My Great Escape Led Me to You (Emily Blair) novel Chapter 451

A faint blush colored Isabella Austin’s cheeks, and her voice turned gentle. “Andrew, was all that stuff online... was it your doing?”

Andrew Lane didn’t hesitate. He murmured an almost imperceptible “yeah,” then added, “Don’t stay up late. And stop reading that rubbish online.”

Isabella pressed her lips together in a small, grateful smile. “Thank you, Andrew. But I’m fine—really. I’m happy for Emily. Seems like she’s doing well these days.”

This time, Andrew’s reply didn’t come as quickly.

“Mm. You should get some rest. I’ve got things to take care of, so I’ll talk to you later.”

His cool, distant tone left Isabella feeling oddly reassured. She responded with warmth, “Don’t work too late yourself. I won’t keep you. Goodnight.”

The call ended, and Isabella felt as if she’d been injected with new energy. The tightness in her chest disappeared in an instant; she set her phone aside, content at last, and drifted off to sleep.

“Isabella!”

A sharp, impatient voice—Amelia Lane’s—rang out from the hallway, and not a moment later, her bedroom door was flung open.

Isabella startled, quickly setting down her phone. She kept her tone calm. “Amelia, what is it?”

Amelia’s pretty face was scrunched in open defiance, and Ethan Lane trailed behind her, looking just as reluctant. Amelia marched over, plopped down on the edge of the bed, and wrapped herself around Isabella’s arm, her forehead pressing into Isabella’s shoulder as she whined, “Isabella, did you see? Emily Blair actually got first place on the entrance exam! Seven hundred and thirty-four points! Seven hundred and thirty-four! I don’t believe it, there’s no way she scored that high. She must have cheated!”

Besides, many of those friends came from prominent families themselves. Maybe not on par with the Lanes, but still worth some respect. He couldn’t afford to alienate them completely, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth and endure it.

All that resentment—he pinned it squarely on Emily Blair.

“So what?” he said coolly, “She can ace her exams, she can be number one, but she’ll never have the Lane family’s connections.”

Amelia blinked, taken aback.

Ethan’s tone was level, almost cold. “Don’t forget, Grandpa’s already arranged for you to go to NTG. That university ranks even higher than Kingswood. No matter how impressive Emily Blair’s grades are, she’ll never have our background. She’ll spend her whole life in our shadow. Who knows—maybe when she graduates from Kingswood, she’ll end up working for you. Or me.”