Filed To Story: Returning to Her Not-So-Poor Family
“Sean got hurt while saving me, suffering hits to his head and back, and I think the scar from his heart surgery might have reopened, too.” Mirabella said, then turned to Sean, “I’ll grab you some medicine later. Apply it to your wounds; it should help them heal more quickly and effectively.”
“A little scrape is nothing to me.” Sean hadn’t expected his sister to remember his injuries and felt even more delighted. He affectionately patted her head, “You go on with your work. Don’t worry about me;
I’m tough as nails! I’ll be fine even if a cannon came at me!””Wait for me, Sean,” Mirabella held out her hand, “My tablet, please.”
Sean immediately handed over the tablet computer he was holding.
Watching his sister walk away, Chasel couldn’t help but ask, “What’s going on here?”
His sister and Sean shared a life-and-death experience!
Does that mean her bond with Sean is even deeper than his?
“Tell me about the school incident first, and then I’ll fill you in on what happened between Bella and me.”
Sean had heard them mention the school incident and was curious, even a bit regretful that he hadn’t spent more time with his sister at home, missing out on creating more memorable moments.
Mirabella had barely set foot back in her room as her phone buzzed with a call from Romeo.
“What’s up?” Romeo hadn’t heard from his girl in ages.
She recounted the day’s events as she told him, “Now, I’m working on some audio editing.”
“Alright, you carry on,” Romeo said, reluctant to interrupt her flow. “I’ll call you back later.”
“OK.”
After she hung up, Romeo’s gaze lingered on the screen.
His grandparents and parents had sent him numerous messages, incessantly asking if he had invited Bella over for the McMillian family’s dinner, whether Bella had accepted, whether she had any other holiday plans, whether they could take Bella on a trip abroad, what to get for her gift, and what she’d been into lately.
But they hadn’t received any replies from Romeo. And Phillip was the first to call.
“What on earth are you busy with?” Philip couldn’t wait to see Mirabella!
“I’ll ask Bella once she’s done,” Romeo replied.
As soon as Phillip heard Bella was busy, he said, “The New Year is just around the corner, and the sweet girl is still swamped? Is it work-related? And you, as her fiancé, can’t even help her out and just waited around! What about all the effort the McMillian family has put into training you over the years?
You can’t even take some of her workload? That’s not what I’d call a competent fiancé!”
Romeo was speechless.”It’s already so late in this month! And she’s so young to be carrying such heavy burdens,” Phillip sighed, feeling sorry for her. “We can’t just tell her to drop everything and live a life of leisure or she would find life meaningless. How can we get her to take a break, to live for herself?”
If she were willing to live it up and spend money without a care, Romeo would be thrilled.
But he knew Bella’s nature; she would never stop on her own.
“She knows her limits. Once she’s done, I’ll talk to her.”
“Just remind her not to overwork, to stay hydrated, and to have someone bring her some fruit or something. Don’t let her wear herself out! The New Year is almost here.”
Phillip went on with his advice and before hanging up, he sighed to his wife, “The girl’s still busy, perhaps we should encourage our contacts to place some larger orders after the holidays, let her earn a bit more, a bit faster.”
Perhaps then, Bella would hit her target and take a breathe?
Even a few days’ rest would be something!
Romeo was about to tell the old man not to interfere with Bella’s work when the line went dead, leaving only the dial tone.
After finishing her audio work, Mirabella barely had a moment to herself before she heard an urgent knocking at her door.
“Ms. Bella, the old master fainted from anger upon hearing about Serena’s actions…”
Mirabella opened the door, confused. She thought her grandfather had known about Serena’s misdeeds days ago, why would he suddenly pass out now?”It’s Bernard and Cornelia, they’ve arrived,” said the breathless servant.
Mirabella had an inkling of what was happening and hastened downstairs.
The servant followed. Still panting, she added, “The old master and his wife have been here over an hour. Chasel and Sean said you were upstairs dealing with things, so we didn’t call you. They wanted to wait until you were done to invite you down.”
But they hadn’t anticipated that the old couple would react so strongly upon hearing Serena’s misdeeds —Bernard with fainting due to anger, and Cornelia with ongoing silent tears.
In the living room.
A crowd gathered around Bernard.
“Grandpa, please, wake up.” Chasel’s tone was filled with concern and worry.
“With your level of mental fortitude, why bother to watch the video?” Sean hadn’t expected the old man to be so frail that he’d pass out right after the video ended.
Next to them, Cornelia closed her eyes in grief, letting her tears flow unchecked.
“Granny, don’t cry over it. Let’s just pretend we never had that granddaughter. Shedding tears for someone like that isn’t worth it,” Belinda Griffith consoled her, patting her back empathetically.
