Chapter 1381
Although Joshua wasn’t looking directly at Isabella, she knew he was addressing her.
She hurriedly took a seat opposite Joshua, flashing a sycophantic smile. “Joshua, I’ve heard you’ve been searching for a jade pearl from the Middle Ages. That piece has always been with my mother. She told me once, after a night of indiscretion at a bar, she met a man, and then I came along. That man gave her a jade pearl, but she was afraid my father would find out, so she never sought him out again.”
Isabella’s heart was pounding with nervousness, but she managed to convey the story she had carefully prepared.
Her purpose in seeking out Joshua was to let him know that she was his daughter! She had overheard the conversation between Richard and Thalassa outside the hospital.
Richard had said that Joshua once met a woman in a bar and gave her the jade pearl, and
for years without success.
he had been searching for both the pearl and the wo
Seizing upon this information, Isabella fabricated the story about her mother, trying to make Joshua realize that the woman he had met all those years ago was her mother and that she was his daughter.
If she could be acknowledged as Joshua’s daughter, she would bask in wealth and privilege beyond measure.
And winning Lysander’s heart might not be so impossible after all! After all, Joshua and Lysander shared a mentor-protege relationship.
Moreover, the Sinclair family always valued social parity in their alliances. If she could become Joshua’s daughter, she would be deemed worthy of a union with the Sinclairs.
Everyone loves to climb the social ladder, especially when it’s as grand as the Whitmans.
After Isabella finished her tale, Joshua placed a cup of coffee before her and looked at her with a noble gaze. “The jade pearl, did you bring it?”
He seemed uninterested in Isabella’s excited speech; he just wanted to know if she had the jade pearl.
Isabella paused, taken aback. She had thought Joshua would be moved by the news about the woman from his past, that there would at least be some ripple of emotion.
But he was far calmer than she had anticipated.
Could this be the composure of a successful, sagacious person?
With this thought, Isabella, without doubting any further, extracted the carefully preserved jade pearl from her bag and presented it to Joshua with both hands. “Joshua, take a look. This is definitely authentic.”
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Chapter 1381
Joshua took the jade pearl from her hands, examining it closely. The color, the pattern-it was indeed genuine, the very one he had given away all those years ago.
After confirming its authenticity, Joshua clasped the jade pearl in his hand, his expression unflinching, still composed and noble. “Ms. Everhart, you’ve delivered the jade pearl. If there’s nothing else, you may leave.”
“What?” Isabella was shocked and panicked, pressing Joshua. “This jade pearl is the one you gave my mother. You think you can just walk away from sleeping with her? Don’t you have any sense of responsibility?”
Moments ago, Isabella could still contain her emotions, showing respect and submission. But now, with Joshua showing no signs of acknowledging her as his daughter, she felt rebuffed, and her words lost their restraint.
Joshua’s gaze turned icy as he stared at the agitated Isabella. “Do you know why you’re able to see me here?”
Isabella leaned forward, her hands braced on the coffee table, her eyes-heavy with makeup-staring back at Joshua with
Seeing his stern face, her heart
skipped a beat, and she asked in confusion, “What do you mean?”
Joshua lowered his gaze, picked up his coffee cup, and took a leisurely sip. “If I hadn’t made my whereabouts known, you would have never found me. Do you know why I let you find me?”
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