Chapter 64
Rikki recovered quite well and was soon out of the hospital.
Two weeks later…
The phone rang in Bella and Will's apartment.
"Hello? Bella speaking,"
"Hey darling,"
"Hey Mum, how are you doing?"
"Not too good."
"Oh?"
"I have some bad news…Great aunt Siobhan passed away last night,"
"Oh no!" Bella interjected. She had not seen Siobhan in a few years but she felt sadness rush over her.
"Yeah. Anyway, her funeral is in about a week's time, to allow her extended family time to travel over to Ireland. Also we have to be there for the hearing of her will; after all we are her only living relatives."
"I will be there don't worry. I'll meet you there."
"Okay." *sniff*
"You okay Mum? I can come over if you want some company,"
"No, it's okay, your father will be home soon,"
"Okay, if you're sure,"
"Yes. Positive, don't worry 'bout me. Have a good night Bella,"
"You too Mum."
OoOoO
Bella had told her mum that she would catch up with her old friends from when she lived in Ireland and do a bit of sightseeing before the scheduled funeral and Will hearing. In fact she was going to swim over, thus meaning having to leave right away. Will was going to fly over and meet her there, leaving a few days later that her.
She packed her credit card, phone, food and a small bottle of water into a waterproof bag.
Will handed it to her.
"Thanks Will,"
"Be safe," he replied
"I will." They kissed.
"I love you,"
"Love you too. I'll see you there,"
He nodded and smiled. They shared one last kiss and then she swam full speed on her way to Ireland.
OoOoO
By the time she reached the shores of her destination, she was very exhausted. She had made a stop each night on a rocky outcrop or beach for a meal, drink and rest. She had done this trip many times over the years; however, this time was a much more depressing reason – to hear the Will of her Great Aunt Siobhan. She was a very wealthy woman. Bella didn't know the exact quantity of her aunt's wealth but she knew it was well into the multi-millions.
Bella dried herself off on a private beach cursing to herself for not bringing a towel. After devouring the last of her food, she made her way to Dublin.
OoOoO
Bella caught the bus and looked at the diver's watch that Will gave her. She always put it on after her transformation so that it wouldn't disappear along with the rest of her clothes. She was right on time. Her husband should be arriving in Ireland soon after having the hard job of leaving a protesting Jacob with the McCartneys. The funeral was in two days. That would give her plenty of time to visit her friends like she said she was. She hadn't told her mother that she'd be swimming over; even though her parents knew about her being a mermaid, they would be very freaked out if they knew their daughter was swimming all the way to Ireland.
Bella met up with Will at the airport and then busied herself making appointments with her friends for the next few days. It was great catching up, having a joyful time before the depressing funeral and Will hearing – hopefully that would cheer her up.
The funeral was very sad and there were lots of tears.
The next day was the Will Hearing. Bella, Will, her parents and sisters walked into Court for the hearing of the Will. No one had any idea who would be getting what.
"Order. The court session has now begun."
Bella heard drabble of words, not really paying attention. She heard Siobhan Mackenzie's name quite a few times. Then she heard her own name and an amazing sum of money and was instantly alert. Everyone was starting at her.
"What…?" she whispered to Will.
"Your aunt left you like five million dollars!" Her draw dropped.
"F-f-five million?"
"Yeah! Turns out she was real wealthy…"
Bella still had her mouth wide open.
"Bella, you're swallowing flies."
"Oh!" she shut her mouth. "I'm a millionaire?" she said still getting over her shock.
"Yip." Will was just as shocked yet excited.
"Wait, what did the rest of my family get?"
"Your mother got the $6 million house and your father got all the cars and $1 million, your sisters both got about $4 million each…"
"Wow. She was really generous."
"Yeah…"
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Chapter 65
"Who would've thought...?" Bella mused to herself. "Oh my gosh Will!" she exclaimed to him, "This means we can buy Mako easily!"
"Yeah! But are you sure that's what you want to do with your money?"
