Chapter 6 Continue My Studies

Elena Romano's POV:

"Stop overthinking it. Do you really think the report could be wrong? Isabella, what's up with you? Weren't you always excited to meet her before?"

"I just feel like she's a total stranger to me. Honey, I'm a mom. I love my kid deeply, but..."

"No buts. She's just been away from us for too long. Trust me, we just need to give her some time."

In the end, my parents' argument wrapped up with, "She doesn't look like a child of the Garcia family at all."

I didn't go back to the dining room, scared of drawing their attention.

I lay in bed, ignoring my hunger.

The whole night, I could barely sleep.

I kept thinking about Rosa and Isabella. One was my foster mom, the other my biological mom.

Rosa was my only family before. Even though we weren't related by blood, she was the first to show me what family meant. Andrew didn't count as family. Even though he was my foster dad, he was rude, disrespectful, and annoying. I saw him as the demon who made life miserable for both Rosa and me.

I wasn't sure if Isabella's rejection of me was fair. After all, I had no memories or experiences with her. She might have some, but that was ages ago.

Was it because I was so different from the image she had of me in her memory, that it made her anxious?

Or, as she and my dad James had questioned, was I not their biological daughter at all? What if the gang had tricked them, leading them to the wrong person?

This question bugged me.

But undeniably, they had saved me from hell. The last person who tried to save me from hell was my foster mom, Rosa.

If they eventually told me they had found the wrong person, I think I would still be grateful to them.

But if they were my family...

Rosa always told me when I was young that my biological parents loved me very much.

I believed Rosa, and I should believe what family said.

I started to feel a bit lost about how to get along with the the Garcias.

When the maid knocked on my door, I was still hesitant.

I was about to get up, but they signaled that I didn't need to move.

I almost entirely lay in bed while they washed my face and brushed my teeth.

Then I lay back down as they dressed me.

It sounded a bit over the top, and I had never seen such a thing.

I tried to do these things myself, but the maids' eyes were full of refusal. "No, Miss Romano, this is our job."

"But I'm more used to doing it myself."

In the end, because of their firm attitude, I convinced myself not to deprive them of their work.

I let them apply stuff to my face and tie my hair into a ponytail. When I opened my eyes again, I almost didn't recognize the person in the mirror.

"Oh my God!" I was startled and stood up abruptly.

My sudden movement also startled the maids. "What happened, Miss Romano? Are you unhappy with your appearance?"

"Oh no, I'm very happy!"

In the mirror, I looked stunning. It was hard to imagine that just yesterday, I was locked in a messy basement, facing the fate of possibly becoming a prostitute.

I looked more like a noble lady, as long as I didn't speak or move.

After all, I didn't know the etiquette of a noble lady.

When the maid guided me to the dining room and I sat on the chair, it was only then, looking at Isabella, that I realized how much I resembled her.

My previous suspicion that they might have found the wrong child seemed very unlikely.

We both had chestnut brown hair and sea-blue eyes, with similar noses and mouths.

She just looked more mature.

The maid probably figured I needed to bond with my family since I just got back. They pinned up my hair and fixed it with a shell hairpin at the back of my head.

Because Isabella was also wearing the same hairpin.

When Isabella looked at me, she obviously noticed the hairpin as her gaze lingered on it for a while.

"Who did her hair today?" she asked the maid. After one of them answered, she said, "I don't want this to happen again. Let Elena choose what she likes."

If I hadn't heard Isabella's words last night, I might have thought she was considering my feelings. Now, I felt she probably found it uncomfortable to wear the same hairpin as a daughter she wasn't satisfied with.

"Elena, this is your father, James Garcia," Isabella introduced the man sitting at the head of the table.

His chin was covered with a thick beard, but it looked clean and tidy, unlike Andrew, who was disgusting.

He didn't stand up in a rage and throw things at my head like Andrew, which made me like him a bit more. "Elena, I'm sorry it took us so long to find you. Did you sleep well last night?"

James seemed friendly enough, just like Isabella yesterday.

"Pretty well."

"That's good. After all, you stayed in such a filthy place for so long. I was worried you wouldn't adapt to the Garcia family's lifestyle. You know, those poor people will do anything to survive. I don't want you to pick up any bad habits."

James's words made me feel awkward. He seemed to have learned some details about me from Isabella, and he was very disdainful of the place I lived before.

I couldn't defend the environment I had been in because it was indeed terrible, but I felt I should clarify about picking up bad habits. "I don't think I've picked up any serious or terrible habits, Mr. Garcia."

Of course, bad etiquette didn't count.

James nodded, his gaze unwavering. Even at home, he exuded an air of command, like a king surveying his kingdom.

He changed the subject. "I heard from Isabella that you didn't go to college. Elena, no one in the Garcia family has ever had academic problems."

"Yes, Mr. Garcia. But that was due to some reasons."

My face turned red.

Being repeatedly reminded of my academic issues made me feel ashamed, and when I sensed they might be my real family, I felt a bit aggrieved.

I think it was because I longed for some comfort, like I used to get from Rosa. "I didn't want to interrupt my studies, but I had no other choice at the time."

I thought my father might be curious about why I couldn't go to college, but he wasn't.

He just frowned, a bit dissatisfied with my attempt to explain.

He seemed like a man who only cared about results, not the process.

"Since you're now part of the family, you must make changes. I'll hire a tutor for you. You need to continue the studies you abandoned and at least get into a good college. That's my only requirement for you right now." As James picked up his coffee, Isabella coughed beside him, then he added, "Alright, and your etiquette. Perfect etiquette and an excellent college acceptance letter. I think these are the basic things you need to achieve right now.

In a week, the Garcia family will hold a banquet to celebrate finding you. I hope you can perform in a way that doesn't bring shame to the family."