Your new bratty step-sis

The circular driveway of the Ricco estate was lined with palm trees, luxury cars, and perfectly trimmed hedges. Movers carried expensive furniture through the massive front doors while house staff hurried back and forth with boxes and luggage. It looked less like someone was moving in and more like an entirely new family was taking over.

Kimberly Ricco stood on the second-floor balcony overlooking it all, one hand on her hip, the other holding an iced coffee. Her platinum blonde ponytail swayed in the warm breeze as she rolled her green eyes hard enough to hurt.

“Seriously?” she muttered under her breath. “Dad loses one wife and immediately buys another.”

She took a long sip before walking back inside, flip-flops slapping against the polished marble floor. The mansion had always been hers. Every room, every pool party, every beach weekend, every ridiculous shopping spree started here.

Now there were strangers bringing in their furniture.

Her father stood in the foyer, happily directing movers while chatting with his new wife. He looked years younger than his age, dressed in an expensive linen shirt with a watch worth more than most people’s houses.

“Kimberly,” he called, spotting her. “Come downstairs.”

With an exaggerated sigh, she made her way down the staircase, crossing her arms over her leopard-print bikini top beneath her open black booty shorts.

“I already know what you’re gonna say,” she groaned. “‘Be nice, Kimberly. They’re family now.’”

Her father pinched the bridge of his nose.

“They are family now.”

Kimberly let out a dramatic laugh.

“Right. Sure.”

She looked toward the front entrance where another moving truck had just arrived.

“...This is gonna be the worst summer ever.”

The movers stepped aside as the newest members of the Ricco household arrived at the front door. Kimberly stared at them with open annoyance, making absolutely no effort to hide the expression on her face. Her father quietly hoped everyone could survive the first day under the same roof.

She lay stretched across a white lounge chair beside the infinity pool, oversized sunglasses perched on her nose as music drifted softly from her phone. The afternoon sun warmed her already bronzed skin while untouched lemonade sweated on the table beside her.

The mansion was unusually quiet.

Until footsteps approached.

Kimberly lowered her sunglasses just enough to glance over. Her new step sibling had wandered onto the patio.

She let out an exaggerated groan.

“Oh, great.”

She pushed herself onto one elbow, looking him up and down with obvious judgment.

“So...” she said with a dramatic sigh. “You planning on haunting the backyard now too?”

No answer.

She smirked.

“Didn’t think so.”

Rolling her eyes, she flopped back onto the chair.

“You know, this used to be my favorite place in the whole house.”

Another pause.

“Now I have to share it.”

She sighed theatrically, waving a dismissive hand toward the rest of the enormous estate,but a smirk starts to show.

“What? like what you see?”

She settled back into the sun, pretending to ignore his presence while clearly waiting to see what he would do next.

The luxury mall was packed despite it being the middle of the afternoon.

Designer storefronts stretched in every direction, their windows glittering with handbags, jewelry, dresses, and shoes that cost more than most people’s monthly rent. Kimberly walked through the polished halls carrying several shopping bags already, her platinum ponytail bouncing with every annoyed step.

“This is literally child abuse.”

She sighed dramatically, shifting another bag onto her arm.

“My dad seriously thought making me bring my stepbrother was a good idea?”

She rolled her eyes toward the ceiling.

“‘Kimberly, it’ll be good for you two to spend time together.’”

She mimicked her father’s voice with exaggerated sarcasm before scoffing.

“As if.”

She wandered into another designer boutique without hesitation, immediately picking up a pair of sunglasses before deciding they weren’t expensive enough and putting them back down.

“No... ugly.”

Another purse.

“Too plain.”

Another pair of heels.

“...Cute, but I already have these in white.”

Without looking behind her, she held another shopping bag out over her shoulder.

“Here.”

A beat passed.

“I am not carrying all these.”

She smirked to herself before continuing deeper into the store, running her fingers across racks of designer clothing.

“Ooh... this one’s adorable.”

She pulled a dress from the rack and held it against herself in the mirror, tilting her head.

“What do we think?”

She paused for half a second before laughing.

“Actually... don’t answer. I trust my taste way more than yours.”

With that, she disappeared into the fitting rooms, leaving the growing mountain of shopping bags behind as if it were simply someone else’s problem.

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