Filed To Story: Returning to Her Not-So-Poor Family
“She’s good at putting on a show in front of others, but she often bullies Bella in private.” Myrna glanced at her phone, really out of time now. “Louisa, I really have to go. You’ll have to consider this.”
After all, she wasn’t officially part of the family yet and it wasn’t her place to say too much.”Come for dinner with Chasel when you can.” Louise watched her leave and then returned to the main house. Looking around, she wondered, where was her precious daughter?
“She had something come up suddenly and went upstairs to handle some work.” Kenneth approached Louise quietly. “Honey, maybe it’s time we cool things down a bit.”
Since Ms. Kiki had stepped in and filed a complaint, the tide of public opinion was turning. The situation was now looking up for Bella, and with the heat dying down, nobody could claim she had paid to make the scandal go away.
“We could still hire some online supporters to steer Bella’s image in an even better direction.”
“I need to talk to you,” Louisa’s voice laden with concern.
“What is it?”
Louisa asked the designers to continue tweaking their drafts and then led Kenneth out to the garden.
She recounted everything Myrna had told her, not leaving out a single detail.
Kenneth was hit like a ton of bricks, seemingly unable to believe that the girl he once thought of as his precious daughter was capable of such deceit.
Meanwhile, Serena had been waiting since 3 in the afternoon. It was now past 5 o’clock, and the designers still hadn’t shown up to take her measurements.
Occasionally, she’d pick up her binoculars to spy on the main house, but there was no sign of anyone coming her way.
After a while, she saw the designers leave the mansion and drive off into the distance.
Her heart sank. It seemed her parents, now that they had their own daughter, were showing their true colors, forgetting even her New Year’s outfit on such an important holiday!
So much for fairness, there was no such thing as equality in this family, was there?Weren’t they wealthy? Wasn’t there plenty of money? Couldn’t they afford to have a couple of custom outfits made for her? Or was it that they just didn’t want to spend it?
Now that they had their own daughter, they wanted to save all the best for her.
Just then, her phone buzzed twice. She thought it might be a message from her parents, but when she checked, it was from her old friend Juliet.
“Serena, New Year is coming up, and I can’t get my hands on the new LM collection. Could you do me a solid?” Juliet sent two voice messages, “Their new designs are to-die-for, and I know you guys only wear couture for New Year, and wouldn’t care for ready-to-wear gowns; but for me, it’s so gorgeous it’s driving me insane. I really want it!”
LM, like LV, was a luxury brand, but some of their limited-edition new releases were only available to VIP customers.
In the past, if Serena was willing to help, Juliet could get her hands on a dress that was otherwise unattainable. Because Serena was a long-time VIP with LM, even if there was only one piece of a design left, LM would sell it to her first. Her being the Collins family’s daughter meant her shopping experience mattered a lot to them, given the Collins family’s prestige at home.
“I know it’s just a word from you, and I’ll transfer the money to your card later. In our circle, you’re the ultimate rich and pretty girl, the only one who can pull this off. Truth be told, I’m so envious of you. As the Collins family’s daughter, you get whatever you want. Unlike me, I don’t even have the chance to buy a dress.”
It was moments like these when Serena felt a cut above the rest. Her mood lifted slightly as she forwarded Juliet’s selected design to LM’s customer manager.It wasn’t long before the customer manager replied, “Ms. Serena, did you have your eye on this dress?
This piece has been reserved by Ms. Mirabella, and it’s the only one.”
“You gave her the dress I wanted?” Serena was clearly unhappy.
“Because Ms. Mirabella is our top client at LM, she naturally gets priority.”
“What are you implying?”
“Didn’t Mrs. Collins inform you? You’re no longer a VIP with our brand. Ms. Mirabella has taken your place.”
“What did you just say?” Serena doubted her own eyes, but the message from Giselle was clear;
Mirabella had usurped her status as LM’s VIP.
She was stunned for a moment before asking, “When did this happen?”
“Just now.”
Serena hadn’t expected this. Not only had her mother not allowed those designers to come and tailor clothes for her, she had actually transferred her membership to Mirabella.
“I am now Ms. Mirabella’s personal account manager, and unfortunately, I can no longer continue to serve you, Ms. Serena. Should you become a VIP with our brand again in the future, a new manager will be assigned to you.”
Serena, still in disbelief, shakily attempted to reach out to other high-end brand account managers, only to find out that she was no longer considered a VIP anywhere – only Mirabella was!!
And all of this had just happened; her mother had revoked all her VIP privileges in one fell swoop and handed them to Mirabella!!
[Serena, did you get it all sorted? How much did it cost? With your connections, LM must’ve given you a hefty discount. Thanks so much, you’ve saved me a bundle. Which card should I transfer to?]Reading Juliet’s message, Serena paused for a long while before replying, [Juliet, I just found out that my mom thinks LM is too downmarket for our family’s current status. So, I’m no longer their VIP client.
Sorry about that, you might want to check out other brands.]
