Chapter 4

She was not sure why, but Isla felt suspicions growing in her out of nowhere. She looked at Lucy in a testing manner. “You’re three months pregnant, yet your belly isn’t showing. Is there something wrong with the child?” Panic flashed through her eyes for a second, and she dared not look at Isla at all. She grabbed Harry’s hand and whispered, “Harry, I’m not feeling well. I’d like to rest in the room.” No matter how suspicious and upset he was over what Ava had done, he could only suppress it at the moment for the sake of the child in Lucy’s belly. “Help your mom to the room, Ava.” Harry turned his head to order her. “Get the doctor to come.” Ava felt relieved and quickly helped Lucy upstairs. Isla watched the mother and daughter as she teased her father. “Dad, don’t tell me you’re going to cover for Ava?” He scoffed. “Would all this have happened if you had been innocent?” She scoffed. “So it’s my fault that she framed me?” He looked terrible. “Your stepmom is pregnant, so she can’t be triggered. No matter whose fault it was, this is the end of this discussion.” Although she had known that her father would cover for Ava, she was disappointed and sad when she really heard it. To her father, she was nothing compared to the mistress and illegitimate daughter who had come knocking on his door. It was ridiculous. Isla looked at him coldly and scoffed. “She better give you a son!” Harry pretended not to hear the mockery in her words and said with a straight face, “Your sister is having her birthday party at the Vortex Hotel tonight. You must be there.” She knew why he wanted that. Although he could not put Ava in the family tree, he had to let people know that there was a second daughter in the Bennett family. Therefore, Lucy had used the fact that she was pregnant to get him to introduce Ava officially at the party tonight. A cold gleam flashed through Isla’s eyes when she remembered what was going to happen at the party tonight. “Sure, I’ll be there.” He was rather surprised. He wanted to say something, but he swallowed the words in the end. He turned around and went upstairs to check on Lucy. When Isla returned to the car, she called Noah. “What’s up?” the man asked coldly. “Hubby, dad says he’s throwing a birthday party for Ava at the Vortex Hotel tonight. Do you–” She was interrupted before she was finished. “I’m busy.” She was stunned. Just as she was about to speak again, the call was hung up. She sighed as she looked at the black screen on her phone. She drove to the hospital while thinking about ways to win him back. She did not have much time. She had to be prepared before the party. At 7 p.m. at the Vortex Hotel ballroom, Ava held Harry’s hand, welcoming the guests with him like a good girl. “Mr. Bennett, this must be Ms. Isla, right? She’s so beautiful.” Mr. Doyle of Grand Creation took a good look at Ava and spoke with a smile. The smile on her face froze, and rage flashed through her eyes. However, she quickly concealed it and smiled. “You misunderstood, sir. I’m my dad’s youngest, and my name’s Ava Bennett.” “Ah, so you’re the second daughter of the Bennetts. I’m sorry.” His eyes became playful. There was disdain in them when he looked at Ava now. Everyone knew what the upper class liked to do. No matter what, the mistress’ daughter could not compare to the legitimate daughter. Showing her in public would not change a thing. Ava clenched her teeth angrily, but she could only smile. It had taken great effort to get Harry to throw her a birthday party and introduce her officially. She could not let something insignificant ruin it. She checked the time and reminded her father, “It’s time, dad. The guests are here. Should we get this party started?” Harry lowered his head to check the time on his watch. He nodded, looking terrible. As he had thought, he should not have expected much from his first daughter. She had promised him that she would come this morning, but she had not shown up. He helped Ava on the stage, while Lucy naturally followed, standing on Ava’s right side. “Thank you all for coming to my youngest daughter Ava’s birthday party…” At that moment, the door opened. Harry paused. “Ah, it seems like I’m late.” A lazy chuckle came from the door. The guests were charmed as they looked toward the voice. The woman had an astonishingly beautiful face. Her skin was as fair as snow, and her eyes were like a painting. Under her thick, curled eyelashes, her eyes were like precious amber stones, sparkly and cold. Her green mermaid dress made her look thin and tall, and her thick, bouncy long hair looked both sweet and sexy. One would not be able to forget her after seeing that. At that moment, the ballroom was so quiet that only breathing sounds could be heard. Everyone was attracted to Isla. She looked up slowly, her cold and arrogant eyes landing on Ava’s distorted, pale face. She smirked in a teasing manner. Mr. Doyle took a sip of red wine and smiled with his eyes. As expected, an illegitimate daughter could never compare to a legitimate one. Isla slowly walked into the ballroom and casually got herself a glass of red wine. She then walked onto the stage. Ava suddenly felt fear when she saw her sharp, cold eyes. She instinctively grabbed Lucy’s hand. Isla, who was over 1.7 meters tall, was intimidating as she stood before Ava. She bent slightly to inch closer to her, her tone filled with mockery. “Are you scared?” “You’re here, sis.” Ava looked at her with her guard up. Harry’s face sank, and he glanced at Isla, warning her. “A lot of people are watching. Behave yourself.” Disdain flashed deep in her eyes. She raised her glass at Ava and said emphatically, “Happy Birthday, sister!” She finished the wine after saying that and looked at her sister. Resentment flashed through Ava’s eyes before she waved at the attendant. When the attendant handed her the wine, she intentionally slipped and spilled it on Lucy. “Ahh!” She screamed, her face pale. She bent down to wipe her instantly. Lucy was wearing a cream gown tonight. The wine sipped into the gown, making it impossible to remove the stain. The more she wiped, the worse it got. Isla watched the mother and daughter pull this dirty trick coldly. She could not believe she had fallen into their trap in her previous life. Harry looked terrible. The stares of the guests made him upset with Ava. “Stop wiping and go change.” Ava looked hesitant. Harry instantly recalled that it was her first time there. Perhaps she was not familiar with the place, so he told Isla, “Isla, take your stepmom to change.” Isla smirked. Here it was. She glanced at Ava with a cryptic look. She then looked at Lucy. “Come with me.”