"That's the last plate?"
"Yup."
Isabel turned off the kitchen tap then took off the rubber gloves and apron she was wearing and hung them up only to turn around to a face full of dish towel as Davina threw it at her.
"Hang that for me too, would you love?"
"Uh huh." She rolled her eyes as she hung the still damp cloth Davina had used to dry the dishes on the oven handle.
"Did we miss anything?"
"Boss is wiping the table and Ivan went upstairs to get his stuff."
"Good! We can get out of here." Isabel rubbed her hands together as she walked out into the living space and threw herself onto the couch, but just as she did, the bedroom door on the second floor swung open and Ivan came out, frowning.
"Mason, have you seen my shoes?!" He hung over the rails and shouted at the other man who was replacing the centerpiece on the dining table after wiping it clean. "I'm only finding one."
Ivan jogged down the stairs with one shoe on and the other pale white, dainty little foot bare, his face sulky as he complained to Mason. So meng!
"Where did you take them off?" Mason asked as he stroked the back of Ivan's neck.
"In the bedroom last night while you guys were stripping to get--"
"Isabel!!"
*Snicker*
She covered her mouth in a bout of silent giggles as Ivan stomped his foot and glared over at her with a completely red face, even his ears were red.
"Izzy, don't tease him." Davina rolled her eyes at this overgrown child.
"But he's so cute!" She complained with a pout.
"Don't let Kelvin hear you say that."
Davina chuckled when Isabel turned her eyes away in a 'see nothing, hear nothing' sort of action.
"Come on Ivan, I'll help you look. Where do we start, the bedroom?"
"Davina!"
"I was honestly just asking." Davina laughed she chipped up the stairs with a grumbling Ivan following close behind.
Hugging a pillow while lying on her tummy, Isabel smiled as she watched the two enter the bedroom then glanced over at Mason who was leaning against the dining table, also looking after them with a quiet smile hanging from his mouth corner and a ridiculously happy gleam in his eyes.
Isabel chuckled. "I'm afraid if Ivan makes you any happier you might turn into a useless person, Sonny."
Mason glanced at her and the smile on his lips deepened, bringing out his dimples. "You think so too?"
If she was standing, Isabel would have tripped. Boss, you're not supposed to agree.
She gave an awkward laugh.
"How is the divorce coming along?"
The change in topic was sudden and Isabel froze for a while before she relaxed and nuzzled her face into the pillow.
"I'm waiting for my lawyer to call. You don't have to worry about me and Brycen, Sonny. I have absolute confidence that I'm not going to lose my kids."
"What about distribution of assets?" Mason pushed off the table and came striding over with his hands in his pockets. Isabel sat up to make room for him to sit next to her.
"What about it? I don't want any of Brycen's money, I'll make my own."
She didn't want to have anything more to do with that man for the rest of this life. She'd had enough of him for a lifetime.
"Isabel, don't get angry and do anything stupid. That's money you deserve and can put to good use.
"You've supported that Jaeger bastard all these years, he probably wouldn't have even gone to college if it weren't for you. It wouldn't be wrong to say that he wouldn't be Brycen Jaeger today if it weren't for you."
"That's true, maybe. But it doesn't change the fact that the money he has now is money he made on his own, without my help. I didn't do anything to earn any of that so I won't stubbornly want to stake any claim on it."
Isabel sighed and placed her head against Mason's shoulder. "Honestly Sonny, I'm just tired of it all. All this hurt and unfulfilled expectations that I've held in my heart from the age of sixteen-- sixteen Sonny. I'm twenty eight now." Counting her last life, it wouldn't be wrong to say that she was thirty nine, almost forty. That's how much of her life she had wasted on Brycen. Thinking about it, Isabel felt like crying.
"I just want to let it go and move on with my life. As long as Brycen doesn't insist on fighting me for my children, this whole thing will blow over very soon and we can all move on with our lives and be happy in no time."
