chapter 4

Ella pov.

I felt a heavy downpour of water soak into my clothes, causing me to jolt upright in surprise. Gasping for air, I hurriedly wiped the water from my drenched face.

As my vision cleared, I spotted Elina and her daughter, both laughing at my expense. I could see the bucket of water in Elina's hands, and I couldn't fathom why she would stoop so low as to play such a evil on me.

Gazing at them, a sense of tranquility washed over me, but I concealed it beneath a composed facade, silently observing their amusement.

Once they had their fill of laughter, Elina approached me with a malevolent gleam in her eyes. With every step she took, my heart pounded inside my chest.

"You foolish girl!" she shouted, her anger palpable. "I explicitly instructed you to clean everywhere, and yet you dared to defy my orders?"

Despite her rage, I remained unaffected, steadfastly holding my gaze without flinching.

Without awaiting my response, she beckoned Lia to come forward, and once Lia complied, Elina turned back to me, resuming her tirade.

"Just take a good look at my daughter. Tonight, she will be attending the Alpha Son Ball, where she will be crowned as the next Luna. And in the process, you will serve as her maid. I gave you clear instructions last night, and you had the audacity to act as you pleased?"

I could see through her pretense, as if her daughter's crowning would magically transform her into a Luna, when in truth, she was nothing more than an unpleasant person.

I chuckled quietly within, concealing my amusement, while observing her as she spoke. A sense of pity overwhelmed me as I witnessed Elina's rudeness and malevolence. Perhaps, someday, luck will be on my side, and I will marry a wealthy man.

Lost in my thoughts about the future, I was abruptly jolted by a heavy slap across my face. My gaze met Elian's enraged eyes, leaving me utterly astonished at her fury.

"I was engaged in conversation with you, and you were daydreaming!" she shouted, as I continued to stare at her, still in disbelief.

She seized the bucket from the floor, the one I had used the previous night, revealing its dark and grimy contents. With calculated steps, she advanced towards me, and I already knew what she had in mind. Before I could utter a word, a torrent of water cascaded over my face, followed by the bucket descending upon my head, completely obscuring my vision.

Lia's laughter echoed in the air, yet I remained motionless, unwilling to remove the drenched bucket from my head.

"I expect this entire place to be cleaned within an hour, or there will be more consequences," she warned, her footsteps fading away.

As the sound of her footsteps receded, tears streamed down my face, my eyes swollen and my clothes saturated.

Why did my father ever consider marrying a second wife?

Sitting on the floor, tears cascading, I began to regret the day Elina entered my life as a stepmother. I despised the day I failed to voice my opposition to my father. Now, my existence had transformed into an inferno, an inescapable torment.

I stood up, starry-eyed, as I started cleaning the wet floor and dusting every nook and cranny. I couldn't believe my story was vastly different from the one in the book, and to my disbelief, it was even worse than what I had read.

Just as I was engrossed in my cleaning, Lia walked in with a plate of food in her hands, her shoe covers dirtied from walking around the entire place, making it all filthy again. At first, I ignored her mere presence, but after she repeated this act not just once, but three times, I couldn't bear it any longer. I stood up, turned towards her, and confronted her.

"What's your deal, Lia? What do you want? You and your mother have made my life a living hell. Isn't that enough? Why do you want to make it even worse?"

As I spoke, my anger brewed, and I felt an overwhelming urge to grab her hair and pummel her until she couldn't get back up again.

Instead of reacting, all she did was chuckle, not even flinching at my words. She sauntered over to a nearby chair and nonchalantly took a seat.

"Do you know that my mom and I own this house now, and you...you have nothing. Your father didn't even leave you a penny, and here you are, telling me what I should or shouldn't do. You should be grateful, Ella, that my mother didn't kick you out onto the streets. Maybe by now, you would be begging for food to survive."

I chuckled bitterly as I listened to her words. Kick me out onto the streets? Was that their sole intention?

I walked over to where she sat, her gaze meeting mine, and as I approached her, I abruptly halted.

"Then let her kick me out onto the streets. It would be better. Who knows? Maybe you'll have to clean the house and do all the dishes yourself."

She sprang to her feet instantly, her eyes locked with mine.

"Get back to work, and when you're done, my mom wants to see you."

She strode away, leaving me chuckling to myself. She might believe she's won, but she isn't half as clever as she thinks. As I turned to resume my cleaning, I couldn't help but feel an urge to attend the ball, even if only for an hour. But how could I possibly do that? I closed my eyes and then, opening them, looked up with a silent whisper, "Please, Mom, help me."