Bullied Cinderella - Hollie Hutchins Page 0,24

the proof to back it up this time. “Yeah, but their mother just worked for him. They had a secret affair. He didn’t want anything to do with them until he was practically already in the grave.”

“They obviously meant something to him or he wouldn’t have sent for them on his deathbed and bought that property for them...or written them into his will,” Dario shot back. “Anyway, don’t you feel even just a little guilty that she didn’t even get to see him before he died? She missed Elaina’s wedding and everything. Maybe our correspondence rules for the staff are...just a little harsh.”

“That’s what they get for surrendering themselves over to the auction,” I reminded him.

Jorge pointed like I had hit the nail on the head exactly. “It’s one thing to be poor and work a servant’s job to get by, but to submit yourself to being sold off like cattle for next to nothing? They get what they deserve for having such a lack of self-respect.”

I shouted and threw my hands up in the air. “Bullseye! Now...please can we talk about absolutely anything else!? That lifted my spirits and I don’t want you two bringing me right back down again.”

They complied and thankfully I didn’t have to hear Lucia’s name again for the rest of the night. Of course, that didn’t stop it from circling around in my brain. Maybe it was still from a lingering hangover, I thought. By tomorrow morning, I was sure she’d be the last thing on my mind.

8

Lucia

They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, but they don’t talk enough about just how good it feels when she gets her revenge. My cheeks had taken on the glow of that satisfaction as I supervised the men building the fence between my family’s property and the Valencia estate. It was a beautiful day out. The sun was shining and flowers were blooming, filling the air with their sweet fragrance. It all added to the satisfaction I was feeling from the execution of my plans.

The first step was my grand reveal at the landowner’s party, which went perfectly. The next step was to build the barrier between our lands - a scandalous symbol of my disassociation with the cousins and everything they stood for. The third and final goal was to destroy their reputations. Gossiping about their treatment of their employees to their high society friends was part of that, but it wasn’t enough. I just wasn’t quite sure how to carry out the rest of what they deserved.

I consulted with the lead builder of my new fence, but our meeting was interrupted by a man’s voice ranting and raving as he approached from the distance. I didn’t have to turn around and look at him to know it was Leonardo.

“What the hell is going on here!?” he fumed when he finally reached the construction site, wagging his finger at my workers. “You there! Stop this immediately!”

“Excuse me, but these are my employees and this is my fence,” I scolded. “You have no business telling them what to do.” I gave the workers a reassuring nod. “Carry on as you were.”

“No, don’t carry on as you were! What is this all about!? All this incessant noise woke me up! It’s disrupting everyone in the house and spooking all the horses in the stable! This is private property! I’ll have the policia here to put a halt to this if you don’t listen to me and stop this at once!”

“It’s nearly noon. It’s certainly not my fault that you were still lazing about in bed nursing your daily hangover. And while this may be private property, it is my property, and I can do as I please with it!”

His nostrils flared and his cheeks turned bright red. He wasn’t used to people not cowering down to him and doing whatever he wanted on command. “That over there may be your property, but this is my property...and you and your baboons here are clearly on it!” He marched over to the workers and started snatching the tools from their hands and throwing them to the ground.

“Enough!” I shouted, placing myself between him and them. “I have paid these men to do a job and you’re harassing them! Perhaps we should call the police and see what they have to say about this!”

“Senorita Chavez, we have made good strides on everything today. Why don’t we let you sort this out and we’ll return tomorrow to get back