Belonging (6)

My eyes fluttered open, and faced the dark ceiling. Underneath me was a soft and cushiony thick mattress, a thick blanket covering me from above. These only existed inside the villas or mansions. Attempting to rise, I was held back from someone's arms, tightly hugging me. With his sparkling silver hair drifting onto my neck, it had to be Luke. I sighed as I turned to my other side, discovering Alex's sleeping face in front of me, a few centimeters away.

Why were we sleeping together again? I was sure there were many other bedrooms inside their villa. I stiffened when I saw a glimpse of someone behind Alex and another person on the other side of Luke. Leaning closer to get a better look, I couldn't close my mouth when their true identities were revealed. Light golden strands of hair tumbled down to her waist, stunning fairy-like features formed her lovely face. We had the same defined nose, slender face shape, and innocent eyes. Joanna appeared extremely pure and childlike when she was asleep.

On the other hand, William was nearly an older version of Luke. Missing Joanna's long curled eyelashes and charming lips. Only two inhumanely beautiful people could create an existence like Luke and Lucius. Meanwhile, Alex possessed similar parentage, able to compete against them in terms of appearance. Shaking my mind to bring myself back to reality, I needed to somehow discover a way to escape from this bed. It was strange in the first place that the five of us were using the same bed.

"You're awake," William tiredly mumbled.

"I can sleep on my own. I know where my bedroom is," I softly whispered.

"Let's talk outside the bedroom, we don't want to wake the others," he lifted me out of Luke's arms.

Staring at everyone from above, I noticed three large beds were almost attached to each other, making them sleep closer together. Why were they sleeping uncomfortably? Didn't Joanna and William sleep separately for the same reason? Oddly, I was brought to a simple living room, a few couches and a great unlit fireplace for decoration. It was the perfect place to secretly raise Sparky later. I watched William order some light porridge on his tablet, enough for one person.

"You've been sleeping for around three days. You need to eat first," he explained.

This explained why Luke's parents were here. My parents were coming to visit them soon, possibly even tomorrow. I searched for some sugar once my porridge was served by a servant. But I should have expected William to be as strict as Luke, waiting for me to eat it without any adjustments. I held my breath while taking a bite, my head crashing from the awful taste. Maybe starving was the better option as my hand placed my spoon down.

"I'm not feeling hungry as of this moment," I pushed the bowl away.

"No desserts for the rest of summer vacation unless you finish this bowl," William was harsher than Luke.

"I need some sugar," I began to negotiate.

"I'm getting rid of raw sugar from now on," he made adjustments on his tablet.

I puffed my cheeks, regretting I didn't pretend to continue sleeping. I was sure this bowl of porridge wasn't normal. It had to have something added to it, ingredients like supplements. I slumped onto the couch, and turned to lay down. Nobody understood me, living off bitter and gross medicine for nearly every meal. At first, these meals were delicious, the days before my third year of middle school. But eventually they turned terrifying, especially when I was pressured to eat them.

"This can't continue anymore. Your health is too fragile," William frowned.

"Can I raise a pet if I finish it?" I got a brilliant idea.

"We don't raise pets here," he immediately disapproved.

"I won't raise it inside your villas and mansions. I can raise it inside the apartment I own in the first district," I wasn't using their property.

"I can live alone until I enter school. If you want everything you invested in me back, I have the resources. I know you mutually hate me as much as I hate the Roselia family," I added when he didn't respond.

"We don't hate you Rika," he sighed.

"It's okay, I know you hate me. You can get rid of your fake caring act. Without me here, you would have less work on your plate. This is mutually beneficial for us. I can offer you something more valuable than my potential worth," I rose to seriously face him.

"What do you have to offer?" William was interested.

"I can offer you an escape route. Similar to the one I'm planning to use to escape from this family later on. Don't you want to temporarily escape from this black company? Countless hours piled with endless work for no pay. Everything you work for belongs to the Roselia family, and not a single thing truly belongs to you. And no one wants to work till their deaths," I saw another overworked person inside him.

"Is this how you see us?" He seemed horrified.

"I can give you some advice. Begin by making separate accounts to hide from the Roselia family. Although you're chained by more things, it's easier for you than it is for me," I pitied him.

"Although you're right I never liked you, your escape route isn't as valuable to me as your potential worth," he admitted.

