Rags and Riches (Camren)

Chapter 1

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Lauren Jauregui stood on the balcony of her room, breathing the fresh morning air as she watched the sunrise as she did every Sunday. It was a new week, the start of something new.

"Miss Jauregui," Lauren's maid peeked her head into her room. "Should I pick up your dress now? Or should I wait to get it closer to the party?"

"It's alright Rose. I was about to go out on a run anyway." She grabbed her earphones and headed out the door of her room and down the hallway to make it to the stairs. "Just have John ready to pick me up when I get to the shop, okay?" Lauren asked respectfully, the total opposite of her mother.

"Yes Miss Jauregui." Rose nodded, watching the young girl make her way through the house.

"Hello, Miss Jauregui." Lauren heard from multiple employees that she passed, including her other maids, gardeners, and butler.

"Goodmorning everyone." She responded happily, excited just to get to the kitchen which was already quite a walk from her actual room.

"There she is." Her chef and long time 'nanny', Meredith, had greeted Lauren the second she entered the room. "How's my favorite green eyed girl? Or should I say woman?"

"Come on Meredith, I've been 18 for a week. Nothing feels any different than before." Lauren playfully rolled her eyes as she took pieces of a sliced apple. "What happened to your hand?" She saw Meredith's bandaged hand that still had blood visible. "Meredith, I told you that you shouldn't be cooking anymore. Let alone be anywhere near sharp objects."

"I'm not going to let some stupid Parkinson's disease stop me from taking care of you, honey." Meredith replied, putting a hand on the young girls shoulder. "Trust me, I'm fine. Now stop worrying about me and go enjoy your run. The weather is beautiful today."

With nothing but a caring smile and one last hug for the elder woman, Lauren finally left the home and started on her run.

Meredith has always been there for Lauren, ever since she was born. She has been the second mother to her since Clara was gone a good 79% of the time, and when she was back, she would constantly be in meetings or making an excuse to throw a party. Michael on the other hand, was around way more often. He was a genuine guy, taking care of his daughter and creating a beautiful bond between them. Though his priorities were unfortunately work before family.

That's how they kept running the Jauregui empire. Working a billion dollar Global management company thanks to Michael, and one of the most famous media companies thanks to Clara. Together, they were the couple everyone envied because they made more money than imaginable; they were the top 1% everyone talked about.

Then came America's newest sweetheart: Lauren. Even though she grew up in the hands of the wealthy, she had a genuine personality and treated everyone she met as equals. Her mother constantly tried teaching her that it wasn't like that, but the green eyed beauty knew to ignore it. She liked learning even if it was from home, she admired the arts, and the best of all, she had an old soul.

"Lauren Jauregui," The woman at the dress shop opened her arms wide at Lauren's arrival. "When I got a call saying that you were the one to pick up the dress today, I was beyond surprised and made my way here as soon as I could."

"Hello Mrs. Wang." Lauren smiled at the famous family friend.

"Lauren, for the millionth time you can call me Vera." The designer insisted. "I made the dress myself for this party, I know how much it means to your parents." Vera handed the teen the beautiful black and white one of a kind cocktail party dress. "I can't wait to see you wear it."