Can't Win Me Back (Isabella and Nathan)

Nathan was so angry his blood rushed to his head. He stood up and rushed upstairs, with Victoria following closely behind.

When they reached the top, they discovered that Isabella had placed a video speaker at the hallway entrance, where it was playing a street dance tutorial video, accompanied by loud, energetic rock music. Isabella, dressed in a dance outfit, was moving her body to the beat, but her movements were awkward and uncoordinated.

Nathan's face darkened as he walked over and immediately turned off the speaker.

Isabella was about to lash out in anger, but upon seeing Victoria standing behind Nathan, she quickly turned her frustration into a smile. "Hubby, I'm getting in shape. Once I'm fit, let's have a baby." She said this as she walked over to Nathan, naturally taking his arm with a sweet, loving gesture.

Victoria's face twisted in displeasure.

Her mouth opened several times, but she couldn't find the right words. Finally, she closed her lips, unable to speak due to her embarrassment and the injustice of the situation.

Nathan studied Isabella. The person who had been arrogant and rude to him just moments ago now acted as if she was the adoring, devoted wife of years ago, filled with admiration and affection for him.

How could she switch between such radically different personas? How did she manage to pull this off?

Victoria suddenly chuckled coldly. "Sis, do you really want to have a child with Nathan?"

Isabella suppressed the nauseous feeling in her stomach and responded, "Sis, what kind of question is that? Nathan and I are married, of course, we want to have children. After all, I don't want to end up like you-childless and without anyone to carry on the family name." Victoria's face drained of all color.

Nathan glared at Isabella. "Isabella, how could you be so cruel? You know your Sis is physically unwell and can never have children. Why bring up such a painful subject?"

"Isabella, remember this: what your Sis doesn't have, you won't get either. I'll only give you the title of Mrs. Hill, and nothing more. Don't get any other ideas."

Each word was heavy and deliberate.

Isabella's face turned pale at his words.

Nathan's favoritism toward Victoria stirred up many unpleasant memories for her. It felt as though she had always been the family's discarded child, abandoned by both her family and her husband. "Nathan, if she can't have children, don't you want a child either?" Isabella shouted.

The coldness in Victoria's eyes turned to sarcasm. "Sis, if you really wanted to add to the Hill family's lineage, why did you recklessly abort Nathan's child two years ago?"

Mentioning the miscarriage made the air suddenly feel suffocating.

Isabella bit her lip, her face ashen.

Her hands, hidden inside her sleeves, began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Mom..."

"Mom, it hurts..."

A hazy image flooded her mind: a little girl curled up in her arms, crying softly, her voice filled with pain.

"Mom, I want to see Daddy."

"I haven't seen Daddy for so long."

"Mom, am I going to die soon?"

"If I die, will Daddy come see us?"

"Mom, I can't hang on much longer. Why hasn't Daddy come?"

"Mom, Daddy doesn't love me anymore. I don't want him."

"Mom, you shouldn't want him either. He always makes you cry."

Isabella closed her eyes in agony, then opened them again, burying those complicated emotions deep inside.

Nathan's voice, laced with anger, broke through the tense silence. "Isabella, why did you abort my child?"

Isabella looked at him coldly. She wanted to tell him that he didn't deserve to be a father, and he certainly didn't deserve the joy of family life. But-

She couldn't afford to provoke him.

She had no choice but to wear a false mask, responding to him with feigned politeness:

"At that time, I had just donated a kidney, my health wasn't good. How could I possibly conceive and give birth?"

Nathan didn't press the issue any further. After all, he had no expectations of having a child with Isabella.

"It's better you didn't have the child. A mother like you, so irresponsible, doesn't deserve to bear my child."

His words stung, and Isabella clenched her hand into a fist under her sleeve, her nails digging into her skin. But when her eyes caught the smug look on Victoria's face, she suddenly deflated.

She forced herself to adopt a fake, sweet smile. "Hubby, if I don't have children, you'll end up without heirs."

Nathan was furious, but Victoria was unbothered. "Isabella, these days, what successful man doesn't have a few charming women on the side? What successful man doesn't have a few illegitimate children?" Isabella smiled calmly, her tone sharp as she retorted, "Oh, but the children you have with other women are just illegitimate, aren't they?"

Victoria scoffed. "Isabella, you're Nathan's first wife. You should be more magnanimous."

Isabella fixed her gaze on Victoria, her tone cold and resolute. "I'm petty. I don't like sharing a man with other women. So, a tainted man? I don't want him."

Nathan furrowed his brows, his face dark. "Isabella, are you threatening me?"

Isabella lifted her chin, her eyes locking with his. "Yes. I want to tell you that if you don't want a divorce, you'd better stay faithful. Don't get involved with other women." Victoria seemed suddenly uneasy. "Isabella, do... do you not like me being so close to Nathan?"

Isabella didn't hold back. "Of course! Do you want your husband to be so close to me?"

Victoria swallowed hard, her face turning red as she struggled for a response.

Nathan stared at Isabella, surprised. The sharp, decisive Isabella before him was not what he had expected.

"Isabella..."

He was unwilling to yield to her authority. Clenching his teeth, he muttered, "You'd better stay out of my personal life, or I don't know what I might do to you."

Isabella casually shrugged, giving him an insufferable look. "What does that mean? You want to go your own way while I go mine?"

Nathan fell silent for a moment, as if realizing the possible way out of this marriage. "I don't interfere with you, and you don't interfere with me. It's better this way."

Isabella's eyes narrowed, hiding her true feelings. But she deliberately adopted a softer, more vulnerable attitude, her voice tinged with fake sadness as she said, "When you wanted my kidney, you promised to take care of me for the rest of my life. But now that you've taken what you needed, you want to go your separate way, as if nothing ever happened. Nathan, I must have been blind to have fallen for such a vain, selfish man like you."

Nathan was dumbfounded by her harsh words. He wanted to argue, but realized that everything she was saying was based on truth.

"Alright, alright, I was just joking," he said, sounding defeated. "If you can't accept us living separate lives, I'll still take care of you."

But Isabella didn't want to hear it. She stormed off into her room, grabbing the speaker and slamming the door behind her, shutting Nathan and Victoria out of her world. Nathan and Victoria exchanged a look, both filled with sympathy and an attempt to reassure one another.

Victoria's gaze darkened. "How did Isabella become so cold and unfeeling? It looks like I'll have to ask Mom to have a good talk with her."

Nathan rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. "Your mother never treated Isabella well. She's got a huge psychological block whenever she sees your mom..." Victoria was insistent. "But my mom raised my Sis. Maybe she can still listen to her."

Nathan wasn't convinced, but having grown used to deferring to Victoria, he didn't argue further.

What Isabella didn't expect, however, was that one day her mother would come knocking on her door.

She looked terribly aged, wearing cheap clothes, her face heavily wrinkled. If no one mentioned her real age, she could easily be mistaken for an old woman in her seventies or eighties.