Chapter 3: A Cruel Reality

As Isabella stood at the door of the hospital room, her eyes fixed on Judy, she asked, "What's the matter?"

"Where did you get the 600,000 dollars to pay off the medical expenses?" Judy inquired.

"That's none of your business," Isabella replied curtly.

Judy chuckled, "Come on, I'm just concerned about you. You're young and beautiful, there will be plenty of good days ahead for you."

"Can you just be straightforward?"

This stepmother of hers had always been a thorn in Isabella's side, constantly favoring Sharon with all sorts of benefits, especially when the Wallace family was still prosperous.

Now that things had taken a turn for the worse, she hadn't even taken out a penny from her secret stash, instead suggesting that Isabella sell herself...

Judy spoke in a secretive manner, "Given our family's current situation, you're well aware of it. These past few days, I've been pulling strings and I've found a wealthy and good-hearted man for you. He wants to marry you and turn you into a proper, respectable lady of wealth."

"Oh?" Isabella asked, "If it's such a good thing, why don't you let Sharon go instead?"

"I'm thinking of you, my dear. Both daughters are equally important to me."

Isabella outright refused: "I'm not going."

Judy's face immediately changed: "If you don't go, what will happen to the Wallace family? What about your dad? What about the company? How will our family's expenses be taken care of?"

Just then, Mr. Wallace walked over, and Judy immediately turned to him in tears: "This stepmother of hers works so hard to help her, to find a good match for her, but she doesn't appreciate it at all..."

"You arranged a blind date for Isabella?"

"Yes, the other party is specifically looking for marriage, and even mentioned that they don't mind our family's situation. You see, it's so hard to find a suitable match."

Mr. Wallace looked up and looked at Isabella: "Well... why don't you go and meet them? If it's not a good match, you can reject them. Don't let Judy's kindness go to waste."

"Yes, yes," Judy said, "The meeting is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Dress up and be on time!"

She got married to Sebastian, why the need for a blind date?

Seeing her not saying anything, Judy continued to plead: "Isabella, if you go or not, how can I face people in the future?"

"Fine," Isabella was annoyed by her incessant crying, "I'll go."

Isabella arrived as planned.

When she saw the other party, she realized that she had underestimated Judy's malice.

This middle-aged man, with his excessive weight gain and balding head... he was thirty years older than her. She thought it was such a good thing, how could Judy not give it to Sharon and let her benefit?

In reality, she was just being made a scapegoat!

In the distance, Kaine hung up the phone and hurriedly walked towards the private room, casually glancing at the hall before entering, and exclaimed, "Oh!"

Sebastian, who was relaxed and casual, asked, "What's wrong?"

"Mr. Lawrence, I think I saw Mrs. Lawrence."

Sebastian looked outside through the door crack and his mouth twitched when he saw Isabella.

What on earth is she going for,Is she here to play the clown or act as a witch? He thought to himself.

"Mrs. Lawrence? Mrs. Lawrence?" Joshua, sitting across from him, teased, "When did you get married? How come there was no news about it?"

"Yesterday morning."

Joshua twirled the teacup in his hand and a smile appeared on his lips, "Let me see what kind of beauty could catch Mr. Lawrence's eye."

Sebastian, however, moved slightly, seemingly unintentionally blocking his line of sight, "We'll meet formally another day."

After speaking, he got up and left.

Isabella and the middle-aged man opposite her stared at each other.

"You... you're Isabella?"

"It's me." She gave him an extremely flattering smile, intentionally...

With a touch of shyness, Isabella lowered her head and caressed her face.

"Hasn't Judy shown you any photos?" she asked.

Isabella had spent two hours applying her makeup...heavy and extravagant. Her eyeshadow resembled a palette of colors, her eyeliner was as thick as a caterpillar, and her lashes were almost touching her eyebrows.

Her face was heavily contoured, and she had purposefully drawn dense "freckles" on her cheeks.

"She said that you don't mind our family situation and are willing to marry me and bring me home as your wife. I was deeply moved when I heard that," Isabella said.

Gazing at him with affectionate eyes. "As long as you agree, we can go get married right now!"

As she spoke, she reached out to hold the hand of the middle-aged man.

Unable to contain himself any longer, the old man snapped.

"What a ridiculous joke! How dare she introduce such an ugly person to me? I wouldn't want her even if she begged me to take her for free!"

Isabella couldn't resist her penchant for drama and continued acting even though he had already left. "Don't go!" she pleaded.

"I can have plastic surgery to change my appearance. You're rich, aren't you? I can become whatever type of person you like..." Her words trailed off as Sebastian's suit sleeve suddenly appeared beside her.

At that moment, Isabella froze, her every movement caught in suspense.

Sebastian's voice sounded above her head, "Arranging blind dates behind my back? Hm?"

"Well..." She awkwardly looked up and smiled at him, "It's obviously a misunderstanding."

"Is it because I can't afford you, or because the money I give you isn't enough?"

"I..." Isabella started to speak.

Sebastian, without showing any pity or tenderness, grabbed her wrist and, in front of everyone's eyes, dragged her into the women's restroom, slamming the door shut with a bang.

Outside the door, two black-clad bodyguards immediately stood with their hands crossed, one on the left and one on the right, forbidding anyone from entering.

"You ignored what I said?" Sebastian let go of her and pushed her towards the sink, "Look at yourself now!"

Isabella covered her face, "Don't look at me! I'll remove my makeup right away. What if you find me ugly and call off the wedding? I don't want to get married yesterday and divorced today!"

Sebastian had no idea how to deal with her nonsense. What was she babbling about?

Isabella took out makeup remover and almost poured the entire bottle onto her face.

Outside the door, Joshua's voice sounded, "Mr. Lawrence, even if you're newlyweds, it's not necessary to be so desperate that you block the restroom directly. Pay attention to the influence. I won't disturb both of you anymore. Excuse me."

Veins started to pop on Sebastian's forehead, "Get lost."

Once Isabella had removed her makeup, she dared to turn around and look at Sebastian.

Without any powder or rouge to redden up her cheeks, her skin was fair and tender. There were still droplets of water on her hair ends. Despite her disheveled appearance, she gave off a sense of purity and cleanliness with her lively and bright eyes.

Sebastian vigorously wiped her face, making sure she had completely removed her makeup. Then he coldly withdrew his hand, disgusted, and grabbed a tissue.

"Explain," he said, "When you didn't take the black card, you made me think highly of you. I didn't expect...that you're this filthy."

Hearing his words, Isabella tightly held onto the edge of the sink.

"Mr. Lawrence, to say such harsh words without understanding the situation," she said, "Are you sure you've put me in the position of your wife?"

"Is Sebastian's woman supposed to stoop so low as to have blind dates with older men?"

"We are married," Isabella looked at him, "But I have never understood your thoughts."

"You can ask me." Was the reply.

She bit her lip, "How can I ask? Can I openly acknowledge our marriage, Mr. Lawrence, Can I proudly stand by your side? Can I rely on you and trust you? Will you lend me a hand when I'm helpless?"