The smile on my face froze instantly. I had never expected that the first meeting between our parents would turn out that way. Not only did Mom and Julia know each other, but there was also even such history between them. A strong sense of foreboding nagged at me as it suddenly dawned on me that there was still a long way ahead for Christopher and me.
I forced a smile and asked in a trembling voice, “Mom, what… what did you just say? Could there be a misunderstanding?”
Completely losing her composure, Isabelle stared at Julia coldly, with deep resentment clearly shown in her eyes. “Julia, so you’ve married into the Lane family, huh? Hah! I can’t believe a vicious woman like you would end up marrying so well. Do you really think that the past is the past and no one will remember it?” she yelled in her high-pitched voice; her words were as sharp as knives.
Isabelle had changed into a completely different person from a while back, coming across as prickly and cold. She squeezed my hand tightly and said through gritted teeth, “How could you still get married and have children without even feeling an ounce of guilt after killing my brother? Haven’t you had any nightmares in all these years? Do you not feel bad at all? Even if you managed to deceive everyone, it doesn’t mean that you’re innocent. Do you really think you can get away forever after taking someone’s life?”
Feeling as if she was hit by a brick, Julia staggered a few steps backward after being bombarded with accusations from Isabelle. The color drained from her face as she looked at me in disbelief. “What are the odds that you’re Isabelle’s daughter and that man’s niece? I can’t believe this is happening.”
“You mean you can’t believe that you killed my brother because of your selfish desire?” Isabelle bellowed.
“Mom!” I tugged at her sleeve gently. My mind went blank. That was definitely not the harmonious dinner I had imagined us having earlier on. What’s going on? Uncle Robert passed away before I was born. All I knew was that the Anderson family used to be a very powerful and prominent family.
Is Julia really the one who caused Uncle Robert’s death?
“Eve, my dear, there’s no way you can be together with the son of our enemy,” Isabelle said, pointing at Julia. She then continued in a harsh tone, “This woman caused the downfall of the Anderson family. She’s a murderer! There’s no future between you and her son. Let’s go!”
“No, Mom! What’s going on?” I screamed as I tried to shake her hand away. I did not want to leave. I wanted to stay with Christopher. We were going to get married.
“I’ll tell you about it when we get back. Anyway, I will never agree with the two of you getting married. I don’t care who you marry, as long as it is not Julia’s son.” Isabelle raised her head aggressively, her expression twisted with hatred and sorrow.
“Wait!” Christopher caught up with Isabelle and pulled me toward him. Turning to look at Julia, he asked anxiously, “Mom, it’s a misunderstanding, isn’t it? Tell me!”
Being questioned by her son, Julia staggered and looked like she was about to fall. Taking a deep breath, she leaned on Gordon for support and shook her head. She looked at me with complicated emotions in her eyes and said, “If I knew you were Isabelle’s daughter, I wouldn’t have agreed to you dating Chris. I didn’t know that Isabelle is Nathan’s ex-wife.”
“Hah! Are you feeling guilty now? You should be. I remember you being much more arrogant and overbearing in your younger days, not showing respect to anyone else,” Isabelle sneered.
“Mom!” Christopher was starting to panic. “Could you quickly clarify? There has to be some misunderstanding, right?”
“Misunderstanding?” Julia looked at me before turning to Isabelle. Looking downward for a moment, she then looked back up with tears glistening in her eyes. “There’s no misunderstanding. Isabelle is right. I was the one who killed Robert. I was the last person who saw him before he was found dead in Centurion Tower.”
“Is this real?” I was momentarily stunned and too shocked to react. It felt like a joke that Christopher and I had become enemies.
“Mom!” I looked at Isabelle, feeling lost. I was hoping that she would tell me they were just playing a prank on us.
“Let’s go!” Isabelle dragged me along as we left the private room. I followed her soullessly. I could not imagine any possibility of a future between Christopher and me, given such circumstances.
