Marrying The Billionaire Who Was Terminally Ill

05

Chapter 05

The agreement between the Madrigals and the Nicastros had a significant impact on Bailey's life changes.

The Madrigals became hands-on with Bailey— aside from Miranda, there were maids attending to him, trying to gain his favor, but Bailey remained indifferent, thinking it was all due to the Nicastro's influence.

"A gift?"

Bailey looked at Miranda, who was holding presents. The other maids assigned to him followed her.

Bailey was now 13 years old— thanks to the support of the Nicastros and extra care, Bailey's comprehension had gradually improved compared to when he was 9 years old.

"If those are from Uncle, please put them in the stockroom," Bailey said, looking back at his book.

The woman leaned against the armrest of the sofa, legs crossed, reading a book with one hand.

"This gift is from Mrs. Nicastro—"

Before Miranda could finish her sentence, the box was already out of her hands.

Bailey was now sitting on the sofa, holding the gift and happily removing the ribbon.

Miranda was sure it wasn't because of the value of the gift's contents but because it came from the family who had cared for Bailey for years.

"A bag."

Bailey showed Miranda the bag, indicating that the Nicastros seemed to know he was going to school and had given him supplies.

"I received another gemstone."

It was in a small box. Bailey instructed Miranda to bring her treasure box.

Miranda approached the study table and took Bailey's favorite collection of gemstones.

The maids couldn't take their eyes off it. Greed and jealousy were evident on their faces, but they didn't dare touch it after learning that all those gemstones came from the Nicastros.

Miranda laughed at the idea that because of those gemstones, their young lady had a habit of playing with them when she woke up in the middle of the night and didn't remember it the next day.

"Miss Bailey, a gift arrived from the minister inviting you to his birthday party on Sunday," one of the maids said.

"Open them. If you find any accessories, take them. Put the other gifts in the stockroom," Bailey ordered. She also told Miranda to take anything she could sell.

"For sure, they are expensive," Bailey said. Miranda immediately bowed and thanked her.

The maids were overjoyed and almost kissed the floor because of it.

Bailey learned a lot in the past few years and applied Bree's advice.

'If you know how to play the cards in your hand, Bailey, you can make anyone kneel before you.'

No one in that room, under her, could bite her hand because she could give them their desires. Money, beautiful clothes, and jewelry.

"Miss Bailey, your next class is about to start."

Her personal maid arrived and bowed. Bailey stood up from the sofa and instructed Miranda to keep all the gifts from the Nicastros.

"Make sure they are organized in my dressing room."

Miranda bowed, holding Bailey's treasure box.

"Yes, Miss Bailey."

Bailey walked out of the room, followed by her maids.

When they arrived at the study room, Beatrice also arrived. Beatrice greeted Bailey with a fake smile.

"Good morning."

The maid opened the door for Bailey, but when Beatrice tried to enter first, Bailey's maid blocked her, saying she was opening the door for Bailey, not Beatrice.

"Wa-what?"

"Sister Anna, what do you mean?"

The teacher asked why Beatrice and Bailey were still outside and hadn't entered yet.

Bailey couldn't help but smile and entered first. Bailey found it entertaining to see Beatrice's reactions.

'Helpless, ashamed, disappointed, and most of all, envious.'

"I saw many gifts your maids brought earlier."

Beatrice smiled and sat beside me.

"If you're interested in those gifts, borrow the key to the stockroom from me sometimes," Bailey said boredly. Beatrice held the hem of her dress tightly.

"Isn't it inappropriate to just put the gifts you receive from Uncle in the stockroom?" Beatrice said. Bailey touched her cheek and looked at her twin.

"What should I do? There's no more space in my room. Even giving some of them to my maids didn't create enough space."

Bailey laughed while watching Beatrice's ever-changing expression.

"Thanks to the Nicastros, you're enjoying all the privileges of a true Madrigal."

Bailey smiled sweetly.

"No, sister. Thanks to you for being kind enough to share the spotlight and position with me at the same level as you," Bailey said. That's the cue— Beatrice stood up to speak, but the teacher called her.

"Is there a problem, Miss Beatrice?"

Beatrice bit her lip, restraining herself from causing a scene and yelling at Bailey because there were many people around and the teacher was present.

If she made a fuss, it would surely reach their parents.

Bailey propped her chin and happily watched Beatrice, who now looked like she was about to cry.

'Sorry, Beatrice, but I'm tired of being your shadow. Like you, I also want my own world, to live, and to have a place I can call mine, even if I have to cut ties with you.'

Every day, people came to the Madrigal mansion to propose marriage.

Whenever Bailey and Beatrice crossed paths, Beatrice would have a boy around their age with many gifts. Beatrice looked proud and introduced herself.

As usual, she would say something about herself, saying Bailey was beautiful and that she was afraid, etc., something to divert the attention of the random boy she was with.

"She always looks pathetic when she does that. Seriously?"

Bailey shook her head and headed to the garden. She went to the gazebo, had the maid prepare tea and snacks, and brought her favorite books.

Miranda brought Bailey's favorite stuffed toy and placed it on a chair. It was a black teddy bear adorned with a green gemstone. Bailey made it into a necklace and used some of the gemstones as the teddy bear's eyes.

That's how Bailey spent her days until the day they received the invitation from the University she and Beatrice would attend.

"I received the invitation from Canberra University. It's far from the mansion, so you'll need to apply for a dormitory at the University."

Bailey held the envelope, smiled, and thanked the Madrigal couple. She said she would start packing her things.

After being granted permission to leave by the elder, Bailey turned and left the office.

"How did Bailey get into the special A class? Did you also talk to the dean about it and pay?" the madam asked, holding Beatrice's shoulder, who had a sour expression.

