SWNOVELS Chapter 331-340
Chapter 331
“I have to head home for dinner tonight, so I can’t hang with you.”
“Alright.” Romeo gently patted her on the head and then opened the car door for her.
As they were on the road, Arabella asked about Romeo’s grandma, and they chatted about their jobs. Soon, they arrived at Reflections Villa.
Romeo helped her unbuckle the seatbelt, opened the car door, and gave her a somewhat reluctant hug. “Can you make some time to hang out with me next time?”
“Sure.” Arabella turned around, about to walk into the gate, when she noticed something shiny on the ground. Oil?
Under the sunlight, the large area of oil looked like water.
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Someone must have cleaned the garden to cover the oil; the ground was all wet.
If she didn’t look closely, she wouldn’t notice.
Who spilled the offthere?
Were they hoping she’d slip?,”
In one of the windows of the main house, there seemed to be a pair of eyes sneakily watching.
Without a flinch, Arabella stepped on the wet spots on the ground, perfectly avoiding the oil, and walked straight in.
“She just walked in like that?” Martha, hiding behind the curtain, couldn’t believe it: “I purposely spilled two buckets of oil; why isn’t the ground slippery?” Serena felt regretful: “Did the garden cleaning wash away the oil?”
“No, Holly cleaned the garden first, then I spilled the oil. By rights, Arabella should have slipped!”
Unexpectedly, she just strolled in without a problem!
At this moment, Arabella walked into the main house, scaring the two of them into pretending to discuss curtain designs.
“Serena, about your room’s curtains, do you want to switch to this floral pattern?”
“Yeah, don’t you think it’s pretty?”
“Romeo’s looking for you.” As Arabella passed by Serena, she casually mentioned, “He has something to tell you.”
Romeo was looking for her?
Serena was thrilled and wanted to rush out but was held back by Martha’s glare!
Normally, Romeo wouldn’t be looking for her!
Did Arabella notice the cooking oil on the ground and try to trick Serena into slipping?
Arabella climbed up two steps and casually mentioned, “He’s over there; if you don’t want to go, at least let someone inform him.”
How could Serena not want to go?
She’s been dreaming of talking to Romeo!!
She immediately dashed out of the main house, and Martha hurriedly followed, saying, “Serena, be careful; there’s oil on the ground.”
“It’s fine; Arabella didn’t slip when she came in. If you’re worried, we can walk slower.”
Before Serena could finish, she slipped and suddenly fell backward.
“Serena!” Martha tried to help her but ended up slipping.
Arabella stood on the balcony, watched them fall, and then called Romeo, “Now, you can go.”
Earlier, when she came in, she had sent Romeo a message asking him to wait.
Romeo slightly smiled. “You said there’s a show to watch; is this it?”
“Yes.”
Romeo didn’t expect that these two scheming people would try to make Bella slip, “I’ll go in and talk to your dad.”
“No need.”
This was such a minor incident that it’s not worth bothering dad.
In the living room.
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Serena and Martha were helped in, lying on separate sofas, their faces pale from pain.
Louisa rushed over after hearing the news and asked, “What happened? Get Dr. Zoe over here.”
“Mum, I tripped, and Martha fell trying to help me.”
Because they slipped on oil, the fall was harder and the pain more intense.
“Let me see.” Louisa lifted the back of Serena’s clothing gently upon seeing only women around. Her entire back was covered in bruises!
“I failed to protect Miss Serena; please punish me, Ma’am!” Martha was in so much pain that she was almost in tears. This damn Arabella, the floor was so slippery; how come she was completely fine?
Did she notice the oil on the floor from the start?
No way!
With her eyesight, how could she have noticed?
Even if she did, how could she have confidently strolled into the room, perfectly avoiding the oil slick?
“Martha, Serena told me you fell trying to help her. I should be thanking you, not punishing you.”
“Ma’am, you’re so kind. Protecting Miss Serena is my duty, even if I get seriously injured.”
“But why did you fall? Where did you fall?”
“Maybe you don’t know, Ma’am, but Ms. Bella said Mr. McMillan wanted to see Serena. Serena didn’t want to keep him waiting, so she hurried. But she fell before even reaching the front door.”
Just as Martha finished speaking, Holly timely added, “I just went to where Serena fell and saw that the floor had oil spilled on it.
