The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella and Romeo) novel Chapter 27

"Phillip will be awake tomorrow. For the next month, he needs to avoid overeating. So, no more nutritious soup like today's," Arabella said.

"Got it." Romeo agreed, glancing at the sky, "Let me treat you to dinner."

"No need. I should head home."

It was likely around six or seven o'clock now. Arabella took her bag, checked her phone, and sure enough, she had missed two calls from her mom.

Arabella quickly returned the call, "Sorry, Mom, I was busy."

Romeo watched the girl on the phone. Her eyes sparkled, she carried an extraordinary aura, and her voice was soft and enchanting when talking to her family.

"Right, I'm heading home now. Ok, bye."

After she hung up, Romeo softly said, "Let me drive you home."

"Just drop me off at Emerald Park. I have a car parked in the underground garage there."

Emerald Park?

That was a park still under construction, not yet open to the public. Why was her car parked there? And why was she at the Holy Cross Church later?

To him, the girl in front of him was like a mystery, hard to see through.

"I need to return these first." Arabella had borrowed some acupuncture equipment from Caden's office earlier, and he was on duty today, still in the office.

After returning the acupuncture tools, Arabella walked out of the office and passed by Grannie Grace's room. She couldn't resist stopping to take a peek inside.

Inside the room, Grannie Grace was still there, receiving an IV treatment. Her eyes were closed, and she looked peaceful in her sleep.

The sight triggered a fond memory from Arabella's younger days. She remembered an afternoon when she had seen Grannie Grace napping in a room, bathed in sunlight streaming through the curtains. The old lady's breathing was calm and even, just like it was now.

Suddenly, Arabella heard a voice calling her name, and she turned to find a surprised Olga and Attlee standing there. They had received a call from the hospital, alerting them that Grannie Grace's VIP room was about to expire, prompting them to rush over after dinner to renew it. Little did they expect to encounter Arabella at the hospital.

Olga was the first to regain her composure and wasted no time in questioning Arabella, "What are you doing here? Haven't you gone back to your biological parents? You can't seriously be thinking of begging Grace to let you stay in this city or, worse, come live at our house. Forget about it!"

Attlee was equally taken aback by Arabella's presence, asking, "Bella, what's going on? Didn't you go back with your family?"

Olga, with a disgusted expression, jumped to conclusions about Arabella's motives, "I bet she never really left! She probably heard about the harsh living conditions at home on her way back and couldn't bear it, so she ran back here to beg Grace for help!"

Frustrated, Olga urged Attlee to intervene, and he reluctantly stepped forward with a forced smile, attempting to resolve the situation, "Bella, can we talk? How much money do you want?"

Arabella observed her once-close family members now showing their true colors and couldn't help but feel a sense of amusement, her lips curling slightly.

They want to buy her off?

Seeing her silent, Attlee took a bank card out of his pocket. "Here's a hundred thousand dollars. Take it. The password is 123456."

"Attlee!" Olga was pained at his generosity, "Why are you giving her so much money?"

Attlee signaled Olga to be quiet. If they didn't give Arabella enough money, how would she agree to leave?

She had stolen Yoli's expensive ruby necklace yesterday, and today she was getting a large sum of money. She would leave, right?

A hint of mockery flickered in Arabella's beautiful eyes as she looked at the bank card in his hand. She remained silent and didn't react.

"What? You think it's too little?" Olga asked discontentedly, "I advise you to be content. Otherwise, you might end up with nothing!"

Attlee tried to shove the bank card into her hand, but Arabella skillfully avoided it.

"What do you want? You want to wait for Grace to wake up and deceive her? Dream on!" Olga never thought Arabella would be so difficult. "Let me tell you, from now on, you have nothing to do with Grace! Stay away from us."

"One billion." Arabella's lips curled slightly, she said word by word, "I might consider it."

"You, you must be daydreaming!" Olga was so angry she nearly fainted. The girl's first word was one billion, "Why don't you rob a bank?"

"Robbing a bank isn't as fast as robbing you guys."

"You, you..." Olga clutched her chest, never imagining the girl would be so cunning, "I won't give you a penny!"

She grabbed the bank card back, "If you don't leave, I'll have you thrown out!"

"Oh, then call someone to throw me out."

"You, you... You're killing me! This so-called VIP floor, letting anyone in..." Olga was about to go find staff.

"Arabella."

Suddenly, a man's voice caught their attention.

Olga looked up to see a man at the end of the corridor looking this way, apparently calling Arabella's name.

It was a tall man with a strong presence, even from this distance.

Arabella heard the voice and looked towards it. Seeing Romeo waiting for her, she didn't bother with the two any longer and turned to leave.

"Who is that man?" Olga looked curiously down the hallway. "Could he be her father? That's impossible; her father's voice couldn't be that young..."

"Maybe he's her brother. She have five unmarried brothers. Wasn't it mentioned earlier that her grandmother was sick? He could be staying in this hospital as well."

"Can they afford to stay here?" Olga watched them disappear at the end of the corridor and couldn't help but ask Attlee, "Attlee, we must quickly transfer Grace to another hospital; otherwise, if Arabella gets attached to her, it'll be a big problem!"

Attlee had the same thought, but within all of Summerfield, no other hospital had medical resources as good as Hope Hospital. Only here could Grace receive the best care.

"Grace likes her... I'm just afraid Grace will soften her heart and let her come back to this family!"

Olga recalled three months ago when Grace found out Arabella wasn't her biological granddaughter, her heart couldn't take it and she fainted.

Upon waking up, Grace sternly declared that as long as she was alive, Arabella was not allowed to leave this family. Anyone who made Arabella leave would be considered an enemy of Grace.

Later, when Yoli returned home, Grace didn't show her any kindness either. Her heart and eyes were only for this unrelated little girl.