Filed To Story: Returning to Her Not-So-Poor Family
“I have an end-of-year meeting. I’ll try to be back by 4 p.m.,” Mirabella replied, somewhat surprised at herself. In the past, she wouldn’t have gone out of her way to explain her whereabouts.
Ever since she had returned to her biological family, it seemed she had changed a lot.
“That’s fine. Take your time, we’ll schedule them for before 4 p.m. There’s no rush,” Louisa couldn’t hide her excitement.
The thought of publicly announcing her beloved daughter’s identity and proudly wearing matching outfits together in a few days made her smile uncontrollably.
“I’d better get going then,” Mirabella said her goodbyes and stepped out the door.
At that moment, both Kenneth and Louisa’s phones buzzed with incoming messages. It was Serena.
Serena had sent Louisa a heartfelt essay of a message, and then forwarded another well-prepared essay to Kenneth.
Each of her messages was lengthy, reviving memories for Kenneth and Louisa, one by one. They were transported back over a decade, holding her hand as she learned to walk, playing with her and her toys. Every award she won, every commendation from her teachers, every time she stood out as exceptional, filled them with pride and contentment.
Every bout of sickness, every injury, every tear shed, they felt a wrenching pang of heartache, a surge of urgency, a wave of worry.
Kenneth’s eyes welled with tears as he read each line. After all, eighteen years of nurturing had entwined his heart and soul with hers, awakening memories of warmth and joy that now tugged at his heartstrings.
“Let’s give her another chance.” Kenneth said, his heart melting, “It seems like she truly realizes her mistake.”
Edith was busy directing the house staff in decorating the house. New Year was around the corner, and the home was adorned with festive cheer. Seeing Serena attempting her old tricks, Edith couldn’t help feeling anxious as she noticed Mr. And Mrs. Collins being swayed by Serena’s act.
“Mr. and Mrs. Collins, you can’t take Serena’s words at face value!” Edith blurted out, stepping forward, “Do you remember Ms. Antonia, Melissa, Una, and Christine? They were Ms. Serena ‘s best friends, and they had a falling out with her last time!”
Louisa looked up, momentarily distracted from Serena’s words, inquiring in somewhat surprise, “What happened?”
“The last time they came to visit Ms. Serena, they ran into Ms. Mirabella. They insulted her, calling Ms.
Mirabella a home-wrecker. It was only when Hans interrogated them that they revealed Ms. Serena had told them she broke up with Mr. McMillian. Ms. Serena claimed Mr. McMillian, in a bid to win her back, took up with Ms. Mirabella to make her jealous.”
“What did you say?” Louisa was initially moved by Serena’s plea but now felt a mix of confusion and shock.Kenneth couldn’t believe his ears. What kind of lies were these? How could she?
“Mr. McMillian was there at the time, and he stood up for Ms. Mirabella.” Edith continued, relaying what she knew, “Serena’s friends couldn’t believe she had lied to them. They were heartbroken and furious, and they cut ties with her on the spot. They told Serena that she was living the life that rightfully belonged to Ms. Mirabella. Ms. Mirabella was gracious enough not to demand it back and allowed Ms.
Serena to keep everything she had. Yet Ms. Serena showed no gratitude and smeared Ms. Mirabella behind her back!”
Louisa was impressed by the integrity of Serena’s friends – living more sensitively than Serena herself.
It was a shame that Serena hadn’t learned from their example and had lost four good friends in the process.
“These young ladies indeed showed their breeding. After understanding the truth, they apologized to Ms. Mirabella and Mr. McMillian on the spot. After they left, Hans demanded Ms. Serena apologize to Ms. Mirabella, but her apology was insincere; it was clear she hadn’t realized her mistake. Hans was so angry that he sent her to her room to reflect and forbade her from coming down for meals until she had thought things through.”
Louisa hadn’t realized that Hans had already punished Serena.
“Mr. and Mrs. Collins, you know Hans’s temper. Your sons are all afraid of him, and Ms. Serena is no exception. She was punished once and pretended to make amends by making coffee for Ms. Mirabella, baking cakes, and serving afternoon tea as an apology. But after all this time, at Mr. Albright’s birthday party, she did it again, spreading rumors about Ms. Mirabella in front of her friends, claiming Ms.
Mirabella was ruining her relationship with Mr. McMillian. What does this tell us? It shows that she hasn’t learned from her mistakes!”Louisa and Kenneth, hearing this, were understandably angry, feeling as though they had raised an ingrate!
One would think that after being disciplined by Hans and losing her closest friends, she would have taken time to introspect. But instead, she showed no remorse for the loss of her friends, no reformation after Hans’s punishment, and no lessons learned from what had happened. Instead, she repeated her behavior, once again speaking ill of Mirabella to her friend.
Did she think that a simple apology would quickly close the chapter on her mistakes?
“No wonder I haven’t seen Serena’s friends come by to visit her for so long. Now it all makes sense,”
Louisa said, finally understanding the situation.
In the past, vacations for Serena were bustling with life, as her friends would flock to her place, a giggling gaggle ready for fun. They’d hit up the local diner, catch the latest flick at the cinema, or pamper themselves with a spa day.
But this winter break, she found herself confined to the walls of her home.
Confined for so long that she and her friends barely crossed paths.
“I actually thought she realized her mistake and was considering giving her another chance. But it turns out, apologies are just part of her routine. They are just empty words.”
Serena had sounded so sincere that Kenneth nearly fell for it!
Louisa was heartbroken and disappointed, never imagining Serena could turn out this way!
It was utterly disheartening!
“It seems we were too lenient sending her to the guesthouse to reflect on her actions.” Louisa mused.
