Marrying The Billionaire Who Was Terminally Ill

04

Chapter 04

"Take this."

Bailey stopped after Bree handed her a calling card.

"That's my personal number."

Bailey asked if it was okay for Bree to give her the card and keep it.

"Why not?" Bree asked. Bree declared that she considered Bailey part of her family since in the future, Bailey would become the other half of her twin brother.

That day, Bree was going home. Bree gave her number not just for Bailey to contact her in case of emergency but to declare that Bailey should not be tossed aside.

The Madrigal couple surely understood what Bree implied after she gave her personal number to Bailey, as the displeasure was evident on their faces. It was a warning for them.

Aldeus and Bree turned around, got into their cars, and left with their attendants.

The Madrigal couple remained bowed down until the car had exited the gate.

"Bailey, let's talk in the office."

Calmly, Bailey followed the couple walking beside Beatrice, who slightly glanced at her.

"I'm sure, sister, you're happy now. You're fully accepted by the Nicastros."

When they arrived at the office, the madam closed the door. Bailey glanced back as they were now only four in the room.

"Since this is how things are now— starting today, you and Beatrice will attend major subjects, and when you turn 13, you will go to school."

Bailey's eyes widened after hearing that. Beatrice stopped and screamed.

"Dad! I won't agree. Same as Beatrice? No, dad!" Beatrice cried, holding her father's hand. She said she didn't want to attend school and be in the same class as Bailey.

Usually, when attending minor classes, she stood at the side of the classroom while the tutor taught.

The head formally telling her that meant she would attend classes as a representative of the Madrigals.

Beatrice cried as usual, and now the madam consoled her.

"Princess, we have no choice, okay. Even if you say the one betrothed to Bailey is a monster, he is still a Nicastro, and we can't disregard the title of that family."

Bailey knew well that her future spouse had enough power, money, and influence even without the Nicastro title.

She needed to behave and not end up on the wrong side of the Nicastros. She needed the Nicastros to escape that place.

Even if she became an unwanted wife in the future and had a loveless relationship, she would seize every opportunity and build herself into a deserving madam.

"Don't be too complacent, Bailey. What if Beatrice still becomes the madam of the Nicastros and marries the future head of the family?"

Bailey didn't react much. Her simple goal was to get out of there.

That same day, Bailey was moved to the guestroom because Beatrice threw a fit wanting her room back. While her old room was being cleaned, Bailey temporarily stayed in the guestroom, and the young girl didn't mind.

"I like Bree and the Nicastro couple even though I only met them once," Bailey said while sitting in front of the mirror as Miranda combed her hair.

"You only met them once and haven't even gotten to know them. How can you like them already?" Miranda asked. Bailey softened her expression and said they were the first three people besides Miranda to be kind to her.

"They always look at me."

It made sense that such behavior was a big deal to Bailey. In that mansion, Bailey was like air—unnoticed and unheard. All attention was always on Beatrice.

"Miranda, when I go to school and live in the dorm and on my wedding day when I need to go to the Nicastro territory, can you come with me?" Bailey asked, now playing with her fingers.

Miranda laughed and said she didn't mind and that she liked Bailey. Bailey stopped and looked up at Miranda, who was now smiling.

"Is that a promise?" Bailey asked. Miranda just smiled and raised her pinky finger.

Bailey suddenly remembered the time when she and Beatrice first arrived at the Madrigal mansion.

Young Bailey, 6 years old, sat on the floor when one of the orphanage kids angrily rushed at her.

"Because of you, Beatrice doesn't want to play with us anymore!"

Bailey looked at her hands. Her palms were scraped, and it hurt a lot, but she couldn't cry. She was sure the headmistress would scold her if she cried.

"What are you doing! Why are you bullying my sister again!"

Beatrice ran over and stood in front of her. Bailey looked up and saw Beatrice standing in front of her.

"Beatrice."

Beatrice's friends, the four kids, pushed Bailey. Beatrice screamed for them not to bully her twin sister.

They caught the attention of some people there. Some even laughed at the idea of Beatrice's twin sister looking like Bailey.

'Gosh, Beatrice always ends up in a fight.'

Bailey clenched her fists. She realized that the more Beatrice defended her, the more people got annoyed by her existence.

Bailey pushed herself up and ran away.

"Sister Bailey!"

Beatrice chased after Bailey, and when they reached the garden, Bailey stopped running. Beatrice asked if Bailey was mad at her.

"Why don't you just leave me alone, Beatrice?"

Bailey turned around, crying. All she wanted was to live quietly and away from Beatrice's shadow.

Whenever they were together, people would always compare them, given that they were twin sisters.

"Bailey, what are you talking about? You're my twin sister. I can't leave you."

