Bittersweet - Bubbline AU

Chapter Twenty Nine - Forgiving Is Not Forgetting

After the initial shock, Marceline picked up Bonnibel's things and brought them home. Afterwards, she talked to her mother to tell her the girl would be there for a while.

"Her parents know, don't they?"

"Yeah," replied Marcy, quietly. She felt helpless.

Megan frowned. She had something flashing in her eyes. The last time Marceline had seen her like that was when she had sued the music conservatory. Megan grabbed the phone from her desk.

"Can you give me a moment, honey? I need to make an important call. You can tell Bonnie I'll take care of it."

Now, two weeks later, the three of them were faced with the first information accumulated by Megan's lawyers. She had her usual smirk stretching from the corner of her mouth.

"No, I had no idea," said Bonnibel, gawking at one of the documents in her hand.

All her life she had believed that all the shares in the family factory were in her mother's name. It was an inheritance from her maternal grandmother, and as far as she knew, removing her name from the will would be the least of her parents' problems if they didn't want her to touch a single penny of that fortune.

Now, with the documents in hand, she learned what her parents never let her grandma tell her while she was alive: there was a whole document signed by her that left to Bonnibel 45% of the company's shares the moment she turned eighteen. Another 45% for Neddy, and then all her mother could control would be the remaining 10%. Not that it was a small thing, but it was far from the empire she had boasted since the passing of the original founder of the Candy Kingdom.

"I should've known better. Grandma hated my dad. And she wasn't exactly my mom's biggest fan", Bonnibel commented, with a light laugh. She adored her grandma and suffered quite a bit when she passed away, less than two years after Neddy was born. She just didn't imagine her grandmother's love for her would come to this.

"Well, I've already started doing my thing. Let's just say I haven't gotten my hands on these documents in the most... ethical way. So our story is that your grandma told you this before she passed away. Your parents will be required to present the her will to justice, which will confirm your version. This will take a while, but as there is no doubt that this money is yours, soon I will be able to put a good lawyer and a reliable accountant to schedule the transfer of those goods to your name. By the time you turn eighteen, everything will be ready. Then you can choose someone to manage Neddy's accounts yourself."

"I trust your decisions, Megan. You have a lot more experience with this," she said, placing the documents carefully on the table. "I don't even know how to thank you… I mean, this ain't going to buy me a family that loves me, but just knowing I won't be homeless with Neddy makes me a million times more relieved."

"You don't need to buy a family, angel. You have one right here", replied the woman, leaving the room with her phone to her ear, in another of her countless important calls.

Bonnibel watched her leave with a tear-washed smile.

"You'll be fine. My mother's greatest talent is being the best mother in the world, and the second greatest is taking money from idiots", Marceline said hugging her, her voice half muffled by her lips glued to her hair. Bonnibel laughed lightly.

Marshall poked his head into the room after a light knock on the door.

"Are you guys alright there?"

"Much better than I expected, to be honest," Bonnie replied, wiping her eyes.

"Great", the boy smiled at her, sincere and relieved. "Neddy is downstairs. Your aunt said she was late for work because he started crying and didn't stop until she agreed to let him spend the day with you here."