Chapter 67 You Took Away My Most Precious Thing

Isabella, not wanting to make a big deal out of it, shuffled to the break room, muttering, "Making coffee, making coffee, how many times do I gotta do this in a day? This job is such a drag."

After whipping up the coffee, Isabella knocked on the general manager's door.

"Come in," a young guy's voice called out.

Isabella walked in, eyes down, and plopped the coffee on the desk. "Mr. Scott, your coffee."

She turned to leave but got stopped by him. "Isabella?"

Hearing her name, she spun around, confused, ready to ask what he needed, when she saw him grinning.

He looked kinda familiar, but she couldn't place him.

"It's me, Bethany Scott," he said.

"Bethany? No way! That's why you looked so familiar. Sorry, didn't recognize you at first," Isabella said, smiling.

Bethany waved it off. "Maybe I've changed a lot. It's been two years, so it's normal not to recognize me."

"Mr. Scott, if there's nothing else, I'll get back to work. Got a lot to do," Isabella said, pointing to the door.

Bethany got the hint. "Alright, go ahead."

Bethany, two years older than Isabella, was one of her many admirers. He was the one who exposed Sierra's vote-rigging scandal back in school.

But Isabella had so many admirers that he didn't leave a strong impression.

'How did we end up meeting again in Riverside City? This is so awkward,' she thought.

After a hectic day, Isabella was the last one to leave the office.

After tidying up, she slumped at her desk, not wanting to move.

"So tired?" Bethany's voice broke the silence.

Isabella quickly stood up. "Mr. Scott."

"There's no one else here. Just call me Bethany; it sounds better," he said kindly.

Isabella smiled but stayed quiet.

"Come on, I'll give you a ride home. It's on my way."

'On his way? He doesn't even know where I live. How could it be on his way?' she thought.

"No need, Bethany. The bus is super convenient for me."

"I mean, let's grab dinner first, and then I'll take you home. By then, there won't be any buses."

She didn't agree to dinner.

"No need, Bethany. I just want to go home and crash," Isabella said.

"You gotta eat even if you go home. Come on, we haven't seen each other in two years. You don't know how many times I've dreamed of you."

Seeing Bethany's smiling face, she couldn't bring herself to refuse.

Bethany booked a fancy restaurant, fitting for his status but not so much for Isabella.

The place made her feel out of place, and so did Bethany.

"The steak here is flown in, and it's pretty good," Bethany said, cutting his steak and swapping it with Isabella's.

"Oh, thanks," she said.

As he cut his steak, Bethany casually asked, "Don't be so stiff with me. As far as I know, you haven't graduated yet. How'd you land an early internship?"

"Well, I gotta intern anyway."

"Why didn't you let me know when you came to Riverside City? If you hadn't ended up at my company by chance, we might've never run into each other."

Isabella forced a smile. "You really know how to joke."

"Try this," he said, serving her some food, but all Isabella wanted was to go home and crash.

Meanwhile, George, who hadn't made it back to Stellar City yet, was dining nearby, looking all fancy.

Across from him sat Caleb, who kept sneaking glances at Isabella and Bethany's table.

"Is Mrs. Spencer seeing a new boyfriend?" Caleb's speculation ticked George off.

"What makes you think that's her boyfriend?" George snapped.

"They seem pretty chummy."

George put down his knife and fork, grabbed a napkin, and wiped his lips. "Go say hello."

George walked straight to Isabella and Bethany's table.

Just as Isabella was looking anxious, George placed his hand on the back of her chair and looked down at her, asking, "Aren't you going to introduce me?"

Isabella looked at George in shock, thinking, 'Where did he come from?'

She was momentarily stunned, but Bethany spoke first. "And you are...?"

"I'm her..."

Isabella, afraid George would say he was her ex-husband, quickly interjected, "A friend I met in Stellar City."

'Friend?' George thought, his brow furrowing slightly.

"A friend? Would you like to join us for dinner?" Bethany warmly invited.

George raised an eyebrow and asked, "Friend?"

"Bethany," Isabella stood up. "I'm full, thanks for dinner. I need to go now."

Isabella got up to leave as Bethany quickly paid the bill and followed her out. "Isabella, let me take you home."

"No need, Bethany. I want to go somewhere else. You go ahead. See you tomorrow."

Isabella ran across the street, through a few alleys, and across several intersections. When she felt no one was following her, she found a bus stop and caught the last bus.

Patting her chest, she muttered, "Why am I so unlucky? Running into Bethany was bad enough, but then George too. Isn't he supposed to be in Stellar City? What's he doing here?"

Thinking she was finally safe, Isabella hummed a tune as she walked to her villa's door, only to find a man standing next to a car.

The man, backlit, looked at her and casually extinguished his cigarette.

Isabella squinted to see who it was. As she got closer, she recognized him and asked, "George? How did you find me here?"

"Isabella, you're living well, huh? Got a new boyfriend so quickly?"

George's words were dripping with sarcasm, which annoyed Isabella. "Can you not be so unpleasant? Besides, we're divorced. Can't I have a boyfriend? You're really overstepping."

"Yeah, I'm just the ex-husband, so I can't control much. But..." George suddenly grabbed her wrist and pressed her against the car. "Did I agree to the divorce?"

"You didn't lose anything. What's there to disagree with? I didn't take your money. You can check the accounts," Isabella said confidently.

"You didn't take my money, but you took something more precious," George said seriously.

Isabella cursed under her breath and thought, 'Is he here for the bracelet Patricia gave me? Rich people are so petty, wanting back gifts they gave.'

"It's just a bracelet, right? Let's just say Patricia never gave it to me. Let me go, and I'll return it to you right away," she said angrily.