Isla woke up the next day, refreshed and relaxed. She took a bath, brushed her hair and on her phone, there were buzzing comments about Daisy Damsels making the line for the best dressed at the fashion show, and the Audi presented to Isla video had gone viral too. She smiled at the compliments by fans and well-wishers, congratulating her that she also owned a RiseUp code now.
Rhea, waking up to all the drama of the songs composed by Isla's fandom for her birthday sparked curiosity on Rhea's sleepy face. With her PJ's, she walked to the kitchen and saw her cooks singing and dancing while tossing pots, pans and spoons at each other.
"What the actual crap? Why are you tossing my utensils like they are some coins? What are you singing about?" They all kept quiet at Rhea's sudden throw at them.
"Um...we're sorry Mrs. Sinclair..." They apologized in an inaudible voice.
"Will you speak up or y'all will get the hell out of my house for good?" Rhea roared.
"Um....eh...We're...Its...the song Isla's fans composed for her birthday. Its really addictive so we're singing the chorus."
"Let's hear it." Rhea walked closer and folded her arms. Exchanging terrified glances, they all started singing in shaky voices.
"Isla Sinclair, the prettiest model, no one can ever get above you, catch your eye, you're a queen, we love you, soar higher, this new day begins a new age, just shine, baby you're lucky, the people around you value you so much, keep the precious time we need, till the end, you'll be the best, oh - "
"Sheesh." Rhea cut in.
"Sorry...."
"You're working for Isla Sinclair's sworn enemy. How dare you sing songs about her in my house?"
"What's going on here?" Rhea's older sister Quinn Jones walked into the kitchen.
"THESE PEOPLE WERE SINGING A FREAKING SONG ABOUT THAT BITCH ISLA SINCLAIR IN MY HOUSE AND NOT TAKING MY COOKING SERIOUS! HOW DARE THEY?" Rhea was on fire.
"Calm down, Rhea. This girl we are talking about is your child. Did you ever give birth to a bitch?"
"I gave birth to a human – but she turned herself into a bitch because of greed and jealousy. She wants to be better than me by all means."
"You are the one who's greedy and jealous. All this time and things you've been doing, signing her out of your modeling society is because you want her life to be completely ruined just because you wanna have all the fame in the world! What kind of a mother does that?"
"Sis, I'd suggest you stay out of this..."
"Never. I won't watch you doing this to her. The poor girl was divorced twice and her third husband died miserably while trying to find her a name in a RiseUp code. Now, the girl has it with ease and you think I'd watch you ruin her? I'd prefer you getting wretched because of all the bad things you've put this girl through. If anything happens to this girl, I'd hold you responsible!" Quinn stormed out of the kitchen.
Quinn entered her room in anger and slammed the door.
"What the heck? How could a mother be so evil? Who knows if she even killed the last husband like everyone says? I know what to do!" Quinn dialed Mr. Sinclair's contact.
"Hello Sir." She greeted.
"Quinn, its been a while. How's life?"
"Your wife isn't making life any good." Quinn rolled her eyes.
"What's up with her again?"
"I know you wouldn't deny everything Rhea has been doing just for your daughter to go down. The videos of them always fighting online – how Rhea signed Isla out from a modeling agency she has been for years without any documentation or order from authority is quite wicked of her."
"Yes. But I've been trying to ignore them. I've had enough of Rhea behaving like a badass teen who doesn't want the nerd to get her football captain crush. Its stupid."
"You shouldn't ignore your daughter's cries for help. Do you realize that Rhea approved of Isla and Jake's relationship because she knew she could get something from him? Nigel and Brian – they also dated and married Isla, favoring their mother-in-law with money, brand deals and fame. Isla has been getting hurt in the process. She faced so much emotional stress and violence most especially from Nigel who drove into her with his shit constantly, almost tearing her softness apart! Isla is indeed a strong woman – if I was her, I would have committed suicide." Quinn was hurt.
"Thank you Quinn. I appreciate the fact that you're trying to protect my daughter. In less than two months, I'll be fully with her and everything will end. Isla's security will be tighter and I'll warn Rhea not to try anything funny – else, she'll be jailed." Quinn supported the idea.
"Great."
When Isla was taking too long in the bedroom, Cade pushed the door open to see what was popping.
"Good morning, babe."
"Babe?" Isla turned and laughed shyly.
"That's cute."
"Why haven't you come downstairs for breakfast?" Cade asked.
"Hmmm....The aroma is travelling around the house already." Isla nodded slowly.
"Can you guess what I made?"
