The whole place reeked of sex and cheap perfume.
While I was out handling my mother’s funeral, Steven and Nellie were playing house in every corner of my home.
I stepped into the walk-in closet and the shock kept coming. My jewelry was tossed across the floor. Several of my Hermès bags were just… gone.
Nellie trailed behind me, lips curled in a smug little smile. “Lucia, missing anything?”
She wanted a reaction.
Too bad. I simply smiled.
“Mistresses will be mistresses. Petty theft and playing victim—classic moves.”
Her eyes flashed. “You—!”
She suddenly gasped, clutched her stomach and collapsed onto the floor. “Lucia… I haven’t even fully healed from giving birth… Why are you hitting me?!”
Steven stormed in and rushed to her side. He was clearly furious and so he slapped me without warning.
“Lucia! I've spoiled you for too long. You think the world owes you everything?!”
My cheek lit up with pain, swelling almost instantly. Blood rushed to my head. My temples throbbed. I was shaking.
“I didn’t touch her!” I shouted.
Steven didn’t believe me. He grabbed me by the arm and dragged me out of the closet, pushing me to the floor.
“Get out. Go home and cry to your family. You can come back once you’ve learned some humility.”
The humiliation burned hotter in me. I couldn't let Nellie got what she wanted. In sudden move, I got up and marched straight over to Nellie and returned the favor.
Smack!
Steven raised his hand again, eyes blazing with rage.
I stood my ground, jaw clenched, staring him down. “That slap? That one was mine.”
Then I soon turned, walking away. My pride in pieces, my eyes burning with tears I didn’t want to cry out.
Outside, the rain was pouring heavily. It pelted down on me as I sank to the ground, sobbing so hard I couldn’t breathe.
I don’t know how long I sat there. But eventually, I noticed the rain wasn’t hitting me anymore.
I looked up.
Jaxon was standing there, holding an umbrella over me, face drawn with concern. He didn’t say anything at first, just extending a hand where he held an umbrella.
“Lucia. Come on. Let me take you home.”
Back at the Browns’ estate, everything felt achingly familiar. The courtyard, the smell of the garden after the rain… Even the housekeeper, who’d been there since we were kids.
I couldn’t help but think of the past.
Jaxon’s mother and mine had been best friends since they were young; The kind who swore they'd be in-laws someday.