Chapter 293: Not Backing Down, Coldly Delivering Threats
"Who I am isn’t important. What’s important, Isla Griffith, is that you need to leave Sean Sterling."
The voice on the other end of the line was laced with a bone-chilling coldness, deliberately distorted by a voice changer, making it impossible to identify the speaker.
"Don’t think that just because you managed to ensnare him with your cheap tricks, you can actually force your way into his world."
The person on the other end laughed—a laugh that was disdainful, sharp, and caustic. Every word stabbed at Isla Griffith’s hidden vulnerabilities, dripping with condescending contempt and vicious mockery.
"With your have-not family background, you aren’t even worthy of carrying the Sterlings’ shoes. How dare you dream of marrying the Sterling family’s only son? Being with Sean Sterling will only drag him down and make him the laughingstock of all of Aston."
"If you have any sense of shame, you’ll know what’s good for you, preserve what little dignity you have left, and leave Sean Sterling for good."
The oppressive feeling in the air grew heavier, the tense, heavy atmosphere almost suffocating.
Isla Griffith’s body went rigid. Her chest heaved, and a crimson fury surged in her eyes.
The hand at her side clenched into a fist, her nails digging into her palm. The pain kept her grounded, preventing her from being led by the nose.
"You go to all this trouble to call and force me away... Are you afraid I’ll steal your spot? Or are you just someone who wasn’t good enough to stay by Sean Sterling’s side, so now all you can do is hide in the shadows and pull these pathetic little stunts?"
"You..." The person on the phone’s composure cracked, their voice turning shrill.
Isla Griffith cut her off, her tone cold. "You have the guts to threaten me, but not to say who you are? You don’t even dare to use your real voice. How pathetic."
"Are you too hideous to show your face, or are you just scared of Sean Sterling finding out you’re doing these disgusting things behind his back?"
The person on the other end was choked into silence. Through the voice changer came heavy, ragged breaths, as if Isla had struck their most secret nerve, causing them to completely lose their composure.
"Isla Griffith, don’t push your luck."
The shrill voice nearly pierced her eardrums.
"I’m giving you one last chance to save face. If I have to expose all your dirty little secrets and let all of Aston know how you unscrupulously latched onto Sean Sterling, you won’t even have the right to stand in front of him anymore."
Isla Griffith showed no fear. Instead, she slowly unclenched her fist. Some of the crimson faded from her eyes, replaced by an icy indifference.
"My secrets? Hah. I haven’t stolen anything, I haven’t robbed anyone. My relationship with Sean Sterling is completely open and honest."
"But you, on the other hand, are hiding in the gutter playing these childish games. Besides attacking me with things like family status and dignity, what else can you do?"
She paused, the corner of her mouth curling into a mocking smile.
"The only reason you care so much about the Sterlings’ social standing and are so afraid of me staying by his side is because everything you have is propped up by your connection to the Sterling family."
"But I’m different. When I, Isla Griffith, stand beside Sean Sterling, it’s never been because of family background. It’s because he wants me there, of his own free will."
"You’re lying!" The caller completely lost control, the voice changer failing to conceal their hysterical frenzy.
"Sean Sterling is just temporarily bewitched by you! Sooner or later, he’ll see a broke, pathetic woman like you for who you really are. You don’t deserve him! You’ll never deserve him!"
Isla Griffith scoffed, her powerful presence overwhelming the caller.
"Who the hell do you think you are? Whether or not I’m good enough for Sean is none of your damn business."
"I’m going to tell Sean about this call. You’d better cover your tracks, because if we find out who you are, I promise you, it won’t end well for you."
The caller was clearly stunned by that last sentence, and the anger in their heart burned even hotter.
"Besides tattling, what else can you do?"
"What, scared already? You’re all bark and no bite. I can’t believe someone with so little nerve would dare to call and threaten people. I’m embarrassed for you," Isla Griffith shot back mercilessly.
The person on the other end screamed, "Isla Griffith, you just wait! I’ll make you pay for this!"
"I’ll be waiting right here. Come and get me if you have the guts. I’d love to see what kind of pathetic little goblin you are. If you don’t show, you’re a coward."
With that, before the other person could respond, Isla Griffith hung up the phone.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP...
"AHH! DAMN IT!!!"
The person on the other end furiously smashed their phone on the ground.
The sound of the screen shattering echoed through the room. Their face was twisted with venom, their eyes filled with resentment and hate.
Isla Griffith’s fingers went slack, and the phone slipped from her palm onto the sofa with a soft thud.
The cold, hard facade she had maintained during the confrontation collapsed the moment she hung up, deflating like a punctured balloon.
The hand at her side was still trembling slightly—not from fear, but because the emotions she had forcibly suppressed were finally bursting forth, crashing over her heart like a tidal wave.
The crescent-shaped red marks in her palm still ached faintly, the lingering pain a reminder that the phone call, and those cruel, vicious words, had not been a hallucination.
’With your have-not family background, you aren’t even worthy of carrying the Sterlings’ shoes.’
’Being with Sean Sterling will only drag him down and make him the laughingstock of all of Aston.’
Even though she had shot back a retort for every single one of those words, they had still hit their mark, piercing her deepest insecurities.
It wasn’t that Isla Griffith didn’t feel insecure.
She had known from the very beginning that there was a world of difference between her background and Sean Sterling’s—an entire world that separated them, filled with the faint but constant scrutiny and gossip of Aston’s high society.
She had been holding on, fueled by a stubborn refusal to admit defeat. She told herself that love had nothing to do with social standing, that Sean loved her for who she was. But arrows shot from the shadows were always the most painful.
Isla Griffith wrapped her arms around herself limply. Her long hair fell forward, hiding the red at the corners of her eyes and concealing the wave of vulnerability that washed over her.
It wasn’t that she wasn’t heartbroken; she just refused to show weakness to someone hiding in the gutter.
The more they tried to trample her into the dust, the straighter she had to stand, the colder her expression had to be as she threw their venom right back at them.
She couldn’t lose. She couldn’t be the first to break down in the face of such a vile threat.
But only Isla Griffith herself knew that with every forceful rebuttal she made, her heart had been pounding in her chest.
’Was she scared?’
Yes, she was terrified. She was terrified the rumors would reach Sean’s ears, and even more terrified that she really would become a burden and drag him down.
But so what if she was scared?
She loved Sean, and he had chosen her.
This relationship wasn’t just her clinging to him; their feelings were mutual. He had willingly pulled her into his world.
Why should she have to back down in disgrace just because of someone else’s malice? Why?!
Isla Griffith slowly raised a hand to cover her burning eyes. No tears slipped through her fingers, only a stubbornness that had been pushed to its absolute limit.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, pushing down the anger, the sense of injustice, and the anxiety churning in her chest.
’Telling him isn’t weakness. It’s protecting myself, and it’s respecting our relationship.’
’I can hide my hurt, but I can’t hide the danger.’
’Sean has a right to know that someone is using despicable methods to plot against me and hurt me.’
’I won’t run away and give the caller exactly what they want. And I certainly won’t fall apart over a few threats.’
’Sean and I will face this together, and we’ll drag whoever is hiding in the gutter out into the light.’
And so, Isla Griffith picked up her phone and, without hesitation, dialed Sean Sterling’s number.
The phone had barely rung twice before it was answered.
But the voice that came through was not Sean Sterling’s familiar, deep tone. Instead, it was a woman’s voice, tinged with a noble aloofness and a hint of scrutiny.
"Ms. Griffith, what business do you have calling my son?"