Chapter 338

The whole conference room was dead silent.

It was so quiet that Sweetie sucking on her pacifier sounded like a freakin' megaphone, echoing in everyone's ears, kinda funny.

Sebastian glanced down at Sweetie, all lovey-dovey.

Then, he snapped out of it, looked around, and frowned. "Why'd y'all stop? Keep going."

Everyone was like, "Seriously?"

Isabella, watching from outside, almost lost it laughing.

She'd been worried Sebastian would be all awkward with Sweetie, but now she realized she was trippin'. Sebastian brought Sweetie along, leaving everyone else in a jam.

She noticed those usually high-and-mighty execs were about to lose it.

After the meeting, Isabella scooped up Sweetie.

Sebastian, still uneasy, had Jack drive them home.

Isabella agreed and filled him in on running into Esme, mentioning that Esme would be dropping by their place later.

Hearing this, Sebastian's face showed a flicker of understanding. He squeezed her shoulder and asked, "Bella, you like Esme?"

Isabella nodded. "Yeah. She's super nice, gentle, and kind."

Sebastian hugged her. "As long as you like her."

Isabella felt like he had more to say, but just as she was about to ask, his phone rang.

Knowing Sebastian was busy, Isabella didn't take up more of his time and took Sweetie home.

When Jack dropped Isabella off at the door, Esme's car was already there, like she'd been waiting forever.

Isabella politely invited Esme inside. "I thought you'd visit Mr. Black's place first."

Surprisingly, Esme had been waiting at the door.

Esme sat by the cradle, looking at the well-fed and sleeping Sweetie with a gentle gaze. Hearing Isabella's words, she was a bit surprised. "Mr. Black?"

Isabella came over with a plate of fruit. "It's your son, actually. He just moved next door to us yesterday."

Isabella paused, noticing a flicker of unease in Esme's expression.

"He didn't tell me about this," Esme said, "I had no idea he moved here and became your neighbor."

"Maybe he's just been super busy," Isabella said, trying to speak well of Quentin, mainly because she didn't want her words to mess up Esme and Quentin's relationship. "Mr. Black is a solid and steady guy. He probably wanted to get everything sorted before telling you."

Esme gave a faint smile. "Maybe."

Esme didn't seem too bothered, her eyes fixed on Sweetie in the cradle. She gently touched Sweetie's soft blanket, like she was looking at a precious treasure.

"Bella, can I hold her?" Esme hesitated for a long time before finally asking.

"Of course." Isabella stood up, carefully taking Sweetie out of the cradle and handing her to Esme.

Esme took Sweetie, and at that moment, she felt over the moon.

"She's so beautiful, so cute," Esme couldn't help but gush. She then said to Isabella, "Her nose and chin look a lot like yours."

Isabella smiled. "Really? I can't really tell. I've always thought she looks more like her dad."

As they were chatting, a cat's meow suddenly came from the windowsill.

Isabella turned her head, eyes lighting up with surprise. "Is that cat walking now?"

The cat was chilling outside the windowsill, super calm. It didn't seem scared of people; even when Isabella walked up to it, it didn't budge.

Isabella opened the window and gently brought it inside, noticing a strong medicinal smell coming from it. Its tiny body was wrapped in layers of bandages.

Isabella held it, and it didn't struggle, just curled up obediently in her hands. Feeling her touch, it meowed twice.

"Your recovery skills are off the charts," Isabella said with a smile.

At that moment, Isabella realized Esme hadn't spoken for a while. Turning around, she saw Esme staring at the cat in her hands, lost in thought.

Isabella said, "This is Mr. Black's cat."

Esme frowned and instinctively asked, "How do you know?"

"He saved this cat yesterday, and I was there," Isabella said, "Was Mr. Black a doctor before? I saw him bandaging the cat like a pro, not something an amateur could do."

Esme lowered her eyes. "Quentin was a doctor before, but not anymore."

Hearing this, Isabella felt there must be a story behind it, but since Esme didn't elaborate, she didn't push. She changed the topic, "This cat was seriously messed up and on the brink of death yesterday. I'm amazed at its vitality; it's already up and about today."

Esme glanced at the cat and asked, "How did it get hurt?"

Isabella said, "I don't know. When Mr. Black found it, it had a long wound on its belly. Mr. Black said it didn't look like an accident, more like someone did it. I don't know what kind of psycho would actually hurt a defenseless little cat. But luckily, Mr. Black found it and saved its life."

After Isabella finished speaking, she noticed Esme staring blankly.

Isabella called, "Aunt Esme?"

Esme snapped out of it and smiled. "I'm fine."

The cat let out a meow and suddenly leapt from Isabella's hands. Despite still being injured, it jumped from a considerable height, landing awkwardly. Isabella's heart skipped a beat, fearing it might tear open its belly wound.

Isabella froze for a couple of seconds, just about to pick up the cat when it suddenly darted forward a few steps and started meowing fiercely in the direction of the first floor.

The hissing was different from its earlier cute meows; it was filled with aggression. The cat arched its back, and its light blue fur stood up like sharp needles.

For a moment, the entire villa was filled with the cat's terrifying screeches.

Sweetie, who had been sleeping soundly, suddenly woke up and started crying, probably freaked out by the noise.

Isabella was even more unsettled by the scene. If Esme weren't there, she might have grabbed Sweetie and bolted out of the house in fear!

Esme, who was soothing Sweetie, stood up from the couch, glanced in the direction the cat was meowing, and suddenly asked, "Bella, is there someone else living here?"