Isabel comes home early in the morning and catches her wealthy husband Paul with his mistress Jane. Ignoring this, Paul boldly brings Jane into their home. Paul is powerful and dangerous. Isabel cannot leave, but soon shows her strength in fighting him.
Isabel enters her home laden with bags and gifts to surprise Paul for his birthday. Her excitement faded when she heard voices from their upstairs bedroom and saw women’s clothes on the floor.
Isabel climbed the stairs with her heart pounding frantically. Her world crumbled when she peeked through the ajar bedroom door and saw her husband sharing a bed with another woman….
‘Do you want to do it again?’ – Paul asked the woman, Jane. asked Paul to the woman, Jane, without noticing Isabel.
When he finally saw her as she dropped her bags in shock, he was calm as a cucumber.
‘Hi Jane, this is my wife, Isabel,’ he said calmly.
‘Hi,’ Jane replied, oblivious to the fact that she was in a married man’s bed.
‘This is crazy!’ exclaimed Isabel. ‘How could you…’
‘Relax,’ said Paul. ‘Why are you back so early?’
‘She’s wearing my dressing gown, Paul, and she’s in our bed!’ exclaimed Isabel, pointing at Jane. ‘And do you care why I came in early?’
‘You said you’d be back by seven. It’s not even 5:30 yet,’ Paul said, evading a reply. ‘Get your stuff and get lost for a couple of hours.’
‘Yeah, you’ve got ten seconds to disappear, sweetheart,’ Jane added as she confidently went to bed.
Isabel was devastated. She decided to break up with Paul for good and took her spare clothes from the guest room.
As she was packing her things downstairs in the living room, she was distracted by a voice.
‘Why are you packing?’ asked Paul angrily.
‘I’m leaving you! The children are staying with me!’ said Isabel. She would never see this man’s face again in her life!
‘Leaving me? And where exactly are you going?’ Paul taunted her, reminding her that she had nowhere to go. Her mother was dead, Isabel had fled her hometown with Paul, and she had no friends.
‘And Julia and John? What will happen to them when I block your cards?’ – threatened Paul, using their children. threatened Paul, using their children against her.
‘You have a mistress. What could you possibly want with me and my children?’ exclaimed Isabel.
‘They are my children too. And don’t forget, darling, without me you are nothing,’ Paul said cruelly. He was right. Paul was a powerful man, he had connections, and he was rich. And Isabel? She was a simple housewife who had sacrificed her life, career and dreams to be near her husband and children.
‘I’m leaving, Paul, and that’s final!’ – she said, gathering her courage.
‘If you want to leave, be my guest. But you’ll never see your children again,’ he threatened.
Hearing this, she froze in place. If he said she would never see her children again, then he would go to any lengths to make it happen. Thank heavens the children were asleep at a friend’s house and wouldn’t see it.
Isabel decided to stay, but she wouldn’t let Julia and John be a part of it, so she sent them to summer camp the next day. Because of the ongoing holidays, they insisted on going to camp. She knew Paul hadn’t been home all night; the last time she heard him was around midnight when he left with Jane.
As Isabel was preparing breakfast, Paul and Jane returned, acting as if nothing had happened.
‘Hello wife,’ Paul chirped. ‘Darling, how are you?’
‘Hi Isabel,’ Jane replied arrogantly.
‘Baby, where are your manners? Say hello to our guest,’ Paul said to Isabel, who only glanced at him.
‘I suppose you’re in no mood for pleasantries. Then set the table for three, please,’ Paul said as he gently led Jane over to the dining table.
Isabel felt hurt to see her husband with another woman, but said nothing. Yes, Paul was a lowlife, but he was the man she had once loved with all her heart.
During breakfast, Paul bragged about his business deals and connections, trying to upset Isabel, but she didn’t react. Then he suggested something shocking.
‘We should make this a regular thing. Jane should move in with us,’ Paul announced.
‘What?’ exclaimed Isabel.
‘At last the spectator has spoken. What, is there a problem?’ Paul looked at Isabel. ‘I thought so,’ he smirked, ignoring her.
‘I think that’s a great idea! Will you help me move my things, dear?’ asked Jane to Paul.
‘Sure, why not?’
Isabel felt even more betrayed. She and her children deserved better!
When Paul and Jane left the house, Isabel called a divorce lawyer named Charles. She found him on the Internet. She was nervous, but explained that she needed help to keep the children safe from Paul.
‘I’m sorry, Mrs Yeats, but I can’t take your case. Your husband is too powerful and dangerous. Everyone knows him,’ Charles explained.
‘Please, I beg you,’ she cried.
‘All right. Find something against him and call me back. I have to go,’ Charles advised and hung up.
How am I supposed to do that now, she thought. When Jane moved into the house with her luggage that evening, Isabel felt even more lost. Would she really be stuck in an unhappy marriage where she would have to put up with her husband’s mistress? Isabel couldn’t sleep that night, thinking about how to protect her children and herself from Paul.
The next morning she was making coffee in the kitchen when Jane entered the room.
‘Coffee?’ asked Isabel, in the back of her mind she had a plan forming.
‘Yes, of course,’ said Jane, sitting down at the table.
‘That’s my mackintosh you’re wearing, isn’t it?’ remarked Isabel.
‘Yes, it’s going to rain,’ Jane replied, not the least bit concerned.
Isabel handed Jane a cup of coffee.
‘I hope it’s not poisoned,’ Jane muttered. Isabel took a sip from her cup and smiled.
