Chapter 9

Isabella pushed open the door and saw Samantha standing by her bed, holding the scarf that Sebastian had given her.

"Bella?" Samantha hurriedly put the things back into her bag and walked over to hold Isabella's hand. "Bella, when did you move back to the dorm? Why didn't you tell me?"

Isabella pulled her hand back and walked past her without saying a word. "Didn't you move out?"

"Yeah, I came back to get some things," Samantha walked toward her, pointing at the bag on the hanger. "Bella, is that scarf yours?"

"It's mine." Isabella looked at her with a distant look in her eyes. "Is there a problem?"

"No." Samantha's smile was forced. "That's a limited edition scarf from a famous brand that was released just last month. It's not only expensive, but also difficult to get. I wanted to ask, how did you manage to get it? I want one too."

Isabella glanced at the bag and saw the logo of that well-known brand. Sebastian had given it to her, and she hadn't intended to accept it, let alone take a close look at it. She hadn't expected it to be so precious.

"A friend gave it to me," Isabella casually replied. "I'm not really sure."

"Which friend?" Samantha pressed, her eyes showing her disbelief. She had been Isabella's best friend for many years and knew her well. Besides her and Matthew, Isabella didn't have any other friends.

Isabella indifferently said, "You don't know him."

As Samantha was going to ask more, her phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID and didn't hesitate to answer it in front of Isabella. "Hello, Matthew... Yes, I'm in the dormitory. Right. I want to have a big meal at noon, the one we went to last time... Okay. I'll come see you later."

After hanging up, Samantha said, "Rest well, Bella. I'll leave now."

Isabella couldn't even be bothered to respond. She saw on the bed and opened her laptop.

Samantha just shrugged and left the dormitory.

At the restaurant, Samantha ordered a few dishes and handed the menu to Matthew.

Matthew glanced at it and crossed out a few dishes. "Are you going to finish all this?"

"It doesn't matter if I can't finish it. I just want to taste a little bit of everything," Samantha said nonchalantly, adding expensive foie gras to the order.

Matthew glanced at her. "Why didn't I notice you were so wasteful before?"

Back when he was dating Isabella, he would occasionally bring Samantha along for meals. At that time, Samantha was always reserved and even more shy than Isabella. Later, Matthew learned that it was because Samantha was from a poor family and had low self-esteem.

He remembered one time, when the three of them finished eating and left, Samantha went back to the private room to get the leftovers packed up. The Samantha from back then and the Samantha who was enjoying this extravagant meal now seemed like two different people.

Noticing his gaze, Samantha closed the menu. "Did I order too much? Are you telling me you don't want to spend the money?"

"It's not that," Matthew's family had money. Both of his parents were professors. He didn't care about these expenses. Ever since he started dating Samantha, he would bring her to these upscale places, and he never felt that there was anything wrong before.

Perhaps he had realized how much both he and Samantha had changed because he had seen Isabella at the hospital today. Isabella seemed to have remained the same as before.

"Matthew? What's wrong with you?" Samantha waved her hand in front of his eyes. "Do you have something on your mind? Why are you so absent-minded tonight?"

Matthew snapped back to reality. "It's nothing."

Samantha nonchalantly sliced the foie gras and said, "Bella moved back to the school dormitory."

Matthew's utensils paused, and he calmly said, "Is that so?"

In the afternoon, Matthew had returned to his dorm to retrieve something when he bumped into her. She was holding a big brand-name bag, and inside was the scarf he had been wanting. Bella said it was a gift from a friend, so he asked her which friend, but she hadn't given him a clear answer. Samantha, speaking to Matthew, looked toward him.

Matthew frowned. "Really?"

Samantha lifted her chin with an innocent face, and said, "I thought maybe you secretly bought it for her."

"Me?" Matthew shook his head. "No, it wasn't me."

"I knew it wasn't you. Even if it was from you, I wouldn't be mad. We've done something to hurt her. If a scarf can ease Bella's resentment, I'm willing to give her that. But... Bella doesn't have any other friends besides us. Besides, even if it was just an ordinary friend, they probably wouldn't give her such a valuable gift, right? I wonder if Bella has a new boyfriend?"

Matthew put down his utensils. "I'm going to the bathroom."

Samantha's words had made him uncomfortable. Matthew went to the bathroom and smoked a cigarette to calm down.

After finishing the cigarette, he remembered something and reached into his pocket, only to realize that his phone was still on the dining table.

Samantha quickly took the phone, unlocked the screen, and browsed through several overseas shopping apps. To be honest, she still couldn't believe that someone would give Isabella such an expensive gift, except for Matthew.

But after searching, she only found the order for the scarf that Matthew had placed earlier.

When she clicked on it, Samantha's expression changed. She had really wanted that scarf and had fallen in love with it at first sight when it had just been released. She had asked Matthew for it for a long time before he agreed to buy it for her. She had been eagerly waiting to get the scarf to show it off, but Matthew told her that he hadn't managed to get it.

And now she saw that he hadn't failed to get the scarf; instead, he had canceled the order.

Why had he canceled the order? The answer was simple. Matthew didn't want to give it to her!

Two minutes later, Matthew returned to the dining table. He glanced at his phone. The phone was still in its original position, as if it hadn't been moved.

Samantha handed him the foie gras with a pleasing expression. "I cut the foie gras for you, Matthew. Give it a try."

"Thank you."

The next morning, Isabella took the subway to the company.

She took advantage of the fact that her department colleagues hadn't arrived yet and quietly entered the CEO's office while holding the gift Sebastian had given her.

The office curtains were tightly closed, and it was quiet. Isabella went straight to Sebastian's desk without noticing the man sitting on the sofa to her left.

She placed the bag down and was about to leave immediately when she turned her head and made eye contact with the man on the sofa.

"Mr. Landon!"

What did it feel like to be caught in the act like a thief?

She felt awkward. Sebastian sat back on the black sofa with his shirt collar loose and his legs slightly bent, giving off an extremely tired demeanor. But he looked rather content. He stared at Isabella with interest. "The company has tight security, so how could a thief have gotten in? But when I looked closely, it turned out to be you, Isabella."