The Billionaire's Pretend Wife (Isabella)
Chapter 45 Forty Five

Huffing, Naomi lifted her left hand to her chest and gave Isabelle a horrified look. Then, in a loud voice, she exclaimed, "Oh my God, how could you?"

Isabelle frowned at her sister's horrified tone, and her mind instantly went to work, trying to determine what it is she had done. She gave the two men accompanying her an unsure glance, and then turned back to Naomi. "What are you talking about? What have I done?"

"How could you be so greedy and shameless?" she cried out, her voice only getting louder. She was aware of other patrons paying attention to the table, while the two men looked between her and Isabelle. Isabelle now looked thoroughly confused, and the frown on her face deepened. "Excuse me?"

Naomi wasn't going to bring up what had happened at their home, right? Had she been at home when Isabelle went to ask their parents for the money?

Maybe she was mad at her for insisting that they give her the money. It would make sense why she was calling her the same insults Lucy had. But, did she really want to have that argument in a public place, and especially before Jacob? Isabelle wouldn't be the only one in trouble if he found out the truth!

Fidgeting with her napkin, Isabelle asked, "Can we talk outside?"

Naomi shook her head. "Why? Are you ashamed that these people will know the kind of greedy bitch you really are?"

Jacob squeezed a hand on Isabelle's shoulder and leaned in to her ear. "What is she talking about?"

"I have no idea," Isabelle muttered. She tried to keep calm and not show Jacob that she was panicking. Raising her head, she asked Naomi, "What exactly are you accusing me of?" She didn't think her sister would be stupid enough to mention the deal between her and their parents.

"Who would have known that after abandoning our parents in a financial crisis, you'd be having dinner in a high-end restaurant? Have you no shame, using their money like this when they are struggling?" Naomi spat.

Gasps arose from people around them, their gazes now trained on Isabelle. Isabelle was aware of the attention, and knew right away that Naomi wanted to humiliate her. Every time they met in public, she resorted to some antic that would leave her ashamed.

She was relieved that she was making up some half-assed lies, though. These, she could defend against. It was funny how Naomi was accusing her of the exact things her family had done to her, though. They were the ones who had abandoned her. They refused to give her the money they owed her, claiming to have none, but had no trouble keeping up their expensive lifestyle.

"How shameless," someone commented. The comment was followed by several exclamations of agreement.

"What an unfilial daughter!"

"She should be ashamed of herself."

Isabelle looked at Jacob and Seth. Jacob's face had darkened with visible anger. This wasn't the first time he had watched her sister try to humiliate her, so she knew he must know what was going on. Seth, on the other hand, looked awkward. She couldn't blame him. He had come out for dinner with her, only to first replace himself stuck with her and her husband, and then with her crazy sister. Naomi wiped some more fake tears beneath her eyes, and then removed the bracelet she was wearing on her left hand. She threw the jewellery at Isabelle. "Take that and keep it, I don't have any money to give you. Just stop asking our poor parents for money, please. They have suffered enough. We can't support your expensive lifestyle anymore."

Isabelle picked up the bracelet that had fallen on the table in front of her and looked it over. Then, calmly, she looked up at Naomi. "In that case, you should also give me the handbag you are carrying. I can see that its Louis Vuitton, so it should give me a large sum of money, right? This bracelet alone is not enough." She pointed at Naomi's attire. "The dress too. It's Dior, right? If you give me those two, I won't have to ask for money from our parents for a long time."

Naomi's jaw all but fell to the ground. "Wh...what?"

"You said you have no money," Isabelle clarified, “but you're dressed very expensively. You gave me this bracelet, but it won't be enough. Your handbag and dress, though, will fetch me a lot of money, right?" "The handbag is fake," Naomi sputtered. What was this woman driving at?

“Is it?” Isabelle asked, a sardonic smile on her mouth. "I'm sure that the customers in this high-end restaurant are familiar with genuine Louis Vuitton bags, and they can tell the one you're carrying is the real deal." She placed her napkin aside and reached for the bag. "Why don't we give it to one of them and they can tell us whether it's fake or not?"

Naomi pulled the bag out of her reach. "Don't touch my bag!"

"Give it to me," Isabelle insisted. "Just a few minutes ago, weren't you eager about making sure that I don't bother our parents with requests for money? Why are you hesitating?"

By the look of Naomi's suddenly ashen face, Isabelle knew she had succeeded in putting her in her place. She must have thought that it would be easy to make her look bad in front of the other customers in the restaurant. It would have been if she hadn't made claims of being poor while dressed in an expensive dress and carrying a designer bag. By the time Isabelle was done with her, she would make her wish she had walked quietly to her table and never bothered her.

"How can you claim to be poor while you are wearing a Dior dress and carrying a Louis Vuitton bag?" she questioned, following Naomi's lead and making her voice loud enough to be heard by everyone listening. "Are you sure you are not the one asking for money to waste from our apparently poor parents?"

"Wh...what?" Naomi sputtered. "Don't you dare make false accusations against me because I've revealed how greedy you are!"

"Why don't you give me the bag, then, if you keep insisting that it isn't worth much?" Isabelle questioned. She folded her arms across her chest and levelled a hard gaze at her sister. "What are you doing in a high-end restaurant, anyway, if you have no money?"

This time round, the onlooking patrons trained their attention on Naomi. Isabelle knew what they were seeing, and she knew none of them would continue believing her sister's claims.

Her entire outfit was designer, as so were the jewellery she was wearing. Put together, the total cost of everything she wore must come to several thousand dollars. If the bags Lucy had thrown to her the previous day had been genuine like the one Naomi was carrying, Isabelle would have been able to make up for a huge chunk of the surgery fees.

A new murmur rose among the people around, with them questioning how Naomi could be dressed so expensively but claim to be poor.

Naomi looked around, noticing the changed sentiment of the people. If she allowed Isabelle to go on further, she might end up being the one who was humiliated instead.