Can't Win Me Back (Isabella and Nathan) novel Chapter 41

She stared at Isabella with a probing look. "I heard from your Sis that you've made it big now, become the wife of a rich man?"

Isabella's heart reflexively tightened in her chest. Every nerve in her body seemed to throb in pain, and for a moment, it felt as though her blood had frozen, her vitality evaporating.

"How did you get here?" she asked, her voice barely audible, trembling.

"You haven't come to see me in so long," her mother continued, her voice a mixture of complaint and sorrow. "Bella, I've been diagnosed with a terminal illness. I don't have long to live. Before I die, I just wanted to see you. I've called you so many times, but you never answered. I sent you messages, but you didn't reply. Have you forgotten me, now that you've become successful and don't want to acknowledge your good-for-nothing mother?"

As she spoke, her mother began to sob uncontrollably.

Isabella stared coldly at the woman who had brought her nothing but misfortune. How dare she come here? When Isabella was so small, her mother had transferred all of her frustrations with Moore's Father onto her.

She had been abusive—physically and emotionally. She had treated her as nothing more than an outlet for her anger, beating her and kicking her. She had forbidden her from going to school, forcing her to beg on the streets, and then taking away the money she earned.

Just thinking about her mother brought on nightmares. It wasn't that she didn't want to recognize her mother, but she didn't want to acknowledge this cruel woman who was no better than a "human trafficker."

"I'm not a doctor. If you came to me, I can't help you," Isabella said coldly.

"Bella, I'm really going to die soon." Her mother suddenly reached out, grabbing Isabella's hand with a desperate look. "There are some things I want to say to you, just the two of us."

For a moment, Isabella's icy expression softened slightly. She thought to herself that, after all, they were blood relatives. When someone is about to die, they speak kindly. Perhaps she should show some grace and forgive her mother.

"Follow me," Isabella said, her voice flat.

She led her mother to a nearby bar, just outside her home.

"Let's talk here," Isabella said as she took a seat.

Her mother immediately burst into tears. "Bella, you were so young back then. You didn't understand much. Your father cheated on me and forced me to divorce him. I was just a housewife with no means of fighting back. I had to leave with you and start from scratch, facing a life of poverty. I was struggling, and I admit I took my frustrations out on you sometimes."

Isabella ran a hand through her hair, and when her fingers brushed a scar on her forehead, her warmth vanished, replaced by coldness.

"Mother, you weren't just bad-tempered," she said quietly, her voice growing colder with each word. "You beat me until my ribs were broken. You tortured me as if you were trying to destroy my life. You didn't just make my life miserable, you almost ended it."

Her mother became awkward and faltered, her words stuttering. "Bella, now everything is better. You're doing well in life, and that's all I care about. I'm at peace knowing that."

But Isabella could see right through the pretensions. Her mother was using emotion to manipulate her, making her feel guilty for her past grievances, and Isabella found it revolting.

Her patience ran thin. "If you don't have anything important to say, please leave."

She stood up as if to walk away.

Her mother became agitated and grabbed her arm. "Bella, your Sis came to see me. You know, when I divorced your father, I couldn't keep her. That's the greatest regret of my life. Bella, I haven't been a good mother. I'm really sorry about that."

Isabella's entire body tensed. When her parents divorced, everyone fought for her Sis's custody, while she, a child, was left abandoned. The feeling of being discarded by her own parents had left a deep scar in her heart.

The sense of rejection from her own family had haunted her. And later, when she met Nathan, any bit of kindness he showed her made her hold onto him like a savior, eager to please him, trying to repay a kindness she'd never received.

She looked her mother in the eyes, coldness in her gaze. "If you feel guilty toward her, you should go to her. Whatever you want to make up for, it has nothing to do with me. Why come to me?"