Return of the Crowned Heiress

Chapter 153

Kayla's eyes turned red, and she dug her nails deep into her palms as she suppressed the almost frenzied and twisted emotions threatening to erupt. She managed to hold back her anger, though just barely. "Arnie, my foot hurts. Can you carry me over there?" she asked, her voice laced with vulnerability.

The car had broken down, and the driver needed to stay behind to arrange repairs. Moreover, Kayla had traveled such a long way to get here; it was impossible for her to be sent away now. For this reason, Kayla would have to stay in Alverton by Arnold's side for a while.

Arnold felt a sense of helplessness but ultimately did not refuse. He examined her foot and found nothing wrong with it, yet Kayla insisted that she had injured it in the accident and couldn't walk. "Arnie, I really can't walk anymore..." she whined.

Having already cried once and after being terrified all night, her face was pale and pitiful. It made it hard for Arnold to turn her down.

He bent down, offering, "Get on my back. I'll carry you."

"You're the best, Arnie!" Kayla beamed, her joy evident as she jumped onto his back. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

Amidst numerous gazes, Arnold carried Kayla back to Alverton.

It was no big deal for the villagers since they didn't know them, but the students participating in the training program couldn't help but make a few teasing remarks about their apparent intimacy. Kayla giggled, occasionally blushing shyly.

Upon returning to the village, Arnold originally intended to have the village head find another family for Kayla to stay with. However, with all the other families' houses already full and Kayla stubbornly refusing to be separated from him, he had no choice but to take her back to the farm where he was staying.

Unfortunately, there was only one empty room in that house.

"Alright, you rest well," Arnold said after the college doctor checked Kayla's foot and confirmed it wasn't serious. Feeling relieved, he placed her on the bed and turned to leave.

en

Kayla hurriedly grabbed his arm, "Arnie, where are you going? Are you really going to leave me here alone? I'm not familiar with this place, and I'm scared..." Arnold had been planning to find a separate place to stay. After all, it would be scandalous for them to share a room. He had to consider her reputation.

But Kayla wouldn't let it go, presenting a pitiful facade as her shoulders trembled and her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

Seeing her like this made Arnold's heart soften, but he still insisted, "You get some rest. I'll be in the living room. If you need anything, just call me." With that, he stepped out of the room.

Tears finally fell from Kayla's eyes, giving way to a burgeoning anger that threatened to explode! "Felicia!" she hissed through gritted teeth, her sense of crisis and jealousy amplifying tenfold.

She was determined to eliminate Felicia, the thorn in her side, at all costs!

With a cold expression, her brows furrowed in fierce determination. She called Shawn, her voice low as she snapped, "Why haven't you arrived yet? It's been two days! Have you gotten everything prepared? Don't you want the rest of the money?"

Shawn's voice sounded distant on the other end as if he were driving. "It's all set! I'll be at Alverton in no more than 20 minutes!"

Hearing this, Kayla felt a sense of

reluctant Satisfaction. After all, the money she had invested was considerable. As long as Shawn's actions bore fruit, it would alDbe worth it!

Chapter 152

The early morning chaos came to an end, and Felicia didn't bother to find out who would tow the Fuller family's car away after she left.

It wasn't until after she had left that Kayla finally snapped back to reality from the shock of the night before. Clinging tightly to Arnold's waist, she looked up at him with teary eyes and said, "Arnie, I rushed over to see you and almost didn't make it..."

Arnold opened his mouth, intending to say, "This slope isn't high; it's not as dangerous as you think." However, the words were caught in his throat, and he ultimately swallowed them. Instead, he said, "It's alright now. Don't cry."

Last night's events must have scared Kayla terribly-just like when he first arrived at the scene panic-stricken. It was only after Felicia scolded him that he realized his concern was causing him to lose focus. The terrain looked frightening, but there was no real deadly cliff here.

However, it was too late to say such things.

Kayla clung tightly to Arnold, fearing that if she let go, he would disappear. Her pitiful appearance made it difficult for him to reject her.

Just then, a group of students who had heard about the incident rushed over to see the commotion and caught sight of Arnold and Kayla in an embrace.

Someone remarked, "Kayla arrived pretty quickly, didn't she? She must have rushed over in the middle of the night. Talk about dedication!"

Kayla had been practically absent from college for a long time and wasn't on the list for this training program. She had only gotten wind of the situation because her good friend, Olivia, had informed her to come quickly to assert her claim and ensure that the man she was infatuated with, Arnold, wouldn't be taken away by Felicia.

Seeing this, Olivia couldn't help but smirk. Although she felt some resentment toward Kayla after yesterday's events, her hatred for Felicia was even stronger.

Anyone who could make Felicia's life miserable was welcome in her book.

So, Olivia stepped forward without hesitation and said, "Kayla, what terrible duck you had, getting into a car accident. Thankfully, you're okay. Otherwise, wouldn't Mr. Lawson feel guilty for a lifetime?"

Her words were laced with sarcasm, and Arnold could clearly hear it. He shot her a glance, but Olivia merely scoffed and turned away, strutting off.