Cornelia was feeling too upset and too angry.
She had thought their granddaughter’s return would add warmth and joy to the household. But she could never have imagined… never in her wildest dreams, that Serena could do such heinous things behind their backs!
Had they not seen the video today, they’d have remained unaware of the hardships Bella had endured!
At that moment, one of the sharp-eyed servants spotted Mirabella, as if seeing a beacon of hope, her eyes lighting up.
“Ms. Bella’s here!”
Everyone turned as Mirabella made her entrance, her strides brisk yet graceful. Despite rushing, her cool and confident presence still managed to turn heads.”Is Granny here?” Mirabella smiled warmly at Cornelia. Not having time for a catch-up, she knelt beside the couch, her delicate and fair fingers checking Grandpa Bernard’s pulse, “It is caused by vascular compression from emotional stress.”
Swiftly opening her medical kit, she selected a fine needle and expertly located the corresponding pressure point.
After a few pricks, and a short wait, Bernard slowly opened his eyes.
Everyone crowded around him, their faces alight with joy.
“Ms. Bella’s amazing. Just a few needles and he’s alright.”
“Mr. Collins is awake!”
“Grandpa, you’re finally up.”
As Bernard’s blurry vision cleared and he recognized Mirabella, his emotions overwhelmed him again, and tears streamed down his face.
“My child, this family has wronged you.” he grasped Mirabella’s hand, visibly shaken.
“Grandpa, please take deep breaths. Your health is what’s most important,” Mirabella soothed him gently, “This family hasn’t wronged me. On the contrary, I’ve received so much care and warmth here I can’t even count. The ones who did wrong are Serena, Erik, and Martha. They’ve been fanning the flames, leading her down the wrong path. There’s no need for self-blame; this isn’t your fault.”
“If we hadn’t been so blind to people’s true natures, you wouldn’t have suffered here for so long, my poor granddaughter.”Bernard, ordinarily resolute, couldn’t help but embrace Mirabella, crying like a child, “We’re so sorry, we’ve been fools, keeping such people close. You must be so upset, my child, I’m so sorry.”
Mirabella patted his back gently, “I’m not the one who should be upset. Serena is the one who should be. She had everything going for her but she squandered it. Now she must be filled with regret.”
“It’s freezing out—be careful not to get your tears on Bella’s clothes.” Sean stepped in and separated them, “What’s the big deal, huh? It’s just realizing we’ve been raising a viper all this time. Well, that viper’s been dealt with, and is half-dead. If you feel like you owe Bella, just take care of her—send her checks, buy her gifts, spend some quality time with her. What is this crying for.”
“You little rascal…” Bernard feigned anger and raised his hand as if to swat him, but Sean’s words broke through his sorrow and coaxed a reluctant chuckle from him.
“Come on, you’re too old for this waterworks show. And you, Granny, you’re usually such a tough cookie—that’s out of character for you. Back in the day, if anyone dared cross one of ours, you’d be the first to grab a baseball bat and go knocking on their door.”
Cornelia shot him a stern glance. That boy always spoke his mind, no filter, but her mood visibly lifted.
The tempest of grief and anger within her was finally calming down.
“Both of you, stop scaring Bella,” Sean continued, patting Mirabella on the head. “This poor girl was working too hard—after returning to this home, she’s been running around saving people; it’s almost driving her to exhaustion.”
“Bella, come here next to Grandma,” Cornelia finally said, wiping away her tears and gesturing for Mirabella to come closer. “Sean’s right. Instead of drowning in the past regrets, what we need to do now is make it up to you. There’s no point in rehashing the past, but I still owe you an apology, a real heartfelt one. We thought you and Serena could get along, but we never anticipated her jealousy and resentment to reach such extremes.”
“Grandma, you don’t owe me anything. What I’ve found in this family in the last six months is far more than I ever got from the Meltons in the past eighteen years—more than a million times over. Everyone in the Collins family has been so kind to me, and I’m just happy to be back home with all of you.”Hearing her say this, everyone’s hearts softened, and their eyes welled up.
What they had given her was nothing compared to the attention they’d showered on Serena for eighteen years.
The meticulous care and concern they’d lavished on Serena couldn’t be compared to what Mirabella had received.
Yet this child held no grudges and was full of gratitude and contentment.
They became emotional once more, and their eyes reddened with tears.
“Esteemed Sirs and Madams, Clark is back!”
Just then, a servant rushed in with the news.
The elders quickly wiped their tears and composed themselves, not wanting to show any further signs of distress.
Clark stepped through the front door to a scene that surprised him. “What’s all this commotion about?
Why’s everyone here?”
All his grandparents were there!