In the living room, Erik watched Serena's crying her heart out was utterly useless. Scrambling up, he began, "Mr. and Mrs Collins."
"You'd better not plead her case, or you're out the door with her." Louisa snapped, her temper flaring, "I actually thought she was
sorry this time. She's been playing us for fools, putting on an act, pretending to apologize. Then behind our backs, she's spewing
vile insults like ‘trash,’ 'freak," and 'slut'. What happened to the manners we've spent eighteen years instilling in her?"
Kenneth, too, felt a chill of disappointment, "I never thought she'd becsuch a stranger to us." He followed Louisa upstairs, "I
don't think she's going to change. Once she apologizes to Bella, we'll have her move out."
"There's no keeping her here," Louisa agreed, having seen through Serena's facade after these recent events. The girl wasn't going
to change.
Serena felt as if the entire world had abandoned her. She knelt in the snow, her body numbed by the cold until she lost all feeling;
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtshe simply couldn't believe her parents actually meant to kick her out.
Eighteen years of pampering flashed before her eyes, as vivid as yesterday's memories. Although Erik had warned her that after
the New Year's festivities, her parents might ask her to leave the Collins family, but when she heard it from them and felt the sting
of their slaps, it was all too different.
She was discarded. Cast aside by the very parents who once doted on her the most! All those promises to cherish her as their own,
to treat her fairly, they were all lies!
Her tears flowed unchecked, her body shivering uncontrollably in the freezing cold. Erik, witnessing this from inside, felt a pang of
distress.
Serena had no idea how long she knelt in the snow until she collapsed, consciousness slipping away.
Erik, frantic, approached Louisa, "Mrs. Collins, Ms. Serena's been in the snow for three hours. She's passed out from exhaustion."
Louisa had been about to sit down for dinner, but Erik's words did nothing to soften her heart. She continued towards the dining
area unfazed.
"Mr. Collins, can't you give Ms. Serena another chance?" Erik turned to Kenneth who usually had a softer touch.
But this time, Kenneth offered no response. He simply followed Louisa to the dining table and pulled out a chair for her.
At that moment, Betty emerged from the kitchen with a tray of food intended for Serena. Upon seeing this, Louisa said icily, "From
this moment on, there's no need to send her meals."
Betty hesitated, asking instinctively, "But what will Serena eat?"
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm
"Doesn't she have hands? Can't she cook for herself?" Louisa took her seat and then continued callously, "Until Bella returns,
nobody is to concern themselves with her."
Betty and Erik exchanged a look of resignation. They set down the tray and retreated, heads bowed.
As Louisa gazed at the spread before her, memories of doting on Serena cflooding back - the girl's innocent, beaming smile
and the venomous words she'd uttered in secret.
"Forget about her." Kenneth picked up his utensils and served her sfood, "We've been more than generous with her. We have a
clear conscience."
"lI wonder if Bella's arrived yet," Louisa thought of Bella traveling abroad alone. She took out her phone and sent her a message.