The Coma Prince’s Fiancée novel Chapter 39

Even though he couldn’t move around much now, that face of his was still pure perfection and just looking at him made Paulina’s stomach dipped. Her pulse kicked hard enough to steal a breath.

But the second she heard Norris, always so distant and hard to approach, turn to Rebecca and say, “We meet again,” it was like someone dumped a bucket of ice water over her heart.

They already knew each other? Since when? Why didn’t she know about this? Was this some secret arrangement her father made without telling her?

Meanwhile, Shirley quickly swapped her earlier scowl for a look of innocent hurt. Her eyes went wide and watery, her voice trembling as she said, “Rebecca, I… I only knocked over the tea because the cup burned my hand. I’m really sorry. It was an accident.”

Everything had happened so suddenly that Harriet hadn’t even noticed how the cup got tossed in the first place. But hearing Shirley look so pitiful while apologizing just made Harriet angrier.

“Shirley, don’t apologize! If anyone should be saying sorry, it’s Rebecca!” Harriet shot Rebecca a severe glare. “How could you treat Shirley like this? Sure, you’re not my real daughter, but your father and I never once treated you badly. Whatever Shirley had, you had too. After you chose to go back to your birth parents, we even gave you extra money so you’d have a better life. Is this how you thank us?”

Everyone in the room turned to look, some with surprise, some with judgment.

The servants glanced at Shirley with sympathy. After all, she’d once saved Norris, so in their eyes Rebecca the adopted daughter seemed totally ungrateful. Still, with Mr. White standing right there, none of them dared say anything. They just kept their heads down.

Ableson had been there when it all went down and clearly remembered seeing Rebecca kick the cup away. But he just couldn’t believe Rebecca was anything like how Harriet described her. He glanced over at Norris, searching his face for any clue, but Norris’s expression was blank and unreadable. Ableson didn’t want to risk saying the wrong thing, so he kept quiet.

But she needed to protect her reputation as the sweet, gentle girl. She spoke up quickly, “Mr. White, I know Rebecca was wrong… but please don’t punish her. It was probably my fault anyway. If Rebecca is upset, I get it. I don’t want to pursue it anymore. Just let Rebecca go.”

“Shirley, you’re too kind for your own good! She’s treated you like this and you still want to let her off? What’s it going to take for you to stop forgiving her—does she have to actually hurt you for that?”

Harriet’s frustration only grew watching Shirley, eyes red from trying not to cry, still coming to Rebecca’s defense.

Worried that Norris might actually let Rebecca off the hook, Harriet pressed on. “Mr. White, Rebecca may have been our adopted daughter, but you can see for yourself she has no respect for us at all. She’s reckless, she never thinks about consequences. If Shirley wasn’t so lucky, Rebecca would have ruined her a long time ago. Shirley can be soft-hearted, but you can't be. Someone has to stop people from walking all over her!”