The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella) novel Chapter 1586

The tinny ringtone of Serena's cell phone brought her back from her reverie. Glancing at the screen, she saw Martha's name flashing.

"Serena, are you okay?" Martha's voice, tinged with concern, crackled through the phone.

"Martha, why are you asking all of a sudden? What's wrong with your voice?" Serena detected a raspiness in Martha's usually clear tone. Suddenly, she heard the clatter of something falling on Martha's end.

Martha seemed to be reaching for the fallen object, and in doing so, must have snagged her wound, letting out an involuntary "Ouch."

Serena's worry spiked. "Martha, what's happened? Are you not feeling well? Are you sick?"

"No, it's—ouch—nothing." Martha's sharp intake of breath was audible.

"I'm sending a video call, hold on," Serena said quickly.

She hung up and shot a video call Martha's way, but Martha declined it.

Serena's curiosity was piqued. She kept trying, and finally, Martha, seemingly with no other choice, reluctantly accepted the video call.

When Serena's eyes met Martha's bruised face on the screen, she gasped in shock. "Martha, what happened to you? Did you fall? When did this happen? You never mentioned it!"

Serena nodded miserably.

"How can they do this to you? You only pretended to be Queena's apprentice in front of some friends, and it was those friends who blabbed, not you. It's their fault, not yours. And you even apologized to Arabella in front of all those guests. What more does she want?"

Martha's words struck a chord with Serena, who felt the sting of injustice all over again.

"If it wasn't for Arabella coming back to this family, you'd still be engaged to Mr. McMillian. It truly was Arabella who broke that off, whether or not you're the one who told people. There's truth to that, isn't there? Mrs. Collins shouldn't have cast you aside over such trivial matters! They've cherished you for eighteen years. How can they just neglect you now, just because Arabella carries their blood?"

Tears flowed once more as Serena felt the pain of her parents' actions, deepening her sense of betrayal.