"Yes." She replied firmly, "It will be a great place to bring up Jake safely,"
OoOoO
Later that day... (once the initial shock had worn off...)
"Come on Will," Bella led him by the hand
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
The couple were walking down the grassy hills to the rock pools and caves by the sea. Large waves were crashing onto the rocks as Bella led Will to a place she knew well.
"You know I first changed in Ireland? Well, I thought this'd be a great opportunity to show you where," Bella announced as they walked into a large cave that looked amazingly like the moon pool.
"Wow..."
Bella took a deep breath. "Oh, I feel at home already," she whispered. Before Will could realise, she had dived in. She moved round the pool and then settled on the ledge, placing her chin on her hands. "Isn't it beautiful," she sighed looking up at Will. He nodded smiling. He took his shirt and shoes off, then sliding into the water beside her. "I've seen better."
"Oh?"
"You silly," he smiled. She giggled at his comment. They leaned in and shared a loving kiss, Bella's arms twisting around Will's neck.
A/N: Thanks to Paradox Tremors for this idea :)
"Did you hear the news?" Cleo asked Lewis excitedly.
"No?"
"Bella is a millionaire," she said in a sing-song voice. "You know how her great aunt was extremely wealthy..."
"No..."
"Oh, well she was. Anyway, in her will, Bella inherited over $4 million!"
"Wow." Lewis said simply, slack-jawed.
OoOoO
As soon as Bella opened the door, Jacob ran and hugged his mother's leg. She picked him up and snuggled him into the crook of her neck.
"I missed you mama,"
"I missed you too Jakey," She looked into her boy's eyes. Just then, Will walked in the door.
"How's my little man?" he asked ruffling his dirty blonde hair.
"Daddy!" Bella handed her son to his father smiling at Jake's enthusiasm. By now, Cleo and Lewis had come to the door along with Jennifer walking beside them. They smiled at the family reunion. Bella hugged them.
"Welcome home Millionaire!" Bella laughed at this. They all went and sat on the couches in Cleo and Lewis' lounge.
Jake and Jennifer sat together on the floor playing with their toys.
"The two have them have become much closer over the past few weeks," Cleo said as she noticed Bella and Will looking at the kids.
"Good." Bella smiled. "So what have they been up to?"
"Playing, we took them both swimming everyday at the moon pool. I have to say that they are becoming amazing swimmers." Cleo said.
OoOoO
A few hours later...
"Lewis, how much did the council want for Mako Island?"
"About $4.5 million, why?"
"Well, I have the money now to buy it..."
"Bella! We can't let you use up all your money on buying the island!" Lewis exclaimed
"Why not?" she asked stubbornly
"You have a growing family. Besides, it's your money and we want to help, we haven't been fundraising for nothing!"
"Okay, but I still want to pay for the majority."
"We can't let you do that..."
"Come on! I just inherited $5 mil! I'm never going to use all that up, besides I don't need to be rich to enjoy life."
"Okay," Lewis said defeated, "How about we have a meeting tomorrow to discuss how much money we have?"
OoOoO
The next day...
"Rikki has taken the treasures collected to the council in your absence. She was the only one who could – with her licence I mean – but she traded them in for money." Lewis said
Rikki nodded.
"How much?" Bella asked.
Everyone looked to Rikki. "About $2.3 million for those treasures and artefacts."
"This means that half the cost is already sorted." Lewis announced. "Cleo and I have about $200 K that we can spare – I get paid quite a lot. We were going to buy a bigger house with it but the island will do. So how much do you guys have?"
Emma spoke up, "In total we all have about $500 K towards it."
"So that means that we have about $3 million total. We are $1.5 mil short."
"I can cover that!" Bella said quickly. "$1.5 million is only like a 3rd of my money. I'll still be a millionaire if that's what you are worried about."
"Fine, we are sorted then." Lewis agreed reluctantly, giving in to Bella's persistence. "We'll take our offer to the council tomorrow after work – before it closes."
"Sweet."