Filed To Story: Returning to Her Not-So-Poor Family
Romeo leaned down, pressing his lips to hers, lingering as if he couldn’t get enough. These clothes were proof of her affection for him.”Go on, take a hot shower,” she urged.
After his shower, Mirabella had breakfast ready. They ate together before she let him rest in the adjacent room.
“Stay with me for a bit,” Romeo said, pulling her into bed and drawing the covers over them. “I sleep better with you by my side.”
Wrapped in his embrace, Mirabella was surrounded by his presence.
Slowly, Romeo drifted off to sleep.
In front of Mirabella, he shed his armor of indifference, as docile as a child.
Mirabella noticed his long eyelashes, his flawless skin—so delicate and clean.
Now, he seemed his age—lacking the maturity he projected to the outside world, exuding the youthful vitality and tenderness of a boy.
Seeing his breathing even out, Mirabella gently removed his hand, intending to leave the bed. But as she sat up, Romeo instinctively clutched at her clothing, half-awake and peering at her with bleary eyes.
“I’m just going to the bathroom,” Mirabella lied smoothly.
Romeo sat up, ready to accompany her.
“No need, you keep sleeping. I’ll be right back.”Returning to the bedside, intending to coax him back to sleep, Mirabella was met with his drowsy eyes.
He mistook her return as her having finished in the bathroom. “All done?”
Before she could explain, Romeo’s arms were around her, his scent enveloping her once again.
This time, to ensure Romeo could sleep peacefully, Mirabella stayed still.
At Reflections Villa, the gatekeeper never saw Romeo leave, and his car remained parked outside.
Shortly thereafter, someone found Romeo’s discarded clothes in Mirabella’s shower, and the room next door was locked from the inside. The servants snickered among themselves, eagerly sharing the juicy tidbit with a frantic Louisa.
Louisa had been worried sick about her daughter’s welfare, but upon hearing the servants’ gossip, a wave of relief washed over her, and a smile crept onto her face, unstoppable. She ordered all the staff to avoid the second floor so as not to disturb the young couple’s rest.
Unbeknownst to her, Mirabella had also drifted off to sleep.
After some time had passed, Romeo awoke to find the girl in his arms and a quiet sense of bliss filled him.
He couldn’t bear to let go of her soft body for even a second. The scent of her skin drew him closer, and with a deep, contented inhale, he held her tighter in his embrace.
Two days later.
Serena had learned that Florence was alone each day from 2 to 3 p.m. without any family by her side, so she sent someone over with bags of goodies to visit.
Florence, who had been recuperating in the ICU for many days, was just beginning to feel better when she heard from her bodyguard that Serena had arrived, instantly souring her mood.
“I know you don’t want to see me. I’ll just leave these things here and go,” said Serena, as she was wheeled into the room by a servant.
The bodyguard in the hospital room was torn, unsure whether to shoo her away or let her be.”What are you doing here?” Florence clearly didn’t want her there.
“I know that your illness is my fault, and I truly feel terrible about it. These gifts are just a small token of my apology.”
Serena hadn’t finished speaking when Florence cut her off with a cold voice, “You’re using my son’s money to buy these things, what kind of gesture is that? If you have any sincere regret, please leave my son alone and stop bringing him misfortune!”
Serena knew she wouldn’t get any kind words from her, but with the bodyguard present, she still put on a pitiful front.
“The engagement party for Martin and me is set for this Friday at 7 p.m. at the Century Hotel. Martin and I both hope you can set aside your grudges and attend. After all, he’s your only son, and this is a once-in-a-lifetime event.”
At that, Florence’s heart couldn’t take it, “What did you say?”
“Friday at 7 is the auspicious time Martin picked out with an expert. Don’t worry, after the engagement party, I’ll officially be part of the Cooper family, and Martin and I will take good care of you.”
Seeing the medical monitors spike with activity, Serena smirked with satisfaction and said gleefully, “Well then, I won’t disturb you any longer, Mrs. Florence. Goodbye.”
She glanced at Dora, who nodded at Florence as a form of farewell, then wheeled Serena away.
Florence couldn’t believe it. Despite her strong opposition, even to the point of being in the ICU, her son had gone behind their backs to pick a date without their consent, settling on this very Friday evening.Before the bodyguard could finish, Florence fainted from rage.
Panicked, the bodyguard frantically pressed the call button.
Elsewhere.
Mirabella was visiting Joyce, Mya, and Edith in the hospital.