“Why would there be oil on the garden floor?” Louisa looked puzzled.
Holly hinted subtly, “I also found it strange; the floor had oil right when Ms. Bella called for Serena.”
Louisa angrily said, “You’re implying that all of this was a trap set by Bella?”
“Please calm down, Ma’am; I didn’t mean that; I was just speculating.” Holly quickly bowed her head to apologize: “Serena treated me like a sister; seeing her like this, I just felt sorry.”
“What happened?” Kenneth Collins rushed over after hearing the news. After listening to the recount of the events and seeing the state of the two girls, he urgently asked, “Why isn’t Dr. Zoe here yet?”
“He’s on his way; he should be here in fifteen minutes.”
“Tell the driver to hurry.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Sir, Ma’am, don’t you find it strange?”
Relying on her seniority, she said arrogantly, “Mr. McMillan usually only calls for Ms. Bella; why did he suddenly call for Serena today? And just as Serena was going out, there was oil on the floor. It’s all too coincidental!”
Louisa glanced at her displeased and asked, “Lily, what do you mean by this?”
“Sir, Ma’am, to avoid wronging the innocent and to not let the person who set up Serena go, I suggest we ask Ms. Bella to come down and explain what happened. Also, I request to see the CCTV footage!”
“Are you joking?” Louisa didn’t expect this maid to be so audacious as to make such a request: “I won’t argue with you because you’re a long–time employee, but I won’t give you a second chance. You need to take responsibility for your actions!”
She dared to suspect Bella; was she that brave?
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“Did I hear someone’s looking for me?”
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Just then, Arabella sauntered down the spiral staircase, with Edith hot on her heels.
It seemed Edith had filled her in on the living room situation.
“Bella, what brings you down here?” Louisa turned to Edith and asked, “Who told you to fetch Ms. Bella?”
“It’s because Lily was being too loud. Arabella walked over to everyone and gave a careless glance around. “Aren’t we supposed to review the security footage?” “Bella.”
“Let’s do it.” Arabella spoke in a calm tone: “I want to see if someone is asking for trouble and getting what they deserve.”
“You.” Lily felt a surge of discontent towards her, but she still said, “Since it’s Ms. Bella’s idea, I’ll bring up the footage for everyone to see. I believe everyone is curious about what really happened and how Serena fell!”
“If the person who framed Serena watched her fall and doesn’t have to take any responsibility, does that mean everyone can bully Serena in the future? How many more insults does Serena have to endure? Does she even have a place in this family?”
Arabella lazily leaned back on the single sofa, and Edith poured her a glass of water. She took a sip and said nonchalantly, “Enough with the chatter.”
“Play the footage.”
“Wait and see!” Lily went to fetch the security footage. Soon, the afternoon’s surveillance footage was playing on the big screen.
Lily fast–forwarded it to three times the speed.
At five twenty in the afternoon, Holly was watering the garden. At half past five, the screen suddenly turned into black and white stripes, and then the time jumped to six in the afternoon.
Arabella walked through the front door, and not long after, Martha accompanied Serena out of the main building. Before they even reached the front door, Serena slipped and féll, and Martha fell too while trying to help her..
“It doesn’t seem like anyone’s fault; Ms. Bella didn’t do anything, and neither did Serena!”
“They both look innocent!”
“Lily, you misunderstood Ms. Bella; she just got home from work at that time.”
“That’s right.”
Several of the maids spoke up for Arabella.
“No!” Lily seemed to have found evidence, pointing at the screen and laughing coldly, “Look carefully; this is the spot. Ms. Bella didn’t fall when she passed by; how; come Serena did?”
Everyone looked, and indeed, both Serena and Ms. Bella had passed through that spot.
Lily declared, “Ms. Bella must have known in advance that there was oil there; that’s why she avoided it! But Serena didn’t know, so she slipped and fell when she walked past!”
In other words, the oil was poured by Ms. Bella!
“Nonsense! Ms. Bella only got home at six; when would she have the time to set this up?” Edith stood up and accused, “The master and mistress are here, yet you dare to slander Ms. Bella! You’ve got guts!”
“This surveillance system was purchased by the master and mistress from overseas and has been running smoothly for five years. However, during this half–hour, from five thirty to six, the surveillance footage was deleted. And then, as soon as it hit six, Ms. Bella appeared in the footage! Doesn’t that give something away?”
