Bullied Cinderella - Hollie Hutchins Page 0,7

new girl here at all. As if we don’t have enough idiots swarming this place.”

“Oh here we go again,” the others groaned in unison.

“Shut your mouths! Mind who you’re talking to!” she snapped, pointing the potato peeler at them like a knife.

I had gathered Greta was the lead cook, and she was very protective of her status in the household. She had been there longer than anyone, except for a few men that worked in the gardens and around the outside property.

“You’d be just as upset if you’re two hardworking nephews had been let go for no good reason, only to have this trollop come prancing in here a week later.”

“Hardworking? Ha!” Camila shot back. “They were lazy as dogs and you know it. Besides...how else could they have afforded to get a new caregiver for Don German?”

“Exactly,” she sneered, glaring at me over her shoulder.

I was relieved to finally be finished with the medication prep so that I could gather up Don German’s breakfast tray and deliver it to his room. He was a cranky, quiet old man who demanded that I never speak to him unless I was spoken to. I learned that the hard way after I tried making friendly conversation with him as we sat in the garden on my first day. He was quick to yell at me and put me in my place.

But even his sorry company was preferred to the miserable workers and their incessant need to try and break me. That’s what it seemed like everyone was trying to do - to see just how much I could take before I lost it and either quit or did something to get myself fired.

I creaked the old heavy door open and carried in the breakfast tray, setting it on the bedside table before opening the blinds. Each morning, I’d have to wake him up no matter how cross he got with me, then prop the pillows behind him to sit him up in bed. With the tray pushed over his lap, he’d stare out the window and eat in silence. When he finished, I’d help him take his pills.

There was a huge scandal after my first few days when the maids lamented that I was a slob, leaving his room in shambles every day. It took me a while to realize that they were only trying to get me to do their job, so I’d neglect parts of mine. When breakfast was over, I’d help Don German dress to get ready for our stroll around the gardens.

They wanted me to think I was supposed to somehow leave the room spotless, while also caring for him. But now I knew better and would waltz right out, pushing his chair in front of me, leaving the dishes and unmade bed for them. They’d often be waiting in the halls to stare me down as I walked away. I ignored them. They’d have to try and find some other way to get rid of me.

After our morning walk, which was just as silent as breakfast, we went into the parlor to sit. In theory, it’d be a time for playing cards or reading, but those things would require me to speak to Don German...which he refused to allow.

I’d spend our moments of quiet thinking about my sisters and mother. Elaina signed a contract of just six months, and then she’d be returning home. I felt so stupid for signing up for a year of this torment. Months and months went by as I did my best to keep my head down and keep my mouth shut, all the while barely escaping the wrath of the other workers and the mischievous cousins. I thought as time went on, things would get easier. But the longer I survived, it only seemed to make everyone hate me more.

One day as I sat next to him in the parlor, staring out the window and missing home terribly, Donña Angela came marching in. She was dressed up and wearing a big hat. Several men followed behind her with a ridiculous amount of suitcases in hand.

“Good afternoon, Papa,” she smiled tightly, leaning down to kiss him on his cheek.

“Where are you going?” he asked in confusion.

“Oh, silly old man. I told you I’d be going out of town for a few days, remember?”

His hands and voice shook as he tried to remember. “Going where?”

“Don’t get yourself all worked up. You just go about business as usual and make sure you get plenty