Kayla finally regained her senses after initially feeling scared. She began to pick up on the indifference on Arnold's face, and her heart sank.

No one knew Arnold better than she did, and it was clear that something had happened over the past few days. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so distant and lost in thought in front of her

Feeling a wave of unease, she followed Arnold's gaze and was taken aback to find that he was consistently looking in Felicia's direction!

"Arnie, you haven't been paying attention to me these past few days. You even hung up on me yesterday. Do you know I almost died? I was wondering if I'd ever see you again..."

As she spoke, Arnold seemed to tune her out completely.

Finally, she managed a pained smile and asked, "Arnie, who are you thinking about? Is it Felicia?"

This seemingly casual question drew an unexpected reaction from Arnold. He immediately denied it, his voice filled with resistance as he replied, "Don't talk nonsense. How could be thinking about Felicia?"

His clear disdain was unmasked. While Kayla initially wanted to laugh, the smile slowly faded from her face.

A man's excessive attention toward a woman, even if he verbally claimed not to like her, often indicated that he had begun to develop feelings.

Chapter 151

Felicia approached Ruben, she asked, "Ruben, what caused the

always on standby and had years of driving experience, so it was unusual for such

replied, "Ms. Felicia, good morning. Yesterday, Ms. Kayla urged me to drive her to Alverton. I wasn't familiar with the road and mistakenly followed the wrong route according to the navigation. Ms. Kayla

had also taken out her frustration on him by kicking his seat while

mountain roads were already challenging, and his attention had been distracted by her kicking him. Fatigued from driving all day, he lost focus for just a moment, causing the car to veer off the road and get stuck on the edge of the slope. From their perspective inside the vehicle, it felt like they were hanging over a precipice, so they

it hadn't been for Kayla distracting him, the accident wouldn't have happened

that he wasn't fit to be a driver for the Fuller

for his reason, he would have

he reflected on this, he tightened his grip on the memory

contained recordings from the dashcam. If Kayla pushed him too

Felicia didn't pry further.

saved, the villagers felt relieved and

earlier, tried to leave but was stopped by Felicia. "Mr.

She walked

to Arnold and saw

up to

he was tightly embracing

crying.

they had

separation. Unable to hold back, she spoke up, "Sorry

turned his attention to Felicia.

more impatient. Her tone was cold as she stated,

gently tugged at Felicia's sleeve. "Licia, let's just let

she

Felicia stood her ground.

who was studying in another city. Any daughter would be upset if she found out her father had

was just an apology; it wasn't like she was asking for a piece

Arnold had regained his composure. Regardless of the circumstances, these villagers had

his lips, and his good upbringing compelled him to apologize to Cody, "I'm sorry, Mr. Gibbs. I was out of line

Felicia turned

back onto the little truck as it started

Chapter 150

closer, she quickly recognized the familiar license plate of the black luxury car that was hanging dangerously over the edge of the cliff. It was

the person trapped inside

she heard Kayla's terrified voice

also in a state

received news that Kayla had come to Alverton, and he

was already here on a mission from Matthew and had been growing increasingly frustrated with Kayla's nearly suffocating presence. She seemed to follow him everywhere,

impatience during their phone call. Kayla, emotional as

by her cries, Arnold ended

from Kayla, he asked around, but no one had seen her

her again, only to be shocked by the news that she had been in

moment, he called the rescue team and

a small group to help. They proposed a simple yet effective solution. First, they'd move the rocks to stabilize the

concern. He feared that the villagers' methods, while

the villagers who had suggested the plan, saying, "Can you guarantee the safety of the people in the car? Can you assure me that this method has no risks? If

an older man

embarrassed and flustered under

forward with a cold laugh. "Arnold, where

his tone in the

"Mr. Todd, grab a couple of small rocks and brace them under the front of the car. Put a few in front of the

Romeo immediately complied.

"Kayla is a member of

"Don't come over! Don't move!

steadied again as Romeo and the others placed

She tilted her head and sarcastically said, "Do you see that, Mr.

would it not fall, but the dense trees below would act as a

fact, it wasn't a cliff at all-just a gentle slope common in

yanked Kayla out, who fell onto the

was to cling to

her, gently patting her back to soothe her. "It's okay.

Kayla was

driver, emerged from

His gaze toward Kayla was filled with a mix of emotions that included

Chapter 149

"Yes, Mr. Russell."

end of

at the lights of the village. He absentmindedly stroked the puppy's head while adding, "The scenery here is quite nice. Let's find

...

back to Macey's house, massaging her neck as she entered. The commotion earlier hadn't been loud enough to wake Macey,

slipped back into her room. As she

Where did it go?

had taken the

was one of the pups from the neighbor's dog, and she brought

at night, it would obediently return when Macey called. It

Felicia, it knew to wag

running into Stephan tonight, nor

in bed, Felicia thought about how to look for Stephan in the morning and whether she could negotiate to

in mind, she couldn't

uneasy. He was too perceptive, and his deep eyes seemed capable of reading her mind. He had nearly exposed her secrets multiple times.

off for about half an

village was filled with the crowing