chapter 5

Arielle felt all sore, and having a bath seemed like the best idea. She rushed into the bath. When the lukewarm water hit her body, most of her tiredness disappeared. She still felt sore when she was done, but it was better. She walked out of the bathroom with a towel tight around her chest.

The old man who came earlier was waiting for her with two other ladies, all dressed in suits and holding a set of clothing and shoes. The dresses were placed on the bed, and the ladies gave her a simple bow before exiting the room.

“Here are your clothes, Miss Cowell.” The old man did not dare look her in the eye. Arielle picked up the dresses and examined them. She wondered how they got her size—the same shoe size and perfect.

A pair of white pants and a blue tank top with a black jacket. She wasn't a fan of fancy clothes in her previous life, but she was indeed going to give some time to fashion this time around. Arielle didn’t have time to ask anything else but thought silently in her heart, The service in this hotel is good, but it was a pity that I came here only once in my previous life.

Coming out of the hotel, the sky outside was overcast and foggy, and all the cars passing by had their headlights turned on. However, the faint light seemed to be unable to penetrate such a vast and gloomy haze, and the cool breeze kept blowing. With drilling wetness, the warm ground reflected the light and shadow of different shades due to the illumination of the car lights, and it was sad to look at—a little lonely.

Arielle wrapped her jacket tightly and walked out. This place looked so beautiful, and it felt incredible to be walking the streets five years behind in time. She would have taken a taxi in her previous life and continued crying over the incident, but that was important—just not the least of her problems either. However, she had to take care of her problem by putting the most important before the others.

Exposing the ones behind her mischief was way more important. She knew for a fact the man from last night would not come again into her life, and she wished he never showed up either. She walked tightly toward her home.

The hotel was quite far from home, and she did not want to owe any more favors, so she chose not to ask for money and preferred walking back home. The old man had also prepared a pair of high heels for her. When she walked to the door of the house, her feet had long-grown blisters, and the pain was numb. They were all red and painful.

Finally, she arrived home. She knocked on the door, waiting for someone to open it for her while the rain made her wet. Her situation was quite ironic—for she was the owner of the mansion, yet she had to wait for someone to usher her in like some guest. Mary, a staff member, opened the door for her. She had been the one taking care of her after her mother passed away. She wasn’t the servant who attended to her mother, as her father got her fired under the excuse that she was too old to continue.

"Miss," Mary greeted her while she entered the mansion. Arielle turned and looked at her coldly.

“So you're still aware I am the first daughter of the Cowell family, yet you locked me outside under the rain?”

Mary could not understand, but something was off about Arielle. She did not give the vibe of the sweet little kid she watched grow up. She felt like the person right before her eyes was someone else. Mary stood in the rain for a while, not sure if she should confront Arielle and ask what the problem was or keep quiet.

She had changed so much overnight. Since last night, she revered her as a nanny, Mary, but it seemed as if she didn’t know how to address her anymore. Mary just pushed the thought to the back of her mind.

She was not going to believe Arielle had changed overnight. She was still the timid child who grew up without a mother, and for the record, her father loved her stepsister and stepmother more. The properties may be in her name and her father may just be controlling them for now since she was still young, but that wouldn’t be the case in the future.

The properties would be given to her sister in the future and not to her. Anabel still bore Comfrey, her mother’s last name. She hadn’t been accepted into the family yet, so her name hadn’t been changed to Cowell.

She was indeed the first daughter of the Cowell family, but what was there to be proud of? As Arielle walked in closer, she overheard her stepsister’s conversation with her father and stepmother. Not like she was her stepmother already—they weren’t married, and as such, she could still be considered the mistress or, better still, a baby mama, as they had a child together.

"Dad, Mom, Grandpa finally promised to allow the both of you to get married. Wow, I am so excited! Finally, I will be able to take your last name and be called Cowell too. This is great—everyone will know you are my father, and I won’t be called the daughter of a mistress anymore.”

Although Anabel was her father’s biological daughter, no one knew about it. They thought she was the child her stepmother brought with her. She must have been stupid in her previous life. However, rebirth sure did have its advantages. She smiled and walked in with all confidence and pride. Now she knew better. She was aware of every scheme and stunt they planned to pull, and she was surely ready to beat them at their own game.