Chapter 1494
No.1
The bell persisted.
Faint voices filtered through the door. “Perhaps Isabella isn’t home? Should we wait?” It was Eleanor Kensington’s voice.
Isabella released a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “Go inside,” she instructed Nathaniel.
After that scene, introducing him to her estranged parents was impossible. Their future together now felt uncertain, hanging by a thread. Nathaniel paused, then wordlessly stood and retreated into the house. He respected her decision. He wanted to claim their relationship openly, but now was not the time.
The air in the living room remained thick and heavy even after he left. Isabella drew a steadying breath and opened the door.
Eleanor and Richard Montgomery stood there. Their wealthy veneer had completely vanished. They still wore the same clothes from the hospital yesterday, now wrinkled and stale. Eleanor’s hair accessories were gone, her face bare and weary. She looked plain and diminished.
Eleanor held a delicate matcha cake box. “Isabella…” Her greeting was strained, overly polite.
Isabella leaned against the doorframe, her posture cool and closed-off. “Yes?” Her tone was clipped, each word measured and distant, as if speaking cost her a fortune.
Richard and Eleanor felt the chilling divide. Guilt washed over them. This was their actual daughter. Their flesh and blood.
No.2
Because of Victoria Kensington’s schemes, they had ruined any chance with their real child. For twenty-three years, they’d cherished an imposter while their true heiress was scorned as the ‘adopted’ daughter.
Eleanor’s emotions were a tangled mess. She extended the cake. “Isabella, I remember you loved matcha cake. Your father and I bought this for you.”
Isabella’s eyes flicked to the offering. Her expression, already frosty, turned to absolute ice.
Matcha cake again.
In their youth, Victoria never enjoyed matcha-flavored desserts. She would always pass her portion to Isabella. As the adopted daughter, Isabella never felt empowered to refuse. She endured every bitter bite.
Eventually, everyone assumed she adored matcha cakes.
No one ever truly learned her preferences.
The memory almost made her laugh aloud now.
"I never liked matcha cake," Isabella stated flatly.
No.3
Eleanor froze, the cake hovering awkwardly between them. She had always believed Isabella loved matcha. All those years, they never knew her true tastes?
Slowly, Eleanor withdrew the offering. "We'll get you something you prefer next time. We want to understand you better now."
"Unnecessary," Isabella dismissed coldly.
Richard's voice strained with emotion. "We know you resent us, Isabella. We were wrong. We failed you terribly."
He continued, "Discovering you're our biological daughter changes everything. We will compensate for past neglect. We won't repeat those mistakes."
Eleanor's eyes glistened with unshed tears. Her gaze pleaded for forgiveness. "I'm so deeply sorry, Isabella. We treated you like an outsider since childhood. We never listened. Never tried to understand you."
Her voice trembled. "Recently, our actions became unforgivable. We wronged you repeatedly."
She clasped her hands tightly. "We don't deserve your forgiveness. But tell us how to ease your pain. Shout at us. Strike us. Anything to provide you solace."
Both parents radiated genuine remorse and shame.
No.4
Isabella observed their weary expressions. The satisfaction she anticipated felt hollow now. Seeing their pain brought no fulfillment.
Their apologies meant nothing. Could words undo childhood trauma? Erase years of neglect?
Never.
Those experiences shaped her permanently. She never felt belonging in this family.
Yet, should she despise them? They were also Victoria's puppets. Victims of manipulation.
Forgive them? Could she?
Five years ago, she attempted explanation. She claimed victimhood. Eleanor struck her before she finished speaking.
The Jordan family universally condemned her. They dismissed her pleas. Branded her a disgrace.
They exiled her barely conscious to Africa. Abandoned her to die. Only miraculous fortune spared her.
No.5
For five years, no contact. No concern. As if she never existed.
Returning to Westchester, they blamed her incessantly. Despised her presence.
Just yesterday, they disowned her. Seized her shares. Attacked her manor.
Isabella's eyes hardened recalling these injustices. "Leave. Your apologies are worthless. I require nothing from you. Nor will I retaliate."
“That only makes us feel more guilty, Isabella…” Eleanor clutched Isabella’s wrist desperately.
Isabella’s gaze turned icy as she stared at the hand restraining her.
Eleanor immediately released her grip under that frosty glare. She withdrew her hand, eyes reddening. Her voice came out hoarse and broken. “I know forgiveness can’t be earned overnight. We’ll spend our lives making it up to you. We’ll visit whenever we can.”
She took a shaky breath, pressing on. “But we have one request. Please do this for your Grandfather. He misses you terribly. He just wants one family meal together…” Eleanor trailed off, terrified of rejection. She looked up, pleading. “Don’t worry about the cost. I’ve sold all my jewelry. We won’t eat at the hospital. We can go anywhere you want. My treat.”
Her eyes begged for a sliver of hope. “Just one meal. Please?”
No.6
She braced for the inevitable refusal. Isabella’s cold demeanor offered no comfort.
Then, unexpectedly, Isabella spoke.
“I’ll come.” Her voice was flat, decisive. “I will also save the Montgomery family. And I will do everything in my power to save Benjamin’s life.”
Eleanor and Richard stared, utterly stunned. Was she serious? She agreed to return? She offered to save them without them even asking?
“Do not mistake this for forgiveness,” Isabella stated coldly, cutting through their shock. “This is solely for Grandfather Theodore and the Montgomery legacy.”
She remembered his unwavering support. When the entire family scorned her, he had insisted on granting her fifteen percent of the Montgomery shares. He treated her as his own. She would not abandon him now.
Eleanor nodded frantically, tears welling. “I understand! Truly, I do! This is more than we dared hope for! Your Grandfather already promised… if you save the family, everything will be yours. The entire Montgomery fortune. And my father… he vowed to give you half of the Kensington assets!”
Isabella frowned. She anticipated Theodore’s offer. The Kensington proposal, however, was unexpected. Her knowledge of the Kensingtons was limited to whispers. Eleanor never brought her along on visits.
Her impression was built from others fawning over Victoria. “She’s so lucky! Heir to the Montgomerys and the Kensingtons!” “The premier ceramics dynasty in the country! A living national treasure!” “Their pieces are commissioned by royalty! We commoners never even see them!” “Ugh! I’d kill to be born into that family!”
No.7
A family of such prestige was willing to hand her half their wealth? It made no sense.
After a moment’s consideration, her decision was firm. “I will accept the Montgomery shares. I refuse the Kensington assets.”
Eleanor’s face fell. How could she refuse such an immense fortune?
The Montgomery family’s shares were not particularly high, yet their global prestige was immense.
Even a simple ceramic vase crafted by the Montgomerys could fetch over a million dollars at auction.
Everyone longed for a connection to the Montgomery dynasty. Yet Isabella had just refused their offer?
“I’m helping the Montgomery family for Grandfather’s sake,” Isabella stated calmly. “I don’t require any reward.”
“I don’t need repayment from any of you. You should head back now. I need to pack.”
With that, she stepped inside the villa and shut the door. Though they were her biological parents, she hadn’t forgiven them. She wouldn’t allow them inside.