They were each in separate rooms.
“Hey, Bella,” Barry looked up, his smile as bright as the morning sun. “Feeling any better?”
“How are you holding up, Bella?” Joyce, perched on the edge of her hospital bed, chimed in with genuine concern.
“I’m fine.” Mirabella set a basket of apples on the table, her eyes briefly landing on the bowl of oatmeal in Barry’s hands. “What’s Joyce eating?”
“I tried whipping up some nutritious oatmeal I found online. It’s not much to look at.” Barry chuckled, a little embarrassed.
Joyce added with a smile, “But it tastes pretty good.”
Mirabella saw the love in their eyes for each other and her lips curved in a gentle smile. “How’s your neck, still sore?”
“Not at all,” Joyce beamed.
“And your arm?”
“That’s all better too.”
“I ate the fruit you sent over to my place; it was sweet and really delicious.”
Joyce tugged Mirabella to sit beside her on the bed. “Bella, you’ve been through so much for me and Mya. I wanted to come see you myself, but the doc said I have to be observed for a couple days. I should be discharged tomorrow if all is well.”
Before Mirabella had rushed to her rescue, Joyce had been hit on the head by one of Yolanda’s goons, causing dizziness, headaches, and bouts of nausea, hence the hospital’s watchful eye.”Now you’re feeling better?”
“All good, I’ll be out of here by tomorrow.”
After chatting for a bit, Mirabella went to visit Mya.
Mya had been slapped by Yolanda and stabbed in the leg, but luckily her winter coat had cushioned the blow, and it wasn’t too deep. Still, she was in for some discomfort and couldn’t walk around much for a while.
Adair was there, the wealthy young gentleman proving to be unexpectedly attentive and caring.
After spending some time with Mya, Mirabella moved on to see Edith.
“Ms. Bella, I can’t thank you enough for saving me.” Edith attempted to get out of bed to show her deep gratitude.
Mirabella quickly reached out to steady her. “No need for such formalities. You’ve been nothing but loyal to the Collins family. It is I who should be thanking you.”
Tears welled up in Edith’s eyes. “When I saw you coughing up blood but still fighting to save me, Ms.
Bella, your kindness is something I can never repay. Please, let me bow to you.”
Again, Edith tried to get out of bed to bow.Edith’s eyes grew even more moist. She couldn’t understand why anyone would want to hurt someone as kind-hearted as Mirabella.
Edith glanced at the check, which had $50,000 written on it, and immediately protested. “No, no, your parents visited this morning and offered money as well, but I refused. I don’t feel burdened by you, on the contrary, meeting you and serving the Collins family has been the best decision of my life, my fortune.”
“This is for you to buy some supplements,” Mirabella insisted, trying to hand over the check.
Mirabella hadn’t expected the conversation to turn towards weddings but responded with a soft smile, “You’ll definitely be on the guest list.”
In the hospital.
Upon hearing that his mother’s condition had worsened, Martin rushed to the hospital. The moment he pushed open the door to the ICU, his sister Diana slapped him hard across the face.
“Can’t even keep your own bitch on a leash, letting it yap in front of Mom? How dare you?”
Martin could only look towards his bodyguard, asking, “What happened?”
“Ms. Serena.”
The bodyguard was cut off before he could finish, as Diana snapped angrily, “Why are you so respectful of her?”
The bodyguard, clearly frightened, quickly corrected himself, “It was Serena. She came to visit Mrs.
Florence with lots of gifts. When Mrs. Florence told her to leave Martin, she wouldn’t listen and even told your mom that her engagement party to you is set for this Friday at 7 PM. That’s when Mrs.
Florence’s condition took a turn for the worse.”
“Did you hear that?” Diana turned to Martin, fury in her eyes. “That troublemaker did it on purpose to aggravate Mom’s condition!”
“The engagement party with her is indeed this Friday at 7 PM. I was planning to find the right time to come with her to talk to Mom about it, but I guess she came on my behalf because I’ve been busy. She didn’t say anything out of line, even brought gifts.”
“She knows full well that Mom doesn’t want her stepping foot into the Cooper family, doesn’t support your marriage because it’s the reason Mom’s heart condition landed her in the ICU, and yet she still tells Mom the time and place of the engagement. Isn’t that just flaunting it in her face?”
“She just brought things to visit, and happened to share the good news with Mom. Why do you always have to think the worst of her?”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.