The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella)

Chapter 1845

"It's freezing out—be careful not to get your tears on Bella's clothes." Sean stepped in and separated them, "What's the big deal,

huh? It’s just realizing we've been raising a viper all this time. Well, that viper's been dealt with, and is half-dead. If you feel like

you owe Bella, just take care of her—send her checks, buy her gifts, spend squality twith her. What is this crying for."

"You little rascal..." Bernard feigned anger and raised his hand as if to swat him, but Sean's words broke through his sorrow and

coaxed a reluctant chuckle from him.

"Con, you're too old for this waterworks show. And you, Granny, you're usually such a tough cookie—that’s out of character for

you. Back in the day, if anyone dared cross one of ours, you'd be the first to grab a baseball bat and go knocking on their door."

Cornelia shot him a stern glance. That boy always spoke his mind, no filter, but her mood visibly lifted. The tempest of grief and

anger within her was finally calming down.

"Both of you, stop scaring Bella," Sean continued, patting Arabella on the head. "This poor girl was working too hard—after

returning to this home, she's been running around saving people; it's almost driving her to exhaustion."

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"Bella, chere next to Grandma," Cornelia finally said, wiping away her tears and gesturing for Arabella to ccloser. "Sean's

right. Instead of drowning in the past regrets, what we need to do now is make it up to you. There's no point in rehashing the past,

but | still owe you an apology, a real heartfelt one. We thought you and Serena could get along, but we never anticipated her

jealousy and resentment to reach such extremes."

"Grandma, you don't oweanything. What I've found in this family in the last six months is far more than | ever got from the

Murphys in the past eighteen years—more than a million times over. Everyone in the Collins family has been so kind to me, and I'm

just happy to be back hwith all of you."

Hearing her say this, everyone's hearts softened, and their eyes welled up.

What they had given her was nothing compared to the attention they'd showered on Serena for eighteen years.

The meticulous care and concern they'd lavished on Serena couldn't be compared to what Arabella had received.

Yet this child held no grudges and was full of gratitude and contentment.

They becemotional once more, and their eyes reddened with tears.

"Esteemed Sirs and Madams, Clark is back!"

Just then, a servant rushed in with the news.

The elders quickly wiped their tears and composed themselves, not wanting to show any further signs of distress.

Clark stepped through the front door to a scene that surprised him. "What's all this commotion about? Why's everyone here?"

All his grandparents were there!

He greeted everyone in the living room one by one. As he drew closer, he noticed the red-rimmed eyes, but only Arabella greeted

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him with a smile. "Clark, you're here?"

Clark affectionately ruffled her hair. Seeing her always washed away his fatigue, leaving him basking in a sense of joy.

"I've been slammed with work—wrapped up a few projects, designed ssystems, and even built a brand-new firewall. |

would've been hsooner, but there was a homicide in the neighboring city. The case was urgent, so | stayed until | finished the

autopsies on a few victims."

After explaining himself, Clark asked, "So what's up? What was everyone talking about? Why the tearful eyes?"

"It's about the surveillance footage from the abandoned building project."

With Arabella's brief hint, Clark grasped the situation. He'd seen the footage from the derelict site, and his sister had updated him

on everything afterward. He'd been checking in on her frequently, worrying about her well-being in their video calls.

But as it turned out, Arabella was doing just fine; the incident hadn't affected her daily life in the slightest. She carried on as usual,

but his family, on the other hand, seemed to be having a harder tshaking off their sadness and anger.