374 Never Leave Again
âWhy should I keep it down?â Joseph saw that Isabella was shy and joked. âLast night, you kept screaming and even pulled my hair and ears, but I didnât say anything.â
âAre you saying that this is your revenge on me?â
Isabella grabbed Josephâs ear. âLet me down, stupid virgin.â
âHow dare you call me that! Isabella, Iâm gonna throw you away!â
âYou canât do that! Youâre bullying me again!â
âAlright, I wonât bully you. Give me a kiss!â
âItâs embarrassing! Get away from me! Iâm going to see your grandpa!â
Isabella jumped down from Josephâs arms with a smile and ran away. However, only after a few steps, she suddenly heard an explosion, and the ground shook. She was scared and immediately got down on the ground.
âWhat was that?â Isabella said in a panic. âJoseph, did something explode? Whatâs going on? Get down!â
.....
Joseph didnât fluster at all. He proudly walked past Isabella, holding his head up, and said in disdain, âHavenât you heard of gun salutes? How ignorant you are.â
âGun salutes?â
Isabella was stupefied for a moment before she heard a series of explosions again...
Joseph laughed, âTheyâre firing cannons to welcome you home. You are moved to throw yourself to the ground, arenât you? You may rise now. I know you are going to cry again.â
Isabella was stupefied for a moment.
Looking at Josephâs gloating look, Isabella didnât know what to say. The welcoming ceremony was grand and expensive and surprising, but it was not an idea that a normal person would have come up with.
Isabella didnât know how to comment.
Given that Joseph was a thirty-year-old man who had never officially been in a romantic relationship or gotten laid and was slow in emotional intelligence, Isabella figured she shouldnât expect too much from him.
Although the ceremony turned out to be a little scary, it was meant to be romantic. Josephâs action might be a bit weird and shocking, but his good intention should be appreciated. Compared to the past when he always wanted to kill her whenever he saw her, this was big progress.
Thinking of this, Isabella got up from the ground and grabbed Josephâs arm, forcing herself to keep a good mood while walking through the strange passageway with dolls hung on both sides and toward the gate of the main building.
There came a pop.
As soon as they walked past the gate, colorful pieces of paper fell from the sky. The servants in the main building stood on both sides. Led by William, they said in unison, âWelcome home!â
Isabella was stupefied for a moment. Charlie came over and grabbed her hand, happy tears streaming down his face. âIsabella, youâre finally back. Isabella, youâve finally forgiven this bastard Joseph. Thatâs great...â
William also wiped his tears. âMiss Isabella, we miss you so much. Master Wilson has lost weight these days.â
Isabella was moved to tears. Angelina grabbed Isabellaâs hand and said, âDonât stand at the door to shed tears. Itâs a happy event! Isabella is back. We should be excited, shouldnât we?â
Then, Angelina clapped her hands. âEveryone, although Isabella has yet to hold a wedding ceremony with Joseph, sheâs already Josephâs wife as far as weâre concerned. Their wedding is coming soon! You should all respect her as part of this family. Alright, thanks to Isabella, all of you can go to the accountant to collect rewards!â
âThanks! Thatâs wonderful!â
Listening to the happy cheers of the servants, Isabella blushed with embarrassment.
Although she knew that Charlie and Angelina liked her very much, she did not expect that they would treat her like Josephâs wife before the wedding was held. She was so touched that tears welled up in her eyes again.
âAlright, alright. Donât cry.â
Charlie held Isabellaâs hand and said, his face smiling but his tone solemn, âI know that you have been treated unfairly recently. I also know about what happened that day. It was Josephâs fault. He was too careless and smug. If Joseph ever let you down again, just tell me! I promise you that I will teach him a lesson for you!â
Isabella couldnât help but laugh through her tears. She hugged Charlie. âThank you. I will never do anything to worry you again. I will never leave this family again. I will be a good granddaughter-in-law from now on!â
âGood, good! I have a wonderful granddaughter-in-law.â
When Joseph saw how excited Isabella and Charlie were, his eyes softened, a smile curving his lips.
After a grand feast, Isabella went to her bedroom.
Isabella found that her small pink bedroom and Josephâs luxury big bedroom were connected to form a larger one.
All the furnishings had been replaced with new ones. The bed was staggeringly huge. The color of the wallpaper was neither her original pink nor Josephâs silver black. It was light gold.
The new carpet was a light color. Although the entire room was still luxurious, it looked way cozy instead of depressing.
Isabella looked around the huge new bedroom, dazed.
âSince weâre going to get married anyway, I had the two bedrooms connected into one to be our wedding room. The wallpaper and the curtains were picked by William and the designer. Iâm not good at this, so I let them handle it. If you donât like the furnishings, you can change them anytime.â
Joseph stuffed a few rabbit dolls into Isabellaâs arms. Although his voice was gentle, it still sounded a little bit bossy. âYour dolls have been taken to the small room next door. These are your favorite ones. You can place them on the bed. But you will have me at night in the future, so you are not allowed to hug them to sleep.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Isabella sobbed softly.
Joseph was bewildered. âWhatâs wrong?â
He wiped off her tears, feeling panicked. âWhy are you crying? Do you want to sleep with the dolls that much? Fine. Iâll let you hold one to sleep. Donât be upset, alright? But only one per night, because you have to hug me.â
Isabella threw herself into Josephâs arms.
Joseph froze.
âThank you, Joseph.â
Isabellaâs tears wet Josephâs clothes. She held him around the waist tight and sobbed, âIâm not upset. Iâm touched. Joseph, Iâm so touched. This will be my home from now on. Itâs so beautiful and cozy, more beautiful than anything in my dreams. Your grandfather and sister are nice to me. And so are you. And so is everyone else. I love you all. I love you.â
Joseph was relieved to hear that. He leaned over and hugged her, saying softly, âThis will be your home from now on. I will be your home. Grandpa and I and everyone here love you. We wonât let anyone bully you or take you away again. Isabella, I love you too.â