Chapter 3 Is the Person in Front of Me Really Isabella?

For the first time, Chase Taylor found himself at a loss. The cold defiance in Isabella’s eyes was something he’d never seen before, and for a moment, it silenced him.

After a few seconds of tense silence, he frowned. "He just doesn't want to sit with you. Is that so difficult to understand?"

Isabella calmly met his gaze. "And I just told him to leave. Is that so difficult to understand?"

Chase’s jaw tightened. He shot Isabella a dark look before turning to his other brother. "Tobias. Move."

Something was wrong. Yesterday, this girl was practically begging Tobias for a kind word. Today, she was ordering him out of his own seat. Gritting his teeth, Tobias reluctantly moved to the chair beside Bianca, the scrape of his chair loud in the silent room. He couldn’t shake the feeling of unease.

Across the table, Gabriel clenched his fists, glaring at the source of the disruption. As Isabella reached for a small cake, he deliberately spun the lazy Susan, moving the dessert tray just out of her reach. It came to a stop in front of him and Bianca.

"Bianca likes this dessert," Gabriel announced, his voice laced with childish triumph. "It's hers. Don't touch it." He then placed a piece on Bianca’s plate.

Bianca smiled sweetly, a flicker of victory in her eyes. So what if Isabella was the true daughter? In this house, she was the one they loved.

Isabella watched this pathetic display, her expression unreadable. She then reached for a serving dish of stir-fried vegetables.

Gabriel spun the lazy Susan again, a smug grin on his face. "What's wrong, Isabella? Not hungry?"

Bianca gently tugged his sleeve. "Gabriel, don't bully her..."

"She had it coming," he scoffed, turning back to Isabella. "See? This is what you get for disrespecting Tobias." He froze. Isabella was staring at him, her eyes calm and utterly devoid of emotion. It was unnerving. "What are you looking at me for? Are you mad I saved some dessert for Bianca?"

"No," Isabella said, her voice flat. "I'm not mad."

She simply picked up the nearest serving dish—a platter of saucy beef and broccoli—and in one fluid motion, walked over and emptied its contents over Gabriel's head.

"There," she said, her voice as cold as ice. "Now it's all yours."

The clatter of the porcelain dish shattering on the floor echoed Gabriel's shriek. Oily sauce dripped down his hair and face. The entire table stared in stunned silence. This wasn't just about the food. This was Gabriel—the brother she used to follow around like a puppy.

"Isabella! Are you insane?!" Gabriel leaped to his feet, his chair screeching backward. He frantically tried to wipe the mess from his face, his hands now slick with grease. "Look what you've done!"

Isabella met his furious gaze without flinching. "Gabriel," she stated, not as a warning but as a fact, "don't mess with me again."

"You..." He was speechless, utterly bewildered by the stranger standing before him.

Tobias finally found his voice, his brow furrowed in disapproval. "Isabella, how could you treat your brother like that—"

"He is not my brother," she cut him off, her tone final.

Tobias froze. Gabriel’s eyes widened in disbelief. She didn't acknowledge him? He was the one who hadn't accepted her!

"That's enough," Tobias said, rising from his seat. He walked over, his voice laced with condescension. "Apologize to Gabriel. Did you learn nothing from kneeling yesterday?" He reached out to grab her arm.

In a flash, Isabella caught his wrist and shoved him away with shocking force.

Tobias stumbled back, his hip colliding painfully with the corner of the table. He stared at her, stunned by the sheer power in that wiry frame. His handsome face turned icy. "I am your brother!"

"And you are not mine," Isabella shot back, her hands clenched at her sides.

Seeing the situation spiral, Bianca rushed to intervene, her voice trembling with faux concern. "Isabella, please calm down. If you want the title of the Taylor daughter, I... I can give it to you, alright?"

Isabella’s head snapped toward her. The actress. "Excellent," Isabella said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Then let's go tell Father right now that you're renouncing your title."

Bianca froze, her face paling. That wasn't what she meant at all. Before she could backtrack, Isabella was already turning toward the door as if to lead the way.

Bianca instinctively shrank back.

Isabella stopped and looked at her, her voice sharp with impatience. "Well? Let's go. Why aren't you moving?"

"Let go of Bianca!"

Chase, who had been observing in stony silence, finally reached his limit. His face was thunderous. "Is all this drama just for a title? Are you trying to bully her into giving it up?"

"Bully her?" Isabella let go of Bianca's arm, which she hadn't even been holding, and turned to face her eldest brother. "She was the one who offered."

She gave him a long, cold look, her eyes sweeping over him with utter disdain.

"Idiot."

She turned and walked away.

"Stop right there."

Chase’s voice was dangerously low. The look she had just given him… and the word she had used… no one had ever dared.

Isabella paused, glancing back over her shoulder. Her brow was slightly furrowed, not with fear, but with sheer, unadulterated annoyance.

"What?"