If the homemade biscuits with milk, the handwritten letters, the colds and fevers, including the heartfelt message she had sent today were a scheme to escape the guesthouse and return to the main house, then her heart must be incredibly terrifying.
Louisa didn’t dare to think about it, because on closer thought, she realized Serena was nothing like the person in her memories. She was becoming someone unrecognizable.
When had she changed? Was it since Bella left for home, or was it when Martha started stirring the pot.
“Mr. and Mrs. Collins, I swear on my family’s life that there is no falsehood in my words.” Edith suddenly knelt down, raising her right hand to swear, “You treat me like your own, and Ms. Bella has alwaystreated me with genuine respect and kindness. I can’t bear to see you deceived any longer, and I can’t stand to watch her bully Ms. Bella like before, with such arrogance.”
“Edith, we know all that you’ve done for this household, and we are aware of your loyalty. Please stand up. The floor is cold.” Louisa hurried to help her up, expressing her disappointment, “We had this image of her being gentle, well-mannered, and graceful, but now I’m starting to see her true colors.”
It would be a lie to say they weren’t disappointed and hurt.
In the end, Louisa steeled her heart and said to Kenneth, “Let’s not reply to her just yet. Let’s see what else she tries to stir up.”
Kenneth too felt let down and heartbroken by Serena’s actions. He had always seen her as a daughter, intent to cover for her for the rest of his life. But she.
She was playing them for fools, bullying their own daughter, and still showing no remorse.
Serena waited in her room, time dragging on until Betty arrived with lunch, revealing she had been waiting for three whole hours!
Her parents weren’t ones to sleep in; they’d rise with the sun, and by this hour, they should have been up and about, likely at lunch themselves.
Even if something urgent had come up, it was unthinkable that they’d leave her hanging without so much as a punctuation mark in reply.
What could be keeping Kenneth and Louisa so busy?
Could it be a poor network connection that they didn’t receive her message?
It seemed unlikely; she had sent so many messages. It’s unlikely that not a single one was received.What could be the reason? Could Mirabella be there, making it awkward for them to respond.?
“Serena, time for lunch,” Betty said cheerfully as she set the lunch tray down, arranging the dishes one by one on the dining table.
Serena latched onto her words like a lifeline. “Where are Mom and Dad? What have they been up to all morning?”
Betty jumped when Serena grabbed her hand.
“After I brought your breakfast, I got caught up helping clear away branches. The gardener decided every tree in the estate needed pruning.” Betty paused, glancing at the clock. “I didn’t get back to the main house until almost noon, and I saw your folks coming in from a stroll in the garden. They plopped down on the couch and started sending voice messages on WhatsApp to.”
Betty hesitated, afraid to continue.
“To who?” Serena pressed, her voice tinged with urgency. “Come on, spill it. No secrets.”
Swallowing hard, Betty confessed, “They were checking in on Ms. Bella. Asking if she’d had lunch yet, telling her not to work too hard, and offering to have the chef make something special to be delivered right to her door. They seemed really concerned about Ms. Bella.”
Serena felt a jolt of shock and disbelief. “Did you see them sending these messages with your own eyes?”
“Yes, I heard the ‘ping’ as they sent them. Ms. Bella even replied.” Betty couldn’t grasp why Serena’s face was etched with such defeat and despondency. “Serena, are you feeling better today? Did the fever go down after the medicine?”
It struck Serena that the only person who seemed to care about her was Betty, someone who was completely unrelated to her.A sardonic smile played on Serena’s lips, a mix of bitterness and defiance. “You actually saw them messaging on their phones, right?”
Betty was confused by the repeated question. “I saw it with my own eyes. They chatted for like twenty minutes. Serena, what’s wrong?”
“What did they do after sending the messages?” Serena probed further.
“They got caught up reading some news on their phones. I only knew because I overheard their conversation. After that, they went for lunch.”
Serena felt her heart growing colder. So Kenneth and Louisa had time for news and warm chats with Mirabella but couldn’t spare a single punctuation mark for her own messages.
The smile on Serena’s face soured. She had been feverish last night when Martha suggested a plan, which seemed good at the time. Bravely, she had typed out over two thousand words, half for Dad, half for Mom, hoping to stir some memories.
She waited until this morning to send them, not wanting to disturb them.
She thought maybe they were busy and hadn’t seen the messages, or couldn’t reply just yet.
But no, they had seen them and simply chose not to respond.
“Serena, what’s wrong?” Betty asked, seeing Serena push her food around the plate. “The food’s getting cold, and this table doesn’t have a heating function. Serena, it’s better to eat while it’s warm. It won’t taste as good once it gets cold.”
Serena managed a hollow laugh, feeling utterly abandoned. In just a few days, she had gone from the beloved daughter, the jewel of the Collins family, to a forgotten wretch—like a queen fallen from grace, banished to a lonely, sunless palace, wondering when she might regain her freedom.”Serena, Serena?” Betty called softly again.
With a heart heavy with sorrow, Serena whispered, “Betty, please leave me be for a while. I need some time alone.”
At that moment, Serena knew what it felt like to be cast aside, forsaken by the parents who once adored her, left to wither in the shadows of the Collins family’s indifference.
Mirabella was in the midst of wrapping up the annual year-end meeting when her phone buzzed insistently. Glancing at it, she saw a text from Ms. Kiki.
“Summer, sweetheart, don’t worry about the trending topic. I’ve got it handled. They should know better than to cross me, and now, not one of them is getting off scot-free!”
Ms. Kiki, Mirabella’s agent, was known for her fiery disposition. It took a lot to rile her up, unless.