The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella)

Chapter 1594

Just the thought of that scene made Carol's heart ache.

"My aunt believes that if my mom hadn't been disabled, if she hadn't spent every day crying because she couldn't find us, her life

would have been better. Our family wouldn't have fallen apart, and dad wouldn't have moved on so quickly with a new flafter

she passed away."

Carol's eyes dimmed for a moment as she spoke, then she quickly added, "But | don't blmy aunt. None of this is her fault. If

there's anyone to blame, it's that truck that swerved into our lane."

If it hadn't been for that truck changing lanes, the lady driving wouldn't have crashed, and mom wouldn't have ended up with a

lifelong disability due to a steel rod piercing her leg. Dad wouldn't have been so frantic after getting the call about mom being in

the ICU that he lost track of the kids.

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It all seemed like it was written in the stars.

"How does your dad treat you?" Arabella asked softly, "Were he happy when you and your brother chome?"

"He just broke down crying on the spot, kept apologizing to us for not taking better care of us, saying it was his fault we ended up

alone for so many years." Carol's smile held no trace of blame; instead she said, "He doesn't know about Doom. We didn't tell him."

Arabella nodded in understanding; after all, no one wanted their loved ones to live in constant fear.

"He only knows | ended up in an orphanage and then was adopted by a kind couple. Later on, | reunited with my brother, and then

Crystal suffered indecent assault for trying to save my adoptive parents, and died because of fatal injuries."

Mentioning Crystal weighed heavily on Carol, as if a mountain of stone pressed down on her, making it hard to breathe.

They say that Crystal, with her last breath, made her parents promise not to hurt Carol and Clark.

That good-hearted girl, knowing her twas short, still used her last bit of life to protect them.

"Back then, Crystal had multiple fractures, breaks in her nerves, tendons, blood vessels, and her organs were damaged to varying

degrees. Even if she had survived, she wouldn't have been able to move her arms and legs freely, and there was a high chance she

would have needed amputations. Given her condition, she would've had to live with a catheter bag for life, never leaving her

wheelchair, being fed by someone else. For her, that would've been unbearable agony."

Especially she had someone she deeply loved and didn’t want him to learn that she'd been violated; every day when waking up,

she had to face herself in a wheelchair. She had always loved the arts, especially dancing. If she lost her arms and legs, it would

have been a devastating blow. With her temperament, she truly would've preferred death over living like that.

"I'll take good care of my aunt and her husband, give them more company and attention, to comfort Crystal's spirit in heaven."

Holding a bouquet of white roses in one hand and Arabella's hand in the other, Carol said, "For the New Year's dinner, | want to visit

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my aunt's house with Clark. We can't go empty-handed. They've seen their fair share of jewelry over the years, and they have

plenty. | was thinking of gifting something practical. | heard there's this craft yarn shop at the mall which is all the rage with the

girls. I want to buy syarn and knit sweaters and scarves for them two."

"You know how to knit?" Arabella sounded surprised.

"Yeah, my adoptive parents taughtwhen | was little." Mentioning her adoptive parents made Carol's heart sink again,

"Tomorrow, I'll pay my respects to them again."

As they passed a clothing store, Arabella suddenly noticed the clothes on the mannequin bore a striking resemblance to her own

designs from a while back, about ninety percent similar.

She looked inside at the other mannequin displays, the clothes they wore were incredibly similar to her previous designs as well.

She glanced at the store sign - 2F? Never heard of it.