"I'm too hungry to guess, let's go downstairs!"
"Did you sleep well?" Cade wrapped his arms around Isla.
"Yup. I haven't seen Dora since last night before we left to find Julie." Isla's eyes was already out in the passageway searching.
"She must have followed the friends she invited. I'm not worried – she'll be back soon."
"Can you please loosen the grip? I'm hungry, like I said earlier." Isla joked.
"Nope. I'm not doing that." Cade swept Isla's feet above the ground and she screamed.
"Ahh!! Put me down!" She laughed heartily. Cade shook his head and walked downstairs.
Mr. Sinclair's voice was laced with venom as he spat out his wife's name, "Mrs. Rhea Sinclair." The sweetness that usually characterized his tone when speaking to her was nowhere to be found."You're really something else, aren't you?" he sneered. "Thinking you can bring our daughter down just because you're jealous of her success and popularity."Rhea's voice, which had been sugary sweet just moments before, calling him "honey" and "sweetheart," faltered as she tried to defend herself. "What are you talking about, darling? I would never—"
"Don't darling me," Mr. Sinclair cut her off, his anger escalating. "You think I'm blind? Why did you kick Isla out of the agency? I saw everything on the internet!". You're just mad because she's richer and more popular than you'll ever be.
Rhea's tone shifted, and she snapped back, but Mr. Sinclair wouldn't let her get a word in edgewise.
"You're a spiteful, jealous woman, and I won't let you drag our daughter down with you."
As the argument reached its boiling point, Mr. Sinclair's warning was laced with menace.
"Stay away from Isla, Rhea. You've made it clear you don't want anything to do with her professionally, so don't bother trying to contact her personally either. If you try to harm her, you'll see a side of me you've never seen before."
The line went dead, and Rhea's expression changed in an instant. She turned to her friends, who were watching her with curiosity, and burst out laughing.
"Oh my goodness, can you believe him?" she cackled, mocking Mr. Sinclair's tone and words.
"Thinks he's so much better than me just because he's got a few more zeros in his bank account."
Her friends joined in, and together they ridiculed Mr. Sinclair and Isla, their laughter and jabs at the father-daughter duo filling the room. Rhea's mocking tone made it clear she had no intention of heeding Mr. Sinclair's warning.
Julie bounced into the room, excitement radiating from her.
"Lucas, honey, you won't believe what happened at Isla's birthday party! We gave her a surprise gift – a brand new Audi! Can you believe it?"Lucas' eyes remained fixed on the laptop screen, his fingers typing away.
"Mmm-hmm, yeah, I saw the video online," he murmured absently.
Julie's enthusiasm didn't waver. "Oh, you should've seen her face when we presented it to her in front of everyone! It was priceless!" She tried to nudge Lucas away from his work, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
"Hey, sweetheart, put that away for a bit. Let's take a look at some Instagram updates. I saw some models wearing the cutest dresses, and I need to get that exact design."Lucas nodded, his eyes never leaving the screen.
"Uh-huh, sure thing," he said distractedly.
Julie tried again attempting to draw his attention.
"Baby, what's wrong? You're not looking at me."
"My love, can we please talk about how fine you are?"
But Lucas just made short, polite smiles, his focus firmly on the laptop.
Undeterred, Julie continued to chat, hoping to catch Lucas' eye.
"And the party decorations were gorgeous! You should see the pictures..."Lucas nodded along, still typing away.
Julie's attempts to distract him grew more obvious, but he didn't budge. Finally, Julie threw up her hands, laughing.
"Guess you're busy then." She dropped a light kiss on Lucas' cheek and wandered off, leaving him to his work. Lucas barely looked up, his attention glued to the screen.
Julie's face lit up as Isla's image appeared on the screen. "Hey, girl! How's it going? Still on cloud nine after that party?"Isla's eyes sparkled.
"Julie, I'm still in shock! The Audi is amazing! Thank you so much, you and the other Daisy Damsels are the best!"Julie giggled.
"Aww, you're welcome, sweetie! We're just glad you loved it. Now, I have another surprise for you – I've got a gig lined up for you to model for Vital body lotion."
Isla's eyes widened.
"Vital? Oh my gosh, yes! I've heard so much about that brand."
Julie squealed in confirmation.
"Yes! You've had some amazing gigs with lotions before, and your skin has never looked better."Isla laughed.
"Thanks, Julie. Those gigs really helped improve my skin health. I'm so down for this one."The conversation flowed easily, with the two friends chatting about everything from fashion to their personal lives.