"I don't regret working to provide for my family. You are forgetting who makes up the Roselia family," William looked a little bitter.

It was no wonder William wasn't included in our circle of allies. Most who didn't marry into another family were brainwashed to be extremely loyal since their birth. It was the most effective way to push more of the work towards them once they were ready. Why didn't I notice sooner? William was a grown-up version of Luke, who would sacrifice everything for the Roselia family. I hid my face with a couch pillow, regretting that I revealed too much information. This could be easily used against me later.

"Rika de Impalia Roselia. We don't allow just anyone to use our name. Who do you see in the mirror?" He walked to sit beside me.

"My reflection?" I lifted my head.

"Who do you get your lovely silver locks from? Do you still believe you're not one of us?" William pointed out.

"It's because I consumed your stupid family essence. Something I should have never done. You don't know how much I regret it to this day," I mumbled.

"We never let outsiders drink our family essence, regardless if they're close to death. This includes your cousins whose families possess their own essences. Family features act like trademarks, and nearly serve as a form of identification," his face became grim.

"What do you want from me? If it's possible, I can make arrangements to return your family essence to you," I planned to use Micah's connections.

"And next time I'm in a similar state, you can leave me alone instead of trying to save me. You should especially mention this to your son," I had my legendary items.

"I can dislike you, but I'm still responsible for you. You're the one who I'm making the sacrifices for as your father. If you don't already know, it's hard to accurately measure your worth as you are priceless to us. Dislike and like has nothing to do with our relationship. I didn't raise you to treat yourself this way," William got angry.

"I'll work harder to find something more valuable in exchange. I apologize for disappointing you," I clapped for his acting skills.

"You don't believe me," he seemed hurt.

"I understand what you're saying. You're saying your investment doesn't compare to what I'm offering you. To make sure I don't accumulate more debt on my end, I would like for you to abandon any work related to me. I can do it in your place if possible," I suggested.

"I know your father ordered you to do this. You're the one who gets in trouble if anything happens to your precious tool that helps your family rise in power," I added when he was silent.

"You knew everything?" William was surprised.

"I know your past thoughts. I saw your memories before. You thought this way from the first time you saw me, and it continued when I drowned inside that pond," I nodded.

"It is true I initially saw you as a burdening responsibility and a priceless tool," he helplessly admitted.

"It's fine, I understand. I don't hold anything against you and I never did. Was there anything I should have expected from this fake play?" I tried to comfort him.

"Let's not cross any lines. Let me go and I can help you," I hinted.

"I'm sorry Rika. I dedicated too much of my time and energy towards you. I can't let you go," William guiltily looked at me.

"At least let me live alone for the rest of summer vacation?" I threw out an alternative.

"You're going to get kidnapped again. I can't let you live alone," he refused.

"Look, I don't understand. I'll still be alive by the time I return to school. I know how to deal with criminals, I'm friends with some of them. I'm doing this since you won't let me raise a pet inside your properties and you won't free me from your family," I felt frustrated.

"Taking care of another living being is a large responsibility. You're too young to raise such a creature. You don't know since we take your responsibilities onto ourselves," he tried to reason.

"Start by showing us we can trust you enough to return some of your responsibilities to you. The first step is eating the porridge," he pushed the bowl towards me.

"I told you I would eat it if you let me raise a pet. The pet I want to raise is unique, it barely needs any care," I reminded him.

"It behaves well as long as I feed it enough," I turned my head away.

"None of us have the time to help you raise it," he warned me.

"I promise I'll do everything on my own. I'll never ask for any help," I spun to face him.

"One week. During that time, you'll have to listen to everything we say and we're going to see if you rely on us to raise your pet," he sighed.

"Really? You swear on your family name you won't confiscate my pet?" My eyes twinkled.

"I swear on our family name, but your pet cannot create any trouble," William agreed.

"When does that deal start?" I hugged him in gratitude.

"After you finish your porridge," he waited for me.

The best way to finish these kinds of disgusting food was quickly chugging everything at a certain pace. Ignoring the food sloshing inside my stomach, I forced myself to digest everything. It was a small price to pay to raise Sparky in the open. With the empty bowl in front of us, William clasped his hands together, "what kind of pet do you want me to purchase for you?"