Chapter 323

“This child!” Freya had a vivid expression on her face, both blaming and feeling sorry. “She was studying abroad for an exchange program, and I heard that she had been working very hard these past two years, hardly getting any rest. Now that she’s finally come back, why can’t she just go home and rest properly? What’s the rush in such a short time?”

Richard smiled with a mix of helplessness and comfort. “Isabelle was a sensible child; she was worried about her brother, Xander.”

Xander, who was lying on the hospital bed, sat up at that moment and looked expectantly toward the door, his brows and eyes softening a bit. “Is Isabelle coming now?”

The whole family was looking forward to the person about to arrive, completely ignoring Ophelia. At that time, she and Erin were united in their intentions. After disappointing the Whitaker family, they adopted Isabelle from the orphanage funded by their mother, raising her as the heir to their healing legacy.

Over the years, Isabelle grew up in the Whitaker family, who had long regarded her as their daughter, and Xander had already seen her as his own sister. They did not care about Ophelia, also because they no longer needed her; in the Whitaker family, there was already an existence that could perfectly replace Ophelia.

At that moment, the bodyguard received a phone call: “Miss Isabelle has already arrived at the hospital!”

As soon as the words were spoken, hurried footsteps were heard from the other end of the corridor, and almost everyone, including Ophelia, turned to look in that direction. At the other end, a girl with a cold and proud demeanor, strikingly beautiful, walked quickly towards them, accompanied by two bodyguards.

“Isabelle!” Freya hurried to embrace her, her gentle and loving feelings evident. “You child, why did you run over here instead of going home? Look at you, you’ve only been abroad for two months, and you’ve already become so tired and thin. It makes my heart ache!”

“Aunt.” Isabelle’s cold expression softened a bit as she affectionately embraced her.

Richard called out, “Uncle.” Richard also said gently, “Your aunt is right, why did you come here? Your cousin’s injury is not serious.”

Isabelle shook her head and said, “But I was worried that I needed to come and see it in person to feel at ease.”

As she was about to go see Xander, she suddenly saw Ophelia, and her steps came to an abrupt halt. The Whitaker couple then remembered Ophelia, and the atmosphere suddenly became quiet, creating a somewhat awkward situation.

“Uncle, Aunt, I had something to do, so I left first and planned to visit my cousin later.”

Ophelia suddenly spoke up. Her emotionless eyes glanced at Isabelle, fully aware that the hearts of the Whitaker family were now focused on Isabelle. She knew that staying here was nothing but a humiliation for herself.

When Freya realized that she was still there, she instinctively glanced at Isabelle, as if afraid that Isabelle would overthink it. At that moment, hearing her want to leave, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Ophelia felt a mix of emotions as she witnessed this reaction. She turned and left. Xander hesitated for a moment but ultimately did not call out to her. Lenora glanced at her family and then at Isabelle. She bit her lip and quietly followed them outside when no one was paying attention.

“Cousin!”

Hearing the shouts from behind her, Ophelia stopped in her tracks, her expression softening a bit. “How did you get out?”