Chapter 3
When Isabella woke up, her cheek throbbed as if it had been seared by a hot iron.
Her head was pounding, her entire body burning like it was on fire.
“Isabella, you’re finally awake!”
Lindsey’s eyes were red and puffy as she sat by the bed. “The doctor said if the wound had gone even half an inch deeper, it would’ve left at permanent scar… Your face would’ve been ruined.”
Isabella’s throat was dry. Her gaze slowly swept around the hospital room.
Lindsey noticed and turned her face away, heart aching. “James didn’t come.”
Then, as if she just remembered something, her expression shifted to fury.
“It was Jessie who hit you, but instead of holding her accountable, James gave her the best medical care in all of Washington! Said her hands are too delicate to bear even the smallest injury!”
Every word felt like a dull knife scraping across Isabella’s heart, over and over again.
The pain inside her chest was far worse than the injuries to her cheek and forehead.
Just then, the voice of a nurse echoed from outside the door.
“Move it over here. Madam Catley said this room gets the best sunlight-
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it’s perfect for keeping potted plants!”
The door swung open, and a chilly breeze carrying the strong scent of narcissus flowers rushed in.
Isabella’s chest tightened. She started coughing violently, the motion pulling at her wounds and making her suck in a sharp breath. Her face. went ghostly pale from the pain.
Everyone in the Keane family knew she was allergic to narcissus.
Lindsey trembled with rage. She stormed to the door and yanked hard at the necklace around Jessie’s neck.
Jessie shrieked. James’s face darkened instantly. He rushed over, pulling Jessie protectively behind him and barking, “Isabella, are you out of your mind?
“What happened at the beach was your fault for being indecent. Jessie’s already been scolded by your dad for no reason–she’s the one who’s been wronged!
“Now she’s just trying to feel better by wearing your old wedding dress. and necklace. What does that have to do with you?”
Every word out of James’s mouth was in defense of Jessie.
Jessie peeked out from behind him, her lips curled in a smug, barely concealed smile.
As your elder, of course, I have the right to discipline you.”
Isabella’s eyes turned red. Pain pierced through her chest like a blade.
She looked at James and croaked out, “She almost disfigured me.
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“She had the strength to wear my wedding dress and put on my family’s heirloom necklace. Tell me, what part of that says she’s ‘been wronged“?”
“James.” Her voice cracked as she looked at him, hollow and despairing. “Have you ever cared–even a little–about how I feel?”
James’s eyes swept coldly across her bruised, pale face. There wasn’t the slightest trace of sympathy.
“You must’ve hit your head. You’re getting more and more unstable.
“From now on, all house affairs for the Keane family will be handled by Jessie.” The words hit Isabella like a lightning bolt, freezing her blood.
She looked at James and Jessie, then suddenly let out a soft, bitter laugh. Her laughter soon turned to tears, streaming down her face, mixing with the blood on her wounded cheek. She looked utterly wrecked.
“These past three years of marriage… What did I mean to you?
“If you never cared about me at all, then why not just come out and tell me to go back to the United Kingdom?”
For a moment, something flickered in James’s eyes as he stared at her tear- streaked face.
“Who said I didn’t care about you?”
His voice was cold and defensive. He yanked the wedding ring off his finger and tossed it toward her like it meant nothing.
“Isn’t this what you’ve been wanting? Take it.”
His tone was full of condescension as if he were doing her a huge favor.
Isabella let out a hollow laugh. That ring had been bought at an auction. It
Chapter 3
was called Eternal Love.
On Valentine’s Day, her birthdays, New Year’s Eve–she had practically begged him for it time and again. Not for vanity, just for a sliver of affection, a thread of proof that she mattered.
But he’d always worn both rings himself, refusing to give her the other
one.
And now, out of nowhere, he was tossing it in her face.
How could it not feel like a grand act of charity?
