Filed to story: Returning to Her Not-So-Poor Family
Off to the side, Serena felt left out. It was supposed to be her boarding the plane, yet here was Mirabella stealing the spotlight, deliberately mentioning that Romeo’s car was waiting.
It made everyone revolve around her!
“Grandma Belinda, I’m going to miss you all,” Suddenly, Serena burst into tears and hugged Belinda.
“Oh, you silly kid, why the tears?” Belinda could only offer comfort, “It’s not like we’re parting forever.”
“Even though I know you will be coming to Reflections Villa in a few days, these moments we’ve shared have been so precious that I can’t bear to part with you for even a second.””Then stay with us. We can have a little chat together,” Eunice suggested with a smile, her red lips curling into a warm and lovely expression.
Serena quickly countered, “But mom and dad are waiting for me at home, and I can’t be an ungrateful daughter. Grandma, grandpa, uncle, aunt, you’ll come visit soon, okay? I’ll be waiting at home for you.”
“Don’t worry, dear. Give me a few days to wrap up some work, and I’ll definitely come to see you.”
Eunice’s smile was beautiful, but Serena could feel a bit dreadful.
“I better board the plane now.”
Almost afraid to linger, Serena said her goodbyes and hurried up the airplane stairs.
Eunice watched her leave and suddenly called out, “Serena.”
Serena stopped in her tracks and turned back awkwardly, managing a stiff smile, “Aunt Eunice.”
“Remember, I will come for you, and when I do, you better not be sneaking off on some overseas adventure with friends.”
Serena felt a chill.
“We’ll all be there,” Darren added, waving cheerfully, oblivious to Eunice’s insinuations.
Serena forced a smile, “Okay, I’ll wait for you.”
Eunice blew her a kiss.
Serena felt her legs go weak, and she gripped the handrail, forcing another smile, “Goodbye.”
“Goodbye!” They all waved back.Finally, as the plane took off, Serena let out a sigh of relief, feeling like she had just survived a close call.
Meanwhile, Mirabella climbed into Romeo’s car and apologized, “I had promised to meet your friends, but I nearly forgot that tomorrow is Grandpa Eugene’s birthday.”
“No worries,” Romeo took her hand, his gaze tender, “they’re just a bunch of old pals. Besides, they’ll all be heading back for the holidays soon enough. We can meet up then.”
Mirabella glanced at him, “Have you finished up everything on your end at Dawnstar?”
“Yeah, all done. I’ve set up a new full-spectrum production company. We can develop and produce our own movies and TV shows. Just yesterday, we got the green light for twelve popular TV series and sixteen movies.”
Romeo shared details of his work, “Also, one of the subsidiaries acquired two resort hotels and three forest hotels, all nestled in the woods on the outskirts of the city. They cover nearly a thousand acres of forest and are surrounded by rich tourist resources, like Dragon and Tiger Cave and Mystic Mountain, as well as other natural and cultural sites. We’re looking to create a massive resort area.”
Mirabella nodded, listening as he continued.
“And I’ve also acquired three pharmaceutical companies.”
Mirabella chuckled, “Today I saw that your pharmaceutical company made a generous donation of 10
million dollars in essential medicines and another 10 million in immunotherapy drugs to impoverished areas within the country.”
That was quite the grand gesture.
Immunotherapy drugs were particularly beneficial for the elderly with respiratory infections and kids who suffered frequent respiratory ailments, boosting their immunity and reducing the recurrence of respiratory diseases during the winter. While the essential medicines included cold remedies, gastrointestinal drugs, and more. You could say he had thought of everything.
Romeo gave her a tender look, “I’m just following the lead of my fiancée. Didn’t you donate 3 million dollars worth of medicines to the Red Cross this month?”
“How did you know?”
That was a donation Mirabella had made under the name of her pharmaceutical company, and she believed nobody else knew about it.
“Because I know you founded that company.” Romeo said with a smile, “You always concerned about the welfare of the people.”
