Chapter 16

Isabella said, "I don't want any compensation, I just want you to apologize in front of everyone."

This had been Laura's fault, and now there was surveillance footage proving it, so she couldn't escape responsibility.

"Mr. Brown!" Laura coquettishly called out to Jack.

But Jack didn't even look at her. "Laura, if you formally apologize to Isabella, this matter will be resolved."

Laura had no way out when she saw that Jack wasn't helping her.

Jack opened the door to the small waiting room and led them out. "Everyone, pause your work for a moment. I've investigated the incident that just happened. Laura accidentally bumped into Isabella when she passed by. Now the matter has been resolved, and Laura needs to apologize to Isabella in front of everyone. I hope you can all bear witness to this, and once the matter is over, it should not be brought up again."

Everyone looked toward Laura and Isabella, surprised at how quickly the situation had turned around.

Finally, Laura apologized to Isabella in front of everyone. But their conflict deepened.

However, Isabella didn't care about that. She had been used to being alone since she was young. When she met Samantha in college, it took her a while to adapt to being around her. Then, Samantha got together with Matthew, and Isabella became alone again.

Perhaps it was because Isabella had been deeply hurt by Samantha that she now had a guarded mentality. After all, it's hard to discern between good and bad people.

Sebastian frowned at his phone screen in the hospital, looking at Isabella.

While handling this, Jack had taken a look at the surveillance footage of the water cooler, including Laura's public apology to Isabella. It was clear that Isabella hadn't done anything wrong, yet Laura was so arrogant.

Right now, Laura was surrounded by a few girls who were talking to her, while Isabella sat quietly in the corner, like a wounded little animal, licking her wounds alone.

Sebastian considered himself not a sympathetic person, but he couldn't be cruel to Isabella.

"Sebastian." Vanessa's voice pulled him back to reality.

Sebastian looked up with an unclear expression as he looked at Vanessa. "What did you call me?"

"Sebastian... can I call you that?" Vanessa asked cautiously, then explained, "I just think that if we're going to have a normal relationship, I should call you that. If you don't like it, I can still call you Mr. Landon."

Sebastian remained silent for a few seconds. "Just continue calling me what you did before. I'm not used to it."

"Okay..." Vanessa lowered her gaze, disappointment evident on her face.

Sebastian put away his phone and stood up. "What's wrong?"

"I... Vanessa glanced at the glass on the table. "I'd like to have some water. Could you please get me some?"

In the past, she would never dare speak like this. But things were different now. Her relationship with Sebastian had changed...

Vanessa looked at Sebastian expectantly.

Sebastian didn't expect her to adapt to the role so quickly, and after a brief moment of astonishment, poured her a glass of water.

After she finished drinking, Sebastian spoke. "I need to go back to the office. Do you need me to find you a caretaker?"

"No, it was just an alcohol allergy, it's not a big deal. I'll be fine."

"Alright."

Vanessa didn't come to the office for several days.

Sebastian was busy with work, and Isabella rarely saw him.

On the fourth day, Vanessa finally showed up.

Laura was the first to approach Vanessa and hug her. "Goodness, what illness did you have? It must have been serious, considering you took four days off."

Vanessa mumbled a vague response.

Laura then noticed that she was dressed differently today. "Why did you come dressed like this?"

The company required employees to wear formal attire. Normally, Vanessa followed the dress code strictly, but today, she was wearing a navy blue dress, heavy makeup, and jewelry, which made her look like a completely different person.

Vanessa smiled. "I'm here to resign today."

"What?!" Everyone was shocked.

Laura held Vanessa's hand and asked her many questions.

Vanessa casually gave some evasive answers.

Laura still didn't believe it. "Are you kidding?"

"I'm not. I've already completed the resignation process. We've worked together for many years, so I'll treat everyone to dinner tonight. I'll send the details to our group chat."

Vanessa then walked up to Isabella's desk. "Isabella, are you free tonight? Let's have dinner together."

Laura and a few others looked at Isabella in an unfriendly way.

Isabella declined. "No, thanks. I have other plans tonight."

Vanessa persisted in wanting Isabella to join them, saying, "Come with us, I'm about to leave the company, can't you just have a meal with me? Mr. Landon will be there too."

Isabella reluctantly agreed.

"Mr. Landon is going too? Really?" Laura asked excitedly, surrounding Vanessa.

"Mr. Landon rarely comes to our gatherings. Did you already invite him to dinner, Vanessa? Did Mr. Landon say he would go?"

"Yeah, it's hard to invite Mr. Landon anywhere. He didn't even go to Mr. Brown's birthday party."

Vanessa smiled slightly. "I already talked to Mr. Landon about it."

"Wow, Vanessa, you're amazing."

"Mr. Landon actually agreed to your invitation, Vanessa. You're almost on the same level as Mr. Brown. Are you going to regret quitting?"

"Of course." Vanessa smiled. "But we always have to give up something in life. No matter how hard women work, when they reach a certain age, it's useless. We need to get married and have children."

"So you're going to get married and leave?" Laura asked.

"But as far as I know, you don't even have a boyfriend. Why are you suddenly getting married?"

"I do have a boyfriend, but our relationship wasn't stable before. Now he wants to stabilize our relationship, so all I can do is agree." Vanessa had a happy expression on her face, and her eyes were filled with happiness.

Everyone congratulated her again.

The office was too noisy, and Isabella found it was too loud. She stood up and went to the bathroom.

Isabella sat in the cubicle, and not long after, she heard footsteps outside.

Then the sound of the door closing.

Laura's voice came next. "Vanessa, were you telling the truth? Do you have a boyfriend? Are you quitting to get married?"

"Yes, I was telling the truth." Vanessa nodded, honestly admitting it.

"You're so mean. I told you all my secrets, but you didn't tell me when you got a boyfriend." Laura complained, but couldn't hide her curiosity and excitement. "Tell me, who is your boyfriend? Is it Mr. Smith, whom you met on the project last year, or Mr. Johnson, whom you had dinner with last month?"

"It's not either of them..."

"Then who is he?"

"I can't tell you now, but you'll find out later..."

Everyone knew that Vanessa would never say anything she didn't want to. Laura had to stop probing when she saw that she wasn't spilling the beans. "So when are you going to have the wedding?"

"Soon, if everything goes well. We'll be able to have the wedding at the end of this year."