“What are you implying?” Edith couldn’t bear it anymore; she stood in front of Arabella and started arguing with Lily: “Ms. Bella just joined this family; she doesn’t even know where the oil is! Do you really have to slander her?”
“Could it be possible that you told her?”
“You’re framing her! You’re just spouting nonsense!”
“I heard from Holly that when Ms. Bella got home from work, she sent Serena and Martha away first, then went upstairs herself!”
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Arabella wondered if she could just go back to her room.
“Everyone knows that the surveillance room is on the third floor! Is Ms. Bella avoiding our gazes on purpose just so she can sneak upstairs and delete the surveillance footage?”
Arabella was speechless
“Do you have any evidence” Edith was fuming
“And you don’t have any evidence that Ms Bella is innocent!”
“Enough” Louisa couldn’t stand it anymore, she glared at Lily and said, “You’re really pushing it, Lily Bella is my own flesh and blood, are you trying to stir up trouble between us? Are you itching to go back to your hometown and retire?”
“Madame Serena has always treated me well over the years. Now that she’s hurt, I can’t just stand by! If I’ve misunderstood Ms. Bella, I’m willing to apologize once things are cleared up. But for now, I need an explanation from Ms. Bella! How come you didn’t slip at the same spot Serena did?”
“Oh, because I saw the oil on the floor,” Arabella replied nonchalantly.
It wasn’t her fault the others didn’t see it!
“So she did know about the oil!” Lily seemed to think she had caught Arabella; she sneered, “I also want to ask, why would Mr. McMillan randomly look for Serena? Did you be? Mr. McMillan didn’t look for her at all! You made it up, your goal was to make Serena fall, wasn’t it?”
Upon hearing this, Serena looked at Arabella with suspicion. Did Arabella really lie to her?
Romeo didn’t look for her
No. If that was the case, she had to make Arabella pay!
“Why Romeo was looking for her, is that your business?” Arabella found it hilarious.
Lily knew Arabella was lying by her look. She smirked and said, “Romeo is of high status; of course I can’t ask. But Ms. Bella can!”
Was she hinting at giving Romeo a call?
“Lily” Just as Kenneth was about to tell her to pack up and leave, Arabella spoke up.
Fine, no problem.”
Arabella casually pulled out her phone, dialed Romeo’s number, and put it on speaker.
#
Serena was both nervous and hopeful that Romeo really did have something to talk to her about!
If it was Arabella who lied to her, she would never let her off the hook!
Soon, the call was answered.
“Bella”
Every time Romeo called Arabella’s name, his yoice was so charming that it was heart–fluttering, a bit teasing, and full of indulgence.
His voice was enchantingly melodious: “Have you eaten yet?”
“Not yet”
“Are you hungry?”
“Not hungry”
“Rare of you to call me” Romeo’s voice sounded pleased: “I was just thinking about you; what are you up to?”
Everyone was shocked!
Serena couldn’t believe how affectionate Romeo was towards Arabella in private!
“Im on speakerphone right now.” In order to prevent him from saying anything more intimate, Arabella went straight to the point: “Did you need something from Serena this afternoon?”
Speakerphone? Needed something from Serena?
Romeo quickly caught on “It wasn’t anything important.”
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Serena was kind of bummed out. She thought Romeo was going to confess his feelings to her or maybe invite her out for a coffee or a chat.
“I just wanted to tell her that I only like you.”
Everyone was stumped.
“Last time I had breakfast at your place, your parents were still sleeping. She confessed her feelings to me, and I turned her down.”
Serena’s eyes widened; she didn’t expect Romeo to bring this up.
Martha couldn’t believe it either, Romeo actually said this!
And this was all on speakerphone!
Speakerphone!
Sure enough, Kenneth and Louisa couldn’t believe it either, and their faces turned super ugly.
“I don’t like her, I want her to get the hint; I don’t want her to hurt you guys; I’m warning her not to bully you.”
When he said “bully“, he put extra emphasis on it. Everyone was shocked. Was he implying that Serena was often bullying Arabella behind the scenes? That’s too much information to handle
“You’re just too nice,” Romeo’s voice was full of affection and concern. “You always keep me out of it; you won’t let me talk to your parents; you think I don’t know how you’re being treated at home.”