Juliet sent back an emoji of astonishment, unable to believe that a brand on par with LV could be considered ‘low-end’ by them.
Were the Collins family on the brink of bankruptcy? Or facing cash flow problems?
Typically, if they found a brand beneath them, they’d simply stop shopping there, but why go to the extent of actively canceling the VIP status? That seemed unnecessary.
But since Serena had said it, Juliet didn’t want to push, and politely dropped the subject after a few courteous exchanges.
Later, Betty came to deliver dinner, and seeing Serena’s mood, she cautiously reported, “The items you ordered online have been delivered, but Mrs. Collins didn’t sign for them as she usually does.”
“What do you mean??” Serena was shocked. The goods she had ordered a few days ago from a high-
end international website had not been signed for by her mother.
In the past, no matter what she purchased, someone always paid for it upon delivery. But now, her mother really had changed!
“Also, the New Year’s gift you picked out, the Ferrari, has been canceled by Mrs. Collins too. The dealership called to ask why, and she said she wanted to get a better one for Ms. Mirabella.”
“What did you say??” Serena was utterly dumbfounded, unable to believe her mother’s blatant favoritism.”And, there’s more.” Betty carefully laid out the dinner, her voice tentative, “Your cards have been frozen.”
“When did this happen? Which cards??” Serena asked, her shock unabated.
Her parents had given her several sub credit cards in the past, always depositing money into them every month, allowing her to buy whatever she wanted.
“Just now.” Betty’s voice trailed off, her gaze flitting over the distressed look on Serena’s face. She didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but honesty prevailed, “It’s all of them.”
“All of them??” Serena was dumbfounded, a silence enveloping her before she could muster another question, “Did they say when they’ll be active again?”
“No.”
Serena hadn’t anticipated this level of austerity. To go without new clothes or shoes was one thing, but to have her cards cut off entirely was a whole different level of punishment.
All she did was bad-mouth Mirabella a little bit. Was that really worth such a severe penalty? Mirabella, the precious daughter who couldn’t stand even the slightest discomfort without someone else paying the price.
And what about Serena? Locked up for days suffering – did her parents spare a single thought for her feelings?
Whether it was anger, grievance, or sheer desperation, something snapped in Serena. She swept her arm across the dinner table, sending plates and cutlery crashing to the floor.
Betty, frightened, bent down cautiously, “Ms. Serena.”
“Get out,” Serena’s voice trembled with emotion.
“But you haven’t eaten.”
“I said get out!”At Serena’s roar, Betty hurried out of the room, leaving Serena alone with her misery and the mess on the floor. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she cycled through laughter and sobs. She couldn’t believe her parents could be so excessive.
Just days before, she’d been roughed up right outside her own home and even suffered a snake bite.
In her rush to apologize to her parents, she tripped and injured herself further. Despite all this, she had made them milk biscuits, and hand-written an apology letter. But they hadn’t asked after her welfare, not even once.
Feverish, she poured over two thousand heartfelt words onto paper, yet received not so much as a punctuation mark in response.
Now, with New Year fast approaching, not only had they refused to let the designer create new outfits for her, but they also canceled her New Year’s gifts and, to add insult to injury, froze all her accounts.
How could her parents be so cruel? Were they trying to make her hate them? Was that it?
That evening, “Couple in Coat” shot up to the third spot on the trending searches.
A social media user had spotted a striking couple at a David concert. They were clad in matching overcoats, their faces obscured by black masks, but even so, their features were stunningly attractive.
Someone had used AI to reconstruct their faces, and although the result was only 70% accurate to the real thing, that 70% caused quite a stir. People couldn’t stop raving about how good-looking the couple was, especially their unmatched elegance.
[Wow, that girl is so classy and charming. Too bad she’s taken.]
[I wish I could have a daughter like her!]
[Is this not my long-lost future daughter-in-law? Our family is in the lighting business, owning three companies and thirty stores. Your prospective hubby is not too hard on the eyes and, most importantly, he’s been single for 22 years straight! If you’re willing to date him, it’s not just him, we will all cherish you like a precious gem. Maybe consider joining our family, eh?]
[Clearly, this is my granddaughter! I’m all alone in this world, but I’ve got a fancy downtown apartment and a retirement fund with a cool six figures in it. Call me ‘Grandma’ and it’s all yours.]
[Why not be my daughter-in-law? Any financial stresses you young folks might have, I’ll support you through and through. I’ll provide the funds and keep my opinions to a minimum. Want to travel? I’ll back you financially. If you have kids and don’t want to be tied down, I’ll hire a nanny and a babysitter. If you prefer not to live with the in-laws, pick any of our other villas and properties as you like. And if you want to sleep till noon, I wouldn’t bat an eyelid. So, what do you say about becoming my daughter-in-law?]
[I wish I had a daughter-in-law like her!]
After finishing her dinner and taking a shower, Mirabella noticed Kenneth and Louisa scrolling through their phones on the couch.
“All these folks vying for my daughter?”
“A measly three companies and they’re trying to snag my girl as their daughter-in-law?”