Stuck in The Marriage Pact
Chapter 46: mother in law’s cruelty

Chapter 46: mother in law’s cruelty

Estella quickly got up from the sofa and approached Juliana, giving her a brief kiss on both cheeks.

"I didn’t expect you to be here," said Juliana.

"Yeah..." Estella smiled, then glanced at Isabella, who was still sitting on the sofa. "I’m here because I want to see how Isabella will design my wedding dress."

"Your wedding dress?"

"Yes... Jason proposed to me a few days ago, and we’ve decided to get married in three months."

"Wow..." Juliana smiled, then focused on Isabella, who seemed still surprised by her presence.

Estella fell silent again, glancing at Isabella, who appeared nervous when she should have been welcoming her mother-in-law.

"Isabella," Juliana called.

"Um, sorry..." Isabella quickly placed her pencil on the sketchbook and stood up, walking over to Juliana with a stiff smile. "Mom... You should have told me you were coming, so I could have prepared some delicious food or something special for you." She made small talk.

Juliana just gave a thin smile. "It’s okay, I’m not staying long anyway, just want to talk with you for a bit," she said.

Isabella swallowed nervously, her heart pounding with fear over what her mother-in-law might want to discuss, while Estella sat back down.

"Estella, is it alright if we leave you for a moment?" Juliana asked. "I need to have an important conversation with my daughter-in-law."

"Sure, take your time!" Estella replied enthusiastically.

Juliana looked back at Isabella, her smile fading and her eyes sharpening, prompting Isabella to walk into another room.

They finally entered Hunter’s room, a quiet space with a metallic ambiance, and Juliana quickly locked the door, making the situation feel very tense, especially for Isabella, who was terrified due to all the problems she had caused.

"What’s your plan?" Juliana asked while walking toward the desk, and looking around.

"Plan? What plan do you mean?" Isabella asked, frowning.

"Don’t act like an innocent. I know you must have a plan."

"But I don’t have..."

"Oh..." Juliana turned to face Isabella. "So, you don’t have a plan because you’re thinking of staying here forever? As Hunter’s wife?" she asked, raising her eyebrows, her eyes widening.

Isabella shook her head immediately.

"No, it’s not like that!" she said anxiously.

"Come on, I know your intentions!" Juliana pushed Isabella, making her step back a few paces. "You’ve been taking advantage of Hunter’s kindness, seducing him so you can stay his wife forever, right? You like him, don’t you?"

Isabella kept shaking her head, increasingly frightened of Juliana.

"I even know your brother has been taking advantage of Hunter’s kindness!" Juliana shouted with a sharp glare, pointing at Isabella’s chest. "I also know Hunter wants to take control of that contract because he doesn’t want me to control you... He always wants what’s best for you..."

Isabella swallowed hard, shocked that Juliana had already figured out Hunter’s true intentions.

"What have you done to make him so protective of you? Why do you want to betray our agreement?" Juliana asked, narrowing her eyes. "Do you think I will accept you as my daughter-in-law?"

"Ma’am... I... I truly didn’t mean it that way," Isabella said nervously, her heart racing. "What you’re saying isn’t true at all. Hunter hasn’t been kind to me; in fact, he’s... He’s very harsh, treating me like a slave... He was only nice for a short while before I met my ex-boyfriend again," she lied.

"Nonsense!" Juliana waved her hand dismissively. "You’ve even taught him to lie! You’ve made him act like he’s been cruel to you just to deceive me. Don’t deny it... If you were really afraid of him and didn’t get any benefits from him, you wouldn’t have the courage to show your talent as a wedding dress designer, you wouldn’t dare leave him at his grandfather’s house... Your boldness already shows that you’ve dominated this marriage, making him surrender in everything!" She angrily pushed Isabella, causing her to fall to the floor.

"Ah!" Isabella gasped in shock, trembling with fear, imagining what would happen if she decided to stay Hunter’s wife forever. ’Oh God... Is this what Sarah felt before? How will I face this continually? I want to live happily, not become enemies with my mother-in-law!’ she screamed internally, tears streaming down her face.

Juliana approached Isabella, grabbing her hair and pulling her head back.

"Awhh!" Isabella cried out in pain, trying to stand up as Juliana pulled her hair even harder. "Please, let me go... Awh!"

"Look at me!" Juliana snarled, leaning closer to Isabella’s face. "Whatever my son promised you, whatever he did, nothing will stop me from getting rid of you from his life!" she whispered fiercely, tightening her grip on Isabella’s hair.

Isabella grimaced in pain.

"Just do your duty as a wife for the time I’ve allowed. Don’t ever expect to get more!" Juliana whispered again, looking at Isabella’s tear-streaked face. "You’re just a cheap girl; you’re not worthy of my son..." She released her grip, shoving Isabella to the floor again.

"Oh my God, ugh!" Isabella sobbed in pain and humiliation.

"How could you think he would be your husband forever? Do you think you’re special? You’ve deceived us, even still fooling around with another man. You behave like a tramp!" Juliana spat angrily, pointing at Isabella. "One thing you need to remember, no matter what happens, I will never let you stay with my son for long!"

Isabella sat back, wiping the tears that wouldn’t stop falling.

"Clean yourself up, don’t let Estella know about this!" Juliana snapped before walking out.

Isabella exhaled deeply, watching Juliana leave her sight. She clenched her fists, gritting her teeth until her neck tensed.

"Okay... Enough of this humiliation. I may have been wrong for lying, but her son lied to me too. Let everything fall apart... The most important thing is that my debt is paid... Maybe it’s time to make a decision," she said, her eyes burning with anger.

She stood up, wiped her face, making sure no more tears were visible and fixed her messy hair.

...

"Are you leaving?" Estella got up from the sofa when she saw Juliana reenter the living room.

"Yes... I have to meet a friend for our business," Juliana replied with a smile.

"Alright..."

"Are you planning to invite me to your wedding?" Juliana asked.

Estella swallowed nervously, looking down in anxiety.

"I want to invite you, but before I could think about invitations, my mother already said you’re not allowed to attend our wedding," she said, looking back at Juliana.

Juliana smiled thinly. "Your mother has always hated me... She doesn’t care that I’m older. She should respect me... I don’t understand her," she said.

"Yeah... I’ve tried to talk to her... I mean, to get her to stop hating you, but she’s so stubborn."

"Don’t bother anymore, maybe she no longer considers me her sister," Juliana said casually, then checked her white watch. "Now I have to go. It was nice seeing you..." She approached Estella, who immediately hugged her briefly, and then left.

Estella sighed, letting Juliana leave before her attention shifted to Isabella, who had just entered the living room, but she noticed Isabella’s eyes were red as if she’d been crying.

"Hey... What happened?" she asked, concerned.

"It’s okay." Isabella gave a faint smile, walking over to the sofa and sitting down again.

Estella immediately moved closer to Isabella and looked at her intently.

"This is a family matter, and I hope you won’t tell anyone about it. Let Hunter and me handle it," Isabella said while looking at the unfinished wedding dress picture, but her mind was drifting, imagining what she would do when she met Hunter later.