The Unwanted Girl Is Their Princess novel Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“But Zinnia just got back…” Maelis frowned, her voice trailing off.

‘Since Zinnia arrived, our house has turned into a war zone–there are fights all the time. The boys barely come home anymore. But how can we kick her out right after finding her?‘ she thought.

Donald, Maelis‘ husband, chimed in, “Timothy’s got a point. Zinnia picked up some seriously bad habits out in the countryside. She’s constantly fighting with Betty. If we send her away, the house might get some peace. You’ll finally get a break.

“I know you want to keep her close after finding her. But she won’t change overnight. While she’s here, neither you nor Betty can relax. If she moves out, we’ll give her more pocket money and visit often. Some space might help her see reason.

“We rushed this whole thing. Zinnia’s never really spent time with Betty, and now she’s feeling jealous. Forcing them to live together is just asking for trouble. Let them live separately for now. Once Zinnia works through her issues, we can bring her back home.”

Donald looked worriedly at Maelis’s exhausted face–she’d been up all night watching over Betty. Just thinking about Zinnia made his head throb.

‘How did we even mix up the two kids back then? If Zinnia had grown up with us, she wouldn’t be this much trouble,‘ he thought.

“But…” Maelis hesitated.

“It’s okay, Mom,” Betty said softly. “Zinnia just got home, and you should focus on her now. The family’s taken care of me for years. It’s totally normal for her to feel uncomfortable about you still being nice to me.”

“Zinnia’s young and doesn’t mean to cause trouble–her bullying isn’t serious. Thanks for looking out for me, Mom. I’ll apologize when she gets here. I probably shouldn’t have taken her place in the family. It’s my fault.”

Yosef frowned. “Nonsense! You were just a baby when that hospital mix–up happened. Zinnia’s the one with attitude problems, not you. School is starting soon, and we’ll send her to Cloudcrest Heights. She loves to sleep in, and it’s closer to school.”

If anyone were to blame, Yosef thought it was the hospital staff who had mixed the two girls up.

“Betty, stop that,” Maelis said firmly. “You were just a baby during that hospital mix–up. We didn’t handle Zinnia right, letting her get away with harassing you. Don’t worry–I’ll make her apologize when she gets here. And I’ll convince her to move out temporarily.”

Her heart twisted at Betty’s words. She’d raised Betty since she was tiny and loved her deeply. Zinnia was the one who’d caused trouble, so Zinnia needed to own up to her actions.

“Don’t bother. I’ll go,” Zinnia’s soft, calm voice cut through the air.

The room went dead silent. Everyone turned toward the doorway. Howard stood there looking torn, with Zinnia beside him–calm and eerily composed.

Howard and Zinnia had just arrived as Donald began discussing sending Zinnia away. Howard frowned, standing by the door–she’d only been back with them for two months.

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