Once Upon a Time in the city of Los Angeles, there lived a very beautiful little girl with her two beautifully happy parents. The girl lived in a grand stately mansion in the hills not too far from big screen royalty. She had a family that loved her and a warm bed to sleep in every night. Each time she lay in her bed, her mother would hold her hand and tell her to always dream sweet impossible dreams that take her beyond her wildest fantasy. The little girl loved hearing her mother's sweet words every night, but never heard her father say much. Yes, she loved him dearly, but he was distant, like he was in pain.
Little did anyone know, the little girl's father was sick and died of illness when the girl was only 8 years old. Her mother grieved for her husband's death and never took a hand off of her daughter as the little girl's tears fell like waterfalls on her red cheeks. Afterwards, the mother, Liz, decided enough was enough and the sweet little girl needed her mother to be there for her. For a few years Liz successfully raised her daughter.
Unfortunately, things don't come as easily to people in the real world, so Liz struggled to feed her daughter most nights. The future wasn't looking very bright for her, so she did what any mother would do to save her family, build on to it. Liz went out with many suitors, none of which were to her liking. Finally, she met a very handsome man named Joshua Parker who had a lot of money, a grown daughter, and twin children of his own. The three of them got along very well at first, so Liz and Joshua agreed to solve their financial problems by getting married and joining their two family's together. They lived in the house of the little girl.
While things seemed to be working for the girl at the eldest Parker daughter, the twin brother and sister were growing jealous of the little girl's dainty beauty and charming smile. They always crossed their arms and scowled at the way she charmed anyone she met with just a touch of her hand.
It wasn't long before Liz would pass away as well. Now the girl was only 10 years old with no real family of her own. She had the eldest Parker daughter as her dearest friend and sister, but Joshua's heart began to darken for the jealousy of his twin children. In order to solve their problems, Joshua forced the little girl to be the maid of her own house and to wait hand and foot on his only three children. The eldest Parker daughter grew angry with this and left for college, estranging herself from the family in order to get a new start.
Seven years would pass until the little girl grew into a beautiful young woman with a heart too big for her body and an imagination larger than her own head. Caroline Forbes was by far the most perfect woman in the world, but was forever to be hidden behind rags and ashes on her face. As much as she wanted to avoid it, she had to listen to her stepsister and brother whenever they laughed in her face and called her Cinderella. No matter what she heard of what people thought of her, Caroline patiently waited for the day she would get a letter from any place in the world telling her it was time to leave her horrible home and do whatever she wanted.