The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella) novel Chapter 1743

The screen showed Martin and Romeo having a full-blown fistfight right outside her front door, leaving Kenneth and Louisa absolutely gobsmacked. What on earth was happening? Why were these two throwing punches at each other?

"Over the past six months, Serena has kept Bella's existence from Martin, so he had no clue about her, nor did he know Serena was the adopted daughter of the Collins family."

"What did you just say?" Both Kenneth and Louisa were staggered in shock.

"Serena lied to Martin, telling him Romeo was the kind who abandons the old for the new. She claimed he was flaunting his new flame in front of his ex just to rub it in her face, to deliberately hurt her. She also set up these 'coincidental' run-ins. No matter where Serena and Martin were or what they were doing, Romeo would show up with his new love and outshine them. That's why Martin lost it and threw punches the moment he saw Romeo at my doorstep."

"Romeo can't be that childish!" Kenneth was fuming. "How could Serena stoop to such a level."

Lying had become second nature to her!

"Before this, she fooled her good friend Brooklyn Reed, claiming that Bella sabotaged her engagement with Romeo. We had hoped she would change, but she has continued to play the same tricks, even lying to her own boyfriend." Louisa's mind was a whirl of disbelief that wouldn’t settle.

"Romeo is indeed madly in love with Bella—that is not an act. They don't need to put on a show of affection. What everyone sees is genuine," Kenneth defended.

"That's true. Romeo has always been cared for Bella," Eunice chimed in with satisfaction. "He's got her back. Once, Romeo also made it clear to Martin that, before Martin came into the picture, he had rarely seen Serena. He was actually considering calling off the engagement, but then he met Bella, took a liking to her, and that's why the families' engagement went on."

"You, what are you saying?" Louisa's eyes bulged in disbelief. Could it be that the reason Romeo came over with all those gifts, was not to see his fiancée as he claimed, but to break off the engagement with Serena.

She and Kenneth had assumed he had heard the news that they had found their biological daughter, and came specifically to bring gifts for his real bride-to-be.

Not just Martin, even Kenneth, who had been her father for eighteen years, felt chilled to the bone and utterly let down by Serena's behavior.

How much more disheartening it would be for someone on the outside.

"That's not the case," Eunice clarified. "Martin still cares for her, but she took it for granted. She even had someone tamper with Bella's lemonade."

"What?" This time, Kenneth and Louisa were utterly astounded, both staring at Eunice as if petrified.

Eunice laid out everything she knew, "At that time, mom and dad were away in Dawnstar, and we all went out for dinner. Bella seemed to sense something off with the lemonade and insisted Serena drink it. Serena was clearly reluctant, obviously scared to drink it. I suspected there was something wrong with it, and sure enough, Serena, out of sheer desperation, drank it and ended up rushing to the bathroom, hallucinating, and even making a move on Romeo in front of everyone. She mistook me for Bella several times and tried to come at me."