She deliberately avoided him, doing her best to show some improvements here and there in her fight. She assisted the mage in killing two of the enemies.
Arkan58: Now you finally decide to put some little effort, Eye Candy"
Isabelle didn't reply. The mage soon died after she suddenly used the former as a meat shield.
Though her teammates complained, they still focused on the battle. One more enemy fell, and soon two more enemies died.
Now there were just two enemies for Isabelle's team to kill off.

Fortunately, one more enemy was killed, but the price was the death of several of Isabelle's teammates. She was the only one left of her team to face the enemy, Kayne.
It was now a showdown between the two assassins from different teams. A countdown suddenly showed on the screen with their names on either side.
Kaylia (Eye Candy) vs Kayne (TroublemaKer)
Both would compete to be the final possessor of the artefact.
During this countdown, the two opponents could equip their characters fully, for this battle was not a joke. By the time the countdown disappeared, both characters were already in a fighting pose.

The moment the gentle in-game voice said, "Start!" both of them charged at each other.
Kaylia now had nine tails that were roving about as she ran. Kayne now had daggers with toothed edges made of dragon bone.
The instant they collided, a brutal battle commenced, causing the dead team members to express their awe.
Gastin22: "I guess she had the right to be arrogant. Look how well she is holding up against him."
Viyello9: "What if she loses in the end?"

Arkan58: "Shut it, you weak fighter. Don't wish us bad luck when there's finally signs of our team getting the boon."
Viyello9: "You died long before me. Shut it,"
"No need to argue, you guys. Our team's Kayne will finish her. Who wants to bet?" JonnyhK, a member of the enemy team, suddenly said.
Trolly58: "Bullshit! Even if my head caves in, I won't believe it."
Frustration began to creep in when Isabelle felt like she was certain to lose, and she was very unwilling to. So what if he was her crush and family? She had to claim that artefact by all means.

One fun fact about 10v10 was that characters had one or two more spare abilities or skills that usually wouldn't be in even the 5v5 section. These could be swapped with the character's original skills and vice versa.
She traded Kaylia's poison hands skill for another one, 'Undying sword'. As she activated that skill, a golden umbrella appeared in Kaylia's right hand, and she lunged at him. Using her legs to attempt to kick him in the neck or using her tails to strangle him failed, but the umbrella helped her block his attacks.
She had noticed, too, that her opponent hadn't used his ultimate skill even once, and that was related to his flying braid. She would force him to use i,t or she wasn't Eye Candy.

Trading her kicking skills for invisibility, she ran fast and stealthily towards him, jumping at him from behind with her tails set to strangle him, only for him to turn in her direction and use his flying braid to swipe at her.
She quickly used her umbrella to defend against the attack and then jumped at him again.
Her opponent suddenly vanished and appeared behind her in mid-air, with his daggers thrown at her. She didn't notice on time, but her tails received the hit and got cut off. Instantly, a health bar appeared atop Kaylia's head, showing she only had less than half her health to battle.

Her umbrella suddenly became a sword, and she madly fought him, barely giving Kayne a breathing space. Then, trading her sword for poison hands, she used her hands to grab his hair, which immediately withered.
Now, Kayne was bald, yet still good-looking; his reputation as the face of the game wasn't for show.
The bright tattoos on his body became even brighter, and the moment his eyes turned red, a laser beam shot out. Isabelle's character was unable to dodge on time, and her health bar was reduced even more.

Her opponent, on the other hand, having lost his hair, had more than half of his health gone. This to her was a sort of improvement.
Her tails soon came back, and she traded them for needle-like fur strands, and they all headed in Kayne's direction. Kayne dodged some, but his health took a hit.
Now, his hair had returned, but his eyes no longer glowed.
Gastin22": "Gosh, this is the final moment."
JonnyhK: "Finish her, bro!"
Arkan2: "Shut it, you nuisance!"

