Once Upon A Time Cinderella Meets her Stepbrothers

(Elle’s POV) “Once upon a time -” “You’re weird, Cinderella,” Belle, my seven-year-old sister, chuckles after I tie her wavy dark brown hair in a bun. Her almond-shaped brown eyes are wide as she stares at me. “Shhh! Let me continue, princess. Cinderella lived with her stepmother together with her two stepsisters. They were mean to her, making her all kinds of work and never treating her as part of the family.” “I hope they’re not mean, and I’m not gonna live with them.” She interrupted me again. I sneer and look at our reflection in the mirror. We look alike, except she’s seven, and I’m twenty-three. It took sixteen years for my mother to conceive another child, and when she had the chance, our father died of a heart attack, not seeing his adorable baby girl. “I’m just telling you this because Mom decided to marry Billy, and you’d be like Cinderella,” I was just bluffing, which I think worked because Belle giggled. “You’re funny, Cinderella,” she says as she climbs down from the chair. “Thanks!” “It’s Elle!” I scowl, correcting her the nth times to remind her I had always hated my first name. She burst out laughing as she ran outside our bedroom to see our mother in the kitchen. I take a deep breath as I sit on the chair where she was seated a while ago and stare at my reflection. I take the hairbrush, comb my hair, and style it the same way as hers. Belle is right. Ours can never be the same as the classic fairytale story because, first off, Cinderella is an only child, and it is her mother who passed away, not her father. My Mom, Mitch, has not married Billy yet, but after proposing to her the other night, he announced excitedly he would be bringing the three of us on a short vacation to meet his two children. My body jerks, startled by the shrill cry of my phone. I press the accept button and answer Apple, my bosom friend, my bestie since we were five. “An apple a day makes your gloomy day away!” she greets, making me laugh. “So, are you ready?” “All my bags are packed, and I’m ready to go,” I sigh as I sing from the line of the song, then I sniffle, wanting her to know I hate the idea of going. “I’m not really up for this, Apple, and you know it.” “I know, but it’s been how many years, seven?” I imagine Apple rolling her eyes. “Give your mom a chance to be happy, Elle.” “What else could I do?” I asked her while staring at my neglected fingernails. I seldom remember going to the nail spa salon with Apple away from me. “When are you coming back?” I asked her, hoping it is soon. “Soon, bestie!” she beams. “Maybe today or tomorrow. I don’t know. Maybe never. I’m too in love.” “Just make sure, Apple, that the man you’re hanging out with right now is a person and not some evil creature that turns into a bat at night,” I scoffed, raising my eyebrows. I love Apple, and this is her first time to talk about being in love. I will probably strangle him if he hurts my best friend. “Ha! Ha! Funny, Elle. He’s really gorgeous, and oh!” she said like she was reminded of something. “He knows a lawyer, so maybe he can help you get that right to be Belle’s legal guardian once aunt Mitch and what’s the name of the boyfriend?” “Billy,” I laughed, standing up to see who comes to visit us. The car’s sound, parking in front of our house is not Billy’s car. My eyebrows raised when I peeked and saw Billy coming out of the new vehicle. He must have borrowed an SUV since we are joining the trip. “He’s here,” I announced to her, my forehead creasing with wonder where he got the car. “Got to go, sister! For sure, we’ll be leaving in a few minutes.” She chuckles and teases me. “Yeah, yeah. Good luck. Just make sure you get that job in the ice cream shop, Elle. Remember, you need a stable job for Belle.” “It’s not an ice cream shop. A food manufacturing company,” I corrected, rolling my eyes but smiling giddily. “Whatever! Enjoy the vacation with the family, and don’t bite Billy’s children. Be kind to animals, okay?” reminded Apple, making me burst into a peal of laughter. “I’ll put that in mind. We’re leaving,” I said, seeing my Mom from the ajar door. I ended the call, put my smartphone inside my pants pocket, took my backpack, and walked out of my bedroom. *** My mother has never overcome her heartache about losing my father, but when he met Billy, he turned her world upside down, making me furious with her. I loved my dad and with Mom having a new man in her life made me think she had forgotten about him. She fell in love with the bubbly and handsome older man I never got interested in knowing better. Apple had talked to me several times about giving Mom a chance to be happy, and sixteen years of agony over someone who would never come back should end. When Billy proposed in front of Belle and me, I shut my mouth and forced a smile, nodding at her to accept the ring. Excited, Billy called his babies, his darling children, and told them the good news that she finally said Yes! I really have no idea how many children he has because I never listen to Mom when she talks about him and his children. I was more interested in peace talks and global warming issues than knowing Billy better. Whenever Apple asked me what his day job could be, I really didn’t know the answer. His car was old, and he was always in casual shirts and shorts. Whenever I said he could be a bagger in a supermarket, my dear bestie would roll out laughing on her bed, telling me to find out more