Todos los capítulos de Cinderella and Her Three Knights: Capítulo 31 - Capítulo 40

Ella’s POVLater that day, I peeped through the thin gap in my curtains.Lucian’s car rolled out of the estate smoothly, the dark body catching the afternoon light before disappearing through the gates. I stood there longer than necessary, my forehead resting lightly against the glass, my chest doing that quiet, uncomfortable tightening again.He didn’t look back.I let the curtain fall and exhaled.Only then did I step out of my room properly. I went to the kitchen, fixed myself a full breakfast—late, quiet, deliberate—and ate slowly, like I was trying to convince myself that everything was normal. The house felt calmer without him. Or maybe emptier. I couldn’t tell which feeling I disliked more.Afterward, I freshened up, tied my hair back, and picked up the laptop the chairman had given me. It sat on my desk like a silent reminder of why I was here in the first place. Not feelings. Not confusion. Not Lucian.The test.I opened my browser and started researching Blackwood Company in

Ella’s POVI got back to the estate just as the sun was starting to sink, the sky washed in soft orange and fading blue. The gates slid open, and the familiar gravel crunched beneath the tires. For a moment, I let myself breathe. The test was over. Whatever the outcome was, it was no longer in my hands.As soon as I stepped inside, laughter floated toward me.Naomi was in the open courtyard, sleeves rolled up, joking freely with some of the house workers. One of them was pretending to scold her while the others laughed. She fit in so easily, like she had always belonged there. Julian was nearby, leaning casually against a pillar, watching her with that soft look he rarely wore openly.They looked… good together.“Hey,” Julian called when he saw me. “You’re back.”Naomi turned immediately, her face lighting up. “Ella! How did it go?”I hesitated for half a second, then smiled. “I think… it went okay.”Julian nodded approvingly. “I knew it would. You prepared well.”Naomi stepped closer

Ella’s POVJulian insisted I take the service entrance back in.“Less questions,” he said, handing me the neatly packed boutique bag. “I’ll have everything delivered to the estate.”I nodded, still a little dazed, and slipped back into the building like I had never left.The Future Developments floor looked the same as before—quiet urgency, low voices, keyboards clicking—but I felt different walking back in. Too aware. Too exposed. Every step felt louder than it should have.I barely made it to my desk before my supervisor’s voice cut through the air.“Ella.”I froze.She stood by her glass office, tablet in hand, eyes sharp and unreadable. The kind of look that told you she already knew something was wrong.“Yes, ma’am,” I said, approaching quickly.“Where did you go?” she asked flatly.My mouth opened. Closed. My mind scrambled.“I— I had an accident,” I said carefully. “I tripped while running the errand. My suit tore, so I stepped out briefly to—”“To where?” she interrupted.Befo

Ella's POV I waited until the office emptied before I moved.Lunch break meant noise downstairs, laughter, elevators going up and down. That was my window. I stood from my desk, my heart beating faster than it should have, and walked toward Lucian’s office like I wasn’t about to accuse one of the Blackwood brothers of ruining a man’s life.No one saw me go in.His office door was half shut. I knocked lightly, then pushed it open before he could answer.Lucian was sitting behind his desk—not working.He had his laptop tilted toward him, a game controller in his hands. Some racing game. Cars flashing across the screen. He looked relaxed. Too relaxed.I stood there for a second, stunned.This was the man people whispered about. The man whose name made HR shake. And he was… playing video games.He noticed me and paused the game.“Ella?” he said. “You need something?”I shut the door behind me.“Yes,” I said. My voice didn’t shake, even though my hands did. “I do.”He leaned back slightly

Ella's POV Naomi’s name lit up Lucian’s phone.The call had dropped when I pulled his earpod out, and now it was coming back like a reminder I couldn’t escape.Lucian glanced at the screen, then at me.“I need to take this,” he said quietly.Of course you do.He stepped aside and answered. “Hey.”I couldn’t hear Naomi’s voice, but I didn’t need to. I could see it in the way his shoulders relaxed. In the way his tone shifted.I suddenly felt like I was intruding on something that didn’t belong to me.“I’ll be back at the estate in a bit,” he said into the phone. “Yeah. I’m on my way.”He ended the call and looked at me again.“I should head back,” he said. “We’ll… talk later, okay?”Talk later.Those two words felt like a polite way of saying not now, not you, not this.“Yeah,” I said, forcing a small smile. “Sure.”He hesitated, like he wanted to say more. Then he didn’t.Lucian turned and jogged off toward the estate, leaving me standing there on the path, my heart heavier than my l