Can't Win Me Back (Isabella and Nathan)

"There's no reason!"

Nathan scoffed, unwilling to explain himself to her.

Isabella nearly dug her nails into her skin. "Is it because Victoria is going with you to the banquet?"

The remark hit the mark, and for a moment, Nathan's face showed a flash of embarrassment.

But he quickly regained his composure. "Isabella, your Sis is more suited for that kind of occasion than you."

Isabella's fingers curled into fists.

In Nathan's eyes, it seemed she would forever carry the mark of being shallow, with no background or education.

Even now, as the globally renowned fashion designer Miss Thea, Nathan's prejudice still made her feel the weight of her own inferiority.

A stubborn defiance seized her heart, and she comforted herself: *It's fine, Isabella, it's not that you're not good enough, it's that his vision is poor.*

She loosened her fist and gracefully walked toward Nathan.

With a disdainful look, she asked, "Is it really because Victoria is more suitable than I am?"

Under her piercing gaze, Nathan felt his eyes shift, unsure of where to land.

"Then what other reason could there be?"

Isabella sneered. "Nathan, if you had already decided to have Victoria accompany you to the banquet, then why go through all this trouble with me today? What's your intention?" Nathan froze, like a statue.

Seeing the flames of fury burning in Isabella's eyes, he realized he had made a serious misstep.

"Isabella, I'm sorry about what happened with your mother yesterday.

I wanted to make it up to you by letting you attend the banquet tonight... but your Sis wants to go as well. You know she's a fashion designer, and the big shots attending the banquet could very well become her clients.

I figured this banquet would be more important for her, so in the end, I agreed to let her go..."

Isabella smiled, but it was a smile filled with mockery.

Nathan felt a chill run down his spine from her smile.

"Isabella, I know I've wronged you. How about this-I'll give you some money, and you can go shopping. Would that make you feel better?"

Isabella waved her hand dismissively.

In her memories, it had been her attending that very banquet in her past life. At that event, all the guests were powerful figures from prestigious families. Nathan, as a junior, was inevitably forced to drink wine when toasts were made by the elders. He had a low tolerance for alcohol and had become tipsy early on.

So, to maintain good relations with the business moguls, he had to rely on Isabella to take the brunt of the drinking. She had shielded him from one glass after another, only to end up with a bleeding stomach afterward and nearly died. She spent a long time recovering, yet Nathan had never once thanked her.

Nathan seemed to zone out for a moment, his mind distracted. He always felt that Isabella's gaze was too profound, too difficult to read.

Right in front of Nathan, Isabella nonchalantly took off her dress and tossed it into the trash can.

"Nathan, you're disgusting."

"To find two companions for a banquet... What you think is making up for things, to me, it's an insult."

Nathan bit his lip and frowned. "I heard you spent all the money on my card today?"

Isabella looked at him with disdain. "There's only a few tens of thousands in your card.

So, as your wife, if I spend a few thousand, you're upset?"

Nathan had always been generous, and a few thousand meant nothing to him.

He was just surprised. "You've never been this extravagant before."

He remembered back when she once hesitated to spend a thousand on a down jacket, practically feeling pain from the cost.

Isabella bitterly smiled. "I used to be a beggar in the slums. No one mocked me for dressing poorly. Back then, I was free.

But now, as the young mistress of the Hill family, if I make any mistake, your mother and Sis will come for me, insulting me to no end." Nathan's expression froze. "You don't need to care about what they say..."

"Ha."

Isabella laughed sarcastically.

Nathan shot him a displeased look.

"What did I say wrong? Is it that funny?"

Isabella replied, "When these rumors land on me, you just tell me to endure. But if they were about Victoria, would you let her endure them?"

After saying that, Isabella tossed her bank card into the air and let it fall to the ground.

Then, she turned and walked away, her voice ringing clear behind her: "You're so generous buying a dress for my Sis."

Nathan froze where he stood, feeling a wave of shame from Isabella's words. It seemed like he only ever defended Victoria and had never cared about Isabella's grievances. But-

He watched Isabella's back, and for some reason, her indifferent attitude toward his neglect stirred a deep feeling of irritation in him.

Back in the bedroom, Isabella threw her exhausted body onto the bed and closed her eyes to rest.

Her phone suddenly rang. The familiar ringtone made her reflexively answer the call.

"Sis, the organizers of tonight's Fashion Week banquet sent you an invitation card. Are you going?"

The cheerful voice of Ava came through.

Without hesitation, Isabella replied, "I'm going."

Why wouldn't she go?

She was going to show Nathan that what he had "given" her was something she could easily get herself. His so-called generosity was nothing but a joke.

"Ava, prepare a dress for me. Make sure it's the highest standard."

Ava was excited. "Sis, are you planning to steal the spotlight? I'll send the dress over right away!"

At 6 p.m.

Isabella heard the sound of Nathan's car leaving the villa.

She stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, a playful and cold smile flashing in her eyes.

It was still early for the banquet. Was Nathan rushing to meet Victoria?

At the International Club.

Nathan walked into the Fashion Week pre-party hand in hand with Victoria.

They were the perfect match, and as soon as they entered, they were showered with praise.

"Mr. Hill and Miss Moore are truly a perfect couple."

Those in the know shook their heads and sighed. "What a pity, though. Mr. Hill once promised the title of Mrs. Hill to an ordinary woman, all because she donated a kidney to Miss Moore.

In my opinion, that Mrs. Hill probably had to accumulate ten lifetimes of good fortune to get that kind of marriage."

Nathan and Victoria immediately became the envy of the entire venue, the perfect couple everyone admired.

"Mr. Hill has feelings for his first love and remains faithful to his wife. He's truly a rare person, both loyal and righteous."

Amid the praises, suddenly a voice of opposition rang out.

"Heh, so now people talk about affairs like they're so fresh and refined? Since Young Master Hill can't forget his past lover, he shouldn't have gotten involved with a new one until he'd cleared his feelings.

Now, Young Master Hill has a beautiful wife at home, yet he sneaks around behind her back, lingering with his ex. How is that any different from cheating? And some people actually praise this scumbag and this cheap woman for being loyal and righteous?" Both Nathan and Victoria's faces flushed red with embarrassment.

Nathan uncomfortably shook off Victoria's hand.

The crowd turned their gaze toward the source of the voice, and they saw a beautiful figure gracefully approaching.