Chapter 15

"Hey, Aiden has not shown up yet. Tsk, can we leave him? I am hungry," Lyka grumbled. She has been repeating her rants because she was pissed at Aiden for being late for lunch. Aiden is quite bothersome, and he acts as if he is extremely important, she has complained. She stated that she would starve to death if the man did not come to us. We are sitting on the bench under the shady mango tree, recharging our batteries. It js already lunchtime, so practically all of the students at the University are eating in the cafeteria or at a nearby restaurant. We were waiting for Aiden with bated breath while we were here. Aiden told me to wait for him and that we would have lunch together, so Lyka and I are still here, patiently waiting for him. "What? Is Aiden going to starve us? If I do not get my lunch, I am going to smack that man. He acts like he is too important," Lyka exclaimed as she walked in front of me, fanning herself back and forth. I just sat on the bench and watched her wander around in circles. Her vexing remark about Aiden"s tardiness has been grating on my nerves. She had been whining about it for a long time. Her voice would have been better if it had been simply soft, but it would have travelled as far as the University"s gate. The eyes of the passing students were drawn to us. I finally had enough of her obnoxious whining and put a stop to it. As she moved back and forth in front of me, I became dizzy as well. "Lyka, could you just take a seat and wait?" I chastised her while frowning. She gave me a grimace and crossed her arms across her chest. "We have been waiting for him for a long time, and it is getting annoying," she grumbled. "I understand. But it is your rants that irritate me the most," I murmured, my face wrinkled. "Just send him a text. We will eat without him instead of waiting for him if he does not respond." I continued. My stomach pets are already complaining. I can already imagine the cafeteria"s cooked cuisine. The aroma of the food, how pleasant it will be when chewed, and how satisfying it will be. Lyka picked up her phone and dialed Aiden"s number, her face crumpled. Her brows furrowed, and she appeared irritated that Aiden had not yet returned her call. "Hey, guys! Sorry for being late," Aiden said, his sweat dripping from his brow and he appeared to be running to get here. My brow furrowed at his appearance, and Lyka sniffed at him. "It is good that you arrived, since we were afraid you were going to starve us," she remarked, rolling her eyes at him. I merely shook my head at Lyka"s obstinacy, then turned to face Aiden, who was still gasping for air, and handed him a tissue to wipe his sweaty face. Aiden finally calmed down his breathing and replied, "Anyway, that is why I got caught since I already took out our lunch." He even displayed the brand of a well-known restaurant on the paper bag he was carrying. "When I passed by earlier, the cafeteria was too full, so I decided to go outside and buy lunch," he explained, flashing us his million-dollar smile. Lyka remained mute. I simply nodded in agreement with Aiden's statement. We ate together while sitting face to face on the ground. When Lyka choked on her food, I actually laughed at her. This is due to her inability to slow down when eating. Despite the fact that A had brought so much food, she seemed to be running out of food. "Just take it easy on the food, Lyka. We would like to try it as well. Aiden teased Lyka, "You are making it too obvious that you are starving." She did nothing but roll her eyes at him. "If you had not arrived late, I would not be so hungry." Lyka gave Aiden a sarcastic look and muttered, "Tss." At the same time, Aiden and I shake our heads. She is a complete lunatic. She did not even thank Aiden for the dinner; instead, she irritated him. We simply proceeded to eat. We would not have completed our lunch if Aiden and Lyka hadn"t teased us. It is alright with me as long as the two only spar verbally and not physically. They simply enjoy making each other angry. We returned to our building after finishing our meal because the bell was about to sound, signaling the start of our afternoon class. It is Friday, and we do not have too many projects this week, so we can go to school with a smile on our faces. After all, when there are a lot of events at school, the pupils would notice it. When students are anxious about their schoolwork, the mood at the university becomes dreary. "Hey," Lyka exclaims from her seat. I moved away from her and focused on our lecturer, who was speaking in front of us. "Anna!" she dials my number once more. Because our lecturer was busy checking our papers, she had the audacity to interrupt me. When I ignore her, she gently pulls the hem of my dress. I was taken aback by Lyka's obstinacy. "What?" I inquired quietly. I am speaking quietly because I'm frightened our neighbors may hear us. At school, she is known for being a terrifying teacher. She replied in hushed tones, "Come with me to the comfort room." My brow furrowed in response to what she said. I saw her happy face when I looked at her. Tsk, I already know what she is planning. "No, Lyka," I said, shaking my head. In response to what I said, her face crumbled. "Come with me," she insisted, dragging me along