âYou should take good care of him; all his hair has turned white.â
This wouldnât have happened if he wasnât overwhelmed with grief.
Romeo, knowing the pain of losing a loved one, gently touched Arabellaâs head and said, âYou should take good care of him now.â
âIâll do my best.â
The day after the funeral, Arabella visited the place where her grandmother used to live.
The garden was neglected; most of the plants were withered, and the cobblestone path was covered with fallen leaves and wilted flowers. It was as if everything had lost its vitality after her grandmotherâs departure.
Arabella had the whole villa cleaned up, then she went to her grandmotherâs room. She twisted the wall lamp, and the whole wardrobe moved aside, revealing a small hidden room.
This room contained all of her grandmotherâs treasured belongings. Some were valuable items that Arabella had given her; some were her own property and other stuff; and some were her lifetime collections.
These were all gifts left for Arabella.
There was also a safe in the corner. Arabella entered the password, and after successful verification, she took out the contents.
It was a ring that her grandmother intended to give to Romeo, but now her grandmother was no longer with them.
It took Arabella a long time to open her backpack and pack everything in. These were things her grandmother had protected with her life; she definitely couldnât leave them for Attlee and his gang.
In the hidden room, Arabella also found a big box. Inside were all the doodles she had drawn from childhood until now and letters she had written to her grandmother.
The letters mentioned that when she grew up, she would take her grandmother around the world to give her a better life.
Upon seeing these, Arabella felt a lump in her throat. She didnât expect her grandmother to treasure these naive promises, storing, them in the hidden room.
In her grandmotherâs heart, her granddaughter must be more important than any treasure, right?
With this thought, Arabella remembered the kind old woman and their past life together.
Finally, she slung the backpack over her shoulder, picked up the box, and after restoring the wardrobe to its original position, she went downstairs and handed the box to her servant.
âTake it to Villa Cascada, to my bedroom.â
âDid Grace leave you so many valuable things?â Arabellaâs servant, wideâeyed and incredulous, took the box and couldnât help but lift the lid to peek inside. âWhatâs this? Drawings by kindergarten kids?â
There were many other things in the box, including handmade items she had given her grandmother when she was a child and small gifts she had made herself. All were preserved intact in the box.
âYes.â Arabella didnât say much but looked nostalgically at everything in the villa and said, âRemember to change the locks after you finish cleaning.â
She absolutely couldnât let Yolanda have the chance to come in.
âNotify the property management about Yolanda.â
She absolutely couldnât let her take advantage of the situation!
âAttlee, that fool, must have been here before. There are traces everywhere of him rummaging through things.â Arabellaâs servant also couldnât understand; they never thought there could be such a person in the world.
Arabellaâs eyes grew cold. Attlee would never know that there was a secret room behind her grandmotherâs wardrobe.
Thatâs why they couldnât find any valuables here before.
âDid your grandmother also leave this villa to you?â
âYes.â
But if she could, Arabella didnât want any of her grandmotherâs belongings; she just wished her grandmother could be alive and living a good life.
After leaving the villa, Arabella got in the car and handed the ring to Romeo, saying, âThis is a gift from my grandmother to her future grandsonâinâlaw.â
Romeo didnât expect that her grandmother had prepared a gift for him before her death, and he felt a bit sad.
âYou should keep it.â Arabella leaned back in the seat and thought of the past again, feeling even more upset.
This long summer vacation was coming to an end.
About a week before the start of school, Arabella suddenly received a phone call.
âMs. Bella, please come quickly; Mr. Rollins is going to do something foolish! No matter how I persuade him, he wonât listen to me!â
Romeo, who was by her side, asked softly after she finished the call, âWhatâs wrong?â
âI need to go to Switzerland.â Arabella got up to go, looking very anxious. âGrandpa Alberto is in trouble.â
âIâll go with you.â
Romeo provided a private jet, and they arrived at Albertoâs private estate as quickly as possible.
The butler rushed up and said, âMs. Bella, Mr. Rollins is not doing well! This is?â
âRomeo, my fiancé.â Arabella was brief and clear and quickly moved forward, asking, âWhat happened to Grandpa Alberto?â
The butler nodded to Romeo, then followed Arabella: âSince Mr. Rollins returned from the funeral, he often doesnât eat, sleep, or drink water. He just stares at Graceâs photo.â
Arabella entered the hall, and many servants immediately bowed to greet her. It was clear that she had been here before; the servants knew her and respected her.
Arabella nodded in response, then quickly entered the elevator. âAnd then?â
The butler pressed the second floor, then continued, âEvery time you call to check on him, Mr. Rollins pretends heâs fine, but heâs really not. He didnât let us tell you; he just keeps saying he doesnât want to live, that living is meaningless.â
Why would this happen?
Arabella called him every day, sometimes even video calling.
âI forgot to tell you.â The butler added, âEvery time he video calls, he has someone do his makeup to make him look more lively.â
Because of the phone screen and because Alberto always kept his distance from the camera, either pretending to be gardening or showing Arabella the scenery of the estate, coupled with his deliberately hearty laughter, Arabella really didnât notice his abnormality.
Itâs been a hot minute since Grandmaâs funeral, and all Arabella knew was that, postâfuneral, Alberto had given Attlee a piece of his mind at the station.
Attlee wasnât her grandmaâs biological son, so she didnât sweat it too much.
Looking back now, it seemed Grandpa Alberto both chewed out Attlee and put Olga through the wringer, all while checking up on her daily over the phone, reminding her of things, almost like he was dropping hints about his last words.
She knew Grandpa Alberto was going to shack up in Switzerland, but Arabella didnât think twice about it because he had properties all over the place, sometimes jetting off to Dawnstar, sometimes to Italy.
But Arabella totally didnât see it coming that there was a law in Switzerland, which was exactly why Grandpa Alberto came here!
The butler added, âMr. Rollins stopped eating, stopped drinking, and then applied for euthanasia.â
In most countries, euthanasia is a noâgo!
But in Switzerland, applying for euthanasia is legit, but the person had to do it themselves. If someone else lent a hand, thatâs straightâup murder.