"I will not marry him! You can not force me."
"I can and I will. We have raised you, it's time for you to pay us back."
"How can you expect me to marry someone I've never met?"
Aurora, daughter of Valencio Castell, one of the richest men in Seattle but treated like a maid. A day that was supposed to be celebrated turned into a nightmare.
Hours before…
"Aurora! Silly girl, can't you do anything right? I said get rid of the wine stain on my Louis Vuitton dress not ruin it."
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to ruin it, I swear. I was just trying to get rid of the stains like you had asked." She said a silent prayer for strength for she knew what was to come.
Pulling Aurora by her hair, she dragged Aurora to the living room where her father was. "Honey! Your daughter ruined the Louis Vuitton dress you got me. I asked her to keep it in but she threw it into the washing machine."
"No I didn't, Dad, she asked me to get rid of the stains on it. I swear, she…"
The slap caught her off guard.
"Shut your mouth. You should be happy I let you live here. But no, you want to speak back at those who feed you." Looking at his wife he muttered "Catrina, deal with her as you see fit." After that, he left the living room and headed for his study. Leaving Aurora at the mercy of her stepmother.
"You and I are going to have some fun, my dear Aurora. Wait here, I'll be right back." She left and returned with an unused hair brush. "Take this, I need you to scrub the floors with this. Be fast about it."
"It's… it's a hairbrush." She ducked in case there was another slap coming up.
"Of course, I know it's a hairbrush. That is why I gave it to you, Aurora. Now hurry." And with that, she left, giving Aurora time to deal with her punishment.
Celine, Aurora's stepsister walks in. "You missed a spot, silly. Let me help you." Bending down, she poured her coffee on the freshly cleaned floor on purpose. "Oops, I didn't mean to, I'm sorry."
"You did that on purpose, Celine. Clean it up."
"And why would I clean that? It's your job. Should I call my mom?" Smiling mockingly, she turned to leave.
"That's it." Aurora tossed the dirty water at Celine.
A huge mistake.
"how dare you? Mother!!!!"
Her mother came rushing down.
"What did you do to my daughter?" Not waiting for the answer to her question, she gave her a slap across her face.
"You dare to touch my daughter. Let's see how much you love sleeping outside today."
"Let me go! Let go. Stop, please. She started it, I did nothing wrong."
"You're a worthless daughter of a worthless tramp! You deserve whatever you get. Out!"
Alone, exhausted and hungry, she sat outside crying her heart out. "If only you didn't leave me all alone, mother. If only you had just taken me with you."
Meanwhile inside, Mr. and Mrs. Castell had an important discussion.
"Are you going to accept the Hale's Proposal?"
"I don't know Cat, He's not a good match for our daughter. He's rich but life with him will be condemnation."
"Not our daughter. But someone else."
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't you see, this is a huge opportunity for us darling. This way, we get a good business partner and money, a way to get rid of that nuisance Aurora. We're going bankrupt, we need this."
"you're right Catrina, I never thought of this. But this man is dangerous and ruthless. What if he feels insulted when we give him Aurora? We'll be doomed."
"Trust me he wouldn't, his family are on his neck, what reason does he have to object?"
Mr. Castell nodded his head as understanding hit him. "You are right, I'll contact him and let him know of our Agreement."
Catherine chuckled. "oh darling, I already have. He'll be here tomorrow."
"you little demon!" Mr. Castell exclaimed in excitement. "Come here Catrina, let me hold you."
It was morning and the butler had helped Aurora into the mansion. He ordered a hot beef soup to warm her up, fearing she might get sick. "Thank you Mr. Preston, you've always cared for me no matter what. I am grateful."
"You don't have to thank me, my dear. I just wish I could do more for you. Get some rest." Mr. Preston was about living when he remembered what day it was. "I almost forgot! Happy birthday Miss, I wish all your wishes come true." He did a little bow and left.
Aurora couldn't help but feel sad about her life. "I be should celebrating, I should be happy but no, I'm stuck here talking to myself, pathetic. Could things get any worse?"
Her phone beeped, there was a message from her friend, Julia 'Happy birthday darling, sorry I'm wishing you late but I've been preoccupied, once I'm done with what's on my plate, I'll call you. Love you.' Aurora couldn't stop her smile. She texted Julia 'thank's Julie, Love you plenty.'
She decided to take a nap so she locked her room to prevent anyone from bothering her. Thank God it was her day off at the cafeteria today. She needed all the rest she could get.
Two hours later, she was woken up by a knock on the door. "Who is it?" yawning, she stood up to get the door.
"Here Miss, I brought you food. I understand you don't want them noticing your presence so I brought you food."
It was Mr Preston. He wasn't scared of his bosses like the rest. "Thank you so much Mr. Preston, What if you get caught? I didn't earn this food you know, stepmom will be pissed."
"Don't worry about that dear. I might be a servant here but I am important to this family. It'll be a shame to lose me. I know way too much to be sent away." With that he hurried away.
"mmm!… This is delicious! What a meal." She hadn't had a fresh tasty meal in a long time. After eating she decided to read a book. While reading, she heard her Stepmom and Celine at the door and ran into her bathroom.
"That idiot ran away, we have to find her. We don't want her ruining our plans. If she isn't here before Mr. Hale gets here, we're doomed."
Aurora heard all of this, she didn't know no who Mr. Hale was or why her presence at his arrival was so important.
"What are they up to now? Who is this Mr Hale who's to arrive today and what does it have to do with me?"