Shackled (The Lord Series) by Carlos
182. Olivia - New friend V

Rueben opens his beer. "No wonder you are still single despite your daddy being rich and all that shit. No man wants to be with a woman who nags all the fucking time. Unless you learn to keep your mouth closed, you will end up an old maid. And not to mention your makeup and clothes."

Alma narrows her eyes. "What about them?"

"Too much fucking glitter. You think men are attracted to that shit?" Rueben asks. "That shit from Hell has a habit of even getting between buttchecks."

"I like glitter. Also, I don't give a shit about men's opinions on how I dress. So fuck off," Alma huffs.

Rueben drinks from his beer. "You should care if you ever want to get married. No Lord would want a sparkly clown like you as a bonded."

Alma grabs one of the glasses from the table and throws it in Rueben's direction while screaming, "Hijo de puta! Son of a bitch. You can go ahead and kiss my sparkly ass!"

Rueben ducks, avoiding being hit by the glass, which slams into Jasper's forehead as he enters the kitchen, cutting him above his left eyebrow. The glass falls on the floor and breaks.

"What the hell?" Jasper looks confused.

I gasp. "Are you alright?" Despite the circumstances in which I came to live on the farm, Jasper has always been kind to me and I don't like seeing him hurt. "Sit on a chair so that Mose can look at your wound."

The confusion on Jasper's face disappears, and he smiles before grimacing. "It really hurts," he complains as he sits on a chair. "But you being here helps."

"This is exactly why I don't want you on the farm because each time you and Rueben are near each other, innocent people get hurt," Mose sneers before going to Jasper. "Can someone give me the first aid kit?" Ansel goes to help Mose. Tyson gets up and sweeps the broken glass off the floor.

"This is only Rueben's fault," Alma huffs and puffs.

"Sure, I am to blame because you are toxic. If you are done with the show, you can leave."

The wind blows hard making me think the snowstorm will only get worse.

"At least let her stay until the blizzard dies down," I try to reason with Rueben. "She can't drive under such conditions."

Alma seems to be happy that I am trying to convince Rueben to let her stay.

"Not my problem," Rueben says.

Standing in front of the sink, I shift my weight from one leg to another, ignoring the pain in my toes. "But-"

Tyson cuts me short before I can finish my protest. "And where is she supposed to sleep? The guest house is no longer an option."

I shrug. "There are plenty of rooms here."

Ansel whips his head in my direction. "We are not going to have a woman who is not you sleeping in our beds. We might be fucking assholes, but we are not about to disrespect you in your house."

"Her house!?" Tyson and Rueben shout at the same time.

"I am with Ansel on this one," Jasper says.

Even Mose says, "I suppose we did bring her here with the idea of making her our wife. So technically, it is Olivia's house too." Actually, they brought me here to fuck me and record it before Rueben ends my life, but I don't point that out. Mose puts a bandaid over Jasper's cut. At the rate we are using them, he will have to buy more soon. To Alma, he says, "You are not staying overnight. You wouldn't be staying even if Olivia wasn't living with us or not." Alma looks offended. "Why?"

"Because you are a nosey bitch who likes to stick her nose into everyone's business," Rueben snorts. "Snowstorm or not, I want you gone."

"I will leave after I have had breakfast and have spoken to Olivia," Alma lets us know.

Rueben looks first at Alma, then at me, his eyes turning red with anger, before his gaze returns to Alma. He drinks from his beer before asking, "Why do you want to talk to the... to her?"

"I want to make sure she has tampons and chocolate and a knife for when her period comes," Alma smirks.

I blink. "A knife?"

"To stab Rueben when he gets on your nerves. But by the bandage around his neck, I assume you already tried to kill him. Good girl." Alma high-fives the air, acting like she is very proud of me. Rueben snorts. "You want food? Fine. Tyson, give me a hand."

Tyson and Rueben start preparing breakfast while the others sit around the table. Remembering Rueben's rules, I am about to leave when Jasper pats his knee and I don't know what to do. If I listen to Jasper, I will anger Rueben and if I choose to follow the rules I was given, then Jasper will get angry.

Why can't they all make up their minds and hate me? That way, it will be easier for me.

Ansel pats his knees again but I shake my head. "I really shouldn't."

"If you don't want to sit in Jasper's lap, then what about mine?" Ansel winks. I bit my bottom lip. My body craves to be near him, for him to touch me, but my mind is telling to run. I will never love again. Never! "Why?" Ansel asks. "You already know why," I try to remind Ansel about what Rueben said last night.

Ansel leans back in his chair. "Olivia, you are going to sit on my lap and eat what I give you. Do you understand?"

I feel *his* eyes on me but I refuse to look at him. "Yes," I reply and go to Ansel.