Chapter 4

“Excuse me?!” My voice ricochets against the walls, showing clearly how pissed I am right now. This guy doesn’t even know me. We are meeting for the first time and he dares to call me a slut in front of his father and brothers? And apparently, he wasn’t expecting me to stand up for myself after such disrespect. One of his eyebrows raises high and he glares at me from head to toe with disdain. “Don’t you EVER refer to me with that word again.” I tell him with my eyes boring into his. I don’t know where all this courage is coming from, honestly. I am aware of the fact that this is a very powerful family and that I could get in trouble for speaking my mind but I don’t care. I might be poor but I still deserve some respect. I know exactly the type of men that this guy is, anyway. There is plenty of his kind back where I’m from. They will try to intimidate you at all cost and the slightest sign of weakness will allow them to dominate you. That’s what we call bullies and I know exactly how to deal with them. When master Whitlock starts to laugh, his son and I break eye contact. We both turn to him and I wonder what he finds so amusing. He laughs until he’s out of breath and starts to cough again in his napkin. “Don’t you just love her!” He howled. “Not like the others, eh?” “Were did you get her from, dad?” The middle child asks. “Is she suicidal?” That one is my age. He chuckles and looks at me as if I’m some sort of joke. “Maybe she is.” His father responds. “All I know is that she got a big mouth and doesn’t hesitate to use it. She is different from the usual. Why don’t you introduce yourselves, boys?” The youngest one starts waving his hand at those words. When he starts to talk, I notice the big gap in his front teeth and it’s just adorable. I almost forget how enraged I am. I love children; I think they are the most precious things in the world, even rich ones with nasty parents... “H-Hello, Catalina. My name i-is Nico. I am one, two, three, four, five years old!” He flashes five tiny fingers at me, accompanied by a big smile. My mood immediately lightens up. I chuckle. “Nice to meet you, Nico.” Instinctively, I turn to the middle brother. He rolls his eyes and mutter in a rough voice: “Valentino.” ...I guess that’s his name. I nod solemnly and the oldest son is suddenly standing on his feet. My anger comes back to the surface with great strength. I really don’t like that one. I guess looks are really not everything. Even though he has a beautiful face, his nasty attitude is doing a good job at clouding all of that. I don’t want anything to do with him. Thanks to his long legs, he manages to walk the distance between us in mere seconds and he towers over me with a dark expression on his face. I don’t falter or look away. I won’t let him intimidate me. “And who might you be?” I say with my chin up. The oldest son clicks his tongue in distaste but I notice that the corner of his lips is rising in a discrete smile. “My name is Ivan but you are not allowed to address me as nothing else but young master Whitlock. Same goes for my brothers but, they might allow you some slips here and there. I won’t, though. I won’t tolerate the slightest mistake, miss Catalina. Is that clear?” Huh. He is just as insufferable as his father. Speaking of the latter, I can see him beam with pride through the corner of my eyes. He must be satisfied to have raised his son to become an asshole. “It’s clear, young master Whitlock.” I say with a fake smile on my face. “But I also hope I won’t catch you calling me a slut again because I have things I don’t tolerate too. Now, if you will all excuse me...” I make a dramatic bow and turn to exit this living room when suddenly I hear fingers snap. My head spin. It’s Ivan, of course. Did he just snap his fingers at me like I’m a damn dog? My mouth opens but I have no words to express how offended I feel. “Miss Catalina, I’m afraid none of us allowed you to leave yet or am I mistaken? You just can’t take decisions like this on your own. You need to wait until one of your masters dismisses you. Didn’t you mother teach you anything?” My hands tighten into fists. I’m trying very hard to remain strong and composed but it’s getting harder by the second. I hate how these people are treating me and thinking that my mother went through such disrespect is killing me right now. I can imagine her putting up with it just because she wants to earn for us. Ivan sneers. I can tell that he’s enjoying this and hoping that I will break down and cry. In face, I can feel the hot tears filling my eyes but I won’t let a single drop fall. I won’t ever