Sweet Flash Marriage with the Restrained Tycoon (Isabelle and Damien) novel Chapter 206

Chapter 206 Truths Unravel

Chapter 206 Truths Unravel

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“That doesn’t mean you get to go after my best friend!” Isabelle gave his shin a light kick under the table.

Brian jerked his leg back in mock alarm. “Hey, come on! I’m your best friend too! Look at you and Damian–if it weren’t for my brilliant meddling, would you two even be where you

are now?”

Later in their chat, it came out that Diana and Brian had gotten together while he was helping her assemble furniture in her new apartment. Brian wanted to make things official but Diana had refused.

Diana’s parents had split when she was young, each starting new families, which left her with little faith in lasting love or marriage.

She was fine with something casual, but she wouldn’t commit to a real relationship.

Brian, however, was different.

But Brian was utterly convinced he had what it took to make Diana fall for him completely.

If he could manage to get Damian and Isabelle–two people once as closed–off as glaciers- together, then why couldn’t he win over Diana?!

“I helped you guys out so much. Don’t you think you owe me one?” Brian asked, his expression turning earnest.

Isabelle let out a soft laugh. “Listen, bestie, you helped because the boss tasked you with it. The boss signs your checks. If I help you, what’s in it for me?”

“Getting what you want and then leaving your wingman out to dry isn’t really your style, is it?” Brian took a slow sip of his drink, his eyes on her. “I’m serious about her.”

“Alright, alright. You’re serious.”

They tapped their glasses together in a tacit agreement.

“Check your six o’clock,” Brian said, having just set his glass down. He tilted his chin slightly, signaling for her to look behind her.

Isabelle put her glass down and turned, her brow instantly knitting together.

Damian was deep in conversation with Frank, but Celeste had somehow slipped into the seat

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beside Damian. She was speaking animatedly, raising her glass toward Frank in a toast.

Damian’s expression was neutral, but Frank, ever the perceptive old fox, picked up on the subtle tension immediately. He simply offered a polite smile and didn’t engage further.

“Guess what the background check turned up,” Brian said, his gaze still fixed on the trio.

Isabelle pulled her chair closer and sat down next to Brian. Side by side, they observed the interaction from a distance.

Brian continued. “The investment firm Celeste championed is connected to her mother’s family. On paper, it was venture capital, but the real play was for equity. Once the company went public and the stock stabilized, those shares were slated to be transferred to Celeste. Her mother’s side funneled a significant amount to their relatives to make it happen.”

No wonder Celeste had been so eager to place her own people in the company. She’d been playing a long game. Being put on such a high pedestal at work had probably made her start believing she was already in charge.

The Snow family only had this one daughter, and both parents indulged her every whim.

“You know what? She’s actually quite shrewd,” Isabelle remarked, leaning back slightly as she watched Celeste’s performative attentiveness from across the room.

Celeste noticed her gaze.

A faint chill traced Celeste’s spine, and she felt a slight, involuntary tremor.

Isabelle’s gaze wasn’t hostile, but her calm, utterly composed demeanor unsettled Celeste on a deep, instinctive level.

She couldn’t understand why this woman–who, in her view, lacked prominent social standing or flashy achievements–unnerved her so profoundly.

It was a primal sort of unease.

Isabelle carried an intangible presence. Even now, a single, quiet look from her was enough to throw Celeste off balance.

This was the first time in her entire professional career that she had experienced such a thing.

Isabelle’s impact was unsettlingly subtle.

“Aren’t you going over there?” Brian asked.

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“Go over for what? To stake a claim?” Isabelle chuckled softly. “If I intervene, it’ll just give her more material to play the victim or amp up her performance.”

Brian gave a slight nod. That tracked,

To Celeste, Isabelle’s lack of reaction would read as supreme confidence–a quality Celeste couldn’t fake even if she tried.

Celeste began to feel a creeping panic.

Everything that had happened recently had put her on high alert. She was convinced Isabelle had been whispering in Damian’s ear, and that her dismissal–or a quiet transfer to some remote subsidiary–could come at any moment.

That was why Isabelle could afford to sit there, looking so unbothered.

She needed to find a way to undermine Isabelle, to create an opening for herself.

“It’s past nine. I should head back to catch my show. I’ll see you all at the ranch the day after tomorrow. Don’t bring an entourage–I’m not much for crowds.” Frank’s eyes briefly flicked to Celeste, his frown deepening slightly.

His meaning was clear to anyone watching.

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