Chapter 12

Henry was pissed. How dare Isla talk to him like that? She was a rude b*tch, just as he had thought. She was nothing like the gentle and sweet Ava! If it had not been for her, he would not have even bothered talking to Isla. His phone rang while he was thinking to himself. He thought it was Isla and instantly looked arrogant. So what if she had thrown a tantrum? She would have to crawl her way back to him in the end. He slowly picked up his phone. He thought he would just let her wait, but he was stunned when he saw the name on the screen. Ava? It was not Isla? He frowned. Disappointment was flashing through his mind as he picked up the call. “Hello, Henry.” Ava’s coquettish voice was heard. “Ava.” His voice was extra gentle. It was as different as heaven and earth compared to the tone he had used with Isla. “Did you manage to talk to my sister, Henry? Is she still mad at me?” She was careful. She wanted to win over his heart by sounding sad. “I left because I had something urgent to tend to the other day. I didn’t expect… I wanted to apologize to her myself, but I was worried that she’d be too upset to see me.” Henry was melting. He hated Isla even more now. “Don’t worry, Ava. I’ll certainly get her to bring you and your mom back home.” “Thank you, Henry,” she said sweetly with a smile. “I’ll wait for your good news, then.” “Sure.” He agreed, failing to hide the smile on his face. He did not know that Ava had disdain and disgust on her face when she hung up the phone. “How did it go?” Lucy instantly asked when she saw her hang up. Ava scoffed in contempt. “That piece of trash can’t even handle Isla anymore. What’s the use of him!” Lucy was stunned. “How’s that possible? Doesn’t she always listen to him? She likes him so much that she wants to divorce Noah. How’s it possible that she wouldn't listen to him?” “She likes Henry? That might not be true…” Ava suddenly said something that did not make sense. Lucy did not understand, but the former did not plan to say anything else. Ava thought it was strange too. A thought suddenly flashed through her mind. “Mom, do you think Isla has been different in the past few days?” Lucy gave it some thought and nodded. “She used to be foolish, but she’s suddenly smart now. Did she find out anything?” “Regardless of whether she found out anything, we can’t be sitting ducks.” A chilly gleam flashed through Ava’s eyes. She did not hide the greed on her face. “The Bennett Group will belong to me soon!” The sky was dark when Noah returned to the villa. “You’re finally home, sir. Madam hasn’t come down today. She hasn’t eaten at all, so I’m worried.” Aunt May looked like he was her life savior. He paused while putting on his slippers and frowned. “You didn’t check on her?” “I did, but she said she doesn’t feel like eating. She has been sleeping, so I didn’t want to disturb her.” He changed into his slippers and said in his deep voice, “I’ll check on her.” She kept nodding before she rushed to the kitchen to bring the porridge she had made. She handed it to him. Noah went upstairs with the porridge. It was completely silent, and when he knocked on the door, nobody answered. He opened the door after some hesitation. The lights were off, so it was dark. Thanks to the lights in the corridor, he could subtly see a person lying on the bed. He walked over to turn on the light by the bed and placed the porridge there. He then looked at her pretty face. She did not look like she was sleeping well. She was frowning, and there was cold sweat on her forehead. Her intimidating face looked extra weak due to her illness, and her cheeks were flushed. She looked pitiful. Noah squatted by the bed, his eyes softening. He could not bear to break the peace. The room was terribly quiet until she started to mumble in frustration. “Noah… No, no… “Henry…” The name “Henry” pulled him back to reality. He seemed to recall her crying the same way that night, asking him not to touch her. His face sank instantly. The softness in his eyes turned cold, and they were filled with contempt now. Just when he started getting up, Isla suddenly opened her eyes. They locked eyes, both of them feeling stunned. “Noah?” Her eyes were still blurry, so she was in a daze as she looked at him. Noah straightened his body, looking as cold as usual. “Aunt May is worried about you. She insisted that I checked on you. Since you’re awake, go ahead and eat the porridge.” She was not a soft woman after all. Perhaps she was so sick that it felt terrible to hear him say that. “You’re only here because of Aunt May?” She said, feeling down. “You don’t care about me at all?” He fell silent for two seconds before he said flatly, “If that’s all, I’ll be going.” Isla pursed her lips, her eyes turning misty. She stretched her hands to pull on his sleeve and asked, “Can you stay with me?” Seeing that he said nothing, she said softly, “My mom would accompany me when I was sick back when I was young. She died early, so I’ve always pulled through alone whenever I got sick. I just want someone to keep me company…” Isla did not notice that Noah’s face became a little stiff when he heard that. He slowly clenched his fists. She thought he was unwilling since he said nothing. Her eyes dimmed. Just as she was about to let go of him, Noah, who was facing away from her, suddenly spoke. “Sure.” Isla thought she had heard wrong. She was at a loss. Noah picked up the porridge quietly from the bed and handed it to her. “Eat it.” She stared at it for a moment before she suddenly snapped back to her senses. She had a surprised smile on her face as she said sweetly, “Hubby, can I be greedy and ask you to feed me?” He looked at her sparkly eyes. Surprisingly, he did not say no to her. Instead, he began to feed her. Isla’s eyes were misty as she stared at the spoonful of porridge. It was so hot that she teared up when she ate it. Nevertheless, she was smiling happily. At least he had not turned his back on her. “The porridge hubby feeds me is the most delicious!” Noah was emotional. He did not rush feeding her this time. He only fed her after waiting for the porridge to be less hot. Isla noticed that and thought she was lucky. If she had seen Ava and Henry’s true colors in her past life, would she and Noah have not drifted apart? “Hubby, let’s stop fighting.” She took the initiative to inch closer to him and spoke in all seriousness while looking into his eyes.