with her. I simply shook my head and shrugged off her demands. I am aware that she has no intention of using the restroom. Because when we are in the middle of a class and she is bored, she uses that as an excuse to go out and skip it. She will claim she needs to go to the restroom, but the truth is that she is going to the cafeteria to buy food. Lyka is also insane. She has a lot of tricks in her sleeve. Fortunately, neither the guard nor the Dean have ever caught us doing so. When our lesson ended, it was four o"clock in the afternoon. I breathe a sigh of relief. I am finally able to relax. I moved my gaze to Lyka, who was now grinning as she reorganized her possessions. "Will Aiden take us home today, girl?" Lyka inquired as we went together to the school gate. With a shake of my head, I expressed my dissatisfaction with the situation. "He has classes till six," I explained. Lyka smiled and nodded. In the distance, I noticed Mr. Isko, who appeared to be waiting for me. I first went to Lyka"s house to wait for her father before returning home. Five days have passed since the events at the party. My life restored to normal after my older brother returned to his condo. I do not have to get up early just to get away from him. I also do not have to worry about running into him inside the house. Overall, without him in my life, things are a lot easier and quieter. My irregular heartbeat has returned to normal, which I am grateful for. Because of the irregular beating of my heart whenever he is present, I almost felt I was sick. Despite this, I am grateful to my brother. He rescued me and took fantastic care of me while I was having an emotional breakdown. He did not leave my side till I would calmed down entirely. To tell you the truth, he stayed with me until I fell asleep that night. He also honored his promise to keep Aunt Lila and Uncle Sandro in the dark about what happened that night. Aside from Auntie and Uncle, I thought someone was concerned about me for the first time. Now that I think about it, I am curious as to what happened to the man who molested me. Just thinking about that man causes my breathing to become labored. I shook my head, attempting to ignore the forming memory in my head. "Are you doing okay, ma"am?" I did not realize Mr. Isko was staring at me in the rearview mirror. He is looking at me with a worried expression on his face. "I am fine, Mr. Isko," I responded, smiling at him to make him believe I was fine. He gave a nod and returned his gaze to the road. I took a deep breath and gasped for air. I observed a familiar automobile parked in our garage when we returned home. My brow was furrowed. If my memory serves me correctly, that is my brother"s automobile. As I walked into our home, I shook my head. Maybe he was just passing by and parked his car here. Yes, that could be the case. I proceeded to my room without stopping. Aunt Lila was nowhere to be seen in the kitchen. Perhaps she was taking a nap in their room. Later, I will pay her a visit. I was walking into my room humming when I came to a halt. I hear Uncle"s angry voice as I walk by the library. I hear Uncle and Alessandre conversing, or rather arguing. I was perplexed as to why they were squabbling. This is the first time I have ever heard Uncle so enraged. "Son, pay attention to what I am saying. She is not healthy for you. She will just annihilate you. She is simply seeking your money, I am sure of it," Uncle said solemnly. I have never seen him take himself so seriously before. I figured they were talking about something important, so I went to my room and stopped listening in. When I hear my elder brother"s grunting voice, I know it is not healthy for me to listen to other people"s talks, therefore I am about to leave. "Did you think marrying her would be beneficial to me? Dad, are you serious? Is she really the one you chose to marry me out of all the people?" I overheard him yelling violently. "Believe me, son." Uncle said, "She will be—" but I could not finish what he was saying because I saw Nanny Emma approaching me. I dashed to my room as quickly as I could. When I entered my room, I was panting and had to close the door. I almost got caught listening in on their conversation. The only odd thing was that I was able to hear what they were saying. They are clearly fighting based on the manner they converse with one another, which is unusual. Because of what Dad said, the older brother seemed enraged. My older brother made a remark about marrying a woman, which I overheard. I believe Uncle is attempting to get older brother to marry this particular woman, but older brother has rejected. I am perplexed. I have no knowledge of my brother"s relationships. I do not know if he is still with Clarisse or not. Is she the woman he would like to marry? Uncle, on the other hand, refuses to accept and instead wants older brother to marry a different girl. I just shook my head and opted to take a bath rather than worry about what I had just heard. Maybe I misheard something. I am not familiar with the entire circumstance, so it is possible that I misheard. With a shrug of my shoulders, I expressed my dissatisfaction with the situation. I lay out on my bed after I finished taking a bath. My bed, my bed, my bed, my bed, my bed, my