Devoted Love:The Billionaire's Precious Wife-Chapter 771 - 772

"Given what you know about Serena, what do you think the chances are she actually said those things?" Kenneth and Louisa peered anxiously at Rosemary, as if on tenterhooks for her verdict.

"One hundred percent."

Rosemary’s unequivocal response floored Kenneth and Louisa.

"Has she been doing things behind our backs, things to hurt you, like disrespecting you, being two-faced, or maybe still carrying a torch for Romeo?"

"Yes."

The confirmation rocked Kenneth and Louisa to their core, "When did it start?"

Was it recent weeks? The past couple of months?

"Always."

"You’re saying, for the entire six months since you returned home, Serena has been like this? Just putting on a show for us?"

"Yes."

Rosemary’s final word left Kenneth and Louisa utterly stunned. They exchanged speechless glances, unable to articulate their disbelief.

"I’ve got some issues to sort out at the office. I should go," Rosemary stood up; she had urgent matters to attend to.

Louisa watched her leave, murmuring after a long silence, "How could this be?"

They had doted on Serena all her life, and she had always been the picture of sweetness and empathy in their eyes. They never imagined she would do such things behind their backs.

"I thought Serena and Rose would get along," Kenneth had not foreseen that Rose’s homecoming would change things.

"Rose must have turned a blind eye to Serena’s behavior because of the bond we’ve formed with Serena over these eighteen years." Louisa was suddenly overcome with sorrow, "We wanted to make it up to Rose, but instead, we’ve allowed her to be hurt under our very noses."

And the hurt was inflicted by the daughter they had cherished for eighteen years.

"Rose is naturally reserved and quiet. If we hadn’t brought it up today, if Serena hadn’t been this way for six months, I doubt she would have ever mentioned it. I bet she’s suffered a lot in silence," at the thought of this, Kenneth was wracked with guilt.

"She must have kept quiet about Serena’s actions to spare our feelings, to keep us from being upset.

She’s so considerate, it breaks my heart."

Louisa felt a lump in her throat, realizing that Rose had faced every slight, every hypocrisy from Serena alone, all the while caring for her parents’ emotions, never speaking ill of Serena, always the picture of forbearance.

"Serena must have been slandering Rose behind her back this whole time; otherwise, Rose wouldn’t be so certain it was her doing. Serena has become a stranger to us," Kenneth never imagined Serena changing this way.

"I thought all the talks we had with Serena had sunk in. She always called Rose ’sis’ and greeted her with such a bright smile. I was so pleased. To think it was all an act." Louisa felt a chill of disappointment and distress.

"If Serena and Rose truly can’t get along, there’s no point in forcing them to live under the same roof.

Let’s have her move out in a few days." Kenneth said with a heavy sigh.

It seemed heartless to cast her out due to her severe injury.

"We’ll have her move into the guest house next door for these days, to reflect on her actions." Louisa nodded in agreement, "It’s a fair punishment."

"In a few days, both our families will be gathering here. They’ve grown quite fond of Serena over the years. If they knew about her behavior, they’d be so disappointed. We’ll have to find the right moment to break it to them, and not like last time when mom got so worked up she nearly fell ill again." ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

Kenneth had hoped for a joyful season, never anticipating it would come to this.

He nodded in resignation, "We’ll do as you say."

"Serena probably thinks we’re oblivious to her deeds, and with Rose being so non-confrontational, she’s never been called out on it. That’s probably emboldened her. Let’s have her reflect for now, but if she doesn’t turn over a new leaf, she’ll have no place in the Collins family."

They could not allow their adopted daughter to continue causing turmoil in front of their biological child.

Louisa continued, "When Rose comes home, we should have a talk with her. She’s been through a lot this past year, and we haven’t been as attentive as we should’ve been."

The thought of their daughter suffering right under their roof dampened Louisa’s appetite for breakfast.

"Don’t stress too much; your health is important," while Kenneth said this, he served Louisa some eggs, but he himself had lost his appetite. After eighteen years, the bond with Serena was not easily

severed. They had put their energy into doting on her for eighteen years, and yet the latter kept bullying their own daughter in the dark, which would be an unadulterated shock, disappointment and

heartbreak.

Remembering Serena’s tearful plea the night before, Kenneth felt played.

"That girl, crying so innocently last night, anyone would think the whole world had wronged her."

Kenneth was taken aback by her convincing act, "If it weren’t for Rose’s words today, I’d still feel guilty,

like we’d wronged her, but she’s far from innocent."

"She’s played on the trust and affection we’ve given her over the years, always turning on the tears in front of us. Yes, she used to be so sweet, so sensible; it’s hard to imagine her doing any of this. She

cried, and we believed her every time," Louisa’s smile was tinged with sadness. She could never imagine the kid they once pampered the most would take advantage of their kindness, lie to them and make fool of them.

They weren’t naive or lacking in insight; they had simply trusted the child they had raised unconditionally. Who would suspect their own child of deceit without reason?

In their presence, Serena had always seemed perfect, too perfect for them to suspect anything.

And whenever a shred of doubt surfaced, Serena’s tears and feigned innocence would soften their hearts, and they’d push aside their suspicions.

"Let’s have breakfast first; then we’ll deal with this," Kenneth said, offering Louisa a bite of her sandwich, encouraging her to eat something.

The disappointment was real, but they had to focus on Rose’s situation.

"In a way, we’re also to blame. If we had announced Rose’s identity and her engagement to Romeo sooner, perhaps Serena wouldn’t have been so scheming. At least she wouldn’t have lied about the

engagement."

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