Filed To Story: Returning to Her Not-So-Poor Family
“Bella, go on, open it and see what Sean got you!”
The others were getting curious.
“Such a big box, surely it’s not jewelry or anything of that sort?”
“Sean, with your love for betting on stones, you didn’t give her a rock, did you?”
“No way, a stone would be too heavy for Bella to even lift!”Steward, overhearing this, forced a helpless smile. Mr. and Mrs. Collins probably had no idea how strong their daughter could kick; despite her slender frame, she could probably lift a 200-pound barbell if she wanted to.
With everyone’s eyes on her, Mirabella untied the ribbon and lifted the lid of the gift box to reveal a pair of boxing gloves???
The room filled with confused faces. Sean’s smile was both wicked and charming, “The best boxing gloves in the world. Once you’re ever upset, you can take it out on me.”
Everyone was rendered speechless.
Louisa almost choked on her breath, nearly passing out from exasperation.
“Or two times,” Sean added, immediately drawing a round of playful jeering from the crowd.
“What on earth is this gift? Your sister is so delicate; why would you give her this?”
“She doesn’t look like someone who would hit her brother, now does she?”
“I was expecting at least a dress or a pair of shoes, but you, you’re going to be the death of me!”
“All those car keys, house deeds, and you give her this.”
“Can’t you think of something a girl would actually like?” Belinda chimed in, unable to hold back, “Perfume, jewelry, clothes, shoes, bags, anything but this.”
“Boy, Sean, at this rate, you’re not only going to be her least favorite brother, but you’ll also never find a girlfriend,” Darren felt a headache coming on just thinking about it.
“I really like it; thank you, Sean,” Mirabella accepted the gift with grace and confidence.Sean, who was starting to feel a bit of regret from the crowd’s reaction, suddenly felt redeemed by his sister’s approval, “Really?”
“Yeah.” Mirabella offered a smile, “But I won’t use them to hit you.”
Upon hearing this, Sean joked, “Well, if you find them uncomfortable, feel free to just use your fists.”
“Would you just shut it?” Louisa was dying to make him go back and buy a different gift, “Do you think your sister is like you, living a life full of fighting and killing?”
“This is just a homecoming gift; there’s still the New Year’s gift, right?” Kenneth quickly intervened, while shooting Sean a look that clearly said, “The New Year’s gift is something different, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, yeah, Sean’s got a New Year’s gift as well. Something he spent ages choosing, definitely not like this one,” Steward hurriedly tried to smooth things over.
After hearing that Sean had also prepared a New Year’s gift for Bella, Louisa’s discontent finally subsided a bit. Good for him, showing some sincerity.
“Hey, how about we add each other on WhatsApp?” Sean took out his phone.
No matter what, he needed to secure his sister’s contact info first, rather than going around cap in hand, with no one willing to cough it up!
Mirabella opened her QR code for him to scan. Once they were friended, Sean happily labeled her contact as “Bella” and then asked, “What’s your cell number?”
Mirabella spoke a string of digits. After Sean called her to confirm, he said with indulgent affection, “This is my number. Hit me up anytime you need something.”
“I never thought Sean would be the earliest bird back home this year.” Kenneth chuckled, “I was betting on him to be the last one again.”
“Mr. Collins, you got it all wrong about Sean. He rushed back just to see Bella, even before he was fully recovered,” Steward chimed in with a timely compliment.
Kenneth’s mood brightened even further at his words. Turning to Sean, he said, “Since it’s New Year, you should take the chance to rest up and spend some quality time with Bella.”
“That’s the plan,” Sean was eager to make his sister happy and salvage his tarnished image.
“Alright, you two catch up. I’m going to check on the kitchen crew, see if they can whip up a few extra dishes,” Louisa said as she stood up.
“It’s not every day Sean’s home. Maybe I should show off my cooking skills,” Kenneth followed Louisa’s lead.”Let’s not risk it. The kid’s already hurt; we don’t want a case of food poisoning on our hands.”
As their figures receded into the distance, Eunice suggested, “Bard, why don’t we take Mom and Dad for a little tour around the place?”
It had been quite a while since their last visit, and some parts of the house had changed dramatically.
Bard, supporting Darren, and Eunice, linking arms with Belinda, left the room, leaving Sean to finally address his sister with concern, “You haven’t answered my question.”
He had refrained from pressing her in front of the family just now.
“About that explosion at the unfinished building, did you get hurt?” Sean fixed his gaze on his sister.
