Ethan halted, momentarily stunned by the intensity of his own irritation. He wasn't entirely sure what response he had anticipated from her; it was her indifferent attitude that truly grated on him.

He seized her arm, pulling her closer with a firm grip. His expression turned severe. "You always manage to create chaos, don't you, Isabella? You were fully aware of your illness, yet you chose to attend this dinner regardless. Do you genuinely believe Blackwood Enterprises is incapable of securing a deal without your direct involvement?"

"You're being completely irrational, Ethan!" Isabella snapped, her temper flaring. She knew Sophia had practically forced her to come. Yet here he was, blatantly ignoring the real instigator and placing the entire blame squarely on her shoulders. Was he seriously suggesting she had brought this upon herself?

Exhausted and utterly frustrated, Isabella wrenched her arm from his grasp. She immediately hailed a passing taxi and slid into the back seat without a single glance back at him.

As the taxi merged into the nighttime traffic, Ethan's face contorted into a mask of pure fury. The anger emanating from him was almost tangible. He unleashed a sharp, brutal kick against the metal railing nearby. The sound of his shoe connecting with the metal echoed harshly in the quiet night.

From a shadowed vantage point, Sophia observed the entire confrontation. Her eyes remained fixed on the dramatic scene unfolding before her. A slow, satisfied smile spread across her lips as Ethan and Isabella parted ways in obvious discord.

She allowed a few moments for Ethan's anger to simmer before she approached him. Her steps were measured, her voice dripping with carefully crafted contrition. "Ethan, you really can't blame Isabella for reacting that way. This was entirely my error today. I upset her. I'll make it right tomorrow. I'll apologize to her first thing at the office."

She lowered her eyes, allowing her long lashes to cast delicate shadows across her cheeks. Her tone was soft, almost a whisper.

"Unnecessary," Ethan bit out, his voice cold and sharp, laced with a barely perceptible thread of frustration. "She created this situation for herself. If she was unwell, she could have simply said something, couldn't she?"

Sophia's expression tightened, her features hardening into a subtle mask. Although his words chastised Isabella, the underlying concern in his tone was unmistakable.

She stole a quick glance at her phone. The call had ended. A cold, triumphant smile curled her lips once more. The dim glow from the screen illuminated her flawless complexion but failed to soften the cunning glint in her eyes.

Minutes earlier, in the back of the taxi, Isabella had intended to close her eyes and find a moment of peace. The shrill ring of her phone shattered the silence abruptly.

It was Sophia calling.

Annoyance immediately knitted Isabella's brow. Her instinct was to reject the call. In her haste, however, her finger accidentally grazed the screen, accepting the call instead.

Ethan's voice erupted from the speaker, his words hitting her with the force of a physical blow. The raw accusation in his tone left her stunned, a cold dread creeping down her spine. So, he truly believed all her misfortunes were entirely of her own making!

A sharp, piercing pain of betrayal twisted deep within her chest. It felt as though her heart had been brutally cleaved in two, bleeding silently. Her grip on the phone tightened until her knuckles turned white from the strain. Yet her eyes remained stubbornly dry. She refused to let a single tear fall.

The next day, Isabella walked into the Blackwood Enterprises offices as if nothing had happened. She settled into her usual routine, maintaining a calm exterior.

Chloe approached her desk, her gaze curious and probing. "Isabella, what exactly is your relationship with Mr. Blackwood?" Her voice was laced with open curiosity, her stare intense.

A tight knot formed in Isabella's chest, but she masked her discomfort with a casual shrug. "What are you implying?"

"Mr. Blackwood intervened like a true hero!" Chloe declared, her voice rising with dramatic flair as she mimicked Ethan's commanding tone. "You have two choices, Mr. Hayes. Drink yourself into oblivion or sit back and watch your company crumble! How incredible was that?" Her eyes sparkled with unabashed admiration as she blinked rapidly, clearly enthralled by the story.