Chapter 4 Art and Reality

Before all this, Isabella had never thought that her boyfriend and her best friend would have an affair. She had always believed that things like that only existed in absurd movies. Isabella finally understood that art imitates life when it actually happened to her.

She still remembered the shock she felt when she pushed open the door of her school dorm and saw Matthew Landon and Samantha Cook entangled with each other. One was her best friend, and the other was the person she relied on most besides Nina. Yet, they had hurt Isabella's heart in the dirtiest way possible.

"Bella?" Samantha hesitated.

But Isabella had already averted her gaze and moved her suitcase inside.

She had no intention of exchanging pleasantries with them. After all, the past was in the past. She had broken up with Matthew and her friendship with Samantha had ended. She didn't want anything to do with these two people anymore.

Samantha walked in, holding Matthew's arm. The elevator doors closed. Samantha turned and said to Isabella, "I heard you found a job. Are you going on a business trip?"

Isabella kept her head down and replied, just to get through the conversation.

Samantha didn't say anything more when she saw her reaction.

When the elevator reached the first floor, Isabella walked out with her suitcase. Unexpectedly, one of the suitcase wheels got stuck in a gap. Isabella tried to pull the suitcase with all her might, but it didn't budge.

Just when she didn't know what to do, Matthew reached out his hand. He gently pushed, and the wheel came out.

"Thank you," Isabella muttered, embarrassed, as she pulled the suitcase behind her and hurried away.

The elevator doors closed again and continued to descend.

Samantha glanced at Matthew, her tone unclear, and said, "Bella seems to have changed a lot. I don't know if she's still mad at us. Should I try to see her and apologize?"

"Is that necessary?" Matthew replied blandly. "Things have already turned out like this. Would an apology make a difference?"

Samantha pursed her lips, feeling wronged. "Are you blaming me, Matthew?"

Matthew didn't say anything.

Samantha pulled her hand out of Matthew's arm. "Matthew, if you still have feelings for Bella, I'll go and explain it to her. It was my fault, I’ll take responsibility. Bella is gentle, she’ll probably forgive you..."

The elevator doors opened. The basement parking lot was brightly lit.

Samantha ran out of the elevator crying, only to be faced with a speeding car. The honking pierced through the air. Samantha stood in the middle of the road, seemingly unresponsive, and raised her hand to shield her eyes but forgot to move out of the way.

Fortunately, Matthew quickly reached out and pulled her back. The screeching brakes of the car were ear-piercing. The car barely passed by the two of them and stopped. The terrified driver stuck his head out of the window, cursed a few times, and then drove away.

"Are you out of your mind?" Matthew held Samantha's wrist tightly. His voice was trembling, too.

That had been dangerous. If Matthew had been a second late, Samantha would have been hit and sent flying.

Samantha's face turned pale from the scare. Tears kept rolling down her eyes. She cried uncontrollably, burying her head in Matthew's arms, unable to say a word.

Matthew sighed and reached out to embrace her, gently comforting her. "Stop crying..."

——

Isabella took the car back to her school dormitory. It was the only place she could stay after leaving Nina's house. There were originally four people living in the dormitory. Since it was the second half of their senior year, everyone had found jobs and moved out one by one.

Isabella didn't usually live here, but her things were still there.

Before the cheating incident happened, Samantha had been the only one living here. She hadn't found a job yet because her family was from out of town.

That night, Isabella had come over because she heard from a classmate that there was a power outage in the dormitory. She was worried that Samantha would be alone and scared, so she wanted to come and keep her company. However, when she pushed the door open, she had seen that scene...

Now, Samantha didn't live here anymore. Matthew rented a house for her.

Since Isabella joined the Landon Group, she had been busy working long hours. She had bumped into them in Nina’s neighborhood today, which surprised her.

Surprisingly, the house that Matthew rented for Samantha was in the same neighborhood as Nina's house.

Isabella no longer wanted to think about whether this was a coincidence or intentional. She now just felt that moving away was the right decision. She didn't want to see them again.

After Isabella made the bed, her phone rang.

It was a call from Nina. Nina sounded like she had been crying. "Bella, what's going on with you? You left without saying goodbye to me. Where are you? I'll come find you."

Isabella leaned against the bed rail. "I moved back to the dorms at school. Once I finish my internship, I can apply for employee housing at the company..."

"I have a room at my place. Why would you live in employee housing? Wait, I'll come pick you up..."

"No!" Isabella called out solemnly.

Nina instantly became quiet as well.

Isabella controlled her emotions, looked up at the ceiling, and pretended to be casual. "I've grown up. I don't want to be a burden to you, and I want to be someone you can rely on."

Nina sat on a bench in the entryway, holding the phone, and cried. Wiping her tears, she said, "I don't need someone to rely on; I just need you by my side. No matter how old you are, you’ll always be my little sister."

"Thank you, but I really want to be independent this time. You’ll support me, right?"

Nina's voice was hoarse. "If I didn't support you, would you immediately pack up and come back?"

"No, I wouldn't," Isabella smiled. Her tears silently fell. "You’ve always supported me since I was young, no matter what I did. You're the best sister in the world."

Nina didn't speak for a long time. Although she tried her best to restrain herself, Isabella still heard her quiet sobbing.

"I'll buy you a bigger house when I make some money! I'll open a store for you, so you and your husband won't have to work so hard anymore."

Only then did Nina laugh. "I don't want a big house, and I don't want to open a store. You and I are just ordinary people. We don't expect to live a wealthy life. I don't want anything, Bella. I just want you to be safe and happy. That'll be enough for me."

"Okay," Isabella nodded heavily. "I will!"

After hanging up the phone, Isabella cried sadly for a while.

Someone knocked on the door.

Isabella wiped away her tears to open the door. The daylight outside seemed to have turned into darkness.

Sebastian's face appeared in front of her.