Never Again Yours (Isadora and Magnus) novel Chapter 228

The secretary led Isadora and Wendy into a lavish office.

Inside, they found Jonathan lounging on a leather sofa while his assistant handed him some pills. Jonathan glanced briefly at the two women before tossing the pills into his mouth and swallowing them.

“Mr. Oakley, good afternoon,” Isadora greeted him politely.

Jonathan’s voice was hoarse, laced with sarcasm. “You two are ridiculously lucky. I ended up drinking all that booze for you.”

Isadora smiled lightly. “It was just a party game, Mr. Oakley. You were kind enough to take one for the team.”

“I had to get my stomach pumped at the hospital because of you!” he shot back.

Wendy muttered under her breath, “Better him than either of us, honestly.”

Isadora kept her composure, her tone gracious. “Mr. Oakley, even if it wasn’t entirely our fault, I think your stomach deserves an apology from us.”

Jonathan just grunted, clearly still annoyed. He wouldn’t dare vent his frustration at the Fitzgerald heir, but he had no problem taking it out on these two.

Isadora got straight to the point. “Mr. Oakley, you promised our firm a spot in the final round of the bid. Does that still stand?”

Jonathan leaned back against the black sofa, crossing his legs. “Did I really say that?”

Wendy reminded him, “You said, ‘If you can make the prince happy, your firm’s in.’”

Jonathan raised an eyebrow. “And did you?”

“Of course! Isadora even took her punishment—Victor gave her a hug,” Wendy chimed in.

“Really now?” Jonathan’s eyes narrowed as he looked Isadora over from head to toe.

She wore a blue striped shirt dress today, cinched at the waist with a tan leather belt—elegant, poised, and, admittedly, beautiful.

***

Meanwhile, at the prison.

Pearl sat off to one side, her expression dark.

Across the glass, the warden escorted Carla into the visitation room.

The moment Carla saw Pearl, her dull eyes suddenly brightened. She couldn’t believe Pearl had actually agreed to see her.

Only when it was clear this was real did Carla allow herself to hope. For the first time since arriving, she’d even combed her hair, determined not to give Pearl any more reason to resent her.

She remembered, back when Isadora was accepted back into the family, she couldn’t help but reach out to Pearl. Pearl’s eyes had been red with anger and hatred back then. She’d said she wished Carla would just drop dead.

Those words stung, but Carla understood. As long as her precious daughter could live happily, Carla would endure any hardship.