Cinderella in modern day

Ella lived in a city apartment with her stepmom and sisters. Formally the home was filled with love which was when her father was still alive, but slowly that happy home turned to be a home where she was overlooked and not loved by anyone.
Her step mom controlled the house while her sisters where busy keeping up with trends and chasing online popularity.

Her day started with the sound of a pickup truck that passes at 5 every morning, them she would immediately begin cooking and cleaning, before 8 when everyone wakes up, she was done, then they would send her on personal errands, for her stepmom it was washing her clothes, making her hair... For her sisters it was carrying endless equipments for shooting various and endless videos.

She marvelled at the amount of time the spent, doing trends and the rest, well that's their life...

At night when everyone has retired and not a sound can be heard apart from the slight and faint sound of crickets, she delved into her own work, fashion designing. She put on her laptop, where there were endless design from her, all simple, inspired by culture they silently made a deep impression and whoever viewed it

But they weren't just sketches, they held her dream, of being a well known fashion designer, occasionally she posted some on her handles, but it didn't go much viral.

One day... Social media shook... A popular entrepreneur known as the Tech prince hosted an innovation gala that was aimed at promoting and sponsoring young talents to grow bigger...

It seemed like a world of opportunity for ella, she would wear one of her designs, and submit the other's online... She was happy
Her hopes were dashed when her stepmom said there was no place for her there, she was just a filthy maid.

It broke her, she had already designed the outfit which would wear, She felt that if she wore it... Her stepmom would appreciate her talent for once.
But it turned out to be a big mistake, her stepmom enraged that she could be this creative and her jealous sisters rendered the clothes useless by tearing it up... She went into Ella's room and saw a notebook where she initially drew her designs...

"You think anyone would want to wear this garbage?" She said and took a lot candle and burnt it page by page..

Ella felt broken... Not because she tore the books, but because she called it garbage, something she had put in her heart in doing.

Her stepmom and sisters eventually went for the gala, Ella cried her heart out.
She picked up her laptop, deciding to let go of her dreams for true, she was about deleting her designs when a message popped up. .
It was from an old am retired designer whom she had helped and had fancied her.

Remembering the kindness showed by her, she encouraged ella to send in her designs online before the end of the deadline.
She spent hours making her work look perfect and sent it in on time, but her laptop immediately went off as soon as she sent the design in.

The Tech prince hovered around his Gala, but all the proposals didn't fancy him, while he was about to just choose people randomly, he saw a dress design, simple yet sophisticated and cultural, it was unique. He checked it and it was sent by an anonymous person, he decided to delay his response.

"Anyone whom I selected would have a personal visit from me between now and two days, so just be hopeful" he had said and everyone went home excited

The very next day, there was a knock on the door... Surprisingly this time her sisters rushed and opened the door, it was the tech prince.

He was ushered into the living room... He showed the designs to their stepmother...

"I traced the address that sent me this to this home, who has this?" The "Tech prince" asked.

The sisters claimed it was each theirs... This enraged Cinderella... She went about her chores, when the sisters weren't able to defend the designs by drawing them again, the Tech prince was discouraged...

"I saw a girl running around doing stuffs, let her come and check them out" He said

"Oh that's just my maid... She can't possibly be the owner of these magnificent designs" she said

"But I am .. and these same designs, you called them garbage" ella said and right in their eyes defended the designs...

_{Image generated from Grok AI}

She was given the scholarship, she left home not in tears or with hatred and revenge, she left with confidence, there was no glass slippers, No fairy godmother and no magic spell... Just someone finally willing to see her worth...