Chapter 28: Blamed By Family (3)

Bella listened to their verbal abuse with a calm, indifferent expression. Still, now she felt she needed to answer them.

However, a loud ‘bang’ sound was heard when Bella wanted to say something.1

All eyes now looked towards the entrance.1

Bella saw her brother Henry’s smug smile spread across his face, but her heart sank when she saw two familiar figures appear behind Henry.

‘Seriously!? Why did they suddenly appear here?’ Bella was speechless beyond words. She tried to calm down but failed when she saw her father’s sharp gaze fixed on her. 1

Nick, who stood beside Bella, drew closer and whispered, “Young Miss, I didn’t inform them about your arrival.” He felt even more guilty because the entire Donovan family was here, even though they rarely appeared together like they do now.

“I know, Nick… I know…” Bella answered weakly. Her eyes now turned to her older brother, Henry, smiling widely at her. She immediately knew who had told her parents. It must be him. She can’t help but vent her sarcasm inside her head.

“Lucas, you came at the right time,” said Jacob Donovan as he walked towards Lucas. “Look, your good-for-nothing daughter is finally back… She came at the right time, knowing that her grandpa was in a bad condition.”

Lucas stopped before his older brother, but his gaze never left his only daughter, Bella. 

“You need to teach her to behave like Donovan’s! How dare she tarnish our family reputation?” Jacob Donovan continued to express his annoyance to Bella. 

A satisfied smile spread across his lips as Jacob watched Lucas’ face slowly turn dark. He said nothing but stared at his brother, scolding her daughter.

“You,” Lucas pointed at Bella. “Come here!!” His deep voice seemed to carry an anger that made the room instantly silent, making Bella uncomfortable.

Bella approaches her father calmly, even though her heart races.

“Father, I’m–”

Plak!!

The room resounded with the sharp crack of a forceful slap, causing Bella to stagger backward. Her head tilted in response to the impact, and a shockwave of pain rippled through her. 

Desperate to regain her composure, she tried to stand up straight while holding her face in disbelief.

A stinging sensation was like a hot iron pressed against Bella’s cheek, radiating pain. Her trembling hand gently rubbed her slapped cheek to divert the throbbing pain. However, as the taste of blood stained her lips, another pain slowly crept from her heart.

Unable to speak, she feels her tongue turn stiff, weighed down by a mix of anger and disbelief. This harsh reality hurt so much—she had never imagined her father could deliver such a mighty slap. It broke her heart.

Struggling to contain her burning anger, Bella raised her head, meeting her father’s angry gaze. Their silence spoke volumes as they stared at each other.

Not only does Bella feel shocked by that slap, but everyone in the room can’t believe Lucas would hit his own daughter that hard without giving her time to finish her words. 

Henry Donovan, who was standing in the corner, laughed secretly. ‘You deserve it, Bella; you are really too much,’ he said to himself while looking at Bella’s face, which looked like she was holding back tears and fear. ‘You stupid little bitch!’

…

After some time passed, Lucas finally broke the thick silence.

“Shameless woman!! You don’t know any manners?” Lucas said in an angry tone while pointing his finger at Bella. His eyes were red as if a flash of fire were burning there. “How dare you run away after destroying our family?”

“L-Lucas, p-please stop…” a woman with short gray hair in a blue sky knee-length dress holding Lucas’s hands in fear. “Don’t scold her here—” she said while looking at her husband.

A vein appears on Lucas’ forehead as he looks at his wife’s teary eyes. 

He brushed her hand away before saying, “Natalie, you only have two children, but you can’t even handle your useless daughter. What did you do while raising her? Why did she become so stupid and stubborn like now?”

Natalie clenched her fists tightly, holding back the fear and tears about to come out of her eyes. She couldn’t say anything but lowered her head to avoid Lucas’s gaze.

Bella was rendered speechless to hear her father’s verbal abuse of her and her mother. 

This is not the first time Bella has witnessed it, but she is used to this scene; she grew up with this domineering and arrogant father. 

Even though Bella felt sorry for her mother, she also felt annoyed with her. Her mother was always more fond of her older brother Henry than her, and when their father abused them, her mother always chose silence.

Gosh!

How pathetic!!

“Lucas, stop making a scene here. We are in Father’s treatment room…” Emma said. She can’t stand watching her brother abuse his family. 

However, Lucas didn’t bother with Emma’s warning. He narrowed his eyes, fixed on Bella.

“Why are you looking at me like that? You still don’t know what you did wrong?” Lucas raised his voice again. “You want me to make you remember with another slap?”

Bella clenched her fists tightly, too angry to face her pathetic and broken family. 

She didn’t rush to answer her father, but she looked at everyone there, one by one, starting from her two uncles, her aunt, her mother, and Henry, without expression. However, her eyes radiated something that stunned everyone who saw her.

When Bella’s gaze fell on her father, standing a few steps before her, she said calmly, “Why do you blame me for your own failure? Your company almost went bankrupt because you guys couldn’t run it well—”

Lucas Donovan was taken aback by the transformation in his daughter’s expression. Earlier, she looked scared and sad, but now, her expression slowly turned icy cold, with a fearless aura starting to radiate from her eyes. 

The sadness that once radiated from her eyes had given way to a simmering anger. It was the first time Lucas had witnessed this side of her, leaving him both surprised and uneasy.