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.