The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella) novel Chapter 1587

"Ever since Arabella waltzed back into this house, you've been wronged. What's the big deal in venting to a friend? Is Arabella some kind of royalty that she can't handle a couple of harsh words without keeling over?" Martha paused, her concern evident, "You still haven't told me, how'd you get all banged up? It looks pretty bad."

Serena recounted the series of unfortunate events at her birthday party, including the bullying by Alma, the beating she received at her doorstep, and her fall while chasing after her parents' car, hoping for their forgiveness.

Martha's eyes misted with empathy. "Serena, what did you do to deserve such treatment?"

"Martha, don't cry." Serena suddenly felt that, in this family, Martha was the only one who truly cared for her.

Noticing the scars on Martha's wrists as she wiped her tears, Serena asked with concern, "You never told me, how did you get all these injuries?"

Unable to hide the truth any longer, Martha spoke in a hoarse whisper, "I was taking out the trash tonight, and out of nowhere, I got jumped. They left me in the dump, and it took me forever to crawl out."

Just recalling the incident made Martha feel nauseated.

The open dump, where the neighborhood discarded their garbage, would only be cleared by the sanitation trucks the next morning.

It was during the stench-filled evening hours that Martha had been attacked and tossed into the refuse.

The mix of vile odors was enough to make her retch repeatedly.

Serena hadn't realized that falling out of favor herself had dragged down her once loyal servants, "Mom and Dad also said that if I don't reflect on my behavior and dare to disrespect Arabella again, then I don't deserve to carry the Collins name."

"What did you say?" Martha was in disbelief.

"Ridiculous, isn't it?" Serena laughed bitterly, the pain clear in her voice. Her parents, who had cherished her for eighteen years, were now ready to strip her of her family name just because of their biological daughter's arrival.

"They've gone too far!" Martha never imagined the lady of the house could be so cold-hearted. Eighteen years of love for her daughter, and yet, as if uprooting a cherished tree, they were ready to deny even her name to such a splendid person.