Beatrice approached and hugged young Bailey, who couldn't move. Beatrice said that since they were babies, their parents had left them at the orphanage, and Bailey was all she had.

"I want us always to be together," Beatrice whispered. Bailey pursed her lips. She whispered sorry and hugged her twin back.

In that place, Beatrice was the only one who was always with her and stood in front of her to protect her.

Beatrice promised her that no matter what happened, she would never leave her and would always stay by her side.

They often sealed that promise with their pinky fingers.

"Beatrice, I don't want to play with Bailey. Don't include her anymore!"

Many of Beatrice's playmates didn't want to include Bailey, but Beatrice insisted that if Bailey wasn't included, she wouldn't play with them.

"She ruins the game. She's clumsy and hard to teach."

They liked playing with Beatrice because she was good and many wanted to play their games with her.

"I want to go back to my room."

Bailey thought that because of her affection and connection with Beatrice as twin sisters, even though Beatrice's attention and obsession burdened her, she allowed it. Bailey wanted them to always be together because they were twin sisters until they reached the age to start their own families.

"No! I won't go without Bailey!"

Beatrice clung to Bailey's arm. Many wealthy families wanted to adopt Beatrice, but she refused to leave without Bailey.

For others, that might have been cute or flattering, but not in Bailey's situation at that orphanage.

Every child in that orphanage had value, and the orphanage invested in them. Beatrice had the highest value, which meant only wealthy families could adopt her, given her good looks and intelligence.

But because of Bailey, many backed out. The price of Beatrice wasn't worth it with another baggage like Bailey, who also needed to be bought. It wasn't worth it.

Because of that, the headmistress got angry and blamed her again.

"Headmistress, I promised Bailey. I won't get adopted without her. I won't go."

Even the orphanage staff didn't like Bailey's existence. Bailey played with her fingers. She didn't understand why it was always her fault when she never asked Beatrice to get adopted.

Until the Madrigals came and said they would take Bailey and Beatrice.

At first, Bailey was happy about that, meaning she would have a family too.

In Bailey's mind, she would receive fair attention like Beatrice. Someone would accept her existence because they were now family.

But Bailey's expectations were far from reality because on the first day they stepped into the Madrigal mansion, she disappeared from the frame again.

All eyes and attention were on Beatrice. Beatrice looked back at her and was about to step forward when— she looked at their new parents and said to go inside.

"Dad, mom. I want to see my room."

Bailey's world crumbled after seeing that scene. Bailey realized that living in a world with Beatrice was unsafe for her.

"She was always the main character."

She became a ghost in the Madrigal mansion. No one remembered her or noticed her.

Beatrice received many gifts, but she had none. She rarely ate because the maids often forgot to bring food to her room or invite her to the dining hall.

She tried to talk to the madam about it, but the madam seemed uninterested, saying both she and Beatrice had assigned maids.

"It's not up to me if they don't want to serve you since attending to you isn't their only job."

The maids continued to ignore her until Miranda returned from vacation and was one of the maids assigned to serve the two new ladies of the Madrigals.

As soon as Miranda arrived, she looked for the two new ladies she would serve. She immediately found Beatrice because she was the center of attention, and she recognized her right away due to the talk about the beautiful girl in the mansion.

Miranda thought Beatrice was indeed cute, then her senses snapped back, remembering that there were two new ladies assigned to her.

"Miss Bailey? I don't know."

None of the maids knew where Bailey was, and some didn't even know her.

"Are they possessed? How come they don't know one of the new ladies?"

Miranda thought of going to Bailey's room. She knocked but no one answered—she had the right as a personal maid to enter their new master's room, so she opened the door.

She looked to the other side of the room and saw a child there.

Bailey, the child, looked up. Unlike her twin sister, Bailey had an intimidating aura and was gloomier.

Miranda understood why the child might be wary since she had been there for less than a month. At her age, it was natural for her to have difficulty adapting immediately.

Miranda approached Bailey, one of the maids, and asked if she was hungry.

Bailey was in the corner, hugging her knees. Miranda knelt down and leveled herself with the little girl.

"I'll bring you something to eat even if you didn't order it, but promise me you'll eat."

Miranda raised her pinky finger. She remembered Beatrice, who suddenly left her there and was set aside.

Bailey didn't move. Miranda smiled slightly and lowered her hand.

"From now on, I'll be by your side, my lady."

All these years until that moment, Miranda stayed by Bailey's side and provided all her needs.

Recently, Bailey called Miranda by her name, and it seemed she had decided to fully open her heart to her.

In Miranda's mind, she would not let the little girl down.

"Always remember, Miss Bailey, that you also deserve all the love, care, and attention."

Bailey didn't react much. Miranda smiled and said she would wait for the day when, the next time she said that, Bailey would smile brightly and say thank you.