‘What’s the matter?’ asked Jane, sensing something was wrong.
‘I know why you’re with Paul. It’s because of his money, isn’t it?’ said Isabel.
‘Paul loves me,’ Jane argued, but there was uncertainty in her voice, which was exactly what Isabel needed.
‘Paul only loves himself. Help me and I’ll make you rich,’ Isabel offered. ‘I don’t want his money. I want freedom for myself and my children. Once he leaves me, we’ll split whatever I get. 50/50.’
Jane seemed to be deep in thought. ‘Well…let’s make it 70/30, and I’m in agreement.’
Isabel paused. ‘Okay, it’s a deal,’ she finally agreed.
Two days later, Jane and Isabel met again to discuss their plan. ‘Do you have any evidence against him?’ – Isabel asked. asked Isabel. asked Isabel. Paul was away, and she knew there was no better time for them to discuss it.
But then there came a voice that was strikingly familiar and completely unexpected. ‘What?’
Isabel’s heart raced and her body jerked forward in shock and disbelief. It was Paul. She hadn’t heard him come back.
‘Paul,’ she said breathlessly, turning to face him.
‘Did you think I was going to help you? Thanks to Paul’s connections, I can get so much more!’ Jane smirked.
‘Paul, whatever she told you, it’s not true,’ Isabel stammered, trying to salvage the situation.
‘Give us a minute, Jane,’ Paul said calmly, and as soon as she left, his demeanour changed dramatically.
‘I won’t beat you or give you a weapon to use against me, but I promise to make your life unbearable!’ Paul hissed, his face a few centimetres from Isabel’s, his breath hot with rage.
‘Paul, please. I promise to be obedient from now on!’ Isabel pleaded, her voice trailing off and tears running down her cheeks. She knelt down in front of him, her body trembling. ‘Please don’t tear me away from my children!’ – she whispered.
A look of cruelty appeared on Paul’s face as he looked into Isabel’s tear-filled eyes. ‘Thank you. Thank you for the offer. Until I decide what to do with you, you are not to go outside,’ he stated coldly, turned and left the room.
In a last attempt to escape her husband’s clutches, Isabel fumbled for the phone and called Charles. But he refused to help her.
‘Don’t ever call that number again! I don’t want to endanger myself and my family!’ said Charles and hung up. Isabel froze in place. What was she going to do now? She realised that Charles was probably threatened by Paul.
As the weeks passed, Isabel’s situation only got worse. Paul was watching her every move, and Jane was acting like the lady of the house. Isabel couldn’t even see her children when they returned.
‘Don’t worry, I told them you were sick. They’ll see you when you’re better,’ Paul told her.
Feeling trapped and desperate, Isabel begged Paul to let her see the children. ‘Paul, why are you doing this? I’ll let you be with Jane if that’s what you want!’ – she shouted.
‘Jane is just my assistant. She’s here to help me take care of you,’ Paul replied mockingly, rejecting her offer.
Feeling angry and helpless, Isabel could only cry in frustration. But when Paul left with Jane for work a few days later, Isabel decided she’d had enough. She devised a plan to escape and find evidence against Paul.
Disguised as a maid, Isabel sneaked out of the mansion and went to Paul’s office. She used the key card she had discreetly taken from the house to get inside and began searching his desk for anything forbidden.
While she was going through some papers, her phone rang again and again. When she finally checked it, her face went pale. It was Paul calling her. She looked up and noticed the cameras in his office.
She panicked, realising that Paul was aware of her presence. She quickly took pictures of all the documents she found.
Isabel sent the photos to the police, the media and everyone she knew, hoping someone would help her. She then hurried to leave, but saw Paul entering with security. She didn’t realise that he was just that day returning from a trip.
‘Take her! She’s my wife, and I can confirm that she’s crazy. She broke into my office and who knows what damage she did to the files I keep there,’ Paul ordered the officials behind him.
‘Paul, what are you doing? You know I’m not crazy! Stop this!’ shouted Isabel as the guards grabbed her. Her eyes darted around the lobby looking for any sign of help or sympathy from those around her, but all she got was Jane’s smug triumphant smirk.
At that moment Isabel was seized with despair. She was sure that this was the end – that Paul would make her disappear into the obscurity of the mental institution.
But just as this grim realisation settled in her mind, the front doors swung open and the police burst into the hall. ‘Mr Yeats, you’re under arrest,’ one of the officers said, handcuffing him. The guards stopped, unsure of what to do with Isabel.
Watching Paul being led away by the police officers, Isabel couldn’t help but wonder who had acted so quickly. She knew that someone had gone through the documents she had sent out and helped organise Paul’s arrest. But who?
And then she noticed a familiar figure standing next to the police cars Paul was being taken away in. Charles, the same lawyer who had insistently asked her never to contact him again.
‘I guess he is a good man after all,’ Isabel pondered quietly, and her heart burst with gratitude. As she stepped outside, she couldn’t help but notice the shock on Jane’s face. ‘I should have taken you up on your offer,’ she muttered loud enough for Isabel to hear.
Isabel paused and turned to face her. ‘I wouldn’t give it to you. You don’t deserve a fraction of my money,’ she replied, her voice smooth and filled with newfound strength.
As she left, Isabel felt a sense of release she hadn’t felt in a long time. She had fought against insurmountable odds and emerged victorious. She would start a new life with her children, and this time it would be in her hands, not Paul’s or Jane’s.
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