Filed To Story: Returning to Her Not-So-Poor Family
Reflections Mansion.
Kenneth and Louisa were utterly shocked upon hearing that George had lost his temper and hit someone in defense of Bella.
In their eyes, George was not a man prone to anger or violence, especially not in public.
“That just goes to show how much Mr. McMillian cherishes his daughter-in-law, Bella. He can’t bear to see her treated unfairly; Edith, their housekeeper, said with a grin, “Bella is truly blessed to have such caring in-laws.”
“I heard that a couple of days ago, Jennifer even stood up for Bella and put the Evert family’s daughter in her place,’ Louisa added, feeling a wave of emotion. It was clear to her that George and Jennifer saw Bella as their own daughter and went to great lengths to protect her.
With such in-laws, she was confident that Bella would lead a happy life in the future.
“They’re coming over tonight. Edith, have you prepared everything I asked for?” Louisa suddenly asked.
George and Jennifer were to visit that evening on Bella’s behalf.
Jennifer had arranged to go shopping with Bella to not only buy her things but also to pick out gifts for Kenneth and Louisa.
However, Louisa was unaware of that.
“Madam, everything is ready;’ Edith answered, smiling, “The house has been thoroughly cleaned, fresh flowers have been placed in the vases, and there’s no shortage of pastries and fruits. We’re just waiting for their arrival.”
“Good, good,’ Louisa glanced at the clock, noting that they had two hours left until the agreed meeting time. She was filled with anticipation.
At that moment, Serena entered the gate of Reflections Mansion, noticing the considerable changes in and around the house. The garden was adorned with a variety of new flowers, each blooming vibrantly.
“Serena, you’re finally here; Martha pulled her aside and whispered, “Have you decided on the piece for tonight’s performance? And your dress? Do you need my help?”
“Martha, I’m not here to steal the spotlight,’ Serena said, revealing her true intentions to her, “I’m on vacation and I missed my parents, so I decided to stay here for a few days. After I greet everyone tonight, I’ll just go to my room. I don’t want to disturb them.”
“Serena, you’re still as stubborn as ever!” Martha exclaimed in frustration. She was disappointed to see that Serena had changed so much ever since she was frightened by an incident with Chasel and Myrna Gellar.
This evening presented a rare opportunity. If she could impress Romeo’s parents, becoming the future daughter-in-law of the McMillian family wouldn’t be a problem!
After all, even if Romeo loved Bella, could he really go against his parent’s wishes and marry her directly?
“Mr. and Mrs. McMillian have watched you grow up all these years.
They surely feel more affection for you than for Bella.”
Yet, she was doing nothing on her behalf to grab that golden opportunity!
“Martha, didn’t you just say in our WhatsApp group that Mr. George and Jennifer have already taken Bella’s side twice? They must really like her. I don’t want to waste my time or compete anymore. There are plenty of men in the world besides Romeo. Worst case scenario, I’ll remain single forever.”
“But he’s the best, the most capable, the most protective, and the most deserving of you!” Martha said passionately, her voice heavy, “Serena, I’ve watched you grow day by day. I truly can’t bear to see you fall from the pedestal of a golden girl to an ordinary citizen.
Can you understand my feelings?”
Just then, Serena noticed Bella entering through the mansion gate.
“Alright, Martha, let’s leave it at that. I’m going to my room now: “Serena, Serena.’ Martha called after her, frustrated by her nonchalance.
Just as Serena was about to climb the steps to the main building, she heard Martha yelp. Turning back, she saw Bella standing coldly beside Martha, who had fallen to the ground.
Rushing over, Serena helped Martha up, asking, “Martha? Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?”,
“Serena, it’s okay, I’m just getting old and clumsy. I lost my footing.
It’s not a big deal,’ Martha’s knees were scraped raw, and bruised.
From the sidelines, Mirabella watched Martha’s poor performance and coldly added, “Not only are you getting old, but your acting has gone downhill too, not what it used to be.”
Martha didn’t expect Mirabella to be so sharp-tongued. Suddenly, she groaned in pain, clutching her waist.
“Is your back hurting?” Serena immediately became concerned, “Let me help you inside to get some ointment, see if you can stand up.”
“Serena, don’t worry about me, I’m fine, ouch, it hurts,’ Martha managed to stand up with Serena’s help, groaning in pain all the while.
Mirabella, tired of watching her act, strode towards the house with her long legs.
“Mirabella!” Serena couldn’t help but stop her, wanting to say something but hesitating, finally blurting out, “What the hell happened?”
“She fell on her own.”
Mirabella dropped that sentence as if she didn’t want to waste time with them and walked up the steps into the main house.
Serena bit her lower lip, seemingly unconvinced.
“I’ve already told you; I fell on my own; Martha feigned again.
“But you were walking just fine on a flat and wide path, how could you fall like this?”
“Serena, I don’t know how to explain. It’s okay if I suffer a bit, I mainly worry about you,’ Martha slowly moved towards the side house, “Oh, forget it, if people didn’t know better, they might think I was teaching you to be a bad person.”
Serena didn’t say anything, just quietly helped her walk, already holding some resentment towards Mirabella in her heart.
“You’re already eighteen, there are some things you need to learn to judge for yourself, Martha was helped to the side house door, “Alright, this is far enough, I can go in on my own.”
“I can get some ointment for you.”
“No need, Gloria can help me.”
Serena watched her stumble away, thinking to herself that Martha was too old to hurt herself on purpose just to slander a teenage girl, especially when she fell so hard on the ground.
She was more excited than anyone about George and Jennifer’s arrival that night. If she intentionally hurt herself, she wouldn’t be able to show her face in front of them.
Given Martha’s nature, she would definitely praise Serena to George and Jennifer, she wouldn’t miss that opportunity for the world.
But Mirabella’s demeanor at that moment didn’t seem like she was lying.
Given Mirabella’s nature, if she did it on purpose, she would surely admit it.
So, what really happened there?
However, after weighing everything, Serena still trusted Martha more, thinking that Mirabella must have pushed or bumped Martha.
The reason being that Martha had just been whispering to her, which Mirabella saw when she had returned.
It’s possible that Mirabella was taking that opportunity for revenge.
At that moment, Serena’s phone vibrated again. When she looked at it, she was stunned.
“Oh, by the way, the outfit that your parents are wearing today was a gift from Mirabella, and yours,’
Martha added once again, “you might want to take a look at the seasonal wardrobe.”
The seasonal wardrobe, as the name implies, was where the unwanted and unused clothes were temporarily stored. After a while, some of the better pieces would be picked out for donation, a kind of charitable act.
The wardrobe was packed to the brim, taking up a massive space.
It was teeming with clothes, too many to count.
Serena could hardly contain her surprise. When she went to take a look, she found her carefully selected pieces, some of which she had even paid a pretty penny for a designer to tailor specifically for her parents, all shoved to the back.
They were not worn, not even once!
She felt a pang of disappointment.
Tonight, Romeo’s parents were coming over. Her beloved parents were wearing the designs of Mirabella and not the ones she gave them. Did this mean they thought her gifts were not up to the mark?
“Serena, have you noticed that your fate is quite similar to these clothes? Initially, you thought you could catch your parents”
attention, but it turned out that they didn’t even give those clothes a second look.”

New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.