Filed To Story: Returning to Her Not-So-Poor Family
“Go sit over there with the young ones!” Bernard wouldn’t listen.
Sean tried to argue his point, “But Bella is one of the younger generation too.”
“In our house, Bella gets the VIP treatment! Move along.”
With Bernard’s word, the brothers had no choice but to sit farther away… casting envious glances as everyone else made a fuss over Bella.
“I can already picture the family photo later.” Clark sighed, feeling his chances slip away.
“Forget the family photo, Mom and Dad said we’re all decorating together after breakfast, pitching in to decorate the home. If you want to be next to Bella, it looks like you’re out of luck.” Chasel lamented as well.
“Maybe later you two can distract them. We could take turns keeping Bella company for five minutes each?” David suggested. “You guys could take the grandparents to decorate in a different room, andwe can stay with Bella to decorate.”
“In your dreams!” Clark wasn’t falling for that one.
At Forena Villa.
Martin sat at the dining table, decorating a gingerbread house for Serena.
Serena sat beside him, watching as he meticulously added icing to the structure and couldn’t help but praise, “You’re really good at this.”
It was the first time Martin had tried his hand at gingerbread house decoration, learning alongside the chef. The chefs nearby were assisting with the icing, ensuring each design was Serena’s favorite.
“I’ve never seen him decorate a gingerbread house for anyone before,” Dora couldn’t resist saying.
“You really are something special to him, Serena. He’s broken so many of his own rules for you!”
“Who knew he would nail gingerbread decorating on his first attempt? He seems to succeed in everything he does. Serena’s quite lucky,” June chimed in with praise.
Just as Martin was about to respond, his phone on the table began to ring. He glanced at the screen, his expression clouding over momentarily before he wiped his hands and said to Serena, “I need to take this call.”
Serena nodded in understanding.
Normally, Martin would take calls without leaving her side.
But this time, he walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window, slid his finger across the screen, and whispered, “Mom.”Serena could guess who was calling just by reading his lips, but she kept her face serene and unruffled.
The voice on the other end seemed furious, and Martin, fearing Serena might overhear, turned to glance back at her.
Serena’s gaze remained fixed on him, a look of empathetic kindness on her face.
Martin tried to keep his expression calm, not wanting to let her catch on to any trouble.
“Mom, I’ll be there soon.”
As soon as Martin finished his sentence, the person on the other end of the line completely lost her patience and handed the phone to someone else. Martin heard his father’s voice and had to whisper, “Dad.”
The man on the phone scolded him hard and brought up some issues, ultimately leaving Martin no choice but to concede, “I’m on my way now.”
The call ended with a series of beeps.
Martin glanced at his phone screen before finally approaching Serena, unsure of how to start the conversation.
He had already told his parents about Serena, along with the close call she had with death and her eventual refuge at the estate.
His intention was to take good care of Serena, to spend the holidays with her, and to skip the slew of New Year’s events with his extended family.
His mother had already formed a less than favorable impression of Serena, and to preserve her reputation, he had refrained from discussing Serena’s biological parents and their questionable actions.
But fate had other plans.
Two nights ago, his parents encountered Eunice at an auction. Eunice didn’t hold back, revealing all about Serena’s behavior over the past six months, as well as Erik and Martha’s despicable tactics…
This revelation had his parents seething on the spot.
During the drive home, they took turns calling him, implying that he must break up with Serena!
Not only did he refuse, but he also planned to miss the New Year dinner.
How could his parents accept this?
On the phone just now, they insisted he either join the family for a lively celebration or they would come over personally to drive Serena out.
For Serena’s sake, Martin had to compromise.But now, he didn’t know how to explain to Serena.
Seeing his troubled look, Serena guessed what was on his mind and asked gently, “Do you have something urgent to take care of? It’s okay, you go. I have Dora and June with me. I won’t be lonely.”
“Serena.” Martin struggled to articulate, managing only to say, “I do have something I must attend to.
But I’ll rush back to be with you for dinner, okay?”
Worst case, he would eat at both dinners, hurrying from one to rejoin Serena.
“Sure.” Serena nodded gently, without a trace of blame in her eyes. Instead, she reached out with her warm hand, caressing Martin’s face. “You go take care of your things. We live together now, right? Any time is good for dinner.”
Hearing her understanding words, Martin felt even more guilty. He was about to instruct the staff to present the gingerbread house he had prepared, so he could at least accompany Serena for a few bites before leaving.
Serena had been waiting since morning, her stomach growling, looking forward to a meaningful breakfast of his homemade gingerbread house.
But just then, his phone rang with a message.
His parents had given him only half an hour; even rushing there was cutting it close, let alone accompanying Serena for breakfast.
Martin was torn once more.
“Is it an emergency?” Serena urged with kindness, “Go handle it, don’t worry about me!”
Martin felt a deeper pang of guilt, “Serena.””Go, please.”
“You guys start cooking for Serena. I’ll be back in no time,” Martin instructed before caressing Serena’s face again. “Wait for me, okay? I’ll be home soon.”
Serena nodded, feeling a touch of disappointment.
As she watched Martin’s hurried departure, Serena understood that in her current situation, the Coopers would surely think she wasn’t good enough for Martin.
With no powerful family background or relatives to support her, winning Martin’s heart was her only chance to turn her life around!
She wouldn’t allow anyone to ruin her plans.
Reflections Villa.
After finishing breakfast, the housemaid brought over a stack of beautiful window decals. “These are all static clings. Just wipe the window with a damp cloth, and they’ll stick right on.”
“I’ll take some; I want to help Bella put them up.”
“Me too.”
“I’m with Bella!”
“Bella, I will clean the windows for you. You can put them anywhere you like,” said Mirabella’s grandpa.
“Don’t worry about me being too old. I can stand on a chair. Just tell me where you like them, and I’ll stick them on for you!” said her grandma.
There was nothing left for the brothers. The housemaid said awkwardly, “We have more decals with fireworks and Happy New Year coming soon.”
“Come on, Bella, let’s go put up the decals.” The elders were already escorting Mirabella away with laughter and chatter.
“Hans, this isn’t working!” Clark blurted out anxiously, “We finally made time to come home and spend it with Bella, and from the moment we got up, we’ve barely exchanged a few words with her.”
Before he could finish, the elders had shooed them aside.
Their presence was barely acknowledged!
“Now I have to sacrifice myself.” David decided, taking a few steps forward and then letting out a loud, exaggerated groan as he pretended to trip.But the elders ahead were deep in their merry conversation and didn’t even notice him.
Clark couldn’t help but laugh, reaching out to the pitiful David, “They didn’t even notice you.”
David never imagined there’d be a day when even his hundreds of millions of fans couldn’t save him.
“Spending this year putting up window decals with our darling Bella is sure to bring a smooth sailing next year.”
“In the past, every New Year, the housemaids would put the decals up early in the morning, and we’d wake up to see them. But this year is different. Being able to do this with Bella really makes it feel like home.”
“Exactly, I feel like these activities are only meaningful when the whole family does them together.”
The brothers watched the elders and Mirabella laughing and talking as they adorned the large floor-to-
ceiling windows with various decals, feeling envious.
David cheekily squeezed through. “Grandpa, aren’t you tired? Let me help. Leave this to us young folks. Come on down; it’s dangerous standing on that chair!”
“I’m still strong and fit. I’m not tired from sticking one decal, let alone a hundred! Step aside, and don’t block Bella. Bella, is this the spot you mentioned?”