about him because he could be a serial killer. Imagine my jaw dropping when he stopped the car in front of a mansion house near the beach. When the four of us went out of the car, a man opened the door and greeted him. “Please meet Hernan, our butler,” He introduced him to Mom. Butler? “Hernan, are my children here?” asked Billy as he put his arm on my mother’s shoulder. About sixty or sixty-five years of age, the older man nodded at him. “They’ve just arrived an hour ago. They’re in their bedrooms and told me to call them when you get here.” “We’ll have an early lunch,” said Billy, telling my mother and then glancing at us. “Hernan, meet my children, Elle and Belle.” He bowed to us. Did he just bow? I almost took my phone, my hand itching to call Apple just to tell him Billy was filthy rich, and he had a butler, and he bowed to us. “It was a long drive. Let’s rest first,” Billy suggested, asking his butler to take our bags and lead Belle and me to our bedroom. We lose Billy and our mom when we enter the mansion somewhere in the hallway. Before we panic, Hernan smiles and says calmly, “Don’t worry, Miss Elle, Sir William’s bedroom is down the hall. He hated going up and down the stairs,” he explains in a soft voice, then he moves his head closer to me. “Age.” I giggle, reminding myself that Billy and William are one. I had forgotten entirely about mom when we turned down the hallway, passing two living rooms when a grand staircase came into view. “Woah!” Belle’s eyes widen, and her mouth opens as she looks at the stairs. She clutches her teddy bear closer to her chest, and her other hand grips my arm. My imagination runs wild as I see myself wearing a ball gown as I walk down the stairs. I press my lips, suppressing a giggle wanting to burst out of my body. I wish to take my phone and almost ask Belle to take a picture of me on the stairs, but I suddenly feel embarrassed as I glance at Hernan. Surely, Apple will go ballistic once she sees the grand staircase. We climb up the stairs quietly, holding my imagination for later. Just for the fun of it, I will really take a picture of myself on the staircase and send it to Apple. Upon reaching the next floor, we turned to the west hallway. “Sir William’s children are in the east hallway,” says Hernan as if I am interested to know. He stops at the first door. “This is your room, Miss Belle.” Before he could open the door, my seven-year-old sister quivers her lips and shakes her head. “Thank you, Sir Hernan, but my sister and I sleep in one room at home, so it’s okay if we sleep together,” I “Oh, please, just call me Hernan,” he smiles sheepishly, correcting me. I cleared my throat. “Okay, Hernan.” He continues to walk, stopping at the end of the west hallway and opening the door. I could hear Belle and the inner girl in me gasping as we saw the bedroom. “I’ll be back, Miss Elle. We’ll prepare and serve the lunch,” Hernan closed the door behind him. I almost gave him a tip, thinking we were in a hotel. Belle shrieks in excitement as she quickly runs to the king-sized bed. After taking off her shoes, she climbs and jumps on the big bed happily while singing her favorite nursery rhyme song. At home, we shared a bedroom and a queen-sized bed, and I never allowed her to jump because it was really an old bed. I placed my backpack and phone on the dresser and walked to the glass door. I didn’t expect paradise beyond the door when I drew the curtain. I opened the door towards the balcony and lost myself in the beauty of the view of the sea. I smile sadly, looking heavenward, praying my dad is still here. “Elle, your boyfriend is calling!” shouts Belle. I blink, wake myself up from daydreaming, and walk back to the bedroom to answer Wyatt. “Hi, babe!” I greeted him, lying on my back on the bed. “Just checking on you, babe. When are you coming back?” He asks. I lie sideways, stopping Belle from jumping. She must have thought she was on a trampoline. Panting, she sat down after long minutes of jumping. “Tomorrow. We’ll just have like a little reunion today, and then we’ll head home tomorrow. I have an interview on Monday. I can’t miss that.” I answered, skipping the details about Billy and his majestic mansion. “I’ll see you on Monday, then. I have to go, babe. I love you,” says Wyatt. “I love you, too!” I answered before ending the call. Belle and I look at each other when we hear soft knocks. She runs to the door and opens it. Hernan is patiently standing in the doorway, waiting for us. We follow him quietly, but instead of going to the dining room, he leads us outside, going to the beach. They have set a long table filled with delicious seafood that I couldn’t eat because I have seafood allergies. Billy seemed to know I had a severe allergic reaction to seafood because there were other dishes that I could devour that lunch. “They’re here, Sir William,” Hernan informs us, turning to the children Billy wants us to meet. I turned my head to the babies, the children he talked about. I was dumbfounded, gazing at the two stunningly gorgeous men walking in our direction. They’re definitely not babies, but they could already make one. “Meet my sons, Aiden and Caleb,” introduced Billy. Aiden and Caleb curve a smile on their lips, enough to melt my panties off at the mere sight of their smile. I swallow hard and force myself to smile. I took my cellphone and sent a message to my bestie. Me: Once upon a time, Cinderella met her two hot and gorgeous stepbrothers.