"Absolutely not. Why would I do that? She perfected the entrance exam and even earned extra points for pointing out errors in the test paper."

"Wait? Bailey will be my classmate?"

The elder held his head and there they went again. His wife scolded him, and Beatrice threw a tantrum because of the result.

"Look— getting into class A is a huge opportunity for you. Besides, all your classmates there are influential and excel in everything. You'll be noticed, and your popularity will rise while you're in that class."

Just walking in class A's uniform was enough to make everyone envy her.

Beatrice thought. They had been together for a long time, living in the same mansion. It wasn't that bad if they were in the same class. They also had dorms, meaning they wouldn't be under the same roof anymore.

Beatrice bit her nail. If Bailey were still the same as before, there would be no problem— Beatrice pursed her lips.

Everything Bailey did now annoyed her. She had become too proud of herself because of the Nicastros.

—

"Oh my, congrats honey! What reward do you want? Gems? Trip to Germany? New dress— tell me, honey," Hilda Nicastro asked on the other line. The joy on the woman's face was evident.

Bailey took a while to answer. Not because she couldn't think of anything, but because she seemed shy.

"Will you allow me to meet my future husband, Auntie?" Bailey asked. Hilda immediately answered no and crossed her arms.

"Is it okay, Auntie, if we don't have contact before the wedding? Has he seen me yet?" Bailey asked, fidgeting with her fingers. What if her fiancé got disappointed because of her appearance?

"I've sent pictures and some information about you. I'm not sure if he's seen them," Hilda replied. Moments later, she heard Aldeus' voice in the background.

"He didn't look at it! He doesn't seem interested!"

Hilda threw something on the other side and told Aldeus to be quiet. Hilda lowered her eyes slightly.

After the call ended, Miranda took the laptop. Bailey lay on the bed and took her phone.

She saw Bree's name on the screen. Bree said she was home.

Bailey happily replied, saying she got into the University and achieved a full mark.

After sending, her phone vibrated, and she read Bree's text back.

'Congrats.'

Bailey laughed because Bree was dry when texting, but she often had many stories when they were together.

Bree's reason for being like that was that she was lazy to type, and when Bailey suggested they talk on the phone, Bree said it was noisy outside and that she wasn't a fan of calls.

'I ordered takeout from a restaurant I ate at earlier. Their dishes are delicious; I'll send them to your address.'

Bailey sat up after reading Bree's next text.

"Miran, Bree is sending food. Check outside and bring it here."

Bailey happily sent a voice call saying thank you.

—

"...you..."

The door to the room opened, and the man sitting on the bed looked up.

The room door opened, and the man sitting on the bed turned to look.

"Finally, you decided to come home."

The man grimaced and said not to scold him.

"Are you really trying to worry us to death? What do you really want to happen? Is it that hard to just behave and not go where we can't see you?"

The man's expression soured, and he asked his sister how long they would keep doing that.

"What's so hard about staying still, Peri?"

"Why can't you just leave me alone!"

The woman jumped when the man suddenly yelled and glared at his sister.

"I won't get better, okay! I'll be like this forever! Why can't you accept that and just let me do what I want!"

"I'm tired of all these years you did nothing but isolate me. If it's hard for you, why don't you just leave me alone!"

The woman clenched her fist and darkly glared at her brother.

"You're too selfish, Peri. You only think about yourself."

The woman approached and immediately grabbed her brother's collar.

"Peri—don't test my patience. If our parents can be patient with you, I can't. If necessary, I'll tie you to your own bed so you can learn to behave yourself."

The woman pushed her brother and then turned away. She walked towards the door.

She opened the door, but before she could step out of the room, someone hugged her from behind and apologized.

"I didn't go out alone, I was in disguise, and I didn't do anything tiring. Please don't be mad."

The woman held her forehead.

In the same mansion, a man was sitting on the sofa holding his stomach, laughing. The man in the swivel chair was also trying to stifle his laughter.

"In the end, none of you managed to scold him for more than two minutes?" asked Aron Nicastro, who was sitting in the swivel chair, while Arthur, holding his forehead, was on the sofa with his wife, Hilda, who was grimacing, and Bree, standing behind the sofa, looking irritated.

"This is all Dad's fault," Bree said irritably, causing her father to turn to her.

"Why me?" the man asked, waving her hand in front of her face, saying her twin brother was too handsome.

"How come I find his shocked expression cute. I always want to hide him in my pocket!"

"Yeah, it's all Dad's fault."

Said one of the triplets sitting on the single sofa. Two were sitting on the armrest, and the one who spoke was in the middle.

Everyone in the room looked at the triplets.

"The carbon copies of Dad spoke," Aron quipped. Hilda held her cheek and said if even a little, Bree's twin brother looked like her, there wouldn't be a problem.

Even she felt guilty seeing Castor, the flower boy of the Nicastro family, almost crying and startled.

"That's not the point here. We need to find a way to convince Castor to have surgery," said Aldeus, looking at his aunt and uncle.

"Whenever I open that topic, he freaks out," Hilda said. Castor often doesn't feel well, which is why he behaves that way, but it can also cause him shock, so they avoid offending him as much as possible.

"How about rewards?"

Hilda looked in the direction of the triplets.

"For sure, brother Castor has things he wants to do or gifts," said the boy sitting on the armrest. Hilda and Bree exchanged glances.

"Remember, we can't have a proper conversation with him? The last time we asked what gift he wanted? He wanted Dad to let him go bungee jumping somewhere. When Dad didn't allow it, he got mad."

"How come he has Dad's face but Mom's personality."

Aron was trying to stifle his laughter on the other side of the office.

"What do you mean?"

The triplets ran out of the office when their mother was about to pinch their cheeks.