Stuck in The Marriage Pact
Chapter 28: Juliana finds out about Joe

Chapter 28: Juliana finds out about Joe

"I haven’t finished talking to him yet!" Hunter exclaimed anxiously, approaching Isabella as Loraine had already left the office room.

"Just let it go," Isabella replied curtly.

Hunter sighed, looking at Isabella.

"But he misunderstood me before I could finish, and he wants to leave my apartment today," he said anxiously.

"Let him do whatever he wants. Neither you nor I need to stop him," Isabella responded, moving towards the sofa and sitting down. "Besides, what will we say later? What could we say if we forced him to stay with Kate? Give him permission so he won’t be angry. That’s crazy!" She said firmly, shaking her head.

Hunter exhaled sharply and chose to sit back on the sofa, directly across from Isabella, separated by a short, bluish-black glass table.

"If we give in to his demands, he’ll become someone who can’t stand on his own... He’ll depend on us, becoming a burden," Isabella continued, her face still showing signs of anger. "I know you’re kind, wanting to be a good brother-in-law... But our position is still uncertain. We don’t know if our relationship will sink or sail someday... So don’t be too kind, or you’ll just be taken advantage of," she added, turning her face away.

"Alright..." Hunter nodded.

"I respect your decision... And... I won’t stop him from leaving my apartment. But I’ll still talk to him when he’s no longer with his girlfriend," he continued.

Isabella exhaled sharply, recalling how Kate seemed foolish. "She only wants to have fun. In her mind, it’s all about fun with Loraine. She’s like a silly girl who doesn’t think about a better future!" she said harshly as if she truly despised Kate.

"How can you think that?" Hunter asked with a smile.

"Because she works only for her pleasure. If she loved my brother and had plans for the future, she would be saving money by now," Isabella replied, raising her eyebrows. "But what? She works just to have fun, to meet her own needs or even asks my brother to pay her debts... It’s always like that. That’s why I don’t like her... She seems innocent, but she’s cunning, and it’s such a shame my brother loves her," she continued.

"What you know might not be the whole truth, and from what you’ve said, it sounds like she’ll always seem bad in your eyes because you dislike her," Hunter responded.

Isabella frowned.

"Why would you say that? Are you defending her?"

"No... I’m not..." Hunter shook his head.

"I don’t know..." Isabella stood and waved her hand in frustration. "Everything is just so annoying to me. I need some peace!" She rushed out of the office.

Hunter exhaled sharply, shaking his head as he watched Isabella slowly disappear from his view.

’She wants to be a good sister... She’s amazing... Could she love me? Or does she plan to go back to her ex?’

...

Isabella returned to her room, opting to lie down and cover herself with a blanket. She remained silent, her brother’s face flashing in her mind, making her so sad that tears began to fall.

’He looks at me with such hatred, as if I’m his enemy. How could he be like this? He’s only kind to me to get something in return... And all because of his crazy love. Kate... She’s such a foolish girl!’ she ranted inwardly, recalling how their mother had married a wealthy man just a month after divorcing their father.

’He acts just like Mom... Really... He refuses to stand on his own...’

As she continued to brood over her misfortune, her attention was drawn to her phone ringing on the bedside table. She picked it up and saw a call from Juliana Brown, her mother-in-law. Her brow furrowed in anxiety, recalling how attentive Hunter had been to her, even letting her brother stay in his apartment.

’What if she knows about this?’ she wondered, answering the call.

"Hey, you idiot! Where have you been? Why didn’t you answer my calls sooner?" Juliana sounded angry.

Isabella swallowed nervously. "Um, sorry... I... I didn’t have my phone with me. I was in the kitchen," she lied.

"I don’t care about your excuses. I just want you to explain what happened last night!"

Isabella’s eyes widened, recalling that Davin had seen her with Joe.

"Who was the man with you in the park?" Juliana asked.

"Um... That was just—"

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Nooo!" Isabella shook her head as she sat up. "I don’t! I already told you!"

"Davin told me... He sent me a picture of you... with a man. If he’s not your boyfriend, then why were you two hugging? Looking intimate? Are you trying to deceive me? Don’t you think this could damage Hunter’s reputation, the Brown family’s reputation!" Juliana was furious.