He had shielded her during the fall, hitting his head and only catching a blurry glimpse of her bleeding arm as she walked away.
At that moment, he had wanted her to stay, but then he blacked out. Now, he wondered if it had been a hallucination or if she really had been injured.
“It’s nothing serious.”
Mirabella’s calm reply allowed Sean to zero in, “So, you were really hurt? Your arm, was it here?”
As Sean moved to examine the injury, Mirabella withdrew her hand, “The family doctor already took care of it.”
“When did it happen? How’d you get hurt?” Sean tried to recall, but when he had been pulling his sister out of the building, he hadn’t noticed any injuries on her. When did it happen?
Mirabella remembered being dragged down the stairs by him, the bullets whizzing past, grazing her arm. But not wanting to worry Sean, she simply said, “Wasn’t paying attention, not sure how ithappened. The doctor said it’s nothing; it’ll heal soon.”
Seeing his sister’s face remain as stoic and strong as ever, Sean couldn’t help but wonder what she had been through over the years, to be so composed even after a bullet wound.
“Sean, you’re still recovering. You should smoke less,” Mirabella showed her concern.
Back at the building, when Sean arrived on the eighteenth floor, there was a faint smell of tobacco on him. Back then, he had just undergone surgery.
Sean didn’t expect his sister to have noticed such a detail and happily declared, “I’ll quit. I’m done with it.”
Steward’s eyes bulged, unsure if he had heard right. Quit, just like that? With Sean’s heavy addiction, could he really do it?
Ms. Bella’s simple words was able to make him quit smoking?
“You haven’t told me, why are you so fixated on that island?” Sean wondered.
That island was nothing but overgrown with weeds, yet his sister seemed oddly interested.
“It’s because the island is teeming with rare herbs.”
Sean was floored by the revelation.
“Take for example the hairyvein agrimony on the island. I used to need a dozen different plants to mimic 80% of its effects, but that island is full of hairyvein agrimony. No need for me to go through all the trouble of concocting it.”
“How did you even know that stuff was there?”
“Some folks spotted what looked like hairyvein agrimony floating in the sea after that last mega-storm.
Investigations later revealed the island was a goldmine of rare herbs.”
Steward’s eyes widened in shock, having never imagined that the weeds on that island could be so precious. No wonder Bella was hell-bent on getting her hands on it.
“Els Island’s got this unique climate, perfect for nurturing the most delicate of herbs. I want to buy it and transfer my own garden there. It’ll be a research haven.”
Sean had an epiphany. So that was why she was after the island – it had real significance. His sister, a veritable genius in the medical field, dabbling in research was only natural.
Recalling how he’d tried to make things difficult for her, refusing to let her get the island too easily, even inviting her to his Island for a ‘talk’, hoping to scare her and watch her make a fool of herself.Steward, too, seemed to recall the stunt, observing Ms. Collins’s reaction with a mix of embarrassment and anxiety.
Even though Ms. Collins emerged unscathed that night, with the island’s animals bizarrely heeding her every command, it was still a prank and they feared she might hold a grudge.
“Uh, Sean, we’ve got plenty of hands in Belloria who could help Ms. Collins with her herb planting!”
Steward blurted out, eager to change the subject.
Sean thought it was a good idea, turning to his sister, “What do you think?”
“Some herbs are fickle; they need constant care. Too heavy or too light a touch and they die. I’ve already arranged for people to handle it.”
“Sis, do you have some other identity that I don’t know about?”
Her ease in commanding people, her constant entourage, no ordinary person could boast such skill or influence. Who was she, really??
“You’ll find out in time.” Mirabella said without boasting or revealing her identity, “Sean, you sure have some unique tastes in pets, keeping ones that are so different from everyone else.”
Sean felt a chill. He was done for.
He shot Steward a look, and Steward felt the same sense of doom, sensing Ms. Bella was about to settle scores. What now? Could he make an excuse and get out of there in time?! He wasn’t about to take the fall for this!!
Then it hit him!! Wiping the sweat from his brow, he blurted out, “Ms. Collins, Sean’s got a bunch of islands at his disposal.””Yeah, yeah!” Sean chimed in, desperate, “Pick any you like; they’re yours for the choosing.”
Mirabella’s lips curled into an amused smile, “If you’re charging that much for a weed-infested rock, I doubt I could afford the others.”
“Hey, they’re all on the house!” Sean was clearly on edge.
“No need. Getting an island from you is a big deal as it is. Thanks for not fleecing me and leaving me in the woods for the beasts to tear me apart.”