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A loud snort escaped me.
Isabella was in for a surprise.
I would throw her out of my life. And I'd do it unceremoniously. With a running start. Immediately.
Anyone who played such a false game could consider themselves lucky if I let them go without punishment.
"I'll show her!" I slammed my right fist onto the antique dresser next to which my grandmother and I were standing. My grandmother tapped her cane on the floor three times.
"Are you saying you knew nothing about this?" Grandma Ruth looked at me sharply.
"Of course not," I hissed.
Grandma Ruth studied me for a while longer. Then she nodded. "I'm coming with you," she announced. "We'll show that woman what happens when she lies to members of our family like that." My grandmother looked at me firmly. "I'll tell you one thing, Carter: You deserve a woman who loves you with all her heart. Just as you are. Not one who's only after your money."
While I could have easily handled Isabella on my own, the idea of my grandmother jabbing her silver cane between Isabella's ribs while she stood before us, stammering embarrassedly and trying in vain to justify her deceit... this image filled me with a certain satisfaction.
Isabella might have made a fool of me.
Now she would see what she got for it.
Nothing.
She would be left empty-handed.
And it wouldn't take me long to banish her completely from my memory.
Yes.
That's exactly what I would do.
Chapter 24 ~ Isabella ~
Ihadtobestrong enough to make the right decision. Abigail was right about that. The woman wasn't as unassuming as she looked. She suddenly seemed more like someone... like me. Wouldn't I have tried to win Carter back if he had left me?
NO!
You let a cheater go, no matter how much your heart still clings to him. Once a cheater, always a cheater. He didn't deserve a second chance.
Hold on, Isabella. So far, so good. But you should give Carter a chance to explain everything. Who knows what happened? Or if Abigail is really telling the truth? She could be using you for a little, fine intrigue. Such things happen quite often. Who knows if your interests are really so close to her heart? After all, one's own interests are usually closest to one's heart.
I eyed Abigail suspiciously. She returned my gaze.
"You probably think I'm telling you this out of pure self-interest, because if you leave, Carter will be free for me again," Abigail now voiced my thoughts.
"Is that so?" I asked back.
Abigail made a sound that was probably supposed to be a laugh. "No." She shook her head. "No, that's not the case. Yes, I want Carter back. That's why I went to his office. But Carter... he does whatever he wants anyway. I just told you that. In the end, he decides who he gets involved with or not." She shook her head again. "Everything happened exactly as I just told you."
The last glimmer of hope I had harbored was extinguished within me.
But I tried not to let it show.
Be strong, Isabella. The bastard doesn't deserve you crying your eyes out over him. And you certainly won't do that while he's still around. It would be just too much if he could watch.
I quickly swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. I wouldn't let this get me down. I had always gotten back up when life had knocked me down. But I had never felt as weak and terrible as I did now.
Isabella! Don't give up hope just yet. All you have is Abigail's word.