Bullied Cinderella - Hollie Hutchins Page 0,62
house either. Maybe they were hoping I would change my mind, but I had never been so certain of anything in my entire life. All I could do was wait and see what they would decide, and pray that by the time I went to Lucia again - I could knock on her door and see her respectively without hiding. And hopefully, I’d have my grandmother’s ring in my hands to offer her.
As I waited, I thought back on Lucia’s time with us. Even though I would have never admitted it, I knew there was something strong and solid about her from the moment I first laid eyes on her in the auction house. I was even more certain of it when she scolded me during her first days here, even if it was infuriating at the time. She crept in slowly and gnawed away at my resolve until that night when I heard Jorge had taken her off. Everything changed then as I had a reason to fight for something I cared about. I had never been more like my father than on that night. And whatever resolve washed over me then stuck with me ever since. I stood taller and spent less time bothering with all the stupid things my cousins and I used to waste our days away with. This whole time I wanted to believe that Lucia insulted my manhood that was why she bothered me so incessantly. But now I could see that she was responsible for turning me into the man I always thought I was.
Finally, after three days of hiding out in my room, a knock came to my door. One of the staff members informed me that my mother requested to see me in the parlor. I knew she had reached her decision. It was now a matter of if I would be asking for Lucia’s hand under her blessing, or tolerance at the least, or if I would go to her as a broke, completely disowned man - stripped of my family’s name and riches. Either way, the rest would be up to her. Would she love me in return and agree to be my wife? Or was my family right about her...Would she insist this was all out of vengeance and nothing she felt for me was ever real at all...
More By Hollie
More By Hollie
Bring your ♥ to my newest BadBoys!
Bullied Bride
Get It Here
HIS VENGEANCE WAS TO MAKE ME HIS BRIDE…
I made a mistake.
It was supposed to be a one-night stand.
I had no idea who he really was.
For as long as we’ve lived, we have hated each other.
Hartsons and Claymores are not meant to get on.
I’m not sure what came over me that night.
I went with my friend into neutral territory to have some fun.
It was the only place where we could hide our allegiance.
The man I met there was so charming, so devilishly handsome that it was almost unfair.
I left the next morning wanting more…
Even thinking he was someone worth knowing.
Right until I find out who he was.
A Claymore.
A murderer of my people.
A man I should have never touched.
My shame turns to anger when his people spread the tale of what happened.
Leaving me defiled.
Tarnishing my family’s reputation.
My punishment?
A forced marriage.
They turned me into a captive bride, a hostage.
I’m being bullied and humiliated.
All I get is resentment and aggression from the Claymores.
...And my very own “husband”.
But if he has decided to make my life a burning hell,
I’ll make sure the devil burns up as well…
Epilogue
Epilogue Lucia
“Are you sure about this?” the construction lead asked me as I signed the papers to terminate the contract for the fence.
My lawyer stood over my shoulders, equally perplexed. But I smiled, nodded, and signed away. I was less concerned with what they thought of me, and more worried about Jada and Elaina who were waiting nearby. With the papers to cease construction signed, we sent the men away and that was that. I was left there to hang my head, hating what I had drug my family through.
“How are you feeling?” Elaina asked sympathetically, rubbing my shoulder while Jada did the same from the other side.
“Don’t pity me. That only makes me feel worse. I should have never risked so much money just to prove a point to the Valencias. I don’t know what I was thinking. As if that stupid fence would have done much of anything anyway other than cost too much money and be a minor annoyance to the cousins. And