Never Again Yours (Isadora and Magnus) novel Chapter 16

“I told the housekeeper to deliver you a dress, didn’t I? Why are you dressed like this?”

Isadora’s lips curled into a mocking smile. “In your eyes, Pearl is the real Vaughan heiress. The four of you are the true face of this family. Whatever I wear makes no difference to you.”

Once, Isadora would never have embarrassed Eleanor in public.

Partly because Magnus hated it when she acted out of line, like some wild troublemaker.

Partly because she still clung to a childish hope that Eleanor might one day love her like a mother should.

But after what happened with the kidnapping yesterday, she saw the truth at last.

Men? Family? What a joke.

Isadora refused to live like that anymore.

She didn’t raise her voice, but they were standing right in the middle of the ballroom, and more than a few people had started to take notice.

Eleanor’s face flickered between red and white.

“Do you know what day it is, Isadora? I expect you to behave yourself!”

Isadora gave a cool, bright laugh. “Sorry, you never taught me what ‘behave’ means, remember? So you’ve got no right to expect it now.”

With that, she turned away, not interested in hearing another one of Eleanor’s lectures.

Eleanor’s expression soured even further, but with so many eyes on her, she had no choice but to swallow her anger.

Pearl, on the other hand, could barely hide her satisfaction.

She patted Eleanor’s hand reassuringly. “Mom, the way Isadora treats you—she’s so ungrateful. But don’t worry. Even if you don’t have her, you’ll always have me, your real daughter.”

Eleanor gave a weary sigh. Why did her own flesh and blood never seem as considerate as her adopted daughter?

—

At the buffet table, Isadora took a plate and helped herself to a few slices of strawberry shortcake.

Pearl followed her over, one hand wrapped around a cocktail glass, chin held high in smug superiority.

“Three years away, and you’re still as clueless as ever, Isadora. Do you really think provoking Mom like this will make her notice you?”

“They raised me for twenty years, not twenty days,” Isadora replied, voice steady. “All those years, they treasured Pearl like she was made of gold. You really think that kind of love can just be switched off?”

When Pearl turned eighteen, the family presented the necklace to her as a coming-of-age gift.

But before she died, Grandma made one thing clear: everything else could be given away, but the diamond necklace must be returned and kept for Isadora.

Isadora had always assumed Eleanor had simply taken the necklace and refused to hand it over.

She never expected to see it still hanging around Pearl’s neck.

The realization stabbed through her chest, sharp and sudden.

Pearl caught the look of pain in Isadora’s eyes, and a wave of satisfaction washed over her.

She smiled with the smugness of a conqueror. “This is the Vaughan family’s most precious heirloom. Grandma might have told Mom to give it back, but three years have passed—and now you’re about to get married. The fact that it’s still mine just proves who Mom and Dad see as their real daughter.”

Pearl leaned in, her words venomous. “And you? You’re nothing.”

Suddenly—

A piercing scream ripped through the ballroom, shattering the tense atmosphere.