After the Secret Wedding Rise of My Queen

Chapter 249 Playing the Harp on Stage

"Who do you think you are? Just because you told me to repeat myself doesn't mean I will," Isabel said, rolling her eyes slightly, her voice thick with sarcasm.

Cindy's expression darkened, her face contorting in fury.

"Hah! I knew it you're too scared to say it again, you coward!"

Isabel raised an eyebrow, a playful smirk crossing her face. She studied Cindy for a moment before responding, "Fine. If you're so desperate to hear me point out your flaws, I'll do it.

"You're like a wall-no, more like a brick wall. Anyone who crashes into you is bound to get hurt."

Right after Isabel finished speaking, a quiet laugh escaped from the crowd.

A soft ripple of chuckles spread through the room, quickly turning into a wave of suppressed laughter.

Cindy's face flushed bright red with anger, her eyes burning with rage. Isabel's confident stance and perfect composure only seemed to make Cindy's resentment grow, as if the sight of her rival's poise stung even more than the words.

"Well? Still want me to repeat myself?" Isabel asked, her lips curling into a teasing smile.

Cindy's temper flared, her body visibly trembling with fury. Isabel's words felt like a public slap, her insinuation that Cindy had asked for such treatment only making it worse.

"Kaleb! Look at Isabel-she's gone too far this time! She used to never talk back to me. And now? Just look at her! You've got to put her in her place!"

Here we go again.

Isabel shook her head, her gaze icy as she looked at Cindy. "You and your mother are exactly alike. Whenever you're wrong, you run straight to Kaleb, expecting him to fight your battles. But have you thought this through? Kaleb and I don't owe each other anything anymore. Why should he defend you?"

Kaleb, who had been silent up until now, clenched his jaw and stared at Isabel, his expression a mix of confusion and thoughtfulness.

Isabel wasn't finished. "And let's say, hypothetically, that Kaleb and I were still together. It's the 21st century, not some old-world society where women have no voice or worth. If I married into your family, would you expect me to be treated like a servant? Would Kaleb have the right to control me just because he's a man? Do you even understand what respect means?"

Her words resonated with several women in the room.

and Kaleb, Cindy's earlier comment that Isabel

respect, but instead, she had been mistreated. It made the others

nobody dared to say anything. After all, Kaleb was their boss, and Cindy was his sister, so they figured saying what was

one spoke, the tension in the

laugh, her voice dripping with mockery. "Well, Isabel, looks like your tongue has gotten sharper since we last met! But don't think I don't see through you. The only reason you're here today is because you knew it's

self-righteous words

louder than words. She wasn't here for the Johnson Group's

started to walk away,

the Bennett Group's gala! There's security at

always the peacemaker, stepped forward, her voice warm

on, Isabel, Cindy, let's just let it go. So much has happened already-why dwell on the past? Life's too short to keep holding grudges," Eva said with a serene smile, gently stroking her round belly. "I'm a

earned her

kind-hearted. No wonder he chose her over Isabel even though she's

to Eva, the

they trying to say I'm

spoken, mentally making a note to handle the situation

you're already

not stay a little longer? I'll play

yel

harp

said sweetly, flashing a

Eva playing the harp?

but what Eva said made her stop in her tracks and sparked

such a skill before. Is she trying to challenge me,

now a Zimmerman, and Eva can't possibly know about my

eyes on Eva as the woman gracefully moved

Эле

the harp had been strategically placed at the gala. Even if Isabel hadn't clashed with Cindy earlier, it

trying to show