Filed To Story: Returning to Her Not-So-Poor Family
Serena turned her face away, not wanting to engage.
“What’s the matter, did you break your leg? Have you become a cripple? No servants to escort you out and about?”
Alma’s words prompted a chorus of giggles from her friends.
“Oh, Alma, you’re well aware as we do, she was kicked out by the Collins family.How would she get servants from now.”
“She’s probably struggling just to make ends meet. You did say her birth parents were nothing more than a butler and a maid.”
“You know, the nerve of some poor folks these days. To give their daughter a better life, they’ll go to great lengths.”
“Look at her in this mall, not buying a single thing, likely just here to reminisce about the once lavish lifestyle of her days as a rich debutante.”
“Alma, for old time’s sake, since she once called you sister, why don’t you help her out? Give her a little something. Otherwise, how will she get by?”
Pretending to be sympathetic, Alma responded, “All right, since you all insist.”
She opened her wallet, pulled out a hundred-dollar bill, and tossed it at Serena’s face with contempt.
Serena instinctively swatted it away, and the bill fluttered to the ground.
“Oh, Alma, she’s accustomed to living like a princess, one hundred bucks is nothing to her.”“She’s longing for jewelry, designer dresses, and handbags.”
“Desiring the life of a princess without the pedigree.”
“She should hydrate more and reflect on her character when she reflects in the water.”
The group erupted in laughter.
Serena couldn’t bear to swallow her pride. She reached for the control on her wheelchair, set to wheel away. But in the next instant, Alma kicked her wheelchair, spinning her back to her starting point.“She’s angry, hahaha.” they jeered, refusing to budge, eager to see her flushed with indignation.
“Alma, we truly want to help your sister, but she seems so ungrateful.”
“Oh, I remember now, didn’t Mrs. Collins say it just yesterday? She’s an ingrate, no matter how nice everyone is to her, it’s all in vain.”
“Alma, it just came to me, the last time you were seriously hurt, wasn’t it because she was scheming behind your back?”
“It must have been her. That’s why you’ve only just recovered to go shopping with us.”
“She’s the one who had people beat you up.”
Upon hearing this, a sense of dread washed over Serena. She pressed the switch on her wheelchair to flee, only to be kicked back into place by Alma.
“Alma, what the heck do you want?!” Serena was downright furious now.
“Well, when they threw you out, I didn’t get the chance to properly say goodbye.”
Serena suddenly felt scared.
“Looks like today’s your lucky day, Alma. The stars have aligned to hear your prayers. She’s not going anywhere fast, and we’ll help you out. It’s the perfect opportunity for some quality sister time.”
“Yeah, it’s been ages since you’ve seen each other; there’s got to be so much you want to talk about.”
Two of the friends each grabbed one of Serena’s arms, while a third opened the door to the fire escape, and the fourth pushed the wheelchair, steering Serena into the stairwell.
“What are you doing? This is a mall. Ah. Alma! You bunch of little witches, how dare you.”Serena’s screams of anger echoed through the stairwell.
After withdrawing some money, Dora returned to find Serena gone, and she urgently asked Octavia, “Where’s my lady?”
Octavia, who had been lounging on a trendy bench by the elevator, gracefully stood up, took the money from Dora, and said without expression, “She ran into some old friends and went to the stairwell to catch up.”
Old friends catching up in the stairwell?
With a sinking feeling, Dora hurried to the fire escape door.
What she saw horrified her: Serena lay crumpled with the wheelchair toppled over her. She was crying and unable to get up.
The so-called old friends were nowhere to be seen.
Only Serena was left alone in the stairwell!
“Serena.”
Dora rushed down to help her up.
Had someone actually dumped garbage on her?Dora tried to help her up, but touching her anywhere only made her shriek in pain.
Her clothes were stamped with footprints. Looking at Serena’s hair, it seemed damp; the blood had been coming from there.
Dora was petrified and quickly pulled out her phone to dial Martin’s number.
“Sir, it’s horrible, there’s been an accident! Serena’s badly hurt, you must come quickly.”
Elsewhere.
Ever since Mirabella’s identity was revealed, the number of guests visiting had surged, and Reflections Villa was bustling for days on end.
