Isabelle took a step back, shaking her head firmly at Mikayla with an icy expression. “Mikayla, I’m grown now, not a little kid anymore! I know what I’m doing, and I don’t need you to teach me. And I don’t like how you act so bossy, trying to snatch things out of my hands just because we’re friends. Even if we’re close and even if our families are allies, you still have to respect me!”

Mikayla stared at her in disbelief, as if she were looking at a stranger. She could hardly recognize this version of Isabelle, and anger immediately surged through her chest until she felt like she would explode.

“Isabelle, what did you just say? Say that again! Repeat what you just said to me! You’re saying I don’t respect you? And you’re willing to turn on me over Andrew?”

Never in her life had she expected Isabelle to react like this, and it was all Andrew’s fault. Isabelle had always been so simple-minded, so pure. Yet now, she seemed like a completely different person. She was protecting Andrew, defending him at every turn, and even snapping at her own friend because of him.

Mikayla gritted her teeth in fury, tempted to slap Isabelle across the face. However, what she wanted even more was to drag Andrew out and demand to know exactly what he had done to Isabelle.

“Mikayla, I didn’t mean it like that. I just hope you won’t be like my dad, being so strict with me and trying to make all my decisions for me!” Isabelle kept her head down, her small body tense, and it was clear she felt just as upset. She continued, “You all treat me like a child, like some naive idiot who doesn’t know or understand anything. But in truth, I’ve seen more than you think, and I’ve understood plenty. It’s just that most of it never interested me, and I simply didn’t care. I’ll say it one more time: I’m not a kid anymore. I know what I’m doing.”

Mikayla said coldly, “Fine, I can’t control you anymore… You’re so high and mighty now. Then answer me this: do you know that Andrew is Mr. Goodman’s senior? That he’s that ninth-grade supreme alchemist. You know all that, right?”

Isabelle looked surprised. “Of course I know. Not only do I know, but I told you before. I told you I knew who that ninth-grade supreme alchemist was, and it was Andrew. But you didn’t believe me. You thought I was messing with you, joking around, and then you stopped listening and just walked away. You can’t really blame me for that, can you?”

Seeing Isabelle’s innocent expression, Mikayla ground her teeth in frustration. “Fine, I was blind before and didn’t listen to you, treating your words like garbage. One last question. Between me and Andrew, who do you choose?”

Isabelle frowned. “Mikayla, what do you mean by that?”

Mikayla replied coldly, “Exactly what it sounds like. You’ve been secretly doing all these things for Andrew, and who knows how far things have already gone between you two. Belle, we’re friends, and I’ve never once mistreated you. But seeing you like this… it really breaks my heart.”

Isabelle shouted back, “Mikayla, what have I done to you? Haven’t I always treated you well enough? I even shared the complete cultivation method for Awakened Reaper’s Wrath with you. What more do you want from me?”