Isabella paused, then cheerfully held up the ring for Celine to see, her eyes full of joy. “Doesn’t it look nice? I got it as a prize from a game at a restaurant.” The memory of playing the game with Samuel flashed in her mind, making her smile even wider.

Celine initially thought Isabella had started a relationship, but it was just a prize from a restaurant game. Her initial interest in gossip was sparked, but quickly faded.

Celine nodded, looking at the ring. “Yeah, it’s nice. Although, for her, it seemed a little pricey.” Celine picked up the coffee from the table and drank it slowly.

Isabella pulled her hand back and rested her elbows on the dining table, looking at Celine seriously. “It was just a little game I played with my husband.”

Celine was caught off guard, and tears welled in her eyes as she coughed hard. Isabella quickly came forward and gently patted her back, soothingly saying, “It’s not that surprising. Take it easy and be careful with your throat.” She was entering the entertainment industry; even though she didn’t sing, having throat issues could still affect her.

Celine finally caught her breath, her face red as she looked up at Isabella, and asked, “Are you serious? You’re not joking, right?” She thought, “How does Isabella get married so suddenly? There hasn’t been any news at all. She sure keeps it a secret.”

Isabella rested her head on her hand, looking at her seriously. Celine had no choice but to accept this fact. But this was just so sudden. She suddenly felt curious and asked, “Bella, who’s your husband?” Isabella was so exceptional; her husband must be amazing too. Unlike her, still tangled up with Jason. Thinking of this, Celine’s eyes dimmed a bit.

Isabella looked at Celine with a mysterious smile and said, “It’s a secret for now. I’ll tell you when the time is right.” Celine was speechless because Isabella’s comment was really annoying.

Celine gathered her emotions and looked earnestly at Isabella, saying, “Bella, as long as the person treats you well, nothing else matters.” She knew how difficult Isabella’s journey had been. The Stout family treated her poorly, with no family to protect or love her, and then she met a jerk like Jayden. In Celine’s heart, it was crucial to find a man who treated Isabella well.

Looking at Celine’s serious face, Isabella felt moved and nodded firmly. “Yes, definitely.” Just those few simple words felt like a promise. It was a promise to Celine and even more to herself. That guy must not be too bad. At least he…

Celine watched Isabella smile, realizing she was genuinely okay, which meant that guy wasn’t giving Isabella any trouble.

09:00 Fri, Nov 22 Chapter 913

They looked at each other and then shared a smile. It felt like everything was finally resolved at that moment, creating a sense of peace. Even on the weekends, Isabella was extremely busy, working on the Masterpiece Design Competition and Summer’s project. She was constantly adjusting and refining her work. Anything that went through Isabella’s hands had to be perfect.

Another work week had started. On Monday morning, after driving to work, Isabella had just walked through the design department doors when she bumped straight into Melanie. Ever since the incident at the restaurant last week, Melanie had been on leave. Isabella was a bit taken aback when she saw Melanie. Melanie’s once pretty face was now covered with bruises, even her eye was swollen. Despite covering most of her face with her long hair, the injuries were still very noticeable. Isabella frowned.

“Isabella, I’ll kill you!” Melanie shrieked as she charged at her. The intensity of her attack startled everyone in the office. Isabella frowned and quickly stepped back.

Everyone rushed over to hold Melanie back, saying, “Melanie, don’t be rash!” “Yeah, let’s talk it out calmly.” “We’re all coworkers, and this kind of scene isn’t necessary.”

Melanie shoved the girl closest to her and shouted angrily, “Isn’t necessary? It’s because of her that my face looks like this!” Tears kept streaming down her face.

After leaving the restaurant that day, Melanie thought the matter was settled and tried to call a cab to go home. But unexpectedly, Kevin rushed over, dragging her into an alley and brutally beating her.

Isabella looked at Melanie with a cold, piercing gaze and said unhappily, “I never laid a hand on you, so don’t blame everything on me.” She didn’t bother arguing much with Melanie at the restaurant. Now, standing in front of her, injured and accusing, even Isabella, who was usually as patient as a saint, started to feel a bit of anger.

Tears streamed down Melanie’s face as she choked. “It’s all your fault that Kevin lost his job, and now he’s taking it out on me!” Her face still hurt, and she even had two teeth knocked out, making eating difficult. She couldn’t be okay with Isabella strutting around the office like nothing had happened.

Isabella finally understood what was going on. Melanie was upset because her boyfriend hit her, and she was taking it out on Isabella.

Isabella narrowed her eyes at her and asked coldly, “Fine, then tell me, why did your boyfriend lose his job?” Melanie’s eyes flickered with a hint of guilt, and everyone around looked at her in confusion.

Isabella sneered and asked, “What, you can’t say it?”

09:00 Fri, Nov 22 Chapter 213

She stepped closer to Melanie and said in a chilly tone, “Because he abused his position to bully others outside the company, damaging its reputation, and his boss fired him. Is there a problem with that?”

Everyone finally understood what had happened. People around started trying to comfort Melanie, “Yeah, it’s not your fault, you know.” “You should calm down. If your boyfriend dares to hit you, we should call the police and let them handle it.”

Their words made Melanie furious. Pointing at Isabella, she yelled, “You still dare say it wasn’t because of you? It was clearly your boyfriend who fired him!”

Everyone was shocked for a moment. They had heard before that Melanie’s boyfriend was a manager at Light Chasing. They thought, “How high up must his position be to have the authority to fire Melanie’s boyfriend? Is Isabella’s boyfriend really that capable? Can he be the mysterious person who sent her flowers every day?”

Everyone was left guessing and confused. Isabella had met plenty of people who lacked common sense, but she’d never seen anyone so out of touch with reality.

Looking at Melanie with a cold smirk, Isabella said, “First, my boyfriend has a higher position than him and has the authority to fire him. Second, as a company employee, he flaunted his executive status arrogantly, damaging the company’s image. Third, he insulted me verbally, so what’s wrong with a boyfriend protecting his girlfriend?”

Every word Isabella said was firm and impactful. The whole office fell silent. No matter which reason she chose, it wasn’t unreasonable for her boyfriend to fire him. It made no sense for Melanie to blame Isabella. There was simply no sense to it.

Of course, Melanie was aware of all this. She was just so angry and couldn’t find anyone else to vent her frustration on, so she targeted Isabella. But now everyone was on Isabella’s side!

Melanie broke down; her body went limp, and she collapsed onto the floor, covering her face with her hands as she began to cry loudly. It seemed she wanted to release all the grievances and sadness in her heart.