Chapter 451
After Collins left, Leo slumped onto the couch, clutching a throw pillow as he observed his sister sunk deep in thought. After a moment, he sat up straight, abandoning the pillow with a serious demeanor. “Mira,” he said earnestly, “you know, our family really isn’t short on cash” He had wanted to say this for the longest time but kept getting interrupted.
Mirabella’s lips twitched slightly. Alright then. Her curiosity, piqued by Zach earlier, hadn’t been quenched, and now Leo was offering answers on a silver platter.
This was perfect. She was quite eager to learn what he meant by their family not lacking money.
A puzzled expression crossed Mirabella’s face as she said, “Aren’t we still in debt, though?”
Leo, blissfully unaware he’d been duped, gave her an incredulous look. “Who told you we’re in debt?” he asked. Was this why she was so adamant about making money?
Blinking in surprise, Mirabella replied, “I saw a group of debt collectors at our house not long ago.”
“Debt collectors?” Leo’s brow furrowed in thought, then something clicked, and he looked up at Mirabella. “Are you talking about a bunch of guys in matching black suits, beefy and looking a bit shady?”
edu weren
Mirabella’s eyebrows arched in recognition. His description was spot–on. No further details were necessary. She nodded.
Seeing this, Leo smiled with an “I knew it” expression. “You’ve got it all wrong. Those weren’t debt collectors; they were the company’s
accountants.”
“Company accountants?” Mirabella echoed, her elegant fingers tapping her chin in confusion.
“Yeah, the Davis family has tons of assets and, naturally, tons of paperwork to match. So they report to us monthly. That’s who you must’ve seen,” Leo affirmed. As for why the accountants looked like they belonged in a mob, he didn’t think it necessary to elaborate. After all, his sister was still a student. She just needed to focus on her studies, enjoy a lavish lifestyle, and live better than everyone else!
When Mirabella heard the words ‘tons of assets,‘ she fell into a daze. Was this still the ‘poor family‘ script she thought she had?
Leo, noticing his sister’s stunned silence, scooted closer, concerning his voice. “Mira, what’s wrong?”
Mirabella turned to him, a complex look in her eyes that shifted from his face t
his curly hair. It seemed the days of pretending to be poor were over. Now, she just needed to grab a handful of curls to calm her nerves.
Thus, a bewildered Leo, whose hair was being ruffled yet again, wondered what was going on in her mind. Where on earth did his sister pick up this odd habit of hair–ruffling? That was supposed to be his big brother move!
**
The next day was the weekend, and Mirabella and Leo were scheduled to record for the variety show “Country Comfort.”
The previous episode had seen record–breaking streaming numbers, and with the fallout from Leo’s Twitter hacking incident, “Country Comfort” had ridden a wave of popularity. Before the live stream even began, the number of fans waiting exceeded the previous episode by several folds.
Collins had picked up the siblings early and drove them to the scenic village at Harmony Point, the show’s usual location. On the way, he took the opportunity to remind Leo about maintaining his public image, especially after the persona slip–ups in the last two episodes.
Though the mishaps hadn’t hurt his popularity, it was still important to remember that Leo was supposed to be the responsible older
brother.
