The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella) novel Chapter 1896

"Really? You're not pulling my leg?" Serena clearly didn't believe it, "Look me in the eyes and tell me, how much of my old self can I get back?"

"Seventy to eighty percent."

Serena was gobsmacked! It was as if lightning had struck her, and she had been shot through the heart with a thousand arrows!

Seventy to eighty percent?

She could only get back to seventy or eighty percent of her former self?

How was she supposed to play the piano now? How could she paint? How could she be the talented woman she once was?

"I talked to the doctor, and he said that with some practice, playing the piano and painting won't be an issue. It'll just be a bit tough at the start. Like when eating, holding cutlery might be a little wobbly. but it'll get better."

"What did you just say?" Serena was even more shocked!

She thought not being able to play the piano or paint like before was bad enough, but now, even the simplest tasks like eating, picking up food, or sipping soup were out of reach?

How was she supposed to accept that?

"It's just at the beginning!" Martin stressed again, "It'll get better."

Serena's tears spilled over, "How long? How much longer will this process take?"

"Depending on how well you recover, maybe two or three weeks. In a couple of weeks, handling cutlery or a spoon for soup won't be a problem for you anymore."

Serena's emotions crumbled yet again. Two or three more weeks before she could eat like a normal person? Before she could sip soup with a spoon?

What a heavy blow!

Seeing Serena break down and cry, Martin felt his heart shattered. If he'd known, he would have kept it from her, one day at a time.

She lifted her tearful, crystal-clear eyes to the man before her, "Tell me the truth. What did the doctor say? Tell me everything, and don't you dare hide anything."

Although Martin couldn't bear it, he eventually opted for full disclosure.

"The doctor said that the shattered glass cut deep into the dermis of your skin. The scars on your forehead and on the palms and backs of your hands can't be restored to their pre-injury state."

"With current medical technology, we can only reduce and improve the appearance of scars, perhaps through surgery or laser treatments."

"Surgery would require one to three months of recovery time, while laser treatments would mean going in once a month, and after about six sessions you might see a significant improvement. But this kind of result isn't what you're hoping for. The scars will be less visible than they are now, but if you look closely, they'll still be apparent."

Serena's tears started flowing again, "And my feet?"

Martin suddenly fell silent.