let him see my pain. “Is there anything else you need, young master Whitlock?” I snarl. “Yes, actually. My suitcases aren’t going to roll themselves up the stairs, are they? I want you to take care of that right away. My room’s on the second floor, the last door on the left.” “As you wish.” I find the suitcases at the bottom of the stairs. There are five of them. Ivan who followed me out of the living room points at the two black suitcases, which also happen to be the largest. “You want me to take these up?” I frown. “Yes. Is there a problem?” Isn’t it obvious? These suitcases are clearly heavier than I am. I want to tell him but I soon realize what kind of game Ivan is playing with me right now. He’s trying to push my limits but I won’t make it easy for him. I grab one of the suitcases and starts dragging it up the stairs. Okay... It’s tougher than I expected. I huff and pant heavily, pulling the monstrous bag one step at a time. It’s only been a few seconds and I already feel like my arms are falling off. Ivan stands at the bottom of the stairs and watch me struggle with a smug look. “You’re useless.” He says. I choose to ignore him. I can do this. I won’t give up. In the midst of my struggle, Ricardo gets in from the entry door and his eyes widen when he sees me. The young guard quickly takes the stairs to meet me. I don’t think he noticed Ivan on his way up. “Dios mio, Catalina! Why are you carrying this thing on your own, it’s twice your weight. Let me do it, okay? To where?” He’s already taken the suitcase from me. I mumble some words, looking between Ricardo and a very pissed off Ivan who is coming at us. “Excuse me?” He snaps. Ricardo turns and he gasps, recognizing the son of his boss. “Master Whitlock!” “Yeah. I asked this girl to take the fucking suitcase up. Why are you interfering?” “O-Oh. You a-asked her to...I didn’t know, I...It’s just so heavy and...” “Let her do it and you get lost.” Ricardo doesn’t seem too happy about this but we all know that he holds no power. He is just as defenseless as I am. And so, he has to leave and my struggle continues. It takes me fifteen minutes to get the first suitcase up and by then, my arms are dead and so are my legs. Yet, I am not allowed to rest. Ivan insists that I go down and get the second suitcase. I do it and it’s even harder than the first trip. This time, it takes me twenty minutes. I fear that he will ask me to get all of his brothers’ stuff too but thank God, his cruel mind doesn’t go that far. I lean against the wall of his humongous bedroom and breathe through my mouth. “Is there...Anything else...master W...” “Do I need to tell you everything, Catalina? Put my belongings in the dressing room for God’s sake.” Ivan turns around to plug his phone in the charger by his nightstand. I squint my eyes at his back, wishing I could just beat the shit out of him. His dressing room is the size of my assigned bedroom by the kitchen. Its filled from floor to ceiling with designer clothes, expensive accessories for men and smart shoes. It feels wrong for me to be surrounded by so much luxury. To take my mind off of these things that are none of my business, I get to work and start unpacking Ivan’s suitcases. I’m not surprised to find more luxurious items, of course. I find spots for them on the shelves. The shoes are the hardest to place though because all the racks are taken. I have to kneel and reach far in to put his sneakers somewhere. When I turn around, I find Ivan leaning by the dressing room’s door. I know the look on his face. He was definitely checking out my ass while I was busy stacking his shoes. I don’t say anything about that, though. I honestly don’t want any more problems with him. I simply close the suitcases and store them away. I stand in front of him and note that he is really doing twice my height. I have always been a petite girl, barely five foot two so people are usually taller than me. But, I don’t like it when it comes to Ivan. It makes me feel vulnerable. “I’m done, master Whitlock. Anything else?” Please say no. Please say no. Please say no. He remains silent just to annoy me. Ivan shoves his hands in his jeans pocket and hums, as if in deep thought. “You’re free to go for now.” He ends up saying. I sigh in relief and scurry toward the door, which represents freedom to me at this moment. Yet, before I leave, I turn around to get one last look at Ivan Whitlock. I find that he’s shamelessly staring at my ass again. What a fucking perv. My guts tell me to be very cautious around him and so, I declare him to be by number one enemy in this mansion. My gut feelings are never wrong.