Bullied Cinderella - Hollie Hutchins Page 0,28

would be up more than ever towards me now, and I didn’t know if I’d ever be so lucky again.

Just the lingering thought of it was enough to renew all the longing in me. I was hard as a rock with a big tent formed around the erection in my pants. I could only hope it would die down by the time I made it back into the house. I didn’t need to worry though. The moment I started back, I heard the hammering of the fence workers - back at it again. That’s when I started to feel very stupid.

Here I thought I had gotten the better of Lucia by catching her in a weak moment. Now it occurred to me that it was she who got the better of me. We hadn’t settled a damn thing about the fence. She simply distracted me from the argument with her vixen ways. I soured my face at the sight of them and their stupid fence, but thankfully Lucia wasn’t around supervising them. I would need to strengthen my defenses before going at it with her again.

Dario and Jorge were looking annoyingly chipper and bright, as usual, gathered around the breakfast table. It was a stark contrast to my still half-closed eyes and disheveled look, complete with grass and twigs tangled into my hair.

“I don’t know what you two are so happy about,” I huffed. “With all that nonsense going on outside.”

Dario perked up and looked out the window like a dumb, lost little puppy. “Oh, I hadn’t even noticed!”

Jorge at least seemed to have taken note of the loud construction of the fence, but didn’t seem bothered by it in the least. “What’s all that about anyway?” he asked, sounding indifferent.

“What does it look like, you morons!? She’s erecting a fence between our properties! It’s some kind of show of dominance and grudge against us! And it cuts off part of my view of the mountains!”

They both studied the distant commotion of the building more closely. Dario still didn’t seem to care, but Jorge seemed ready to be angry about it with me.

“She’s just trying to stir up trouble and drama. You should let her know we won’t stand for it,” he decided.

“Oh, believe me. I have,” I smiled proudly, adjusting the waist of my pants.

“Then why are they still building?” he asked.

It ripped away my smile, leaving me to toss pastries and rolls onto my plate in bitter silence. Once I was loaded up I sulked over to the table. I would have rather eaten in my room alone, but I was too impatient to make the walk up the stairs.

“I think you two have been far too harsh on Lucia and her sisters,” Dario suggested. “They obviously have some good blood in them, from their father’s side at least. And regardless, they’re not going anywhere now. They’re a part of the landowners’ circle. We’ll have to start learning to get along with them and treat them like we would any other wealthy family around here.”

“Rats in disguise,” Jorge grumbled.

I felt torn inside, and it was the most irritating feeling. If I had any intentions of starting a real thing with Lucia, it would be in my best interest to start treating her as the wealthy woman she now was. But even that wouldn’t change my mother’s view of her. And I doubted it’d do much for Lucia’s view of me. She was going to hate my guts either way, and especially now. She’d be out to prove just how much she didn’t enjoy what happened yesterday...and just how impossible it was for it to ever happen again.

“I could talk to them if you’d like!” Dario chirped. “Smooth things over. You two may be all bitter about the whole thing, but I can put on a nice face long enough to put us back in their good graces. She may even rethink the whole fence thing if I play my cards right.”

He had a strange grin, like he had much more planned than what he was letting on. I didn’t care what he had in mind. I was not about to let him or Jorge anywhere near Lucia as much as I could help it.

“You stay the hell away from them and let me handle this,” I barked, sliding my chair out to storm off to my room.

I climbed into a hot shower, needing to wash off the stink of the woods. But sadly, that also meant washing away