As the two characters collided one more time, they made frenzied use of their skills against each other, trading when needed.
Each unmissed attack reduced their health bar, but they didn't care. All they wanted was to be the last one standing.
After several more minutes of intense fighting, Kayne's daggers suddenly pierced through Kaylia's body twice and finally, she fell to her knees and collapsed.
At that, the sapphire box opened automatically, and a glowing orb flew towards Kayne, which also entered his head and made his entire body glow.
Kaudrak Team Wins!
Victrone Team Loses!
Devastated by her loss and gaining nothing from the game, Isabelle's anger reached its peak.

"Fuck, Nooo!" She let out a piercing scream, venting her frustration and disappointment. She groaned angrily before pushing the chair away and walking to her bed.
Angry at herself for losing the game, she collapsed with her back on the bed
Just as she was settling into her soft satin sheets, she heard someone bounding up the stairs in haste. Unknowingly to her, her outburst had attracted her concerned stepbrother, Axel, to her room.
Worried for her well-being, he rushed in without even knocking. "What's wrong? I heard you scream." He exclaimed, completely out of breath as he had been running to her room from downstairs.
"What the hell is wrong with you? What if I were indecent? Why would you barge in like that?" Completely ignoring the worry in his tone, Isabelle questioned him about his intrusion, her voice laced with frustration.

"Sorry, I wasn't thinking. I heard you scream, and I thought you hurt yourself. I didn't mean..." he was cut off when Isabelle pointed to the open exit.
"Leave," she retorted, after cutting him off. She was annoyed, and she needed some space to collect herself.
"Look, Izzy, I'm sorry. I did not mean to barge into your room like that. I was just worried after hearing..."
"Just leave, Axel." She uttered calmly, but her anger increased when she looked in his direction, to find him still in the room, "I said leave!" She raised her voice."
After Axel retreated, Isabelle locked the door behind him and slid down, tears streaming down her face.

She placed her face in her hands as she let the tears fall uncontrollably. Alone in her room, Isabelle allowed herself to release her pent-up emotions, crying and letting her frustration wash over her.
The challenges of the game and the encounter with her crush had left her feeling defeated and vulnerable. It seemed that's all she had been doing since the day of the wedding.
And now, to make matters more complicated, Ruby and Grant travelled to the Maldives for their honeymoon, leaving only Axel and Isabelle alone in this huge house.

She had no idea how long they would be gone on their honeymoon, and she didn't want to intrude by sounding sad when she talked to her stepmom during one of their daily calls.
Ruby deserved to be happy, and Isabelle could tell that Grant made her happy. And that was all that mattered. If living alone for a while with Axel was all it would take for things to go smoothly, then she'd willingly do it.
"It can't be that hard," Isabelle muttered to herself before wiping her tears and climbing off her bed.
Choosing to distract herself from her earlier breakdown, she stripped off all her clothes and walked into her bathroom for a quick shower.
After the shower, Isabelle put on a fresh pair of clothes and decided to go downstairs and bake. She missed Ruby's famous banana bread, and luckily for her, she had the recipe.

With a smile plastered on her face, she picked up the essentials she may need, like her phone. Just as she was about to head out of her room, she remembered that she was sharing the house with Axel.
Feeling embarrassed from her earlier outburst directed at him, she almost closed her door and walked back to bed.
But she summoned the courage, walked out and closed the door behind her before walking into the huge kitchen.
Just as she was arranging all the ingredients out on the kitchen island, she heard a door open in the distance, causing her to freeze in her spot and remain silent, so Axel had no idea she was in the kitchen.

A few minutes passed, and Isabelle didn't hear any more movement. So, she proceeded with her baking.
An idea suddenly presented itself as she was about to start preparing; She decided to make some for Axel too, as a way to apologise for lashing out at him earlier.
"Mom's remarriage is a good thing. I just need to learn how to be cordial with Axel," Isabelle thought to herself as hope bloomed in her chest.
But little did she know, this was only the beginning of her journey, one that would test her resilience and morals.