The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella)

Chapter 1605

"Serena, tfor lunch," Betty said cheerfully as she set the lunch tray down, arranging the dishes one by one on the dining table.

Serena latched onto her words like a lifeline. "Where are Mom and Dad? What have they been up to all morning?"

Betty jumped when Serena grabbed her hand.

"After | brought your breakfast, | got caught up helping clear away branches. The gardener decided every tree in the estate needed

pruning." Betty paused, glancing at the clock. "I didn't get back to the main house until almost noon, and | saw your folks coming

in from a stroll in the garden. They plopped down on the couch and started sending voice messages on Whatto."

Betty hesitated, afraid to continue.

"To who?" Serena pressed, her voice tinged with urgency. "Con, spill it. No secrets."

Swallowing hard, Betty confessed, "They were checking in on Ms. Bella. Asking if she'd had lunch yet, telling her not to work too

Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt

hard, and offering to have the chef make something special to be delivered right to her door. They seemed really concerned about

Ms. Bella."

Serena felt a jolt of shock and disbelief. "Did you see them sending these messages with your own eyes?"

"Yes, | heard the 'ping' as they sent them. Ms. Bella even replied." Betty couldn't grasp why Serena's face was etched with such

defeat and despondency. "Serena, are you feeling better today? Did the fever go down after the medicine?"

It struck Serena that the only person who seemed to care about her was Betty, someone who was completely unrelated to her.

A sardonic smile played on Serena's lips, a mix of bitterness and defiance. "You actually saw them messaging on their phones,

right?"

Betty was confused by the repeated question. "I saw it with my own eyes. They chatted for like twenty minutes. Serena, what's

wrong?"

"What did they do after sending the messages?" Serena probed further.

"They got caught up reading snews on their phones. | only knew because | overheard their conversation. After that, they went

for lunch."

Serena felt her heart growing colder. So Kenneth and Louisa had tfor news and warm chats with Arabella but couldn't spare a

single punctuation mark for her own messages.

The smile on Serena's face soured. She had been feverish last night when Martha suggested a plan, which seemed good at the

time. Bravely, she had typed out over two thousand words, half for Dad, half for Mom, hoping to stir smemories.

She waited until this morning to send them, not wanting to disturb them.

She thought maybe they were busy and hadn't seen the messages, or couldn't reply just yet.

Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm

But no, they had seen them and simply chose not to respond.

"Serena, what's wrong?" Betty asked, seeing Serena push her food around the plate. "The food's getting cold, and this table

doesn't have a heating function. Serena, it's better to eat while it's warm. It won't taste as good once it gets cold."

Serena managed a hollow laugh, feeling utterly abandoned. In just a few days, she had gone from the beloved daughter, the jewel

of the Collins family, to a forgotten wretch—Ilike a queen fallen from grace, banished to a lonely, sunless palace, wondering when

she might regain her freedom.

"Serena, Serena?" Betty called softly again.

With a heart heavy with sorrow, Serena whispered, "Betty, please leavebe for a while. | need stalone."

At that moment, Serena knew what it felt like to be cast aside, forsaken by the parents who once adored her, left to wither in the

shadows of the Collins family's indifference.