The Billionaire's Pretend Wife (Isabella)
Chapter 19 Nineteen

Jacob and Isabelle turned around at the sound of the voice. Their eyes fell on Naomi, standing near a black BMW that was parked outside the nearby building. Beside her was a man Isabelle had never seen before.

"Hi, Naomi," Isabelle greeted her tersely, ignoring her earlier words. She wasn't interested in having a fight with her sister in front of Jacob. Just a few minutes ago, she had told him that everything was fine with her family. If Naomi didn't back off, he might get the idea that she's hiding something.

Instead of replying to her greeting, Naomi turned to the man beside her and hooked her arm through his. "Babe, this is my sister, Isabelle." Turning back to Isabelle, she said, "This is Arnold, my boyfriend." She didn't even bother introducing Jacob, but that was the last thing on Isabelle's mind. New boyfriend? What on earth happened to Raymond? Wasn't she supposedly pregnant with his child? As she looked from Arnold to Naomi, her sister gave her a pointed look, her lips stretched in a closed smile. Isabelle realised she must know what she was thinking...and was being smug about it.

And that was the moment she realised that her sister had lied about being pregnant in order to avoid marrying Jacob. Now that the wedding was over, she was back to her active dating life without a care in the world. While she did so, Isabelle had to remain in her pretend marriage without even getting the one thing she was promised!

"So, you guys can ride with us in my boyfriend's car," Naomi offered, tilting her head to the side. "But first, Isabelle would have to wash my new car. Arnold just bought it for me. Isn't he wonderful?" Isabelle scoffed and decided to say nothing to that. To wash her car for a ride? Was this her idea of humiliating her? She turned to Jacob, ready to tell him that they should leave, but Naomi wasn't done. Pressing a hand to her chest, she gave Isabelle a pitiful look. "I mean... it will help, right? At this point, you're basically a poor beggar who cannot afford to pay for a taxi. I'm just trying to help you." Isabelle clenched her jaw. She had known Naomi wouldn't have anything nice to say, but wasn't she being too much? A poor beggar? Right. She had no money to pay for a taxi because Naomi and her mother had conspired to kick her out of the family. Since she was no longer receiving any money from her parents, she had to use the savings she had sparingly to ensure they lasted until payday. Where did she get the shame to call her a beggar and humiliate her like this? Now that Isabelle knew that she had lied about being pregnant, she considered revealing the entire truth. Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ Find_Nøvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

She was no longer receiving any help from them for Ruth's medical bill, and now, her adoptive sister was making fun of her like this. Why should she let them keep using her like this? She curled her fingers int a fist, her nails biting into her palm so hard that it was painful.

She had nothing to lose...

Jacob looked down at Isabelle when she said nothing to her sister. He frowned as he noticed the tears in her eyes. She looked angry, sad, and lost, and he couldn't bear to see her like that. He also wasn't going to stand by and let her sister insult her any further.

Reaching forward, he wrapped his hand around Isabelle's upper arm gently and pulled her to his side. Fixing a hard glare at Naomi, he warned, "If you keep offending my wife, I'll slap you." Naomi's face flushed at the warning, and her mouth trembled. She couldn't believe he still had the guts to talk to her like that in this situation. Someone who didn't know them would think they were a true couple!

Sneering, she let go of her boyfriend and crossed her arms across her chest, her eyes flashing at him. "Oh? Is that all you can do for your precious wife?" She scoffed loudly. "You can't even afford to pay for a taxi for her. Weren't you showing off with expensive gifts just the other day?"

Jacob narrowed his eyes in warning. "I'm not going to ask you again. Leave her alone." His eyes slid over to Arnold, who was doing nothing to rein in his rude girlfriend. "If you don't rein in your girlfriend, I'II make sure your company collapses."

Naomi snickered. "What? Oh, please. Shouldn't you be begging him for a job instead? Are you in a position to make such a threat?"

Jacob didn't take his intimidating glare off the man, waiting for his response. If he knew what was best for him, he was going to take his little rude girlfriend and leave right away. Because if he didn't? Jacob was going to hunt his company down and make sure he wasn't able to spoil his bratty girlfriend anymore. He would probably have to take back his car gift and sell it to stay afloat. Jacob was so ready to go down that route...

Arnold reached for Naomi's arm and pulled her to his side. "Let it go, babe."

Jacob knew from the man's reaction that he had realised he wasn't joking. Good. It was about time someone around here started taking him seriously.

Naomi tried to pull her arm free. "Are you seriously letting this good-for-nothing..." she trailed off, her eyes widening at something on the street. "Oh my God."

The group turned to see what had caught her attention. A black limited edition Maybach had just stopped by the curb in front of the BMW. As they watched, the driver, who was smartly dressed in a black suit and tie, emerged from the driver's side.

He walked up to Jacob. "Good evening, sir. The car is ready, please get in."

Everybody-Isabelle, Naomi, and Arnold-turned their attention to Jacob. Jacob cleared his throat and nodded, then gently grasped Isabelle's elbow. "Let's go home."

Isabelle looked from Jacob to the car and back to him. What was going on? The driver stepped back and held the back door open, waiting for them to get in.

Them.

Jacob smiled gently at her and dropped his arm around her waist and ushered her forward, ignoring the gawking pair beside them. He helped her into the backseat and the driver shut the door after them. A few seconds later, the driver got into his seat and drove the car away.

It took a while for Isabelle to get out of her daze. A few minutes ago, they were making their way to the subway. And then got waylaid by her sister, who called her a poor beggar who couldn't pay a taxi fee. And now, suddenly, she was sitting in the back of a Maybach, heading home.

None of it made sense.

She whirled on Jacob, who was sitting next to her in a relaxed pose as if none of this was new to him. The driver had come straight to him, so no, this was not a mistake.

Confusion swirled in her mind as she tried to understand what was going on. Alongside the confusion was the anger Naomi had ignited a few moments ago, and she felt like her mind was going to burst.

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