Twisted Ties of Love
Chapter 55

Izabella was shivering all over, leaning against the wall to keep herself stable.

She had suspected that her dad's death had something to do with Brett, but she had no idea that the truth was so cruel.

The sacrifice was just too much. She had given up everything she had for an uncertain gamble.

Kaley, taking pleasure in her misery, continued to mock her, "Izabella, you deserve this! Without the Salotti family, you're now worse off than a beggar!"

Ignoring Kaley's haughty face, Izabella raised her hand and slapped her. The sound of the slap echoed loudly through the empty living room. Caught off guard, Kaley fell to the floor.

Kaley covered her face, disbelief written all over it. "You hit me! I'll tell..."

"Smack!" Before Kaley could finish her sentence, she received another slap to the other side of her face.

Izabella's slap was so hard it turned her own hand red. She looked at Kaley coldly and said, "What's wrong with me hitting you? I should have slapped you twice yesterday, so I wouldn't be wronged for no reason."

Kaley's tears flowed, both from the pain and anger. She lay on the floor, pointing at Izabella and cursing, "Izabella, you bitch!"

She looked pathetic with her tear-stained face, and Izabella coldly smiled, "Kaley, save your tears. Brett might buy it, but I won't!"

Kaley, furious, lunged at Izabella to fight her, but was kicked back before she could even get close.

"Get out of my way.." Izabella didn't want Kaley to delay her meal.

As Izabella left, she continued to mock Kaley, "Who do you think you are? Don't get too full of yourself!"

Even in these deplorable situations, it was not Kaley's place to boss her around. After all, she only had two years left to live. Everyone might as well let loose and have a bad time. Kaley clenched her teeth, her chest ached from Izabella's mockery.

As Izabella went to get her delivery, she thought to herself that Kaley was so weak and fragile, Brett could have easily killed her. The thought made Izabella laugh---Kaley was the apple of Brett's eye; how could he bear to hurt her?

When Izabella returned with the food, Kaley was gone. While she enjoyed the solitude, Izabella could not shake off the words Kaley had just spoken, and she lost her appetite.

Having been slapped twice, Kaley was unlikely to let things slide. As expected, Izabella received a call from Brett right after her meal.

Accepting the call, she heard Brett's cold voice, "You hit her?"

He called her either to make her apologize to Kaley or to hold her accountable for what she did.

Izabella mocked herself with a smile.

"She deserved it."

"Izabella, it seems that the lesson I gave you yesterday was too light! You know how delicate her health is. She has clotting disorders..."

"Is she dead?" Izabella asked. "Brett, you know my condition too. You treated me like that yesterday, and I survived. Would two slaps from me kill her?"

Brett tried to suppress his anger. "So this is your reason for hitting her?"

"My reason for hitting her is that she deserves it. She came to me looking for trouble. If I hadn't taken into consideration that she's your mistress, I would've hit her even harder!"

Brett was furious and frustrated. "You still dare to talk back? Izabella, have you forgotten how your father died?"

The mention of her father's death reminded Izabella of Kaley's words and her dad's suicide. Her eyes filled with tears, and she struggled to catch her breath.

"Brett, thanks for reminding me. I haven't forgotten how my father died, nor have I forgotten how you pushed him to his death!"

Brett suddenly fell silent. Izabella calmly waited for his response, only to get a cold, "We'll talk when I get back."

"Fuck you!" Izabella immediately hung up the call.

What could Brett say? Would he explain himself for one sacrifice? No, a person as arrogant and reckless as he would never admit his mistakes, let alone explain himself. Besides...would an explanation even help?

Izabella sat in the living room for a while, but eventually, she couldn't stand the silence and turned on the TV with the volume all the way up.

She started watching a random comedy, filled with exaggerated, over-the-top acting. Every character was like a clown. She used to laugh heartily at this movie, but now she couldn't even crack a smile. Touching her cold face, she wondered when she had become so joyless.