Starting a new life

(Lilla's POV)

The New Era's Technology Revolution was taking over the world and controlling society, its thought processes, relationships, manipulating us to believe that this amazingly advanced technology was going to change everyone's lives for the better. I strongly disagreed for various reasons; the situation in Oswurg, our country, as one of the most influential and powerful ones in the world, seemed to be optimal, but inequality was a big problem that they refused to acknowledge, anyone who wasn't rich didn't have the privilege to properly adapt to this new world, facing difficulties that went from finding a good job or maintaining small businesses to paying the ridiculous amount of money you needed to have the right to have your body cremated after passing away, for those who didn't, their bodies would instantly become the Government's property, allowing them to insert an N.E.T. brain chip, maintaining basic body functions which were mainly used for security purposes, turning them into human-looking cyborgs. It didn't take too long for us to discover that the bodies were illegally being sold and the chips duplicated, people were disappearing from neighboring countries, the health care system was hard to trust since your death literally meant more money to the Government. Any malicious person, situated anywhere in the world, who had access to one of these wirelessly controlled soulless bodies, could easily commit the most horrifying crimes without the police being able to track their location.

My dad owned one of the most important security companies in the country, and I'm not proud to say that he was the creator of the N.E.T. chip. We had everything he thought we needed: money, access to the newest technology, an immense modern house situated in a private neighborhood, luxurious cars; but the truth was that we weren't happy and no one knew what was actually happening behind the doors. Deep in my chest, I kept dark secrets that put me and anyone I got close to, in danger.

When I turned eighteen, I decided to leave my house and start a new life in Rottlestown, escaping from my family, the secrets and hopefully, the excessive use of technology, since the city wasn't as advanced as the one I was born in. I started University and met an amazing guy, two years older than me, who showed me true love and took care of me. He came from a completely different background than me, things were never easy for him, he struggled with money and the New Era's technology was still something new to him, like the majority of people in Rottlestown.

That wonderful guy put a smile on my face even during hard times, always having the perfect words I needed to hear, enough to numb the pain as I begged him to hold me closer and never let go. His name was James.

Sometimes I laid in bed wondering how things would be if we would've been born before Laurent Hale, our president, decided to make drastic changes regarding our laws. Everything was rapidly changing, adjusting to the New Era's technology. As a kid, I was too young to understand, but when I turned nineteen, I realized my life wasn't going to be like my parents': happily married at a young age. That was not allowed anymore, we could only have what we called a 'Caregiver': the dominant part of a relationship, someone who promised to love, protect and nurture their partner, setting rules, routines and punishments for the submissive one.

James naturally took the dominant role since we started dating, a few months after meeting each other in university; until that time, I felt forced to hide the fact that I was a loving, innocent and submissive person. He always knew what I needed and allowed me to open up, be my true self and let go of all of my responsibilities.

That morning, the sunlight had woken me up earlier than usual, my head still resting on his chest. He was still asleep and I couldn't help but hug him tighter and smile, hoping for that moment to last forever. I couldn't believe that, after dating for almost a year, we were finally living together, we wouldn't have to say goodbye when it was time to go back home, all alone.

He always said that we had to find the right moment to move in together, but I had a feeling that there was something he wasn't saying. I could understand that someone like him wouldn't want to move to his girlfriend's house: with his punk style; perfectly styled, shoulder length brown hair, slightly darker than his eyes, for which he got his nickname "honey"; nice but not too open to people he didn't know, the leader of his group of friends... They always told me I was too lucky and spoiled for having rich parents that let me move to the city I wanted, paid for college, my rent and a car. I knew I had to be thankful but sometimes I just felt trapped, and I was scared his friends made him feel ashamed for wanting to move in with me. But when I convinced him, we planned it for a few weeks and, shortly after, he had everything ready to move!

By the time we opened the last box, we were exhausted and we gave up on cleaning to make hot chocolate and lay in bed, watching our favorite show. I got my favorite stuffed animal and before I could finish drinking my hot chocolate, I fell asleep in his arms.

Still lost in my thoughts, I realized he finally woke up.

"Good morning, love", his low voice in the morning made me melt.

"Good morning... I missed you", I smiled.

"Have you been awake for too long? You were exhausted last night!", he rubbed his eyes.

"Only for a few minutes", I let out a quiet sigh, "I'm really happy I'll get to wake up by your side every day from now on".

"Me too", he hugged me and I giggled when I heard his stomach growl. I pointed at mine and nodded, "I'm hungry too".

"Let's go make something yummy, princess".

We got up and he made our bed before taking my hand, leading me to the kitchen as he asked what I wanted to eat. I opened the fridge and saw blueberries, "this, this! With um... pancakes!". I helped him make them, we got apple juice and sat at the table.

There were so many cute things I wanted to do with him and I couldn't wait to do them all.