Arabella listened to him, amused. This guy sure knew how to talk.
Kenneth and Louisa, hearing that their beloved daughter was being mistreated at home, felt even more heartbroken and angry.
“You’re afraid they’ll be upset, but if you don’t tell them the truth, the only one who’ll end up hurt is you; you’re taking on too much. Not all kindness gets rewarded; I know you don’t expect anything in return; you’re just that kind of pure person.”
Romeo knew she was on speakerphone, deliberately saying it for certain people to hear: “No matter what she does, I only like you, and that won’t change in this lifetime.”
Serena felt like she’d been struck by lightning, completely dumbfounded.
I’m hanging up now.” Arabella didn’t wait for him to finish, and she hung up the phone.
Everyone was quiet.
They couldn’t believe that Serena had such ambitions–seducing Romeo behind the scenes and bullying Arabella!
“Dad, Mom, it’s not what you think.” Serena tried to get up to explain, but her body was in so much pain that she couldn’t move. She collapsed onto the couch, feeling like her bones were about to fall apart.
“You’re saying Romeo is lying?” Louisa didn’t believe that Romeo would lie. His status meant there was no need for him to frame others.
“We treated you like our own daughter, but behind our backs, you tried to seduce Bella’s fiancée and bully her!” Louisa angrily slapped the table..
Scared, Serena crawled to her feet and said, “Mom, mom, you’ve got it all wrong! That was in the past! I did have some inappropriate thoughts about my brother–in–law in the past! But I let it go! I really let it go!”
“Lady, don’t be misled! We should be focusing on Serena’s fall today!” Lily quickly changed the subject.
“You shut up!” Louisa knew this servant was no good either!
“Do you want to know the truth?” Arabella’s voice was calm and composed: “If you want the truth, then let me show you! Edith, could you please fetch my laptop from my room?”
“Sure.” Edith quickly went to get the laptop.
Before long, Arabella was typing line after line of code in front of everyone.
Everyone watched as the screen filled with lines of code. They had no idea what she was doing, but it looked super professional!.
Kenneth and Louisa were also confused by their daughter’s actions. What was she doing?
Not too long after, the surveillance footage from 5:30 to 6 p.m. was restored.
Martha couldn’t believe what she was seeing, so she quickly turned to Lily.
Lily was also shocked. How could this be? She had personally deleted the half–hour footage.
She even cleared the recycle bin.
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“So, this is the real tea.” Arabella hit the play button at triple speed.
The video showed a cargo truck pulling up at the front gate at half past five in the afternoon. The housekeeper, Martha, and several servants went out to unload the truck
Louisa, sitting on the sofa, suddenly recalled that in the middle of each month, the household groceries were
delivered by a special driver.
From the angle of the security camera, the truck door opened, and the servants started hauling stuff–bags of rice, assorted seasonings, and barrels of cooking oil–into the house.
Martha, carrying two barrels of oil, tripped over the threshold and took a tumble, spilling oil everywhere.
The servants, hearing the commotion, tried to help, but Martha stopped them. Judging by her gestures, she was warning them about the oil spill and the risk of slipping.
One of the servant pointed at her clothes, probably suggesting she change out of her soiled clothes.
Taking a look at her own clothes, Martha then called the driver over, seemingly questioning why the lids of the oil barrels weren’t secured.
After a while, Martha finally went inside to change her clothes.
Perhaps due to the passage of time, she forgot to have someone clean up the oil spill.
At first glance, it seemed like a series of unfortunate accidents, but Arabella smelled a rat….
Firstly, Martha was Serena’s personal nanny and had no business helping out with the groceries.
Secondly, she waited until all the servants were inside before she went to the truck to fetch the oil barrels.
While fetching the oil, she dallied, probably taking some time to unscrew the lids. The truck door conveniently blocked her actions from view, only showing her standing there for a while.
Having been in the household for many years, she would know where the security cameras were pointed. So she intentionally tripped at the entrance, making it seem like an accident.
“Sir, Ma’am, it’s all my fault! I was just trying to lend a hand and didn’t realize the oil barrels weren’t properly sealed. They asked me to change my clothes, and right after I did, Serena asked me to join her for snacks. I didn’t want to refuse Serena’s kindness, and I completely forgot about the spilled oil on the floor. It’s all my fault!” Martha feigned regret, attempting to get up to apologize but being forced to sit back down due to her injuries.
