A wave of discomfort washed over Isla Chambers, even though she knew Winston Wyatt was doing this on purpose just to make her jealous.
Isla bit her lip hard.
‘Even if he did buy me something, it’s not like I’d care.’
She’d long grown tired of such material things.
‘Only someone like Aurora Rivers, who’s never had them, would be so obsessed.’
What surprised Isla more was that Aurora Rivers wasn’t hurt at all.
She was perfectly fine, full of energy.
Just standing there, she had a magnetic presence.
‘But didn’t Winston have an episode?
What on earth happened after that?’
Winston Wyatt ordered the bodyguards to move all of Aurora Rivers’s things to the other master bedroom, the one closest to his.
Mr.
King had already instructed the staff to clean this master bedroom before Winston and Aurora returned.
Aurora Rivers didn’t feel strongly about the room change.
She had been temporarily placed in a guest room, but she’d never actually slept there, so it wasn’t as if she was particular about her bed.
Isla, however, was stunned.
There were only two master bedrooms in the villa, and he was just giving the other one to Aurora Rivers?
She had lived here for three years, and she had always stayed in a secondary bedroom.
And the moment Aurora arrived…
Victoria Sutton’s words about the “stand-in” climbing all over her echoed in her mind.
Isla stared at Winston, a flicker of humiliation and hurt in her eyes.
‘Is this another one of his tricks to make me angry and jealous?’
Winston needed to rest after an episode.
As he walked toward her, Isla pursed her lips stubbornly and stepped forward to take him from Aurora’s grasp.
Seeing this, Aurora readily prepared to hand Winston over.
The dynamic between Winston and Isla reminded Aurora of Mr.
and Mrs.
Wyatt, so she subconsciously classified Isla as Winston’s partner—if not now, then in the future.
Isla was surprised that Aurora would give up her place by Winston’s side so easily.
She had expected Aurora to use the opportunity to cling to him even more.
The next second, her hand was slapped away.
A sharp SMACK left the back of her hand red.
Isla’s eyes widened, her lashes trembling.
Winston held his hand in the dismissive pose, his handsome, sharp features drawn into a frown.
“I don’t need you.”
In the past, Winston had always ordered her to support him, leaving no room for argument.
A torrent of emotions—grievance, panic, shame, and embarrassment—flooded Isla.
She didn’t dare look at the people around her, feeling as though they were all staring, mocking her in their shock.
Humiliated, her eyes reddened.
Clutching her hand, she ducked her head and immediately ran to her room.
“Hey,” Aurora started to call out, but Isla was already gone, running too fast.
Aurora looked at Winston disapprovingly.
“Winston, treating someone you like this will only push them further away.”
?
‘Someone I like?
Who?
Isla?’
Winston felt that Aurora had misunderstood something.
Before he could explain, Aurora continued, “You should try to be gentler.
A gentle voice, gentle movements, a gentle expression.
It would be best if you smiled.”
“Come on, let’s see you try a smile.”
Winston subconsciously complied, baring his teeth in a bizarre, ferocious smile.
He looked like a beast snarling with sharp fangs, his expression menacing.
Aurora: “…”
“Uh, that’s great.
It’ll be even better with more practice.” After saying this, Aurora nodded affirmatively, looking utterly convinced.
Seeing Aurora praise him against her better judgment, Winston knew his attempt at a smile had failed.
His smile vanished.
He stated flatly, “Isla Chambers won’t leave.”
Aurora: “Hm?”
Winston was unconcerned.
“She just went back to her room, didn’t she?
Where can she go?
She can’t leave me.”
Aurora’s face filled with surprise, and she looked like she wanted to say something but held back.
‘But why is Winston so sure that Isla can’t leave him?’
Aurora immediately thought of how Mr.
Wyatt had imprisoned Mrs.
Wyatt to keep her from leaving.
‘Winston isn’t planning on copying his father, is he?!’
It was true that Winston’s upbringing and environment made him highly susceptible to his father’s influence.
No one had ever taught him what it meant to like someone, or how one should act.
He only knew that what he obtained belonged to him.
Whether it was a person or an object.
No matter how he got it, once it was in his hands, it was his private property.
Aurora taught him patiently, “Her body might be here, yes, but her heart may have left long ago.”
Wyatt, who never won Mrs.
Wyatt’s heart in his entire life.
Their entanglement was extreme and twisted, ending with one dead and the other injured.
‘Why would I need to win Isla’s heart?’
Winston’s exhausted brain felt like it was lagging.
“Teacher, it’s not what you think.”
Winston didn’t want to talk about Isla anymore, but Aurora’s serious expression made it clear she wanted to continue the discussion.
He pressed a hand to his forehead, a few strands of hair falling forward.
Looking pained, Winston said, “Teacher, my head is spinning.”
Hearing this, Aurora’s attention immediately shifted to Winston’s physical condition.
She helped Winston into the bedroom.
She also knew that Winston wasn’t in a state to listen and wouldn’t change so easily.
It was better to take things slow.
If any other problems arose later, she would correct him then.
After all, she was here.
「…」
After returning to her room, Isla immediately called Victoria Sutton.
She wanted to know if Victoria had actually gone to cause trouble for Aurora Rivers, and what had happened after Winston’s episode.
Victoria had recovered somewhat, but her voice was still hoarse when she spoke.
Her composure shattered as she complained, “Isla, my date is ruined!
I worked so hard to get this date, and it’s completely destroyed.
It’s all that stand-in’s fault, and Winston Wyatt’s!
They ganged up on me!”
“Isla, you have no idea!
Winston went crazy and attacked me, all for that stand-in.”
“I just said a few things about her, that’s all!
I didn’t do anything!”
“Winston attacked you?” Isla was utterly shocked.
‘Even if he didn’t care about my feelings, shouldn’t he at least have considered that Victoria is a young lady from the Blackwood Family?’
“He really attacked you without a second thought?”
Victoria clutched her neck tightly.
“Would I lie to you?
Not only did he hit me, he injured Mr.
Kian too.” Looking at Kian Blackwood’s bruised face, his extraordinarily handsome features now barely recognizable, with blood still in his mouth, Victoria was overwhelmed with heartache.
She gritted her teeth and cursed, “Winston Wyatt is a madman!”
‘So Winston’s episode wasn’t without violence.
The victims just happened to be Victoria and Kian.
No wonder Aurora was completely unharmed.’
Isla’s fingers dug into her palm, her mind racing with a thousand thoughts.
“Isla, you’re right to want to escape from Winston.
He’s a monster, a devil, a violent maniac who hits women.”
“If he can hit me now, he’ll definitely lose control and hit you in the future.
Leave him, Isla.
Let that stand-in have this ‘blessing’.”