From Forgotten Wife To Fierce Queen - Chapter 350: Chapter 350

Jake went straight back to Brightmoor from Montera, while Linna escorted Paisley and the others back before returning to Brightmoor herself.
Luckily, Maria had gone ahead to the villa in Harrowfell to prepare, so when Paisley arrived, she could jump right into work.
In the villa, Maria was in the kitchen making dinner, while Serena stayed in her room, secretly talking to Grayson on her smartwatch.
Grayson said, "Rena, did you start kindergarten? Is it fun?"
Serena replied, "Yeah. It's fun."
Even though she said that, Grayson could hear the disappointment in her voice.
"What's wrong? Is someone bullying you?" Grayson asked, getting all worked up on the other end of the line. He had already started asking his dad to find him a martial arts teacher.
Ever since Tommy had completely wiped the floor with him in Montera, he had made up his mind—he had to get stronger, no matter what.
Sitting in her room, Serena held onto her smartwatch and stayed silent for a while before finally mumbling, "No... No one's bullying me."
The truth was, a new kid had joined her class—Jasper Gough. Since Serena had been hospitalized for surgery and spent a month recovering, and then left for Montera over the holidays, she only met him after returning to Sophia's class.
Jasper kept pulling her braids and stepping on the back of her shoes. Whenever she got mad, he'd just say he didn't do it on purpose and that she was overreacting.
Since Serena had been away from her classmates for so long, they weren't as close to her as before. And now, Jasper was the one calling the shots in the class. Everyone wanted to be his friend. Everyone believed him.
Serena wasn't the type to lie, but Grayson could immediately tell she was holding something back.
"So, that Jasper brat really is bullying you, huh? Then why didn't you tell Mom or the teacher?" Grayson's voice grew sharper.
Serena pouted, "Mom's always busy... And if I tell Ms. Johnson, no one in class will want to play with me."
"Then tell me! I'll go beat him up!" Grayson blurted out.
Serena was rendered speechless.
As Serena stayed silent for a long moment, Grayson felt downright humiliated.
Determined to prove he wasn't some weakling, he declared, "I already started learning martial arts! I'm super strong now!"
The truth was, he hadn't even found a coach yet.
"Mmm. Mmm," Serena responded half-heartedly.
Grayson was getting frustrated—he needed to prove himself.
He thought, 'Fine, I admit I can't beat Tommy. Tommy is older and taller than me. But there is no way I'd lose to some kindergarten kid!'
So, the Vanderbilt family's servants soon saw Grayson storming toward the gym, phone in hand, angrily muttering into it.
His face was puffed up with frustration. Not long after, Serena heard Grayson's panting through her smartwatch.
Just as she was wondering what he was up to, Maria called from outside her room, "Rena, your mom's back."
Serena's eyes widened. She quickly whispered into her smartwatch, "Mom's home, I gotta go! What we just talked about is our little secret, okay? Don't tell anyone!"
Before Grayson could respond, she hung up and hid her smartwatch away.
When Paisley walked into the room, Serena was lying quietly on her stomach, doodling.
But with just one look at the drawing, Paisley could tell Serena's mind wasn't in it—the princess's mouth was stretched all the way to her ears.
"Rena." Paisley sat down beside her and brought up the call she had received from Sophia earlier. "Why didn't you tell me about the parent-child sports day?"
Serena stiffened. She blinked her big, innocent eyes and pouted, "I-I don't want to go anymore."
The sports day upset her even more than Jasper's bullying.
"Why not?" Paisley could see the sadness in Serena's eyes, and it made her heart ache.
Serena lowered her head like she'd done something wrong. "Because Mom's always busy... You probably won't have time to come anyway."
"Even if I can't go, Maria can go with you, right?" Paisley said.
Serena's head shot up, her eyes filled with a stubborn glint.
Paisley was taken aback—this was the first time she had seen Serena look like that.
And suddenly, it hit Paisley. She thought, 'Of course. Other kids would have their parents with them, but Serena only has the nanny. Even though Maria is like family to us, at the end of the day, she isn't actually family.'
Thinking from Serena's perspective, Paisley realized how much that must hurt.
Seeing Paisley stay silent for so long, Serena finally let out a sob, tears streaming down her face. "Mommy, I'm sorry."
That one apology made Paisley's guilt skyrocket. She pulled Serena into her arms and held her tight. "Rena, I'm the one who should be sorry. I've been too busy and didn't think about your feelings.
"But I promise, I'll be there for the sports day, okay? I might be a little late, but wait for me, alright?"
When Serena heard Paisley's promise, her gloomy little face lit up with a big smile. She snuggled into Paisley's arms and nodded hard. "Okay."
All she wanted was to join the sports day with Paisley.
Seeing Serena's relaxed smile, Paisley felt an overwhelming ache in her heart. She forced herself to stay strong and said, "Where's the sports event registration form Ms. Johnson asked you to bring home? Give it to me; let's pick out the events together."
"Okay!" Serena ran off excitedly, pulled the form out of her little backpack, and hurried back to her spot.
When she saw the messy princess drawing she had doodled all over, she frowned, "Ugh, what kind of princess is this? So ugly."
As if she had nothing to do with the awful drawing, Serena crumpled it up and tossed it into the trash.
Serena and Paisley spent a long time choosing events. They automatically skipped the ones that only dads could participate in.
After dinner, they practiced the events they had picked for a while.
By the time Serena was drenched in sweat, she finally took a bath and went to bed.
Late at night, Maria got up for water and a bathroom break. She happened to notice the registration form Paisley had left on the dining table.
Her brows furrowed slightly. "Why are these all small events? If the score's too low, Rena's gonna get teased at kindergarten."
She sighed, thinking, 'That Paisley...She's already so busy, and who even knows if she can make it to the event that day? No way. My little Rena's reputation comes first. Paisley is great in many ways, but she has this habit of taking everything on by herself, which isn't good.
'A simple phone call could fix this, but she just refuses to trouble anyone.'
Thinking that, Maria secretly dialed Leo's number.
The day of the kindergarten's parent-child sports day arrived.
Early in the morning, Maria dropped Serena off at school.
The event was scheduled for the afternoon. In the morning, the teachers led the kids in setting up the venue, giving them a chance to practice their hands-on skills.
Anything dangerous or too difficult was handled by the teachers themselves.
Serena was happily wiping down the small rubber balls for the games. Out of nowhere, the ball in her hands got kicked away by Jasper.
She flinched, momentarily stunned, and just stared at him in surprise.
"Serena, I heard you don't have a dad. Is your mom the nanny?"