Chapter 125
What hurt Daniella even more than seeing her shoes treated like trash were Stephen’s words. Even if he didn’t like her anymore, he didn’t need to humiliate her like this and say such cruel things.
Even though Daniella usually spoke sweetly to Stephen, today, she couldn’t help defending herself. “Stevie, if you’d told me to make room for her, I would have. But you didn’t say anything. You just messed up my shoes like this. Don’t you think that’s going too far?”
“Oh, so you take up 50 percent of the shoe closet and I’m the one going too far? You’re so used to being unreasonable that you don’t even realize taking up half the space is what’s actually over the line!” Stephen shot back.
Daniella’s eyes welled up with tears that threatened to spill over.
Abigail ignored their argument completely. She changed into her house slippers and headed inside.
When the housekeeper picked up her shoes, Stephen immediately snapped, “From now on, the top two shelves are Abby’s. If you mess up the arrangement again, you’re out of Gibson Villa. We don’t need housekeepers who can’t follow simple instructions.”
The poor housekeeper felt completely wronged. Nobody had told her about this new arrangement, and besides, Stephen had been crazy about Daniella just recently. Now suddenly, he’d switched to doting on Abigail and treating Daniella like dirt.
As Abigail headed upstairs, Stephen followed behind her like a puppy. “Grandpa went to the office today. He’s taking over Dad’s work, so he’s probably swamped.”
“If he’s not back by 7:30, give him a call to check in. You don’t have his number yet, so just ask me when you need it.”
Stephen followed Abigail around like a puppy dog, which made Daniella absolutely hate her guts.
Abigail ignored him completely and went straight to her bedroom.
Stephen didn’t seem bothered by her cold shoulder. He watched her close the door, then turned to head back to his own room.
But then, Stephen saw a line of housekeepers carrying clothes toward Daniella’s walk-in closet. He immediately stepped in front of them. “Those are all Daniella’s clothes. Where are Abby’s?”
“Ms. Gibson doesn’t have a walk-in closet yet,” the head housekeeper replied.
Stephen didn’t say another word. He walked straight into Daniella’s closet space.
The massive walk-in closet took up a third of the second floor. It used to be two rooms that had been combined, and one of those rooms used to be Abigail’s bedroom.
Back when Stephen was trying to make Daniella happy, she’d suggested knocking down the wall to create this giant closet, and he’d agreed without thinking twice about it. Now the whole setup made him furious.
“Stevie, don’t tell me you’re mad about my closet too,” Daniella said as she followed him in. She watched him look around the space with obvious irritation.
Stephen turned to face her. “Half of this closet used to be Abby’s room. I want you to clear your stuff out of here right now. Tomorrow, I’m calling a construction crew to renovate this back into a bedroom she’ll actually like.”
“You’ve been using her space long enough. Go find another room upstairs for your closet, and I’ll have Chris arrange for contractors to fix it up for you.”
Daniella couldn’t handle this sudden reversal. Her eyes filled with tears. “Stevie, this is completely unreasonable! I’ve been using this closet for years, and now you want me to clear everything out? Do you have any idea how much stuff I have in here–”
“Oh my gosh, can you stop crying for even a second? You’re taking up half the entire floor and you’re still playing victim? You hoarded all this stuff yourself, didn’t you? Your walk-in closet is bigger than Abby’s bedroom–did you forget that?”
Stephen was getting more fed up with Daniella by the minute. She had the biggest closet, the biggest bedroom, and two rooms worth of space. Did she really think she was some kind of princess? he thought.
Abigail was the real Gibson daughter, but here was this adopted girl acting like she owned everything in the house. How did this happen, Stephen wondered.
Daniella was sobbing uncontrollably, and when she saw the housekeepers staring and whispering, her humiliation hit rock bottom. She tried to defend herself through her tears. “Stevie, you agreed to all this back when we set it up.”
Stephen cut her off impatiently, “That’s ancient history. I’m sick of you hogging all that space. Pack your stuff up tonight, or I’m calling a construction crew first thing tomorrow morning to haul it all out like garbage!”
Bianca came upstairs and heard his outburst. She saw Daniella’s tear-streaked face and immediately got annoyed. “Stephen, you want to hold a grudge against your father? That’s fine. But why are you taking it out on her? Look how upset she is.”
“Abby’s bedroom got turned into this adopted daughter’s closet, and she didn’t cry about it. I don’t know what someone with a room to sleep in and all those clothes and shoes has to cry about."
“If I were Abigail, I’d be ready to jump off the nearest bridge!” Stephen snapped.
He turned to the housekeepers. “You help her clear all this out. If I see a single piece of clothing hanging in there tomorrow morning, I’m throwing you and the clothes in the trash together!”