“Why weren’t the lids secured?” Louisa asked coldly. “And why wasn’t the spill cleaned up? Martha, when you and Serena fell, you should’ve remembered this incident. But when I asked you why you fell, you didn’t mention it! And you didn’t say a word when Holly was falsely accusing Bella!”
“I’m sorry, Ma’am! I’m in so much pain from the fall that all I could think about was the pain. Plus, my old age has made my mind quite sluggish; please punish me! “I’m truly sorry, Ma’am! I misspoke out of concern for Serena’s injury; please forgive me!” Holly apologized anxiously.
Another servant quickly explained; “After we moved all the stuff inside, Serena thanked us for our hard work and offered us some snacks. We were so caught up in, eating that we forgot about the spill.”
She finished, her head hanging low.
“The truck driver mentioned that they might not have checked the goods properly before the delivery. Something similar happened last year.”
“Ma’am, we are all to blame; please punish us!”
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“Punishment?” Louisa looked down on them with a haughty gaze. “Of course you’re getting punished! If Bella hadn’t restored the surveillance, how badly would you have misunderstood her by now? She wouldn’t have been able to prove her innocence!”
“Sorry, Ms. Bella!” The servants were shaking in their boots and quickly kneeling down. “We’re sorry, madam; we’re sorry, Serena; it’s all our fault.”
It was all because they were so greedy for snacks, and Serena was always chatting with them and entertaining them, so they completely forgot about their duties. “Martha, your job is to take care of Serena. Although you meant well by helping out, you spilled oil. You should’ve called someone else to clean it up. You said you’re old and forgot; I can understand that, given you’ve been looking after Serena for eighteen years. But now look at the mess you’ve made. I’ll dock you a month’s pay. Don’t make the same mistake again.”
“Thank you for your understanding, madam!” Martha, feeling grateful, shot a defiant glance at Arabella, as if to say, “What can you do to me?”
Arabella curled her lips slightly, as if everything was going exactly as she expected.
“As for you lot, you got so carried away with your snacks that you forgot to clean up, causing Serena to fall and nearly causing Arabella to be misunderstood. I’m docking two months‘ pay from all of you!”
“Thank you for your understanding, madam!” The servants felt grateful and relieved that they weren’t being fired.
The Collins family was known for their generous treatment of servants!
“And you!” Louisa’s gaze landed on Lily. “You know exactly what you said just now!”
Lily quickly knelt down. Madam, it’s all my fault. Serena’s been so good to me all these years, and seeing her get hurt like that, I panicked and misunderstood Ms. Bella. I’ll apologize to Ms. Bella!”
She had said earlier that if she really misunderstood Arabella, she would bow in apology!
Now, she walked up to Arabella and said, “Ms. Bella, I misspoke out of anxiety earlier, please forgive me! I’m from a rural area, and I didn’t receive much education! Please, I beg of you, in consideration of the twelve years I’ve worked for this family, forgive me this once. I bow in apology to you!”
Lily really bent at the waist in apology, bowing deeply and not straightening up for a long while!
No matter what, keeping her job was the most important thing.
Arabella looked at her indifferently, her lips curling slightly. “Lily, when you deleted the surveillance footage, did you think about how I would be misunderstood, despised, and looked at with strange eyes?”
Everyone was shocked and turned to look at Lily! She deleted the surveillance?
Lily was also shocked for a few seconds. How did she know about this?
“Because this high–end surveillance device, to prevent people with ulterior motives from deleting surveillance, automatically takes a photo with the front camera when deleting, you deleted the half–hour surveillance content but forgot to delete your own photo.”
Lily was completely stunned. She had overlooked one detail and ruined herself!
“Ms. Bella, I was wrong; I acted impulsively; please forgive me.
Inside, Martha was extremely anxious because the surveillance device actually didn’t have a front camera. Arabella was just bluffing. But Lily was too naive and got scared into confessing.
“Even now, you’re not going to tell us who was pulling your strings?” Arabella looked relaxed, her voice calm and collected.
Lily, however, was scared out of her wits and broke out in a cold sweat, her gaze falling unconsciously on Martha and Serena.
