Chapter 119
Anna Wyndham was not a woman who backed down easily. Though she was shocked. Isla clearly took her
unaware. But she masked her shock, it disappeared as quickly as it came. She had been through too many games. Isla’s little win can not silence her.
She straightened her shoulders, her gaze flicking between her son and his wife. “I’m sure my son can speak for himself,” she said coolly, her voice calm. “Don’t you think?”
Isla’s lips pressed into a thin line, but she didn’t reply. She didn’t see the need to.
Anna continued, looking directly at Gabriel now. “Gabriel, if this weren’t important, I wouldn’t be here. Hear me out, please.”
Gabriel’s expression hardened. Disappointment clouded his eye, and it stung deeper than anger. He could handle public scrutiny, betrayal from business partners, even public gossip. But this? His own mother showing up in a club, embarrassing him in front of his friends and wife? That cut deeper than expected.
His jaw twitched as he clenched it tight. His hand on Isla’s waist tightened just slightly, not tight enough to hurt
but just to reassure her. The message was silent but it was clear: I’ve got this.
a looked up at him, her blue eyes searching his eyes. She saw exactly what she wanted to see. The man she loved, the man she once misunderstood for his coldness.
Now, was different. Now, he was standing up for her. Standing between her and the woman who had always tried to break her spirit.
Isla found herself relaxed. She trusted him.
Gabriel turned his gaze back to his mother, his tone clipped and deliberate. “Mother,” he said, “if this is really as important as you say, then please, sit down. You can speak freely. But I’m not leaving my wife or my friends alone.”
Anna clearly didn’t like his reply, her fingers tightening around her purse. She hadn’t expected that. Her son had never spoken to her in that tone before–not with that quiet defiance that sounded nothing like the obedient boy
she had raised.
Her nostrils flared, but she swallowed the rising irritation. She wasn’t going to lose this
Not tonight.
“Fine,” she said through a strained smile. “If you insist.”
She sat down gracefully, directly opposite Gabriel and Isla. Peter and Ben exchanged looks, both of them clearly uncomfortable with what was unfolding. The air around the table had shifted completely. What was supposed to be a night of laughter now felt like a family showdown.
Anna folded her hands on the table, her eyes narrowing slightly, Isla rested her head gently against Gabriel’s chest, his arm still wrapped around her shoulders. The small gesture–so natural, so intimate–felt like a knife twisting in Anna’s chest.
Her son was holding Isla as though he needed to protect her, as though she was the danger.
Anger screamed behind Anna’s composed face. She had come here with a plan, but seeing her Son and Isla like
that made something dark stir inside her. She wanted to lash out, to remind him that she is his mother, and that she’d sacrificed everything for his name, his empire, and his success.
But she forced herself to breathe. Now is not the time.
Her spine straightened, her voice composed as she spoke again,
“Gabriel, I didn’t come here to fight. I came because I’m worried. There are things you should know, things you clearly don’t understand yet.”
Gabriel’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he said nothing. Isla’s heartbeat quickened, her pulse drumming against his arm. She knew what Anna was trying to do.
And whatever that might be. Isla knew that she wouldn’t let her win. Not anymore.
“I’m sorry for coming here unannounced,” Anna began, her voice deceptively calm. “But this is important.”
Her gaze was fixed on Gabriel, but her words were sharp enough to cut through the entire terrace.
“Delphine had a miscarriage,” she said softly. “And she’s in pain.”
The air suddenly shifted.
For a moment, it felt as if the terrace wasn’t part of the club anymore. The music downstairs turned distant, muffled–replaced by a heavy silence that wrapped around the table.
“She needs you, son,” Anna continued, her tone laced with a false tenderness. “If not for anything, at least for old time’s sake.”
Isla stiffened. The warmth that had been in her chest moments ago turned to ice. She slowly pulled away from Gabriel’s embrace, her pulse drumming in her ears.
Florence is a passionate reader who finds joy in long drives on rainy days. She’s also a fan of Italian makeup tutorials, blending beauty and elegance into her everyday life.