Bullied Cinderella - Hollie Hutchins Page 0,42

had thrown herself into. A woman of her upbringing had no real place in our world. And she deserved every ounce of the remainder after the way she toyed with my cousins and me.

But my small victory did nothing to stop my sleepless nights. If anything, I hated myself more for not giving into her kiss in the shed. I knew it was the right thing to do to deny her advances, but it didn’t make it sting any less.

I hired a lawyer the following day, as promised. They informed me that Lucia had done the same and that they would be working together to confirm the proper lines between our property. It would cost Lucia a small fortune if she had to pay the legal fees in addition to tearing down the fence and starting over again, but that would teach her to not make such rash, bold displays against us ever again.

Jorge and I never spoke about that night again. He was in such rough shape the next day, I wondered how much of it he even remembered. But he recalled enough to know I was not playing around when it came to Lucia. Neither he nor Dario mentioned her to me again. If she was still toying around with either of them, everyone was smart enough to keep it well hidden from me.

Everything seemed to go back to normal, aside from me still being haunted by Lucia’s ghost on a nightly basis. At least I had the kiss in the shed to cling to. That had been all her doing, which left good reason to believe that late at night...while I was lying in my bed, aching for her naked body to be next to mine, that she might be lying in her own bed thinking the same about me. She wouldn’t want to after the way I lectured and patronized her, but somehow the idea of her not wanting to and just not being able to help herself was only more satisfying.

A few weeks later, as we gathered around the breakfast table, it seemed I was not the only one who could not stop thinking about her. Only my mother didn’t have the good sense to not bring it up around me.

“That Chavez girl and her sisters have been awfully quiet lately,” she puzzled out loud. “They didn’t even make an appearance at the ladies’ tea last week. Not a smart move for them really if they ever wish to have any kind of real acceptance in our society. But really, it’s for the best. They can sit over there on top of their land and pretend...but it’s better for them to know they’re not really one of us.”

Jorge and Dario shifted uncomfortably, darting their eyes over to me. They knew it was a soft spot - one that they dared not to touch. I leaned back in my chair and sipped my coffee. I wanted to think what my mother said was just another reminder that I had won.

But like everything else with Lucia - it still just didn’t feel right. No matter how well I played my cards, I just could never get any firm grip on any sort of victory with her. The only comfort I had was that maybe time would do the trick. If time could have also strangled away the visions of her body that came to me each night - that would have also been great.

14

Lucia

The hacienda was looking particularly lovely one afternoon as I filled it with big bouquets of fresh flowers I had gathered from around the property. Jada was preparing everything for plates of Bandeja Paisa complete with grilled steak, fried pork rind, chorizo sausage, white rice, beans, and fried eggs. I had gathered avocados and plantains for us to serve on the side. It was the kind of luxurious meal we never could have afforded before.

We had been working hard to turn our newly acquired house into a home. We painted the walls in deep reds, blues, and golden yellows - accented with painted flowers. We filled every corner with terracotta vases overflowing with luscious plants. Most days, we left the doors and windows open so all the fresh Columbian air could flow through freely.

Sometimes when I took a moment to step back and take it all in, I felt a pang of guilt about my fence project. I hadn’t told Jada or Mama about the problems with it...at least not in full honesty. I