&quot;Wasn’t Isabella burned?&quot;

 &quot;I went to visit her the day it happened. It’s not serious.&quot;

 &quot;Oh.&quot;

 Then why did Victor Sinclair look like Isabella was on the brink of death at the time?

 &quot;I see you’re fine now. How about coming with me?&quot;

 &quot;Is that a good idea?&quot;

 Alexander will definitely be there for Isabella's birthday party. I don’t want to see him right now.

 &quot;What’s wrong with that? The invitation says you can bring a plus-one. CEO Hawthorne is your second brother, and she might be your future sister-in-law. Isn’t it only natural for you to go? It’s just like that press conference. The more you avoid them, the more the media will stir things up. If you’re bolder, they might think twice before making things up.&quot;

 I lowered my gaze and pursed my lips.

 Julian gave me a glance before continuing, &quot;I heard that for Isa

&quot;Alexander, you're gripping my hand too tightly,&quot; Isabella said.

 Alexander didn’t respond, but his gaze remained fixed on the corner.

 The others around them mistook their exchange for flirtation. Flirting while dancing had a certain thrill to it.

 I still remember the day Alexander and I danced together. His teasing made my cheeks flush, and in an instant, the distance between us seemed to disappear, as if we'd crossed an unspoken line.

 If it hadn’t been for Isabella's phone call that night, we might have ended up in perfect harmony.

 But unfortunately, there are no “what ifs.”

 Isabella was the insurmountable barrier between us.

 As the first song ended, guests began pairing off to dance.

 Alexander seemed distracted, releasing Isabella's hand. Isabella, however, quickly grabbed his arm again.

 &quot;Alexander, aren’t we going to continue?&quot; she asked.

 &quot;

I rubbed my brow, a sudden thought flashing through my mind. I remembered the argument I had with Vivienne over Isabella bringing her own makeup artist.

 Vivienne had said that Isabella’s makeup was completely off the mark, and despite her objections, Isabella insisted on keeping it, even threatening to end our collaboration if changes weren’t made.

 At the time, I didn’t believe that Isabella would casually throw around such drastic words.

 But later, it turned out that the makeup really had been a disaster.

 Now, considering everything that had happened recently, I found myself thinking that Vivienne had been right. Isabella had indeed made those provocative remarks, threatening to end our collaboration.

 Just as I finished backing up the data, Jane handed my phone back to me.

 The notification sound chimed.

 I glanced at the screen and saw a message from Isabella.

 &quot;ALEXA

&quot;Wasn’t Isabella burned?&quot;

 &quot;I went to visit her the day it happened. It’s not serious.&quot;

 &quot;Oh.&quot;

 Then why did Victor Sinclair look like Isabella was on the brink of death at the time?

 &quot;I see you’re fine now. How about coming with me?&quot;

 &quot;Is that a good idea?&quot;

 Alexander will definitely be there for Isabella's birthday party. I don’t want to see him right now.

 &quot;What’s wrong with that? The invitation says you can bring a plus-one. CEO Hawthorne is your second brother, and she might be your future sister-in-law. Isn’t it only natural for you to go? It’s just like that press conference. The more you avoid them, the more the media will stir things up. If you’re bolder, they might think twice before making things up.&quot;

 I lowered my gaze and pursed my lips.

 Julian gave me a glance before continuing, &quot;I heard that for Isabella’s birthday party, CEO Hawthorne spared no expense. The venue was designed by an internationall

Chapter 82