Chapter 13

Ella's gaze sharpened upon hearing Emily's words. "Never mention that again!" Emily promptly shut up. "Also," Ella began, narrowing her eyes and speaking with a hint of certainty. "I'm pretty sure Isaac likes me precisely because I had nothing to do with the incident back then!" "Of course!" Emily echoed immediately. After a moment's pause, she continued, "Don't worry, Ella. Isaac will definitely divorce Kylie. He doesn't like her at all, and they only ever got married in the first place because of that old hag." Emily's words stirred up complicated feelings within Ella. Yes, Isaac certainly didn't like Kylie, but he didn't necessarily love Ella herself either. If he really did love her, then he wouldn't have so readily agreed to break up with her in the past, nor would he have… married Kylie. It was obvious that she had broken up with him back then only to rile him up and make him care more about her, but he had unexpectedly agreed to the breakup on the spot. In fact, he hadn't even attempted to change her mind. As such, she didn't actually have the slightest confidence in the strength of their relationship. Emily continued, "And Ella, don't forget how you got into that accident back then! Both Isaac and Kylie were partly responsible for it, and he has also been blaming himself for it for the past two years. "Since he feels responsible toward you, he definitely won't abandon you. On the contrary, he'll definitely take responsibility for you!" Ella lowered her head to look at her legs, but what she wanted him to feel… wasn't this sense of responsibility toward her. Emily exclaimed reassuringly, "Alright, Ella. Stop thinking too much about it! Just wait with peace of mind for Isaac to divorce Kylie and marry you!" With a smile, Ella nodded, saying gently, "Okay." … Meanwhile, Lana pushed open the door of the Murphy residence's study and walked in. "You were looking for me, honey?" Jonathan frowned when he saw Lana and asked sternly, "What happened between you and Kylie? Did you tell her not to come back here?" She was stunned for a moment, then her expression darkened. "Just great! My dear daughter has certainly come along! She's actually learned to tattle now!" "What exactly is going on?" Jonathan continued to ask. Lana scoffed coldly and explained the entire story to Jonathan, adding her own embellishments to it while she did so. … Jonathan's brows once again knitted together after listening to Lana's recounting of events. "Since the producer already said that her decision not to pick Charlotte had nothing to do with Kylie, that means you've wronged Kylie. Did you apologize to her afterward?" Lana declared indignantly, "I already told her at that time that I wronged her. What more does she want from me? Does she expect her mother to bow down and apologize to her?" Jonathan countered, "You wrongfully accused her and even lashed out physically at her! Doesn't she deserve an apology for that?" His expression was stormy at this point, and he was looking darkly at Lana. "Aren't you being too partial toward Charlotte, Lana? Don't forget that it's Kylie who's our actual biological daughter!" Upon hearing this, the anger and defiance immediately fell away from Lana's expression. She lowered her gaze and her hands silently clenched into fists. After a long while, she looked back up at Jonathan and said evenly, "I admit that I'm a little biased toward Lottie. I raised her all by myself, after all, so I naturally have a closer bond with her! "Although Kylie is my biological daughter, there are so many years of estrangement between us. And… And Kylie grew up in an orphanage of all places, making herself some shady friends who are neither virtuous nor the decent sort. So, I n-naturally…" She trailed off for a moment. Then, after observing Jonathan's expression, she smiled and cajoled, "Oh, come on! I'll just treat her nicer in the future, alright? So, don't be angry anymore, honey." Jonathan didn't want to speak with her anymore, so he simply instructed, "Call Kylie, apologize to her, and ask her to come back for dinner with Mr. Grant tonight." Lana's eyes immediately widened in shock. "What? I—" Before she could finish speaking, a sharp look from Jonathan shut her up. "Is there a problem?" he asked in a mild voice. Lana pursed her lips. She dared not disobey him, so she could only nod aggrievedly and say, "I'll get to that right away." Her face fell immediately after leaving the study. She took out her phone with gritted teeth and called Kylie. "Hello," said Kylie. The sound of her voice immediately ignited Lana's anger. However, the pressure Jonathan placed on her left her no choice but to suppress her dissatisfaction. "You know I wronged you before, Kylie. Well, it's my fault, so I'd like to apologize to you. Do you remember what I told you before about not ever coming back to this house? I just said that in a moment of anger, so it shouldn't be taken seriously. "This is your home, so of course you can come home whenever you want." Kylie couldn't help but chuckle when she heard Lana's apology. Of course, she knew that Lana wasn't genuinely apologizing to her. Lana only did so because Jonathan had ordered her to, and she had no choice but to do as he said. Just then, she continued, "Look, Kylie. I've already apologized to you, so please don't be angry at me anymore and come back for dinner with Isaac, alright?" Kylie smiled and replied, "Sorry, mother dearest, but I really am busy tonight, so I can't go home. Please tell Dad that I'll find the time to go home and visit him." Lana's expression darkened instantly. "Kylie Murphy! What do you mean by that? I've already offered you a compromise, but you still dare to put on airs with me?" Her sudden change in attitude only served to amuse Kylie. Lana had surely been an award-winning actress in her past life, with how quickly she switched between moods. Kylie reached out to stroke the hair on her shoulders with a smile. "I've already heard your apology, but I really do have something to do tonight and thus can't go home. Why would you call that putting on airs?" She added meaningfully, "Or… did you actually not mean your apology, Mom? Did you only apologize because you had no other choice?"