Filed To Story: Returning to Her Not-So-Poor Family
She messaged Romeo and confirmed it was indeed him who had sent the flowers to Grannie Grace.
Warmth flooded her heart.
Under the watchful gaze of generations past, Kenneth stood in the grand hall of the family estate, a place where tradition and history melded into the rich tapestry of their heritage. He spoke with a voice brimming with pride, “Dear families, I bear joyful tidings. Our daughter, who has wandered far from us for many a year, has at last been found and returned to our fold.”
He guided Mirabella to pay her respects.
After Mirabella had completed the ritual, Louisa chimed in, “Tomorrow, we shall host a grand feast to celebrate Bella’s return and to make her identity known to all. May you bless her with safety, health, and everlasting happiness.”
Meanwhile, a sleek stretch limousine pulled up to the grand entrance of the estate.
A servant hurried over to announce, “Lucas Collins and his family have arrived.”
Lucas, Beverly, and Alma stepped through the threshold, their chauffeur following closely behind, arms laden with an array of elegant gifts.
“Kenneth, Louisa, we’re a tad late this year,” Beverly greeted them with a smile that was the epitome of grace and warmth, her gaze sweeping over the men around her. “This year even Chasel, Clark, Sean, and David made it. Seems like Bella is more influential than your words alone.”
Louisa laughed, “You can say that again. Usually, it takes all my nagging to get them to wrap up their work and come home for the holidays. This year, they’ve all come back willingly, without so much as a nudge from me.”
Beverly’s smile grew more knowing as she turned her affectionate gaze to Mirabella, “It must be this charming sister who has drawn them back. Not just her brothers, but even I am particularly fond of her.””Bella, long time no see,” Lucas said jovially as he arrived. “The end of the year has been a whirlwind of busyness. I intended to invite you out for a meal, but just couldn’t find the time.”
“Lucas, Beverly,” Mirabella greeted them with a polite smile. “It’s okay, I understand how busy things can get.”
“Bella,” Alma offered a friendly smile of her own.
Mirabella simply nodded, her response lukewarm at best.
Beverly noticed right away that if it weren’t for the others present, Mirabella might not have even offered Alma that much courtesy.
But as it stood, Beverly cheerily suggested, “Let’s greet the guests first, then we can catch up on family matters.”
“Bella, it’s a bit crowded here, shall we head inside?” Hans worried that his sister might tire from standing too long.
“Yeah, let’s go to the living room. I’ll play some video games with you,” Clark suggested, casually slinging an arm around Mirabella’s shoulders.
The other four brothers were quick to object, “Get your hands off her!”
Alma couldn’t help but feel surprised, perhaps even a little perplexed, at the brothers’ affection for Mirabella. Not even Serena had managed to endear herself to this extent. Could it really be the ties of blood that made them cherish Mirabella as one of their own?
Wouldn’t that just infuriate Serena?
A sly smile played on Alma’s lips. Anything that vexed Serena was a source of delight for her.Speaking of which, where was Serena today?
As she watched Mirabella being escorted by her brothers into the main house, Alma quickly followed.
Once Lucas and Beverly had finished paying their respects, they shared a few laughs with Kenneth and Louisa before heading into the main house themselves.
“Munch on this, Bella.” Sean held out a piece of fruit he had snagged from a platter brought in by the house staff, feeding it to his sister.
“It’s freezing out—better for sis to have a hot drink.” Clark pushed a steaming cup of tea towards her.
“Brewed it myself, but watch out, it’s a bit scorching.”
“Hey Bella, do you dig this?” Sean flashed an image of a gemstone necklace on his phone to Mirabella.
“The brand folks sent it over, saying the gem’s a rare find. They’re thinking of crafting it into this necklace style. You into it? Or maybe you’d want it as a ring or earrings.”
“Wait up, I just remembered something that’s even better for Bella.” David whipped out his phone, pulling up a pic his buddy had sent him. “Check this out, don’t you guys think sis would look even more smashing with this hair accessory? The moment I saw it, I knew it was tailor-made for her!”
“That’s a winner. I’ll wire you the cash to lock it down—as a gift from me to Bella,” Chasel declared.
“No way, I spotted that first. I’ll treat Bella, I’ve got the dough!” David objected, showing the photo to Mirabella. “What do you think, Bella? It’s decent, right?”
He was secretly worried if Mirabella’s taste was above theirs and she’d find it tacky.
“David, don’t bother buying it.”
Mirabella’s response made David hastily place the order. She didn’t call it ugly. She was just concerned about him splurging, which meant she didn’t despise the diamond hairpiece!