Both of them were also nervous and anxiously watching her, as if to say, “Don’t tell, don’t betray us!”
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Kenneth and Louisa exchanged a glance, both looking a bit puzzled. Was all this being manipulated behind the scenes? And if so, who was the puppeteer? Who was making Lily do all these things? Who was trying to frame Arabella?
Lily dropped her head and cried, “I messed up. I saw Ms. Bella coming back to this house, and it seemed like Serena was being overlooked, so I held a grudge against Ms. Bella. I wanted to make her look foolish. I just wanted her to take a little tumble, but in the end, it was Serena and Martha who fell.”
After saying all this, she knelt crying in front of Serena and said, “I’m so sorry, Serena. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m truly sorry.”
She took all the blame for herself.
With a pained heart, Serena said, “Lily, your way of showing affection is wrong. I was never neglected in this house. Mom and Dad are great to me, and so is my sister. You misunderstood my sister and made our parents mad. You really let me down!”
“I’m sorry, Serena. I disappointed your kindness.”
From the side, Martha also reprimanded, “Lily, you shouldn’t have deleted the surveillance footage. You’re just making it look like I deliberately spilled the oil and colluded with you. You deleted the footage to frame Ms. Bella. If that’s true, I can’t let it go.”
“I’m sorry, Martha. I messed up. It has nothing to do with you.”
Knowing that Serena would make it up to her, Lily took all the blame: “No one put me up to this. It was all on me. I was just jealous of Ms. Bella and wanted to get back at her. It has nothing to do with Serena or Martha.”
“You can leave now. This family won’t keep you around anymore, and none of the Collins family’s–businesses will welcome you or your family!” After saying these words, Louisa turned to Holly and said, “You should leave too. Whoever dares to disrespect Bella will suffer the same fate!”
“Yes!” The other servants all lowered their heads, thinking, ‘The lady really cares for Ms. Bella!‘
Tears streaming down their faces, Lily and Holly thanked the Collins couple for their leniency, bid Serena farewell, apologized to Arabella, and then went upstairs to pack their things.
“Now, it’s time to settle your score.” Louisa’s gaze fell on Serena with a hint of frostiness.
Clutching her leg, Serena cried out, “Mom, let me explain! I did have a crush on my brother–in–law because he’s been my betrothed since we were kids. It’s normal for me to have feelings for him. But then, one day, my sister showed up.”
Tears streamed down Serena’s face. “I couldn’t control my feelings for him and impulsively said things I shouldn’t have. Afterwards, Martha scolded me harshly, and I realized my mistake. I swear, from now on, I’ll treat him as my brother–in–law! You can ask Martha; I haven’t even seen him lately! How could I be all over him?” Martha quickly defended, saying, “Ma’am, everything Serena,said is true. Since then, she’s got a boyfriend.”
This news stunned Serena and everyone else.
Kenneth and Louisa were even more surprised: “A boyfriend?”
“Yes, the heir of the Cooper family, Martin Cooper. He’s been pursuing Serena since middle school, for a full six years. Recently, Serena was moved by him and agreed to give him a shot.”
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Martha spoke in a sincere tone: “Since we’ve only been dating for a few days and there’s a lot of uncertainty, I didn’t tell you about this yet, not because I wanted to hide it”
“I planned on telling you guys after the summer holidays.” At this point, Serena’s face showed the unique bashfulness and sweetness of a young girl. Clearly, she had really fallen for Martin.
“You and Martin are really dating?” Louisa asked doubtfully.
“Martha!” Serena pretended to scold Martha for revealing her secret.
Martha quickly explained, “Serena, you’ve got someone who cares and loves you; your mom would be happy for you too. It’s okay to say it. Mister, Lady, if you don’t believe me, Mr. Cooper will come tonight. He said he’s taking Serena to the movies; you’ll know then if what I’m saying is true.”
Kenneth and Louisa exchanged glances, thinking, If Martha or Serena were lying, what were the odds they’d mention that Mr. Cooper was taking Serena out to the movies tonight?
They must really be dating. If Serena really had someone she liked, that’s a good thing. She would finally move on from Romeo.
They knew Serena; if she really couldn’t let go of Romeo, she wouldn’t accept another boy’s pursuit, let alone be with him.
It seemed like they’re really dating.
