"mom doesn't know your taste in decor ,so look around and tell me if you like it or if there's anything you want to add, Alexandria added while opening the door.
The room was decked out in a girly, princess pink style,but it wasn't Annabelle's cup of tea.
Despite this, Alexandria gave her an expectant look,so Annabelle nodded saying " I like it just as ... ."
She was suddenly shoved before she could finish her sentence, causing her to stumble.
" Get out , this is my study! Jamie glared at Annabelle angrily, like a ticking time bomb about to explode .
" Oh noo,are you okay belle ?did you hurt yourself ?" Alexandria was caught in a dilemma ." Jamie dear, didn't agree that this room would be for your sister?.
Jamie suddenly threw a tantrum , making her feel flustered.
All the rooms on the second and third floors of the villa were occupied, leaving only the servants quarters and guest rooms on the first floor.
Since Annabelle was part of the Wallis family,she couldn't be stuck on the first floor meant for the servants because this was her biological child.
"She can never be my sister!, I don't have a sister like this who grew up from the countryside!". Jamie shouted and attempted to push Annabelle again .
However , Annabelle dodge him just in time.
He didn't expect her to dodge him ,so he missed and stumbled , hitting the end of the bed with a loud thud.
"Ah... She pushed me".....
Immediately the brat's loud crying pierced the silence.
" What's happening here ? What happened ! , Jamie rushed into Old Mrs Wallis arms ,crying and complaining
Annabelle kept quiet.
" Don't cry , don't cry; Grandma will take care of everything for you , Old Mrs Wallis patted his back gently, trying to calm him down .let grandma see, where did you get hurt?.
To her dismay,she saw Jamie with tears streaming down his face , snort running down his nose, and a large bump on his forehead.
" Oh my goodness , how did you hurt yourself so badly?! , Emily exclaimed dramatically .
The mention of a scar only made Jamie cry louder.
" Jamie , come to mommy ,let me take a look . I'm sorry b; it's all my fault for not taking care of you . Alexandria anxiously tried to step forward and hug her son Jamie but was eagerly pushed away by old Mrs Wallis.
" Hurry up and call the doctor! After scolding Alexandria she glared at Annabelle and said ," I will deal with you later ".
Chaos erupted in the villa as everyone rushed to tend to Jamie.
Emily watched Annabelle being cast aside and a felt a great sense of satisfaction , someone like her didn't deserve to be loved or cared for!.
Meanwhile On the first floor living room, Jamie eyes were swollen from crying as he curled up in old Mrs Wallis arms, sobbing uncontrollably.old Mrs Wallis heart ached at seeing her grandson's distress.
While scolding Alexandria to hurry up and call the family doctor ,she urged the servant to quickly fetch a warm heating pad.
A servant quickly brought a heating pad over.
" There , there, don't cry this should surely help with the pain and swelling ", old Mrs Wallis said as she reached out to place the heating pad on Jamie's forehead.
But a cold clear voice stopped her in her tracks.
" Don't use a heating pad,use a cold compress, Annabelle said , standing at the top of the stairs.
She was still dressed in that hideous outfit , carrying a cloth bag over her shoulder . the cold aura surrounding her made it hard to believe she had just come back from the countryside.
" Don't act like you know better than me! Heating pad will reduce the swelling and inflammation". Old Mrs Wallis glared angrily at Annabelle.
Ignoring Annabelle's advice ,she gently applied the heat pad to the large bump on Jamie's forehead.
"Ouchhh!" Jamie cried out in pain
" Hold still dear" Old Mrs Wallis instructed.
" We need to keep it warm or the swelling won't go down".
She called over the maid to help her hold Jamie down .
Alexandria watched her son in distress,her heart aching for him,but she didn't dare defy Old Mrs Wallis ,so she stood anxiously by the side.
Suddenly a delicate hand grabbed old Mrs Wallis wrist.
" What are you doing?! Old Mrs Wallis exclaimed glaring at Annabelle.
" I said to use a cold compress", Anabelle repeated firmly standing her ground.
"Get out of my way! Old Mrs Wallis fumed, shaking off Annabelle's hand ."I have seen more days than you have. You don't get to teach me how to handle my grandson!".
She had seen her Mrs Clinton,use this exact method to reduce swelling on her grandson.how could it be wrong?.
Seizing the opportunity
, Jamie wriggled away from Old Mrs Wallis grasp and ran towards Alexandria arms sobbing uncontrollably. His face was streaked with tears and snort, making him look utterly pitiful.
Old Mrs Wallis anger intensified .just as the doctor arrived, she was about to order the servant to bring jamie back.