Alma watched them all bonding and felt like an outsider.
The real kicker was that the bitch, Serena, who would have died of jealousy seeing this, wasn’t even here to witness it. Curiosity got the best of her, “Oh right, where’s Serena today?”Her question shifted the mood instantly. The brothers’ faces soured.
What, did Serena screw up?
As Beverly walked into the living room, she couldn’t help but ask, “Yeah, how come Serena’s not around today?”
Usually, when the brothers came home, she’d be all over them.
But today, not a shadow in sight.
“She’s kicked out,” Louisa said matter-of-factly.
Kicked out?
Not just Lucas and Beverly, but Alma too, was taken aback, followed by barely containable glee!
Was that bitch finally thrown out on her ear?
How could her parents to do it?
Louisa spilled the beans about all the things Serena had done, including how she bullied Mirabella over the past six months and the revelation that she was the daughter of Erik and Martha, the butler and the maid.
“Erik and Martha’s daughter?” Lucas and Beverly exchanged incredulous looks.
Alma was thrilled to realize the previously haughty bitch was just the offspring of the house staff. She couldn’t be happier.Seeing the grandparents fuming over Serena, Alma couldn’t help but fan the flames, adding fuel to the fire.
“The real reason I haven’t visited you, grandpa and grandma, is because of Serena. I mean, she had her goons beat me up. So I’ve been home, nursing my wounds. I didn’t show my face because I didn’t want you to worry.”
“Alma.” Beverly’s warning tone and reproachful glance seemed to scold her for making things worse.
“What did you say?” Bernard and Cornelia pressed for detail and learned Serena had bullied even Alma, having her beaten up, and that Alma had been recovering at home all this time.
“That ungrateful wretch!” Bernard and Cornelia’s fury knew no bounds, tarnishing Serena’s image even further in their eyes.
“Grandpa and Grandma, please don’t be mad. It’s all water under the bridge now. What we need to focus on is making it up to Bella for the hurt she’s endured. I’m fine, really. What matters most right now is how Bella feels.”
Mirabella never expected that with Serena out of the picture, Alma would step into the spotlight. She had heard Alma had a sister who was sick and couldn’t make it today.
She just hoped they weren’t cut from the same cloth.
“Why would Serena have someone hit you?” David suddenly asked. “Did you two have a falling out?”
Bernard and Cornelia’s gaze shifted back to Alma.
“Serena’s been bullying me, and it wasn’t just a one-off. At Mr. Eugene’s birthday bash, she dumped champagne on my face when no one was looking—and she spat in it first.”
Everyone cringed at the thought, appalled by Serena’s behind-the-scenes behavior. It was just tasteless.
“There must be some bad blood between you two,” David said, cutting to the heart of the matter.
“Knowing her, if she didn’t like you, she’d just dish out some snide remarks. It wouldn’t come to blows unless you really pushed her over the edge.”
Alma couldn’t believe David was actually taking that little troublemaker’s side. And from the looks of it, her mother didn’t seem inclined to back her up either!
Her mother must be upset with her for being too brash.
But if she didn’t speak up about Serena’s bullying now, when would she?”Alma, what’s the real story? Tell us everything you know, so we can all make sense of this,” Bernard said, sensing that the situation wasn’t as straightforward as his granddaughter made it out to be.
Speaking of that night.” Beverly interjected with a graceful smile, smoothly steering the conversation elsewhere, “Alma and I attended Mr. Eugene’s birthday party, and who knew that Bella was not only the chess prodigy Queena but also the violin virtuoso Jamie Noelle.”
Everyone but Kenneth and Louisa was gobsmacked.
“Bella is Queena? And Jamie ?” The brothers looked astonished.
Their little sister was just too impressive.
And she had these two amazing alter egos?
“Dad, Mom, why don’t you look surprised at all? Did you know about this?”
“You knew and didn’t tell us?”
Louisa indeed knew about it, explaining, “I only found out after Mr. Eugene’s party. That ingrate Serena even pretended to be Queena’s disciple at the party and more than once told friends that it was Bella who ruined her engagement with Romeo. That’s why your father and I decided she needed to spend some time next door to reflect, but we had no idea.”
The brothers all knew that Serena had been sent next door to reflect because she had bullied Bella, but they hadn’t known she was also masquerading as Queena’s disciple.
“I never realized my granddaughter was so remarkable.” Bernard and Cornelia were full of praise for Mirabella.Beverly saw how the topic had smoothly changed and softened her gaze. She had just taken a sip of tea when Sean spoke up.
“What does any of this have to do with Alma getting hit?”
Everyone snapped back to the present and turned their attention to Alma.