bed, my bed, my bed, my bed, It is quite relaxing. I rolled there until I fell to the floor. My hip hit so I had a hard time standing up. I grumbled when I tried to walk because the part of my hip that hit the floor hurt. When I realize how stupid I am for doing so, I shake my head. I returned to my bed and studied the lessons that our lecturer had instructed us to study. Tsk, my hip would not be hurting now if I had not been so naughty. Anna, you're a moron. That's what you received as a result of your idiocy. My almost-sleeping spirit was jolted awake by a knock from outside my room. I have a propensity of getting drowsy after taking a bath. Maybe it is because it feels good to sleep after cleaning your body. I took a step forward and opened the door carefully. When I step, I still wince a little. Despite the fact that it is not too painful, I am nonetheless overwhelmed as a result of it. "Yes, Leya? What do you require?" I inquire, smiling. "Come down, ma"am," she says politely. "Your Aunt Lila said you were going to eat dinner already." I have told her several times that she should not call me ma"am because I am not a teacher, but she still does. All I can do is shake my head at her obstinacy. I respond, "All fine, I will go down." She walked away with a nod. I left my room quickly and followed her. I caught up with Aunt Lila, Uncle Sandro, and my oldest brother when I arrived at the dining area. Uncle and Auntie are discussing something, while the older brother sits calmly. He is so engrossed in his thoughts that he does not seem to notice my approach. I sat beside Aunt Lila after kissing Uncle and Aunt Lila on the cheek. I just stare at my older brother and Uncle alternatively. I am interested to see where their argument goes. What were they talking about before? Is what I heard true? Aunt Lila spoke up just as we were ready to start eating. Aunt Lila said, "Honey, the coordinator will come here tomorrow for your debut preparation; think about the theme you want for your debut and simply tell her, okay? She will take care of those." I was looking down at my dinner when I raised my head and met the deep blue eyes of my older brother. I immediately averted my look since the intensity of his stares at me was too much for me to endure. His eyes seem as if they are on fire. Instead, I simply stared at Auntie. I gave Auntie a friendly nod before returning my gaze to the food. I can still feel my brother staring at me, but I am just going to ignore it. When dinner was finished, I breathed a sigh of relief. Earlier, I almost choked on my food because I could feel my older brother"s piercing gaze on me. I am not sure what he was thinking when he did that, but there is just one thing I know for sure: it is quite uncomfortable to have someone watching you eat. I told Auntie that I was going to relax in my room first. I did not want her to notice my sore hip since I knew she would nag me about it once she realized what a fool I"d been. When I heard my elder brother"s voice, I was slowly walking to my bedroom, thinking why I had rolled over on my bed as a result of the pain of my hip hitting the floor. He asked, "What the hell happened to you?" He had been silently following me, it turned out. I am not sure if he was observing me as I walked. I grinned as I turned to face him. When my hip ached again, I winced. "Ahm, hello, brother," I said hesitantly. "Brother, you have arrived. Hehe," I say awkwardly. I do not know how many times I psychologically stabbed myself because of something I said to my older brother. He only gave me a frown. At his reaction, I scratched my head. Is not he going to laugh at my inane joke? He did not appear to be laughing, but rather angry. He drew nearer to me. I did not move from my current position. When he got to where I was standing, he came to a halt. I anticipated what he would do, but I was taken aback when he hoisted me like a sack of rice. He carried me over his shoulder and walked towards my room, or did he? I am not sure whose room it is because we are just facing each other. I hissed at him, "Brother, bring me down!" I kept moving firmly in order for him to lower me, but he did not even move. "Brother! Are you insane?" I exclaimed, irritated. What happens if someone notices us? Is he also considering something? Despite the fact that my hip was already hurting, he lifted me like a sack of rice. "Don"t move," he screamed angrily, but instead of stopping, I continued to struggle. I had just come to a halt when he abruptly stopped walking. He smacked me in the ass. "I said stop wiggling," he muttered as he shifted my position on his shoulder and touched my thighs to perhaps stop me from moving any further. Because I was wearing short shorts, I almost passed out. I was taken aback and couldn"t respond right away. He kept walking, his hands on my thighs. When I moved, he would slap me in the ass. Is he kidding me, or what? He treats me like a child! "Take me down, brother," I said softly. My entire face is flushed. My entire attention was drawn to his warm hand, which was grasping my exposed leg. "I can walk by myself again," I added, embarrassed. He sarcastically responded, "Oh yeah? That is how you were limping while walking when I noticed you." He shivered as he slapped my ass again.