When Isla asked about Julie's husband, Lucas, Julie rolled her eyes good-naturedly.
"Oh, he's the usual – glued to his laptop, too busy to even notice me. I'm starting to think I'm invisible."
Isla chuckled sympathetically.
"I've never faced that with my dad's schedule, but I'm sure it's frustrating."Julie laughed.
"You have no idea. But don't worry, you'll face it soon enough when you marry Cade and he gets a high-profile job. Mark my words, you'll be competing with his briefs for attention."
Isla playfully rolled her eyes. "Marriage? What are you talking about?"
"Just kidding. Besides, aren't you going to marry him?"
"I'm not sure I'm ready to give a response to that yet." Isla's voice went low.
"What if he proposes? I'm sure you'd give him the yes right away!"
Both friends shared a laugh.
"I'm not sure that's gonna happen. I guess we're just dating because of the bad desire we have for each other."
"Bad desire?" Julie's eyes widened and Isla nodded, biting her lower lip seductively.
"Oh Isla. I feel proud seeing this beautiful smile on your face again."
Cade sat in his room, watching the video of Isla's birthday surprise, a warm smile spreading across his face. The joy on Isla's face as she received the Audi was infectious, and Cade couldn't help but feel a little blush creeping up his cheeks.
Just as the video was about to end, Cade's phone buzzed with an incoming call from his sister, Stacie. He answered, and Stacie's bright voice filled the line.
"Cade, I miss you and Dora so much! Can't you tell your boss, Isla Sinclair, to give us a break? We want you guys to come home and play with Dora's Grandma and Grandpa," Stacie said, her tone pleading.
Cade's expression turned serious.
"Stacie, I wish it were that simple. Mr. Sinclair called me earlier, and there's some...sensitive stuff going on. With what's happening on social media about Rhea's plots against Isla, Mr. Sinclair wants her security tightened. I have to stay close to her right now."
Stacie's tone turned whiny. "But Cade, it's not fair! Can't you just come home for a little while?"
Cade sighed, feeling torn. He missed his family too, and Dora's grandparents were probably missing her terribly.
"Okay, fine. I'll come stay with you guys for three days, but that's it. I'll have to make sure Isla's security is covered while I'm away." Stacie squealed with excitement.
"Yay! Thank you, Cade! I'll get everything ready. I need to go get some groceries now, but I'll see you soon!"Before Cade could say another word, Stacie hung up, already planning the time they'd spend together. Cade couldn't help but smile, feeling a little better knowing he'd get to see his family soon.
Lucas burst into Julie's room, his face thunderous with worry and anger.
"Julie, why didn't you tell me you were kidnapped?" I was hearing the news from Lindsay, and on Instagram! Why did you hide that from me?" he demanded, his voice raised.
Julie shrugged nonchalantly,
"You were busy, and you couldn't even look at me when I was talking to you about Isla's birthday party. I figured there was no point in telling you."
Lucas's expression twisted in frustration.
"Busy? I don't care about being busy when it comes to your safety! I love you, Julie. You're my wife, and I need to know these things."
Julie's eyes widened slightly at Lucas's outburst, but she apologized sincerely. "I'm sorry, Lucas. I didn't mean to worry you."Lucas's anger seemed to dissipate slightly at her apology, and he pulled Julie into a tight hug. "
Just…please don't keep things like that from me again, okay? I can't bear the thought of anything happening to you."Julie wrapped her arms around him, feeling a mix of relief and love. "I promise, Lucas. I love you too." Lucas held her close, his love for her evident in his actions.
"Will you listen to what I say now?" Julie asked, still wrapped in his arms.
"Of course. I'll listen to everything you say. I'm done with work and I'm all yours. Let's start from getting the person who kidnapped you, arrested. Who was it?"
"No. I...I..."
"Julie..? Are you going to hide the person from me again?"
"It's...Isla's mom."
"RHEA SINCLAIR? How dare she? She has the problem with her daughter so why is she trying to hurt you?" He let go of Julie and made her face him.
"She's using me to get to Isla."
"Julie, I want you to stay out of this mother-daughter rivalry."
"She's my friend! I can't allow Rhea Sinclair to harm her!" Julie yelled.
"I know you well, Julie. I know what you can do. You're blunt and outspoken. All this can land you in so much trouble just because of Isla. Do you think she can do this much for you?"
"She can. She's my best friend."
"I understand the love you have for her. But please, stay out of trouble."
"I will." She planted a deep kiss on Lucas' lips and he responded, wrapping his arms around her waist.