Chapter 354
Wearing a solemn expression on his aged face, Charlie looked at Joseph and said in anticipation, “Where is Isabella? Is she still angry and unwilling to come back?”
Joseph lowered his head. He staggered a little due to the influence of the alcohol and said sadly, “Grandfather, Isabella might not be coming back...”
Charlie’s body shook a bit.
William immediately held Charlie and supported him to walk to the sofa. “Master Wilson, you should calm down. Mr. Joseph is drinking to forget his sorrows. Obviously, they are in a quarrel. You should wait more patiently.”
Charlie shook his head and said sadly, “Joseph, I have been missing Isabella these past few days. She is livelier and more sensible than your brothers and sisters. When she just left, I felt that life was quieter when she was away. But now I am unaccustomed to her absence. Yesterday, I had a stomachache and I recalled how she rubbed my belly to ease the pain and told me jokes. I became regretful and thought that she might be crying somewhere. I just can’t bear this thought.”
Joseph staggered in front of Charlie and knelt down. “It’s all my fault. You are right to be mad at me.”
Charlie said sorrowfully, “Then go and find her back. Go tell her that what you said that day was on a spur of the moment. You apologize to her. Of all your girlfriends, Isabella is the only one that I am satisfied with. I will be mad at you if you lose her.”
Joseph went silent for a while. “What I said at that time in the hospital was just part of our misunderstanding... I didn’t notice it and didn’t care when she told me about it the first time. Now that I found out the truth, I have missed the timing. She is already very disappointed in me and doesn’t want to come back.”
.....
“I don’t care.”
Charlie said stubbornly, “Since you know there are misunderstandings, you go talk to her and do not think about if it hurts you as a man. If you continue like this, I won’t forgive you,”
Joseph thought and said, “Isabella might have fallen for another man.”
Charlie was stunned. “How? It has just been a few days.”
“Cedric has known her since childhood. On the night she ran away from home, she met some danger and was saved by Cedric. Then the two met again on a blind date so...”
Charlie was stunned. “Running away from home? In a danger? Joseph, what happened that day?”
Joseph thought about it and told Charlie everything, including how Isabella called him because she ran into a hooligan but was ignored by him.
But of course, he omitted the part of Stella deleting the phone record. He just said that he was too tired from taking care of Stella, so he missed the call.
“I knew it!”
Charlie hit the ground with his walking stick angrily. “I knew that Isabella was not a stingy person! You must have done something to make her so mad! Surely, you have hurt a lot of people around you because of Stella. It’s us before and now Isabella!”
Joseph obediently lowered his head when Charlie scolded him.
“Where is Stella now?”
Charlie was in a rage and roared, “William, tell the Bell family to send Stella back to America within three days! Otherwise, I might do it myself!”
Joseph went silent for a while. “Grandpa, I have already made it clear to Stella. Now, she just wants to stay and bless me. Please don’t do anything to her because she always respects you. She only came back this time to get treated and recover herself. You can’t stimulate her anymore.”
Charlie snorted. “Have you ended your relationship with her?”
Joseph said in a serious tone, “I just think her as my friend now. Back then, when my mother died tragically, you knew what I had become. If it were not for her, I might have lost the courage to live because of depression. So grandfather, even if we have gone through so many troubles and are no longer lovers, I can’t turn my back on her. She saved my life.”
Charlie only spoke after a while of silence, “So, you just like Isabella now?”
“Yes,” Joseph said without hesitation.
“If she comes back, will you explain to her everything and earn her forgiveness?”
Joseph thought about it and said honestly, “Grandpa, what happened is not trivia. Isabella ... will not come back.”
Charlie tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. “Answer me. If she comes back, what will you do?”
Joseph was stunned. Then, he raised his head in surprise and looked at Charlie. “Grandpa, what do you have on your mind?”
“Cedric is the only male heir to the Stretton family. If I remember it right, he is a handsome and capable guy. And unlike you, he knows how to talk sweetly to women. and I remember that the only son of the Shi family is not bad. Isabella is a cute woman. If Cedric really likes her, the Stretton family can’t wait to ask them to get married and have babies. There isn’t much time to be wasted.”
Charlie tapped his finger on his walking stick and sighed, “Although you are a bit annoying, you are still my grandson. I have to help you. I can’t count on you to bring Isabella back.”
Joseph was surprised. “Grandpa, what are you going to do?”
Charlie narrowed his eyes. “If she comes back, can you promise to give me a great-grandson within a year?”
Joseph was stunned for a moment, and then immediately said happily, “Of course! I can even give you two great-grandsons!”
Charlie nodded in satisfaction. Then, he smiled slyly. “Wait and see what I will do. You still have a lot to learn.”
...
The next day, Isabella woke up very early. She didn’t sleep well last night because of bad dreams. In her dream, she kept thinking about Joseph’s indifferent eyes.
She didn’t care if Joseph got angry, made a scene or caused some trouble. She could handle them well.
But what she was afraid of was when he looked at her coldly. The loneliness and disappointment in his eyes made her heart ache. The pain was unparalleled.
Isabella thought, ‘He is always around by servants. He must be pissed off since he lost it this time.’
She felt dizzy and didn’t want to think about it anymore. She got up and washed up before making breakfast for Cedric.
Cedric seldom had a good appetite when he woke up in the morning. So Isabella thought about making breakfast for him. She looked into the refrigerator and found that she had run out of eggs. She went down to the 24/7 convenience store downstairs and bought a box of eggs.
Ten minutes later, Isabella came back. She was thinking about what to make with a box of milk in her hand. Suddenly, she felt strange and turned around. She found Cedric sitting by the table and staring at her.
Isabella was stunned. “Cedric, it’s only 6 o’clock in the morning. Why did you wake up so early? Doesn’t your work start at eight?”