Miss Josefina: Nobody's Princess

Garrett sighed and said, "Josie, my bad for making you go through the wringer. These gifts are just a little something from us as parents, so please, just take them."

Hattie smiled, "Sweetie pie, just accept them, will ya? We're not exactly pinching pennies here. These gifts are just tokens of our love. Take them, okay?"

With such loving tones and those pampering looks, how could Josefina resist? She just nodded and said, "Thanks."

Josefina accepted, and her parents were over the moon. Hattie said with warmth, "Darling girl, your three brothers are all out and about, not in Westwood. Your grandpa's out praying for your grandma's health and won't be back till next month."

Praying for health?

Josefina asked, "What's up with Grandma?"

Hattie let out a sigh and shared, "Your grandma missed a step going downstairs at night and tumbled all the way down. Lucky for us, Lena found her quickly and took her to the hospital. Saved her life, but now she's in a vegetative state."

Garrett spoke of it with a heavy heart, "Your grandpa's practically living at Faith's Haven Sanctuary, praying for your grandma. Whenever he's back, he'll head straight to the hospital to see her. He can't bring himself to step foot in this house again."

The mood dipped understandably as they brought up the topic.

Hattie chimed in, "Honey, let's go check out the third floor. Your room's up there. Had it redone just for you. See if it tickles your fancy?"

Hattie led Josefina to the elevator, and they headed up to the third floor, pushing open her room door. The room's decor screamed cute, with a ton of adorable stuffed toys to boot. It's a hundred square meters of space with a walk-in closet, just waiting for Josefina to fill it up.

"Josie, why don't you chill for a bit? I'm gonna whip up a meal. You've yet to taste my cooking. Today, I'm hitting the kitchen myself so that you can judge my culinary chops."

Garrett added with a chuckle, "Sweetheart, I can cook too, so you'll get a taste of my skills in a bit."

Josefina felt a tug at her heartstrings with her parents' warmth. Back with the Antonios, she'd never once had a meal made by those two foster parents.

"Thanks," said Josefina.

Hattie looked at her with eyes full of sympathy. "Baby girl, no need for formalities, we're family."

Garrett echoed, "Exactly, we're family-no need to be so polite. Josie, you rest up. We'll call you when it's time to eat."

The couple walked out, gently closing the door behind them.

In her room, Josefina stared at the row of jewelry in the cabinet, dumbstruck. Not just that, there were gold ornaments and even some blindingly brilliant, huge diamonds. Josefina casually picked one up - it must be 10 carats, right?

Just then, Josefina got a message from Ruby, a picture of Lauren taking her shopping for gowns at a luxury store. [Wwhat do I do? Mom insists on buying me a new dress. Ahh, you must be back in the sticks by now, right? Can you handle the country life?]

Josefina snorted, snapped a pic of the jewelry, and sent it over. [Life is gonna be so hard. I will be opening her eyes every day to this treasure trove of jewels and won't even know which one to wear!]

Josefina kept the pics coming. She sent another one holding a black card, aimed at the view outside and sent it. [Oh my, which one of these black cards Mom and Dad gave me should I swipe first today?] Flexing? Everyone knew that game!

Ruby's brain short-circuited seeing those photos. Her face flushed with a mix of envy and anger.

How could Josefina flaunt her wealth like that!