Love and Fortune A Gamble for Two (Angela and Chester)

Chapter 7

Kierra stormed out of the hotel, clutching her face where Adrian had hit her. He'd been

furious. He had set everything up and was ready to get Angelina in bed, only for her to stand him up at the last minute.

And Kierra had paid the price. Her cheek throbbed, her throat burned from all the yelling, and she could barely keep herself upright as she walked,

She hadn't expected Angelina to actually follow through with her "stand by Chester" nonsense. But it seemed real this time. Angelina had even blocked her number.

Kierra frantically called Angelina, but Angelina didn't answer. Gritting her teeth, Kierra hissed, "Oh, so you're ignoring my calls now? You really think you're Mrs. Whitmore, huh? You go back on your word just like that? Plenty of people can't wait to sleep with embarrassed me and made me look bad, so don't think you'll get away with this!"

you. You

Back at the house, everything felt calm and unusually peaceful. Even Angelina and Isadora, who were usually at each other's throats, were working together without incident.

Angelina was knee-deep in selling the designer bags and clothes, completely swamped. Emily did her best to help, but it wasn't her forte. She eventually enlisted Isadora, who, surprisingly, didn't refuse.

"Done yet?" Isadora asked, snapping photos of another bag.

"Almost," Angelina replied, flipping through the listings.

"Someone's asking about the price of this bag. Can we drop it at all?"

"Tell them it's firm-80 thousand dollars," Angelina said without hesitation.

Isadora typed quickly, sealing the deal. When Angelina stood up to pack another bag, she winced and nearly twisted her back.

"Careful!" Isadora cried. "Geez, take it easy, will you? You're carrying an entire person in there, my dear!"

Emily hurried over to steady her. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Emily. You should go to bed. It's past your usual bedtime."

"You think I can sleep when you're still up and running around like this?" Emily yawned mid-sentence. Her body clock was already catching up with her, but she still hesitated. After a lot of persuading, Angelina finally convinced her to turn in for the night. Isadora stayed up with Angelina until almost midnight, helping her organize the listings and reply to buyers. Finally, Isadora said, "I've got work tomorrow. Give me your account info. I'll Chappe

keep an eye on this during my breaks."

Without thinking twice, Angelina handed over her username and password. Isadora paused for a second, surprised.

""You're just... handing this over?" she asked.

Angelina shrugged. "Yeah. Why not?"

Isadora didn't say anything, but she was suspicious. With that account, Isadora could

withdraw all the money straight to her own account if she wanted to. The Angelina she knew would never trust anyone with something like that. She studied Angelina's face carefully. "You're not scheming something, are you?"

"Huh?" Angelina blinked, confused.

"You think I forgot? That night, you tricked me into leaving so that you could drug my brother. I still feel like it's my fault for what happened to him." Angelina froze, her mind flashing back to the night in question. She tried not to think about it, but Isadora's words dragged the memory out of hiding. Chester's furious voice echoed in her head. "What did you give me? Angie... How could you?"

She could still remember the anger in his eyes and the way he had grabbed her wrists, trying to fight the effects of whatever she had slipped him. "Just stop thinking, Chester," the original Angelina had purred. "Let me be yours tonight."

It had been a mess. It was a night she didn't want to remember and one Isadora clearly couldn't forgive.

"I get why you don't trust me," Angelina said quietly. "I'd feel the same if I were you.

Being played by someone she despised the most someone she couldn't stand and then watching her own brother get dragged into the mess was enough to make Isadora completely lose her composure.

Isadora frowned. "Then tell me what you're up to We're both women. I know exactly what you're to. You might be able to fool my brother, but you can't fool me."

up

It was late into the night, and Isadora finally snapped her laptop shut. Her tone was calm but cutting. "Let me make this clear. Our family has nothing left. Not a single cent. If you're still trying to play innocent and squeeze something out of us, you can forget it." Angelina sighed, sitting down with a hand on her belly. "I really mean it, Isa. I want to make this work with Chester."

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"You really expect me to believe that nonsense? Isadora snorted. "My parents might buy it, even my brother. But I don't. Not for a second."

She dropped onto the couch and crossed her arms. "Do you know how many times you've

made

my life hell? When my mom brought you home, you were all sweet and innocent. That lasted, what, two weeks? Then, you started stealing my stuff-my dresses, my toys... And you'd cry and play the victim every time I got mad. My mom always took your side." Angelina used to always say, "I'm sorry, Isa. I didn't mean to, Emily, I didn't mean to...."

She'd cry at first, big teardrops falling like raindrops on cue. Her act worked every time, making Emily believe that Isadora was the one bullying her. In private, Emily would even scold Isadora and try to "correct" her behavior.

"Isadora, let me tell you something. Angie's parents are gone, and she only has a grandmother living in the mountains. Her grandmother struggles just to survive, and she's very old."

Isadora retorted, "Then let her go back to where she came from."

"How can you say that? Angie doesn't have parents, and she has no one else to rely on. She has to live with us."

"Why doesn't she live with someone else?"

"Isadora! Where's your compassion!"

"You always sleep with her instead of me. You take her out to play, but not me. My dresses and toys are mine. Why do I have to give them to her? And the ones you buy for her, she doesn't even want. She just wants my stuff! I hate her!"

That resentment planted the seeds of a feud between the female side character and Isadora at an early age. Out of respect for Emily, they both pretended to get along and kept their hostility under wraps.

But as Isadora grew older, she stopped falling for the female side character's innocent act. Sometimes, she even countered it with calm composure, leaving the female side character frustrated and seething. After being embarrassed a few times, the female side character grew

to hate her even more.

The final straw came when the female side character manipulated Isadora to help her trap Chester into marriage. That move completely severed whatever fragile peace remained between them.

"I don't care what your plans are," Isadora said coldly. "I'm only telling you this. If you're going to leave my brother, do it now. Get out of here as soon as you can. But if you stay now and then betray him later, breaking his heart, I swear I won't let you off the hook." She placed her laptop back into her bag and then headed for her room. Just before closing the

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door, she turned back with a sharp gaze.

"Isa..." Angelina's voice was firm. "I mean it."

Angelina pushed open the master bedroom door with one hand and the other on her waist for

support. Chester was still awake, sitting on the bed and waiting for her.

"You're not asleep yet?" she asked softly.

Without a word, Chester patted the spot next to him. "Come here."

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Chapter 8