Filed to story: A Little Princess's Journey from Darkness to Light Novel
Thomas and Tina Miller could tell that Cheryl had made a good impression, and they were overjoyed. Everything was going according to plan, and the Millers would be destined for greatness if they won Karen Shaw’s favor.
Tina Miller walked beside Karen Shaw, smiling as she gently helped the old lady up the stairs. Halfway up the stairs, they bumped into two maids carrying some suitcases down the stairs. “What are you two doing?” Karen asked, thinking the suitcases looked familiar.
The maids looked at the butler shiftily, unsure of how to answer Old Mrs. Shaw. “Madam, Mr. Colton asked us to send you back to your hometown,” the butler informed Karen sheepishly.
“What… what did you say?!” Karen’s lips trembled in disbelief. She was Colton’s mother and his only remaining parent. How could he do this to her?
“Who told him to do this? Was it Melody Winston? Get her to come out and face me right now!” she yelled out loud. “How dare she order me around as if she’s Colton?”
At that very moment, Colton Shaw appeared from Ivan’s room upstairs. “I was the one who ordered them to send you away!” he declared.
Karen’s jaw dropped in shock as she pointed an accusing finger at her son. “Is… is this how you treat your own mother?”
“You’ll only cause more trouble if you stay here,” Colton’s voice was cold. “I think it’s better for you to spend your days back in your hometown. You don’t have to concern yourself with our family matters.”
Karen was furious. Was her son really kicking her out of her own home? She had just been mentally selecting Ivan’s future wife minutes ago, and now her son was banishing her in front of Cheryl’s parents?
Thomas and Tina Miller exchanged a glance. It seemed like they had been mistaken. Karen Shaw was not the matriarch who called the shots in the Shaw family. Had they wasted their time and effort coming all the way here?
Their brief exchange did not go unnoticed by
Karen. It felt like someone had slapped her on each cheek and only served to anger her even more.
“Colton, you ungrateful son! I raised you all these years…” Karen cried.
Colton glanced at the butler, ignoring his mother’s theatrics. The butler quickly ordered a few more men to forcefully carry Karen away from the stairs towards a car parked at the porch. Karen did not go down without a fight, but the strong men managed to subdue her and forced her into the back seat of the car. Karen’s maid brought out her favorite Louis Vuitton handbag and passed it to her, but she began to throw a fit and throw the contents of her handbag.
“Colton, you… you’ll be the death of me!” she cursed. “Oh dear, my poor heart. Oh dear, I’m going to die soon…”
If Colton felt any emotion whatsoever, it did not show on his face as the butler instructed the driver to leave the Shaw residence. Karen’s last resort was to swing her handbag out of the window, banging it against the gates. Alas, the car windows were finally rolled up and locked shut by the driver.
Karen could feel her blood pressure rising and a constant ringing in her ears. She was angry on one hand, yet absolutely devastated and crushed by sadness at the same time. She couldn’t believe her own biological son would do this to her.
Tina Miller, who had witnessed the entire commotion, was still recovering from shock herself. “Mr. Shaw, I’m sure there’s a better way to resolve this. After all, Mrs. Shaw is your mother…” she tried to calm Colton.
Colton turned to Tina, his face devoid of emotion. “I don’t think my family matters are any of your business. Marco, please see our guests off.”
Thomas Miller’s face was pale, while Tina was red with embarrassment. Cheryl looked up at Colton Shaw with wide, innocent eyes. “Mr. Shaw, I’m just worried…” she began, but before she could finish her sentence, Colton Shaw had already turned around and walked back into the house.
Still reeling from the shock and embarrassment of being treated like an insignificant person, Cheryl’s eyes filled with tears as she bit her lip hard. The Millers had no choice but to leave the Shaw residence.
“Mommy…” Cheryl cried in her mother’s embrace. Just as Tina was about to comfort her daughter, she spotted something lying on the porch floor. She picked it up, only to discover it was an invitation to Taylor Entertainment’s ribbon cutting ceremony tomorrow. Old Mrs. Shaw must have dropped it on her way out just now…
A mischievous gleam appeared in Tina’s eyes as she quickly placed the invitation in her handbag. Since Old Mrs. Shaw clearly wouldn’t be attending the ceremony, they could use her invitation and claim to be her representatives. If they could meet a few of the VIPs who were going to be present, perhaps things could start looking up for the Millers.
“Come, let’s go!” Tina Miller gathered her small family and left the Shaw residence.
**
The next day, Polly the parrot perched on the window, singing a tune. “Left hand at the moon, right hand through the thread… ayy ayy ayy… you and me, ayy ayy ayy…” Polly couldn’t hit the high notes, butchering the song in the process.
Lilly was jolted awake by the loud screeching noise. She blinked a few times, trying to shake off her sleepiness.
“Who farted?” she asked aloud. The noise sounded like a terrible fart to her. She got out of bed and turned around to face the windows, only to find Polly dancing on the balcony.
“Oh, it’s you, Polly!” she called out.
“I didn’t fart!” Polly retorted.
Pablo’s lips curved up in a smile. That bird was such a terrible liar.
Lilly suddenly remembered that she was going shopping with Uncle Anthony today. Excited, she quickly ran to her closet to pick out something nice to wear. She chose a pink dress with a frill underneath that made her look like a princess. She also picked out some thermals and leggings, just in case the weather was cold. Pleased with her choices, she went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and get dressed.
“Lilly’s ready!” she confidently announced out loud. She walked out of her bedroom carrying her little backpack, her little legs trotting down the stairs.
Anthony Crawford was seated on the sofa in the living room, his expression serious as he was in the middle of a conference call. “Slow down!” he stood up from the sofa and called out to Lilly.
