The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella)

Chapter 1548

"You really should've clued us in earlier," Louisa chided herself for not catching on sooner, the guilt and self-reproach evident in her

voice.

"Mrs. Collins, I'm just the help. It's not my place to gossip about family affairs. Besides, with Martha running the show and Ms.

Serena Collins in her corner, they had the stage. Even if | had a chance to explain, | couldn't have cleared things up."

Edith stood by, silently serving them food as she spoke, "And, Ms. Serena Collins's always played the angel in your eyes - smart,

kind-hearted, gentle. If I'd suggested she was bullying Ms. Arabella Collins, you'd likely have thought | was spouting nonsense

before | even finished my sentence."

As Edith went on, she added, "Especially when Ms. Serena Collins cries, that's when I'm really done for! | could have lost my job!"

Louisa gave her a reproachful look, "After all these years of dedicated service in our home, how could we just send you away?

We're not heartless like Martha."

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That tHans exposed Martha's deceit, revealing how she had spilled oil intending to cause Bella to slip. Martha was promptly

fired by Hans for that.

When the news reached Kenneth and Louisa, they were furious, giving Martha a good tongue-lashing.

At the time, Serena had tried to intercede on Martha's behalf, but Louisa had even said that if she thought so highly of Martha, she

might as well leave with her.

"It's just shocking. Beyond that oil incident, there were so many other things. Each and every one of them is infuriating. How can

she be so malicious? She doesn't act like a servant at all; she thinks she's royalty!" Louisa slammed her hand on the table, too

angry to eat.

"We thought she was treating Serena with such care because she considered her family. She had us all misty-eyed. Turns out she

was only kind to Serena. To everyone else, she was downright cruel!" Kenneth was no less heated.

Meanwhile, Serena had moved to the guesthouse, where she was the sole occupant.

Aside from the light spilling from her bedroom, the entire building was shrouded in darkness.

She found the main switch and turned on all the lights in the building, even the garden lights, but the vast quiet space still felt

eerily empty and frightening.

Finally, a servant carrying a food basket entered the courtyard, and Serena hurried downstairs.

"Betty, why is it just you? Where are the others?"

There had been three servants to attend to her needs in the afternoon, but now only Betty was here to bring dinner?

"Mrs. Collins said from now on, I'll be the one to bring your meals. Other than that, no one else will come," Betty explained as she

set the food basket on the table and started to lay out the dishes.

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Serena was famished, and upon seeing the food, she was stupefied, "What is this?"

A tangy potato salad, green bean stir-fry, and seaweed egg soup, this was it?? This was her meal??

"Mrs. Collins said that since you needs tto reflect, the meals should be plain and simple."

Serena couldn't swallow her pride. Even her meals were being cut back?? How was she supposed to stomach this!

"Actually, these dishes are quite tasty. They're the sas what we had for lunch. We had green bean stir-fry and tangy potato

salad. The chef is really skilled, honestly. You'll know once you try."

"You've already had this for lunch?" Serena was shocked and then realized, "So you're givingthe leftovers from your lunch?"

"No kidding, Ms. Serena Collins. These ingredients are the freshest, delivered today. They're certainly not leftovers from the

servants' lunch. The chef prepared these dishes just for you," Betty set the tableware in front of Serena.