The Coma Prince’s Fiancée novel Chapter 7

At a gas station just outside Cabinda, Randy leaned out the window, shouting, “Rebecca, fill-up’s done! Hop in, let’s go!”

Rebecca kept her expression flat. She really didn’t want to get back in, but when she caught Randy’s excited, eager eyes, it was like she couldn’t say no. So, she climbed onto the rickety old tractor, gritting her teeth.

It was ridiculous. They’d rattled across hundreds of kilometers on that battered tractor from Harrisburg, and even Rebecca—stubborn as she was—felt shaken to the bone.

She eyed the sign that read “Cabinda” and turned to Randy. “Weren’t we going to Silvania?”

Silvania had a reputation. It was known everywhere as one of the roughest, poorest towns around—dirty, messy, with run-down buildings everywhere you looked.

But right now, the neighborhood before her couldn’t have been more different. The streets were clean and lively, the buildings packed together and sparkling under the sun. Honestly, it looked even more expensive than Harrisburg.

Randy chuckled, embarrassed. “Well, Silvania’s just the Russells’ ancestral hometown. We moved up to Cabinda years ago. Your parents are both living here now.”

Seriously, it was all Irvin’s idea, wanting to test Rebecca’s character. If she turned out to be shallow, she’d have ended up in Silvania. If she passed the test, then she’d come to Cabinda.

Rebecca barely responded with a quiet “Oh.” She wasn’t surprised either way. Cabinda was only a couple hundred kilometers from Silvania. It made sense her real parents would go where the work was.

Right now, all she cared about was reaching their destination and getting off this tractor once and for all.

Randy seemed relieved to see her get back on board without any complaints.

About thirty minutes later, the tractor rattled its way into a beautiful, private neighborhood. Everything was quiet and perfectly kept, with heavy security at the gates. Rebecca took it all in, from the gleaming, limited-edition cars in people’s driveways to the sad little tractor she was still sitting in. When she glanced at Randy, her look said everything.

Randy looked sheepish, coughed, and avoided meeting her eyes.

At the entrance, Fabian and Madonna were already waiting, fidgeting as they watched for her arrival. The moment Madonna spotted the battered old tractor, her hand flew to her chest and she almost fainted right there.

She shot a sharp look at Fabian, whispering through her teeth, “You better hope my daughter isn’t angry about this. Seriously.”

Rebecca, unused to this kind of affection, stiffened at first. But then she felt Madonna trembling ever so slightly, overwhelmed with emotion, and she slowly relaxed.

After a long moment, Madonna finally let her go, looking her up and down, seeing how thin she was. Her eyes grew red all over again. “Oh, Rebecca. This is all our fault. We didn’t protect you. You suffered so much all these years…”

Rebecca met her gaze, seeing all that guilt and sorrow reflected there. Something clutched at her heart. “I’m fine, really. You don’t have to blame yourself.”

That one simple sentence brought tears pouring down Madonna’s cheeks all over again.

How could Rebecca really be fine? Even with all the Jameses’ efforts to cover things up, the reports about her life made it obvious how tough things had been.

Fabian gently patted his wife’s back, his eyes shining too. “Hey now, what’s with the tears? Our daughter is finally home. Today’s a happy day.”

But even as he smiled, he was fighting to hold back his own tears.