That day, a couple breezed through the front door, showering Mirabella with compliments from head to toe.
“Bella, these sweet-talkers are Gustave and Odelia,” Louisa said with a beaming smile, “They’re our family’s business partners; we have been working together for over a decade.”
Mirabella caught on quickly, greeting them politely, “Hello Gustave, hello Odelia.”
“My, what a sweet child, not only beautiful and with a lovely voice! You two hit the jackpot with her—
she’s absolutely perfect!”
Odelia, all smiles, rummaged through her bag and pulled out two cards, insisting on giving them to Mirabella.
“Odelia, you’re too kind. Bella’s all grown up now.”
“This is just a token of our affection from Gustave and me; please accept it.”
“Bella, since it’s a gesture from Gustave and Odelia, you should take it.”
Knowing it was vain to refuse, Mirabella graciously accepted, “Thank you, Gustave. Thank you, Odelia.”
“Oh, what a polite child.” Odelia continued, her joy evident as she presented a beautifully wrapped gift to Mirabella, “This is for the New Year. May the coming year bring you joy and success in all you do.”
“You’ve already given her cards, and now a gift? It’s too much!” Louisa said with laughter in her cheeks.”It’s our first private meeting with Bella, and we already feel bad for not preparing an additional gift. After all, she’s just so lovable; it’s only a small present. Don’t make us feel like outsiders!”
“Bella, don’t forget to thank Gustave and Odelia for their kindness.”
“Thank you, Gustave and Odelia.”
“She’s so well-mannered. I suddenly feel the McMillian family is so lucky, imagining one day Bella will marry into their family.”
Just then, a family of three arrived.
“You’re here?” Louisa stood to greet them, her face alight with joy.
“We wanted to come here a couple of days ago, but seeing so many cars parked outside Reflections Villa, we didn’t want to overwhelm you and Kenneth. So we decided to visit early today, and look, I guessed it right; it’s less crowded now,” Penny explained, then greeted Gustave and turned her attention to Mirabella.”Let me introduce you, Bella. This is Mr. and Mrs. Stapleton, and their daughter, Macy,” Louisa said, smiling.
“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Stapleton. Hello, Macy.”
“Hi Bella,” Macy greeted in return.
Penny handed Mirabella the gifts, noticeably larger than the ones from Gustave and Odelia, and they felt a bit uneasy.
Louisa nodded at Mirabella, who accepted with thanks, “Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Stapleton. I also wish you a New Year filled with prosperity and happiness.”
“The child is just too adorable; we’ve also prepared little gifts for her.” Gabriel Stapleton set down the shopping bags on the coffee table. Gustave and his companion were somewhat anxious, because they had given Mirabella a small token of affection, but Stapleton had brought two considerable presents.
“Oh, you are all too kind.”
Soon after, seven or eight more guests arrived, and Mirabella was kept busy with the ceremony of accepting gifts over and over again, not to mention the mountain of presents piling up.
“Bella, your phone’s been buzzing nonstop; it looks like someone’s trying to reach you. Why don’t you go on up and check?” David came downstairs, greeted the guests, and skillfully diverted their attention from his sister.
All the guests’ attention then turned to David, praising him for his soaring popularity, his pleasant singing voice, and his impressive dance moves—in short, they had nothing but high praise for him.
Mirabella knew that David was giving her an out, a chance to catch her breath. In truth, her phone was in her pocket the whole time, not upstairs.
Once back in her room, Mirabella casually placed the stack of gift cards onto her desk, which was already overflowing with them, all forcefully bestowed upon her by guests over the past few days.
The maid, busy tidying the bed, chuckled, “Ms. Bella, you are the record holder for receiving the most New Year’s cards and gifts I’ve ever seen.”
“It’s also the first time I’ve ever had this much.”
“Ms. Bella, you’ve really been through it. That Serena took advantage of your identity for years, raking in all these New Year’s gifts without a hint of gratitude, and even schemed against you, it’s simply outrageous!”“Let’s not bring her up during the holidays.”
After making the bed, the maid offered with a smile, “Ms. Bella, shall I organize these for you?”