“Uncle Anthony, Lilly’s ready!” she exclaimed as she reached the bottom of the stairs.
Anthony looked at the time on his watch. He was a little surprised, considering Bettany and Hugh had gone to the hospital for Bettany’s treatment today and had reminded him that Lilly usually wakes up at 9am. It was only 8am now.
“Go grab something to eat,” Anthony told Lilly. He motioned for Margaret to serve breakfast as he brought his tablet along and followed Lilly into the dining room.
“What’s our plan for the second quarter?” he spoke solemnly in front of the tablet screen, but his hands were busy peeling a hard-boiled egg. He put the peeled egg in Lilly’s bowl. “Little girls should eat more eggs in the morning,” he teased gently.
Anthony’s colleagues at Crawford Holdings on the other end of the conference call were utterly shocked, to say the least. Never in their lives would they have imagined the devil incarnate himself peeling an egg and speaking so gently! They were completely speechless.
Anthony turned back to face the tablet screen, noticing his colleagues had gone silent. “Has everyone turned mute?” The devil was back. The management team quickly composed themselves and continued with their presentation.
Not long after, Lilly had finished her breakfast and Anthony had also concluded his meeting swiftly.
“Let’s go then!” Anthony held onto Lilly’s little hand as they left the house, neither of them realizing that Lilly had not combed her hair that morning…
Over the past year, Taylor Entertainment had gained significant recognition as an entertainment company. Two out of the four actresses with experience in the industry, as well as two up-and-coming actors, were affiliated with Taylor Entertainment. Additionally, Jonas Crawford, the best actor of the year who had recently terminated his contract with his previous company, would be attending the ceremony to formally sign with Taylor Entertainment.
Since early morning, the ceremony site had been bustling with people, including fans, journalists from around the world, and distinguished guests from upper-class society. Anthony’s car slowly pulled up and came to a halt at the entrance of the venue.
It was at that moment that Lilly realized there was a serious problem. Her hair was unkempt and not beautifully braided like usual. Distressed, she rubbed her head and exclaimed, “Uncle Anthony, I can’t step out of the car. My hair is a complete mess! Boohoohoo!”
Anthony was taken aback. He hadn’t noticed that Lilly’s hair was uncombed and resembled a bird’s nest until he took a closer look. Trying to smooth out her unruly hair, he stroked it, but unfortunately, it only made it messier.
“Is it really okay?” Lilly asked, noticing Anthony’s silence.
Having seen fairies with lovely hair, Lilly didn’t want her hair to look like a bird’s nest anymore. She wanted to be beautiful. Anthony couldn’t help but laugh and said, “Then I’ll tie your hair for you.”
Lilly eagerly handed him two small rubber bands from her small satchel. Anthony thought to himself, “It’s just two braids. What could go wrong?” However, five minutes later, he had removed his suit jacket, unbuttoned his shirt, and rolled up his sleeves. He was perspiring profusely as he struggled to tie Lilly’s hair.
“Uncle Anthony, are you done yet?” Lilly urged him.
“Almost there,” Anthony replied, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow.
Lilly reached out to touch her braids, but Anthony quickly grabbed her hand, warning her that it would become messy again. After a brief pause, he added, “It looks pretty nice.”
The driver in the front seat couldn’t help but avoid looking directly at Anthony. Anthony coughed softly, put on his suit jacket, and buttoned his shirt. “Let’s go!” he said.
Obediently, Lilly nodded, unaware that her uncle had tricked her. Outside the car, everyone watched with anticipation as the black Maybach remained stationary at the entrance. The organizer immediately recognized Anthony’s car but wondered why it hadn’t moved for five minutes.
Reporters tried to sneak a peek, curious about the delay. Anthony didn’t get out of the car, and the car didn’t drive away, causing the cars behind him to wait in line. The Miller family’s car happened to be one of those cars.
Tina panicked, “What should we do? We ended up running into Mr. Anthony…”
Thomas reassured her, “Don’t be scared. We have an invitation letter!”
Realizing that they had already arrived and that there were important people present, Thomas saw it as an excellent opportunity for the Millers. He was determined not to let such a good opportunity slip away.
“Let’s go. Let’s get out of the car and see Mr. Anthony. Anyone would undoubtedly appreciate being flattered by others!” Thomas declared.
Cheryl and her family were the first to get out of the car. Cheryl, dressed in a long white tulle fishtail gown, looked elegant like a princess with her neatly coiled hair. The reporters couldn’t help but be captivated by her beauty and frantically snapped pictures.
Cheryl smiled, holding her hands crossed in front of her stomach, feeling overjoyed. She believed she had chosen a charming dress for the occasion and considered herself the most beautiful girl there.
Just as Cheryl was lost in her thoughts, the door of the car in front opened. Anthony stepped out, instantly capturing the attention of all the cameras.
“Hello, Uncle Anthony!” Cheryl greeted him politely.
Anthony paused, furrowing his brows as he looked at Cheryl. Without responding to her, he bent down and reached into the car. Cheryl’s face immediately turned red with embarrassment, triggering her self-esteem.
Tina whispered, trying to comfort her, “It’s okay. Mr. Anthony probably didn’t hear what you said.”
At that moment, no one was paying attention to Cheryl. The reporters, witnessing Anthony’s actions, nervously aimed their cameras at him.
Anthony, the CEO of Crawford Holdings and arguably the wealthiest person in the country, was known for his mysterious personal life. Rumors circulated that he didn’t have a wife and that his two children were created in test tubes. They were said to be standing in for Jean, the Crawford family’s precious daughter.
