Chapter 15
With the money on hand, Isadora got to work immediately.
Isadora invited Angelina to look at retail spaces with her while holding an umbrella to shield themselves from the scorching sun. The studio’s storefront couldn’t be too shabby. Isadora had her eyes on an industrial park in the suburbs. The rent wasn’t cheap, but the one million dollars was more than enough to set up a studio.
Despite being pregnant, Angelina had to make the trip with Isadora. Angelina whined and said, “You could’ve come by yourself. Why did you force me to come along?”
“I need your opinion. I can’t decide by myself.”
After visiting several places, the two encountered people giving out flyers within the industrial park. Angelina hurriedly accepted a flyer and asked, “Thank you. Can I have two more?”
Being pregnant, Angelina couldn’t stand the heat. By stacking the flyers together, Angelina made herself a makeshift fan.
After lunch, they visited several other places. It was the hottest time of the day, and Isadora was drenched in sweat despite wearing a short skirt. Meanwhile, Angelina had basically been walking around while carrying the weight of a child.
When they got to the final place, Angelina sat on the bench outside while Isadora discussed with the realtor. With the scorching sun over her head, Angelina had her hand on her belly. She felt slight pain in her belly.
Angelina was expected to deliver soon. Suddenly, she felt an overwhelming sense of fear. She wondered what it would feel like to go into labor
In the novel, the child was aborted and never bom. Now that the story had changed, Angelina didn’t know if the child would be safe and healthy.
Angelina felt anxious about the unknown. But the more anxiety she felt, the more the baby made things difficult for her.
Isadora chatted happily away with the owner of the place. Isadora asked, “Can you reduce the rent by a little bit? We don’t have a lot of money. Just a little reduction would help!”
“It’s already the lowest rate. It’s cheap, and it’s very near the commercial district.
Isadora had decided to start with a fashion studio that specialized in retro clothing.
“What do you think, Angie?”
“Sure. The location is good.”
Angelina was clueless, but she believed that true talent would shine even in the darkest nights.
Change 15.
If Isadora could pick herself back up at 30 years old to start a fashion design business and build her own brand, it wouldn’t hurt for Isadora to start earlier.
Even if it wasn’t successful, it would be a good learning experience.
After all, neither of the Whitmore siblings were fools.
“I’ll settle on this place, then.”
“Okay.”
Isadora poured Angelina a glass of water. After drinking some water, the pain in Angelina’s belly got a lot better.
“Let’s go, Angie. Let’s go for afternoon tea and splurge a little today,” said Isadora, putting an arm on Angelina and holding up the umbrella.
The two took the subway and arrived at a coffee shop in the city center for afternoon tea. They looked out at the view outside the building. They ordered two cups of coffee and a plate of cookies, which cost a hundred dollars.
“Sweetheart, why are you here? Weren’t you on vacation in Rhomara?”
Angelina looked up, only to see a foreign man.
“Who’s this, Angie?‘
“Jerry?”
“Y–You… Sweetheart, why are you…” Jerry Holmes said, stuttering as he noticed Angelina’s belly. He was shocked.
Angelina forced a smile and said, “It’s a long story.”
The female side character was a lady of pleasure. Even when she was with Chester, she still had flings with many other rich men. She had no morals at all. Angelina was surprised to see that the female side character had engaged with foreigners too.
The female side character had prepared herself a backup plan after discovering Chester’s bankruptcy, and Jerry was one of them. She had lied to Jerry, claiming that she was on vacation in Rhomara. She had intended to recover after getting an abortion and then later engage with Jerry in a romantic affair.
“What’s going on, sweetheart?”
“Who the hell are you?” When Isadora saw how Jerry was looking Angelina up and down, Isadora became furious. Isadora had heard of Angelina’s messy past.
Isadora questioned, “Who is he, Angelina?”
“Sweetheart…”
Angelina stood up and said, “I lied to you. See, I’m pregnant and married! You should leave!”
Angelina was baffled. After all, it was the female side character who lied to Jerry; it wasn’t her.
“Sweetheart, I truly love you. How could you…”
“Get lost. I get nauseous when I see you,” Angelina said, shaking off Jerry’s hand and running
off.
Jerry wanted to pursue her, but Isadora pointed at him and snarled, “Don’t you dare move!”
“And who are you?”
“You don’t know me? You must be blind.”
Angelina ran out of the coffee shop and stopped by the lakeside. She was panting from
exhaustion.
“Who is that man, and why did he call you sweetheart? Why did you tell him that you were on vacation in Rhomara?” Isadora asked after catching up to her.
Angelina turned around to look Isadora in the eye and said, “Nobody. I won’t meet him ever
again.”
“Angelina, if you’ve decided to stay with my brother, you should stop being so fickle.”
“No, look! I’ve changed my phone number, my social media accounts, and everything else,” Angelina said, offering her phone for Isadora to inspect.
Isadora chose to believe Angelina for now.
The two stood side by side, leaning against the railing.
“Angelina, I used to hate you a lot.”
“I know.‘
Embracing the gusts of wind from across the lake, Angelina rested a hand on her waist. In the past, the female side character hated Isadora too.
“Ever since you came into our family, not a day of my life has been good. When I did better than you, my mother would say that I didn’t care to watch out for you and was inconsiderate of your feelings. But when I didn’t do as well as you did, my mother would criticize me and compare me to you….
“On top of that, you’d flirt with other men even after being with my brother. I’ve heard many rumors. If my mother hadn’t stood up for you and asked my brother to give you another chance, you would’ve been kicked out of our household.”
Angelina was shocked. That was not written in the novel, and the female side character had no idea either.
“My mother cleaned up every single mess that you created. After things happened between
you
and my brother, we wanted to give you money and kick you out of the household. But my mother pitied you. She said that you were from the mountains; she said that you must’ve done that because you craved love and affection.”
“Isadora.”
As Angelina fell into deep thought, a young woman in a white dress approached them. When she saw Isadora, she looked surprised.
Isadora waved to the woman and greeted her, “Megan!”
“Megan Lloyd? Alexander’s girlfriend?” Angelina thought to herself.
Megan glanced at Angelina and then looked away. She asked, “Who did you come with?”
“My sister–in–law.”
“Where do you live now?”
“In the suburbs.”
“That’s not too bad. The air is fresh over there, isn’t it?”
“It’s decent. You should visit sometime.”
“Sure!”
Another beautiful woman stood behind Megan. Angelina didn’t have the words to describe her, but she was the most beautiful woman Angelina had ever seen.
“And this would be…”
“My friend, Rosalind. This is my classmate, Isadora Whitmore.”
“Nice to
“Nice to meet you, Isadora.”
“Hello.”
In their exchange, Angelina stood there like an invisible person. Nobody acknowledged her.
Then, Isadora said, “This is my sister–in–law, Angelina Ashbourne.‘
“Nice to meet you,” said Rosalind, smiling shyly
Angelina’s heart raced. She thought to herself, “Rosalind Fairchild? The female lead? She appeared! Wasn’t she supposed to appear after Chester rebuilt his business?”
“Hello, Rosalind. You’re so…”
In a daze, Angelina continued, “You’re so pretty.
Everyone was baffled by her reaction.
Chap 15
“Angie.”
“Please excuse me.”
Seeing how Angelina was behaving like an uncultured country bumpkin, Megan became anxious and hurriedly pulled Rosalind away. Megan said, “Let’s go, Rosalind.”
“Bye!”
When the two left, Isadora asked, “What were you doing, Angie?”
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