Brycen had Susan, the woman he loved and she would have her friends and her kids, whom she loved and hopefully in this life, without her as a badgering third wheel in their relationship, Brycen and Susan can bring their own child into the world sooner. Yeah, everyone can be happy.
Isabel was having harmonious thoughts when they were suddenly broken.
"I still think you should take his money. It never hurts to have more cash on hand."
Isabel looked up at Mason's face that was twisted in dissatisfaction and she could see that he was actually pouting.
"Pfft!" She laughed. "Alright, alright. I'll talk to Steven and get him set up an end for me, okay? Is my big brother satisfied with this?"
She reached up to scratch the back of his head as though she was pasifying a big dog and sure enough, Mason's expression eased up and the smile returned to his eyes as he nodded with a soft and honest 'mmh'.
Suddenly raucous laughter exploded from the bedroom and Davina came flying out and crashed into the banister.
"D- Davi! Are you okay?"
"Izzy! Izzy, hahaha..."
Davina gripped the metal rails as if for dear life as she struggled to stay standing as she laughed herself to tears.
"Davina Small, don't you dare say a word!" Ivan's shout came from inside the room.
"What's going on with you two?"
Startled and curious, Isabel got up and went to help Davina who was coming down the staircase while hugging the rails so she wouldn't fall from her knees that had gone weak.
"Izzy, we found Ivan's shoe, haha..."
"Okay."
"It was on top of the closet..." Davina broke into a wheezing laugh.
Isabel didn't get what the joke was, but Davina's current appearance was comical, so she couldn't help but laugh along.
"Hey Boss..." Davina then turned her tear filled eyes to Mason. "Boss, was it really in the way that much--- pfft, that you had to toss the poor thing across the room?"
"He was wearing skinny jeans and the laces were tight and knotted. You couldn't possibly know how agonizing that was."
It would have been fine if he hadn't said anything, but once he spoke those words with such a serious expression, Davina and Isabel dissolved into a laughing mess on the floor.
*Bang*
Ivan slammed the bedroom door as he came marching down the stairs with both shoes on and his satchel slung over his shoulder. He snatched the green scarf off the sofa, his face bright red in indignance.
"I'm leaving!"
"Vanya, wait!" Isabel tried to stifle her giggles as she struggled to stand while supporting Davina. She didn't know when was the last time she laughed like that. Her stomach hurt and her knees were weak but she felt so refreshed and full of energy.
"We said we would take you--"
"I'm not going anywhere with either of you brats let alone the two!"
"Ivan..." Mason wanted placate him but Ivan turned his big and bright baby blues that glimmered with tears over at him and he couldn't say a word more.
"Whoops. Did we take it too far?" Isabel whispered to Davina who whispered back.
"Probably."
"Vanya..."
Just as Isabel wanted to try coaxing the obviously peeved steamed bun, the elevator dinged and the doors slid open to reveal a woman wearing a black, fitted pencil skirt with a side split halfway up her thigh that showed off her explosive legs and a sexy white blouse that, although didn't expose her cleavage, did wonders to accentuate her figure.
Standing there in six inch, red bottom stilettos, her red hair cascading over her shoulders in fiery curls, a branded purse hanging off one arm as the others gripped a thick binder with files, she looked every bit like a domineering female CEO, but this person was actually the childhood friend and secretary of Sunshine Entertainment's president, Sophie Williams.
Raising the hand that hung her bag to remove the pair of large Prada sunglasses from her face, a pair of mesmerizing sea green eyes appeared and they flashed a peeved light as she looked a the people in the room, particularly a certain short haired manager.
When those eyes landed on her, Davina gulped and she felt as though she had been submerged in thousand year ice.
#_*_#_*_#_*_#_*_#_*_#_*_#_*_#
Author's Note~
This was definitely one of my favorite chapters to write so far.
XD
I'm out of drafts, so I'm not sure when I'll update again.
Until next time!
Saphieer~~