The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella and Romeo) novel Chapter 1327

What on Earth was going on here?

"Hey, are you okay?" The clerk, seeing she was a girl and probably not up to no good, picked up the dropped cellphone and handed it over. "Is this yours? How'd you end up in a sack? You should head home quick, alright."

Serena didn’t know how long she'd been out of it until the clerk left and her phone started ringing again. That was when she finally snapped out of it and saw "Uncle Bard" flashing on the screen, but she couldn't bring herself to answer.

Sitting in his car, Bard had called Serena three times with no answer, and he was starting to worry. "Could something have happened?"

"You said she called you for help, mentioning she was being bullied?" Eunice asked.

"Yeah," Bard replied, worried his niece might be in danger. He was about to get someone to check on her when his phone rang.

It was Serena!

Trying to muster strength, Serena stood up against the wall, forcing a smile, and said with a light laugh, "Uncle Bard, you don't need to come get me. My boyfriend just came by and he's taken me back to the hotel safely. I've just finished taking a shower."

Bard, relieved yet surprised, said, "Since when do you have a boyfriend?"

"It's a long story." Serena teased sweetly, avoiding a lengthy explanation, "I'll tell you all about it when we meet tomorrow."

"You mentioned on the phone that you were bullied? What exactly happened? Did you have a fight with your boyfriend?" Bard asked with concern.

"No, it's not that." Serena didn't want to tarnish Martin's image, especially since he was already no Romeo. To speak ill of him now would only make him seem worse.

She lied, "My boyfriend's been tied up with work in Dawnstar, busy for a long time. He said he missed me, couldn't get away, and wanted me to come see him."