Before he could finish, his phone rang.
It was one of his friends calling.Pressing the answer button on the steering wheel, a male voice came through.
“Romeo, Natalie Monroe heard you’re heading back home and insisted I make this call.” The voice was cut off as the phone was snatched away.
“Romeo, you’re leaving without even telling me. What’s the rush?” The girl’s voice was whiny and a bit petulant, “You hardly come to Dawnstar, and we’ve only hung out once, and now you’re leaving again!
Where are you now, still in Dawnstar?”
Mirabella watched Romeo with a curious expression, her gaze full of intrigue.
Romeo feared a misunderstanding, “Let Sebastian answer the phone.”
“Tell me where you are. Are you still in Dawnstar? Send me your location; I’ll come to you!”
“I’m with my fiancée right now. It’s not convenient,” Romeo bluntly refused.
“So what you’re saying is, if your fiancée isn’t here, it would be convenient? Our relationship isn’t something secret. Didn’t you say you think of me like a sister? Can’t a sister come to see you off? Your fiancée isn’t the jealous type, right? I don’t care. If you won’t tell me, I have my ways of finding out where you are.”
“If you’re not going to say anything, I’m hanging up.”
Without waiting for the other person to finish, Romeo cut the call.
“She’s just a friend’s sister, and we hardly ever talk. Please don’t get the wrong idea.”
Romeo explained, glancing at Mirabella nervously multiple times, worried she might get the wrong impression.
Mirabella looked ahead, her lips curling playfully, “I know, just a chance meeting.”Romeo hurried to clarify, “It was because a buddy of mine was having a birthday bash. I didn’t expect her to be there. She’s usually at boarding school and hardly ever joins our get-togethers.”
“You seem pretty well-informed.”
“It’s not like that.”
Before Romeo could finish his sentence, his car’s display lit up with an incoming call from an unfamiliar number with no saved contact name.
“Is that her cell?” Mirabella teased with a chuckle, “You’ve got it memorized?”
He hesitated to pick up. Knowing who it was without a saved name meant the number was etched in his heart.
“No, you’ve got it all wrong. She’s just…she’s never changed her number since we were kids,” Romeo quickly dismissed the call.
“So you’ve known each other since childhood?”
Mirabella’s meaningful glance made Romeo slam on the brakes, eager to clarify, “We knew of each other, but weren’t close, totally unrelated.”
“She’s your buddy’s younger sister, right? You said you knew her number by heart. Grew up together but still no connection?”
“That’s ’cause a long time ago, my folks looked after her for a while.”
Watching Mirabella’s knowing nod, Romeo grew more anxious, “Not like that, her family had some troubles.”
He grabbed Mirabella’s hand, pleading with his eyes, “Anyway, they moved to Dawnstar after that, and we barely saw each other once a year.”
“That’s kind of a shame.”
“Bella,” Romeo was truly frantic now, “don’t get it wrong. Should I block her to make you happy?””That might not be enough, given she’s your friend’s sister,” Mirabella feigned a dilemma.
“Then I’ll change my number.”
“No can do, your current number’s tied to so many things, like bank accounts, WhatsApp.”
“I can update all that.”
“What if you miss something?”
“I’ll keep the old number inactive, just shut it down, and if I ever need it, I’ll turn it back on.” Romeo was desperate for her understanding, willing to do anything she asked.
“And if she finds out your new number? You’ll change it again?”
“I’ll make things clear with her.”
“Weren’t things clear already? You said she’s just like a sister to you.”
“I don’t even have sisterly affection for her, Bella.” Romeo was at a loss for words, “Baby, honey~”
Before meeting Mirabella, he was always reserved, hardly the type to spill his guts like this.
Seeing his distressed face, Mirabella couldn’t help but laugh.
“You’re joking around?” Romeo finally caught on.
“Let’s get moving. Don’t block the road.”
Although other drivers wouldn’t dare mess with his license plate, it was still a public road after all.