" No big deal just apply an ice pack on him since his already on meds for rhinitis , so no need for Extra medicine for now....the doctor said.
He noticed old Mrs Wallis clutching onto a heating pad and frowned.
" If he just bumped his head no need to use a heating pad. it will make the swelling worse by increasing congestion in the capillaries.A cold compress is what you need,and after twenty four hours, you can use a heating pad with gentle pressure to reduce swelling and promote blood circulation.but remember after twenty four hours .
He emphasized on the importance of the cold compress , making old Mrs Wallis feel a bit sheepish , her yellowish eyes glared intensively at Annabelle.
How could a girl from the countryside possibly know anything about medicine? Annabelle must have stumbled on this solution by chance!.
With that in mind , old Mrs Wallis forcefully handed warm compress to the servant and coldly snapped . Protecting her ego,old Mrs Wallis refused to acknowledge her mistake and ordered . "Hurry up and get me an ice pack !.
Jamie who had just narrowly escaped disaster,glared tearfully at Annabelle .
His resentful eyes seemed to say" Don't think you have me any favors.I wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for you ".
After the family doctor left, Alexandria put an ice pack to treat her son's forehead.
She asked Annabelle softly , Belle my dear how did you know a cold compress was needed?."
" The countrysides are rough,and I used to bump into things a lot , my grandma always treated me this way when she was alive, Annabelle explained softly.
Her voice was so gentle ,but everyone could hear her.
They had thought for a while that Annabelle had some medical knowledge .it turned out she was relying on home remedies from her remote upbringing.
" I'm sorry belle".... Alexandria held Annabelle's hand.
Everytime she thought about her daughter had to rely on homemade remedies instead of professional medical care when she was injured,her heart ached bitterly.
Annabelle's thick lashes fluttered, casting a shadow over her eyes, and she said nothing.
Old Mrs Wallis sneered,"So just to show off the little knowledge you brought from the countryside you pushed your own little brother ?.
Annabelle's voice remained calm as she replied ," I didn't touch nor push him.
" No?, how could he have fallen like that? Don't you think am stupid or do you think Jamie is stupid? Old Mrs Wallis dipped with sarcasm.
Alexandria tried to defend her daughter weakly,"mom , Belle really didn't push jamie.he accidentally fell and hit the bed frame...."
The old woman glanced over with a skeptical look," Belle? How darling? So she's your precious child and Jamie isn't?
Alexandria frowned ,"No mom, I'm telling the truth....
"What do you mean 'no'? the fact is that Jamie got hurt, while she doesn't even have a scratch on her! If Jamie's head had been injured seriously because of this, how would she mend it?
Old Mrs Wallis cut off Alexandria sharply," and one more thing , that room was originally Jamie's study which you suddenly turned into a bedroom.where will Jamie study in the future ? Change it back right away , Jamie will start first grade soon and would be a genius like Gabriel . he'll atleast be top of his class, If not top ten. He can't be without a study!.
Her voice was laced with pride.
Gabriel, the eldest son of wallis grandsons,had been a prodigy since childhood ,he completed his university at the age of twenty and started his own business abroad.
Old Mrs Wallis pride and joy was her eldest grandson , Gabriel but Emily wasn't too shabby either.
While not a Wallis by blood, Emily had been raised in the family and treated like one since she was a child.she was well-behaved,excelled in her studies and most importantly was engaged to the son of the Lannister family.
Annabelle on the otherhand, what good was she , even though she was proven to be family's Biological chilld?. Nothing!.
Anything Emily could do , this girl raised in the countryside couldn't even come close to.
" So where will Belle stay ? Alexandria asked, distressed ," we've already wronged her for so many years for letting her stranded in the countryside,we can't mistreat her materially as well.....
" How have we wronged her ? Old Mrs Wallis asked as she smirked ," which of the two guest room on the first floor is worse than her mud hut in the countryside ? It's good enough to have a place to stay.why be so picky!.
Alexandria opened her mouth to speak but stopped.
Her mother in law had always been overbearing.if it weren't for her giving birth to two sons for the Wallis family.with the eldest son being a genius and promising ,she would have been forced to a divorce a long time ago.
Alexandria refrained from arguing with old Mrs Wallis.However, when she thought about Annabelle enduring seventeen years of suffering and still not welcomed back ,she felt guilty.
Just as she was in a dilemma , Annabelle pulled her aside.
" So, I get to live in a good room if I rank in the top ten of my grade?And have a separate study? Annabelle looked at Old Mrs Wallis.