"No... That... That was just my friend!" Isabella said fearfully. "He’s a close friend. Last night, I was feeling really sad, so I went to the park, and we happened to meet..."

"Do I need to show you the picture of you two kissing?" Juliana asked.

Isabella swallowed hard, trembling with fear.

"You can’t lie to me, Isabella Quinn!" Juliana pressed, her voice stern. "If Hunter finds out about this, he’ll be furious with me, thinking I trapped him with a girl who already has a boyfriend. That’s something he would hate. He’s already sick, but your lies... Your lies will only make him sicker!"

"Ma’am... please," Isabella pleaded, frantic and confused. "I... I’ve already told Hunter." She finally admitted, even though her lips hesitated.

"Oh... So my son didn’t protest to me. What have you done to him? Made him pity you enough to hide your lies?"

"No... Um, yes... I... I begged him to still accept me... And I promised to end my relationship with him as long as I’m his wife. He accepted that..."

"When did he find out?" Juliana asked, her voice intimidating.

Isabella fell silent, biting her lower lip, her eyes welling with tears, trembling in fear and confusion, unsure how much more to confess. She looked at the open door, seeing her husband entering and approaching her. She immediately lowered the phone from her ear and moved closer to him.

"Your mother," she said.

"What happened?"

"She knows... Davin told her about me and Joe," Isabella explained fearfully, gripping her phone tightly, hoping Juliana hadn’t overheard her conversation with Hunter. "She... she’s really angry."

Frowning, Hunter took Isabella’s phone and saw that the call was still connected to his mother, Juliana Brown. He brought the phone to his ear.

"Mom..."

"Hunter," Juliana greeted. "Is it true that you already know about your wife? About her having a boyfriend?"

"Yes... I already know. And it’s not a big deal to me... Besides, we learned all this after we were already married, so there’s no point in being angry or doing anything that would make the marriage look worse," Hunter explained, anxiety clear in his voice as he walked toward the glass wall, while Isabella sat back down on the edge of the bed.

"At first, I was disappointed, even wanted to get angry, but I couldn’t... I don’t want Grandpa to hear about this. There’s no way I’m divorcing her, it would be a disaster," Hunter continued. "So, there’s nothing to worry about."

"But Davin knows. He even has photos of her with that boyfriend!" Juliana replied, still upset. "What if he tells his mother, and then she mocks me about your situation... This is so..."

"Mom!" Hunter interrupted. "There’s nothing for you to worry about. I’ll take care of all of this."

"Oh, God..."

"It’s okay."

"Son... I’m so sorry!" Juliana sounded sad. "If only I could have found a better girl for you, maybe you wouldn’t be facing this kind of trouble. Forgive me... Forgive me!"

Hunter exhaled sharply. "You should be apologizing not for this, but for forcing me into marriage just for the sake of money," he said, then abruptly ended the call.

He turned to look at Isabella, who looked heartbroken and then approached her.

"It’s okay," he said.

"But things have become so complicated," Isabella said, tears streaming down her face.

Hunter simply smiled faintly, then held Isabella’s chin, lifting her head to meet his gaze, gently wiping her tears with his thumb.

"Why are you crying? There’s nothing to worry about... I can handle everything," he said calmly.

Isabella remained silent, staring at Hunter, who was always so kind to her and always had a solution for her, while she couldn’t accept his love. Everything felt so difficult, and she thought that Juliana would be a boomerang for their relationship if she ever decided to stay as his wife forever, especially now that Juliana was already angry with her over her lies.

"Tonight, I’m going to meet my mother," Hunter said again, then sat beside Isabella, who immediately turned to face him.

"What will you tell her?" Isabella asked.

"Do you want to know?"

"Yes, of course!"

"I want to free you from your contract with her," Hunter explained, taking Isabella’s hand. "I’ll ask her to release you, to leave all matters about the contract to me, so she won’t bother you anymore," he continued.

"Is that even possible? What if she refuses? Or even thinks you like me?" Isabella wondered, her fear still so evident on her tear-stained face.

"She won’t refuse because she won’t let me get angry," Hunter replied calmly. "And if she suspects I like you, there’s nothing I can do but admit it... Then all the decisions are up to you," he continued, his gaze so deep on Isabella as if conveying hope.