Dressed in one of my many black short skirts with leggings underneath, and a black cashmere sweater, I went downstairs. I didn't know what I was supposed to do for the day, but I knew that I wanted to explore the estate.
There was nothing else to do there, and my friends were not replying to my text messages. I would take a day to decompress, and then I would make them tell me who spilled their guts to the reporter. I had dirt on all my friends.
When your mother was as famous as mine, you knew everyone was out to get you. You needed to ensure no one would reveal things about you without suffering any consequences.
Julian made sure the headlines disappeared, but that didn't mean I would forget that someone in my inner circle had betrayed me. All my friends were in on it, especially because all of them weren't speaking to me.
I was in knee-high leather boots, my hair was straight, and I had minimal makeup on my face when I headed downstairs. I paused when I saw a girl at the dining table. She was wearing an oversized shirt, and she had marks all over her neck and chest, which were on full display because she hadn't fully buttoned her shirt.
The shirt I knew belonged to Julian.
"Who are you?" I asked.
She looked back at me, sized me up, and went back to eating. The sick woman was ignoring me and acting like it was her house. Staff lined up at the side of the table, and none of them dared to look at us.
I grabbed her hair, pulled her off the chair, and threw her on the ground. She screamed and looked back at me with shock written all over her face.
I grabbed a hot pot of tea and poured it all over her.
"What the fuck?!" She yelled.
A staff member rushed to give her cold water, but I held my hand out to stop her.
"When I ask you a question, you'd better answer. I'll ask you again, and the next words out of your mother better be an answer, or I will pour scalding water on you. We'll see how you'll seduce married men with a burnt face."
She got up, looking so surprised that her face was starting to turn pale. It had previously been red from the tea I poured on her.
"What do you know, you stupid brat? You are only here because your mother doesn't want you. She will soon divorce Julian, and he and I will get married. You'll be out of this house in no time. Wait until I tell Julian what you have done to me."
I turned to Eddie.
"I want hot water here right now!"
The girl was pretty. She had jet black hair and blue eyes. She was tall enough to be a model, and she didn't have any fat on her body. I could see why Julian liked her. The marks on her body were savage, but I couldn't deny that I was curious.
I wanted to see what it felt like to tow the line between pain and pleasure. Julian seemed to know how to do that very well, so I stopped my wandering mind before it went further.
He was my stepfather, and I wasn't supposed to imagine what sex like him would look like. He belonged to my mother, and she would kill me if I ever tried to seduce her husband. She already couldn't stand me.
She would disown me, and Julian would have an excuse to divorce her.
"You won't pour hot water on me. Julian will kill you."
"What makes you think he'll do something to me because of you? You're nothing but a whore and a skank who earns a living by seducing billionaires. You're disgusting."
"I'm his favorite whore, little girl. And I will be here for the foreseeable future."
I lost it. I grabbed the nearest vase and hit her in the head with it. She stumbled as her head bled. I slapped her a couple of times until Edward had to pull me off of her.
"Help me!" She yelled, but none of the staff helped her.
"If you don't want me to destroy your face with hot water, you'd better kneel at my feet and watch me eat. And trust me, the staff will do whatever I want."
"You're a bully," she said. I smiled because it was true. But I only bullied those who went against me or those who deserved it.
I sat at the table, and she knelt by my side like a dog while I ate. I was on my third bite when I saw him. He walked in as he did his black tie. Chestnut brown hair, steel blue eyes, refined shoulders, sun-kissed skin that contrasted the weather in London, and taller than I remembered.
The photos on Google didn't do him any justice. He didn't look a day over twenty-five, and yet, I knew he was thirty-eight. I couldn't take my eyes off of him, no matter how hard I tried. He looked powerful, like he could command a room on cue.
His scent was already intoxicating, and he wasn't even near me. I wasn't supposed to find him attractive, so I looked away immediately.
"What's going on here?" He asked as he looked between Ava and me with amusement in his eyes.
I cleared my throat and looked at my food.
"Julian—" The mistress said as she tried to get up. I grabbed her hair and pushed her back to her knees.
"I will hurt you while he watches. You're not getting up unless I tell you."
I stood up from my seat and crossed my arms against my chest. Julian was smirking like something was funny.
"I knew you were cheating on my mother, but I didn't think you would openly flaunt your mistress in front of me. That's tasteless."
I heard gasps in the room. It seems no one was used to others talking to Julian like that. I was scared of him, but I also knew I had power because I was his step-daughter, and I would use it appropriately.
The whore took the opportunity to get up and run towards Julian. She hid behind him, thinking I wouldn't hurt her when she hid behind Julian.
"She's a bully!" She yelled.
"Ava, I told you to leave the house before dawn. You're not even supposed to be here. And who gave you permission to wear my clothes?"
"I—"
"Leave now, or I won't stop Kennedy from doing what she wants."