The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella)

Chapter 1537

Kenneth noticed that Serena's eyes were rimmed with red from crying, and gently patted her shoulder. "Hey, why don't you get

srest, kiddo? We can talk about this tomorrow. If you're innocent, then it was your mom and | who jumped the gun tonight. You

know we owe your sister a lot. We just want to make it up to her. We were worried she'd suffer where we can't see."

"It's okay," Serena sniffled, her voice showing a blend of resignation and understanding. "It's my lot, isn't it? I've been living the life

that should've been hers. So a little misunderstanding and a little hardship on my part—it's nothing compared to what she's been

through. | can handle it."

"That's not what we meant." Kenneth's guilt deepened. They had indeed rushed over to confront their injured daughter without

getting the full picture, just taking someone else's word for it.

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"This isn't the first tyou've questionedlike this. It's fine, really. The truth will get out, right?" Serena attempted a brave

smile, but tears betrayed her. "You could check, you know. It was Martin who carriedhtonight. If | still had any

inappropriate feelings for my brother-in-law, | wouldn't let any other man get close."

Kenneth nodded, "We understand. Let's give Serena sspace to rest."

Letting go of her mother's embrace, Serena managed a restrained voice, "Goodnight, Mom and Dad."

"Goodnight," Kenneth said, reaching the doorway and pausing. A pang of remorse held him back. "Are your injuries okay?"

The question opened the floodgates of Serena, who fought back a fresh wave of tears.

"I'm fine." she choked out, with a bittersweet tone. "At least someone cares about my injuries. A nurse said it's just superficial,

nothing broken."

Kenneth, a kind-hearted man, felt even worse hearing this.

He couldn't help but ask, "Who did this to you? That friend of yours, Lindsay? Or someone else?"

"Martin said he'd take care of it. You and mom don’t have to trouble yourselves with this," Serena offered a lonely smile. "You

should get ssleep too."

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Her words seemed to denote that in the whole wide world, Martin was now her sole pillar of support.

Her parents felt a million miles away.

Filled with regret, Kenneth replied softly, "Alright."

He closed her door with a heavy heart and went back to his room before saying to her wife, "Honey, did we wrong her tonight?"

"You heard her, besides her and Lindsay, no one really knows what they talked about," Louisa mused, sitting at her vanity for a

long moment before pulling out her phone and dialing. "Hey, Alice, I've got a question about Lindsay. Was she trying to cozy up to

Phillip tonight? Okay, okay, got it."