Chapter 15

Kylie couldn't help but laugh when she heard what Lana said. So… she had instantly lost her value now that Isaac had shown up at the Murphy residence, huh? Lana was also now starting to settle the score with her. She looked leisurely at Lana, saying, "This isn't how you acted on the phone before, Mom." Her words immediately riled Lana up, but a thought occurred to her just as she was about to explode in rage. Although Isaac was here now, it was still unknown whether or not things would work out between him and Jonathan. It meant that she still couldn't afford to offend Kylie right now, so she could only suppress her anger once more. She reached out to poke Kylie hard in the forehead and warned through gritted teeth, "I'll settle the score with you later! Just wait here and don't go downstairs! Jonathan wants to discuss business with Isaac." With that, she opened the balcony doors and left. Kylie remained standing where she was. The temperature outside was very warm, but her heart felt as cold as ice. After leaving the balcony, she made her way back to her own room. … Meanwhile, Jonathan had talked so much that his tongue felt dry and he could no longer keep the smile on his face, but he still hadn't managed to persuade Isaac. Isaac's attitude was still as strict and impartial as ever. He absolutely refused to compromise and wasn't taking Jonathan seriously at all. Jonathan couldn't help but feel a little angry at that. On the one hand, he was angry at Isaac for showing no respect for his feelings; on the other hand, he was angry at Kylie for failing to capture Isaac's heart. Just then, a gentle voice suddenly called out to him. "Dad." Jonathan looked up and saw Charlotte walking into the living room with a smile. Charlotte was just about to speak when she caught sight of Isaac sitting on the couch, and the sight stunned her into silence. Then, her eyes lit up slightly, and she felt her heart thump. She pursed her lips lightly and walked over, nodding at Isaac and greeting politely, "Mr. Grant." Isaac didn't even bother to look up at her, but she wasn't discouraged in the least. She kept her perfect smile as she sat down on the couch, her heart still beating wildly from finally meeting him again. Back then, it was Isaac who appeared like an angel from the heavens to resolve a crisis for her. From that moment on, her heart had been his. However, she hadn't expected that the next time they met, he would have become Kylie's husband. She couldn't help but grit her teeth at the thought. What right did Kylie have to be his wife? As Charlotte looked at Isaac's handsome face, her eyes gleamed. Her lips parted, and she said gently, "I'd like to apologize to you on Kylie's behalf, Mr. Grant." Upon hearing this, Isaac lazily glanced up at her. She continued, "You and Ms. Parker were forced to break up because of Kylie back then… And you're probably still carrying a grudge against her for that. "It was indeed Kylie's fault, so as her older sister, I apologize on her behalf. She… just likes you very much, which is why she… had a lapse in judgment." Jonathan's expression immediately darkened when he heard what Charlotte said. Why was Charlotte randomly trying to wash dirty linen in public? Why was she even mentioning this out of nowhere? Isaac suddenly chuckled quietly. "You're apologizing to me on Kylie's behalf, you say?" he drawled. His eyes suddenly turned cold, and he glared sharply at Charlotte. "And who are you supposed to be?" Charlotte's smile froze, and her pupils shrank in fear. Seeing that things weren't going well, Jonathan immediately stood up and attempted to smooth things over. "She's always been the straightforward sort and accidentally said the wrong thing, Mr. Grant. Please don't take it personally," he said with a cordial smile. He then turned to glare harshly at Charlotte and snapped, "Well? Aren't you going to apologize to Mr. Grant?" Charlotte paled and hurriedly got up from the couch. "Sorry, Mr. Grant. I—" Before she could even finish her sentence, Isaac raised a hand to stop her. "Shut up," he said in an ice-cold voice. His brows were furrowed in disgust, and he looked like he didn't even want to hear her anymore. Seeing him react to her like this, Charlotte's eyes slowly reddened. She felt as if her heart had been stabbed with a knife, and she found it hard to even breathe. Why was Isaac treating her like this? Did he not remember what happened back then? She had only mentioned all that just now in the hopes that he would dislike Kylie a little more; she hadn't expected to end up shooting herself in the foot. Because of that, she was feeling really regretful and resentful right now. … When Kylie walked into the dining room, she noticed that something wasn't quite right with the atmosphere inside, but she decided to ignore it. Once everyone had arrived, they started tucking into the food. Jonathan spooned a piece of meat onto Kylie's plate. "Eat some more, Kylie. Look at how thin you've gotten." As the words left his mouth, he suddenly noticed the medical gauze on her forehead and the abrasions on her cheeks. Startled, he quickly asked her worriedly, "When did you get injured, Kylie? Why didn't you tell us?" Kylie couldn't help but sneer inwardly at his questioning. It certainly wasn't an easy feat to only notice that she was injured so long after she returned home. She calmly spooned food into her mouth as she replied, "I had an accidental fall. That's all." "Why weren't you more careful? It makes our heart hurt to see you like this, you know?" Lara complained crossly, looking at Kylie as if she was distressed. The corners of Kylie's mouth twitched into a faint smile, but she said nothing. Lana looked at Isaac and explained with a smile, "Kylie's been spoiled by us, Isaac, so she has a bit of a temper. If she ever does anything to upset you, please just be patient with her." She then picked up a fish fillet and placed it on Kylie's plate with a gentle, doting smile on her face. "Eat up." As she was speaking, Kylie glanced at the fish fillet on her plate, feeling nothing but disdain. She ignored the fillet and instead continued to eat her own food. Her behavior instantly made Lana frown. What did Kylie mean by her actions? Was she intentionally rebelling against Lana? Isaac glanced at the fish fillet on Kylie's plate and smiled faintly in amusement. If his memory served him right, Kylie… didn't eat fish. Did Lana, her mother, not actually know this? He proceeded to pick up his own cutlery and spoon some chicken casserole onto Kylie's plate. Kylie paused in surprise and glanced at him before quickly looking away and continuing to eat. Charlotte clenched her fingers tighter around her spoon at the sight of Isaac spooning food onto Kylie's plate, a fierce expression flashing across her face. She stood up, picked up a clean bowl, and filled it with some minestrone soup. "Here, Kylie. Have some soup," she said with false cheer, handing the bowl to Kylie. Kylie looked up at Charlotte with narrowed eyes and did not reach out to take the soup from her. Lana was sitting next to Kylie, and when she saw this, she reached out to give Kylie a light push. "What are you spacing out for, young lady? Your sister got you some soup, so you should hurry up and take it!" Kylie said nothing. After a moment's hesitation, she stood up and took the soup from Charlotte. However, the moment her hand came into contact with the bowl, Charlotte suddenly let go. Just like that, the entire bowl of soup spilled onto Charlotte's hand, and she screamed.