Edith couldn’t help but say, “Just now Lily had Ms. Bella call Mr. McMillan to prove her innocence; can Serena also call Mr. Cooper to confirm their relationship?”
“Edith, do you not trust Serena? Or do you not trust me? Do you think I’m making up a person? Even if Tmade up a person, how could Serena just casually date someone? Serena is a person with standards! Plus, how would I know that this person I supposedly made up is free to take Serena to the movies tonight?”
“Besides, Serena and Mr. Cooper have only been dating for a few days; if you call now, it would just be weird and could affect their relationship!”
The Cooper family was also quite well off; although not as wealthy as the Collins family, the gap wasn’t large. Martin was a good–looking and understanding lad.
Louisa asked again, “Then why did you bully Arabella?”
“Lady, you’ve really misunderstood!” Martha took over the conversation again, explaining, “Lily did that on her own because she didn’t like Ms. Bella. You can’t blame Seréna for that.”
“Just because Lily treats Serena well, you can’t pin her wrongdoings on Serena; that would be too unfair!”
Mum, dad, if I really treated sis poorly, I would be severely punished!” Serena didn’t believe in karma, but she knew her words wouldn’t come true, so she spoke more fervently: “I would be hit by a car when I go out, choke when I eat, and get hit by something falling from above when I walk,”
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“Enough!” Louisa couldn’t listen anymore. “If you don’t have any other intentions towards Romeo and you didn’t let anyone bully Bella, we’ll let this go. But if I find. out you’re bullying Bella and still harboring illusions about Romeo,”
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“Don’t worry, mom, you’ve raised me for eighteen years; I won’t bite the hand that feeds me.” Serena expressed her feelings once again with deep affection. Just then, Dr. Zoe came in. Serena immediately pretended to be in pain, putting on a look of grievance as she complained to Louisa, even bringing up her
childhood.
Hans just got back and, seeing the scene, couldn’t help but ask, “What happened?”
“Bro, I accidentally took a tumble.” Serena, supported by a servant, lay down on the sofa, looking pitiful.
“How did you fall?”
Before going over, Hans put down the things he bought on the way in front of Arabella and asked, “Do you like them?”
“Bro, you’re so unfair, Sis gets new stuff and I get nothing!” Serena pretended to be jealous, pouting and looking very affected.
“What haven’t you had before?” Hans said, then added, “Besides, you can’t use this anyway.”
What can’t she use?
Serena widened her eyes in surprise.
Arabella opened the small gift box; it was a set of limited–edition lipsticks.
“Bella can use these at work; I heard a lot of girls are scrambling for this set.”
He contacted the brand directly; they wanted to send him a few sets, but he refused and chose to buy it himself..
The gift he gave to his sister had a different meaning than the ones sent by the brand.
“Thank you, bro.” Arabella spoke softly.
Hearing the word “bro,” Hans felt even better; his eyes softened a bit. “If you need anything in the future, just let me know; I’ll buy it for you.
At this time, Dr. Zoe finished checking Serena, finding only bruises and swelling, nothing serious.”
But after all, she is a daughter of the Collins family, so he had to prescribe some medication for her:
“Ah, it hurts.”
When the servant was applying the medicine to Serena, she would occasionally cry out in pain, frequently interrupting the conversation between the siblings.
Dr. Zoe didn’t know what to say; it’s just a bruise and swelling. Miss Collins was being so dramatic, screaming like this, that people would think she broke a bone.
Arabella’s phone vibrated twice; it was Grandpa Beck calling: She stood up and said, “I’ll go upstairs first.
“Bella.” Hans wanted to chat with her a bit more, but seeing her leave, he seemed a bit unhappy.
What happened?
At this time, Martha hurriedly said, “Hans, look at Serena; she keeps crying out in pain.”
“Drama queen.” Hans gave her a displeased look and said, “Someone, help Serena upstairs to rest; let her know when dinner is ready.”
“Bro, I’m not being a drama queen; it really hurts.” Serena said it again in a coquettish manner.
“Grandpa Beck.” Arabella walked up the stairs, her voice soft. “How have you been?”
“Not good, not good at all! It’s been almost a month; you haven’t even called me! I’m sick of staying with those old geezers all day! Last time, Grandpa Alberto even bragged about having dinner with you! Hmph, you didn’t even invite me! Left me out!”