilling to do so, why did you suggest it in the first place? You’re just ruining everyone’s mood.”
“Yes, I did say that I would give you some time, but that doesn’t mean that you can take forever. Are you trying to keep delaying so that you can stay with your enemy forever?” Isabelle did not even plan to sit down and talk nicely to me. She continued fiercely, “Listen, don’t even think about it! There’s no way I’m letting the two of you get together.”
She got so agitated that she raised her hand high, wanting to give me a slap. However, she gave up doing it the next second as a desolated expression crept on her face.
“Mom…” I was still angry with her, but before I could say anything, I noticed a bruise on her fair, delicate wrist. Instantly, I pulled her arm over and pointed at it. “Mom, what is this?”
Isabelle panicked upon hearing that. She struggled to withdraw her arm back and stuttered out of nervousness, “N-Nothing. I accidentally fell down.”
“Let me have a look. Is it serious?” The purplish bruise was large. It was a terrifying sight. I could not help but feel sorry for her.
“It’s okay. I’m fine. Get your hand off now,” Isabelle yelled frantically. As we struggled, I accidentally pulled up her sleeves.
The next second, my whole body stiffened up. Isabelle’s arm was covered with wounds and bruises. Not one part of her arm was left unscathed. She struggled so hard to free herself from my grip that some of her wounds started bleeding.
I was no longer an ignorant kid. After all, I used to have those marks around my body too. Lyle had hit me before when we were together, but my scars were still not as bad as hers.
“Mom!” I stared at Isabelle in a daze. My mind went blank, and I was left speechless. “What happened to you?”
Isabelle withdrew her hand back swiftly. Then she pulled down her sleeves to cover her skin. I scanned through her body slowly and noticed that she was wearing a white turtleneck, which had completely covered her neck.
“I told you that I fell down accidentally. Sit still. I’m going to drive now.” Isabelle turned her head away to avoid my gaze. She stepped on the accelerator, and the car started moving.
I fixated my gaze on her face, but she remained silent all along the journey, the impudent aura of hers disappearing all of a sudden. However, I found it hard to relax as if I was sitting on thousands of needles. Who injured Mom? Was it Mark? But then, why would he do that?
I always thought that they had a happy relationship. Moreover, Mark looked like a loving and caring husband. Is he pretending? Is everything fake? I did not stay long in the Goldstein residence. Hence, there were many things I did not know. Perhaps it was time for me to go and see Lucas. I believed he would know what was going on with the Goldstein family since he was the only son.
After what happened to Lyle, I was utterly afraid to visit any cemeteries as I tended to recall how he lost his life to save me. Words could not describe the pain. It was really unbearable.
Robert’s grave was located deep inside a forest. There were a lot of old-looking tombstones in that area. Some of them got abandoned, so there were weeds growing around them. Robert’s tomb, on the other hand, was clean and neat. The turfs around it looked like they had been moved before.
As soon as I saw Robert’s name on the tombstone, I realized that was my first time visiting him. My uncle, Robert Anderson, was a clever man who died at a young age. He was the man whom Julia had pushed down from Centurion Tower.
Mom walked to the grave and bent down to put her flower. Suddenly, she shouted and lunged forward.
