Chapter 3: Her Family

"From the first time that I open my eyes to the last moment that I close them, I see the figures of the people that steered my life in the right route that shaped me to be who I am 'til the very last day, and it's a profounding sight of a love that I am lucky to have."

Annalise's P.O.V.

"We've arrived, Milady," Enzo announced from the passenger seat as the driver stopped the car at the main entrance of the Standford Residence, home of Maya and Maximus Standford, my cousins.

Enzo opened the car door on the passenger side and stepped out of the car. He then opened the car door on my side and offered his hand out to me.

I accepted his hand and stepped out of the car before smiling at him gratefully. "Thank you for assisting us in coming here, Enzo," I said with gratitude at him as I let go of his hand.

He made a courtesy to me, bowing vaguely with his right hand on his chest. "Of course, Milady. It's my duty to be in service to you. Therefore, whenever you need me, I will be there." he said and smiled at me benevolently.

"I know. That's why I'm thankful." I said and smiled back as I stared at him. I then heard the car door from the other side closed and saw Phil who just stepped out of the car.

"I don't get why you have to call him to take us here. We could've just taken a cab or take Roy with us." He said, referring to their family driver as he stared at me with his hands in his jean pockets.

I shook my head to his suggestion. "It's fine. I'm the one who invited you here. Besides, you know I'm not allowed to ride on any public transportation." I reminded him. My family doesn't allow me to ride on public transportation, due to the crowded area and the smell of burnt diesel fuel. Though I want to experience it, it's not like they're going to permit me anyway. Being a part of our family, certain rules need to be upheld, especially the ones they have high expectations of.

"I know, but why does it have to be him?" Phil complained as he stared at Enzo filled with dislike and frowned.

I sighed at his complaint. "I know you don't like him, but it's not something you can change now. My whole family trusts him to look after me and he's been doing that the whole time I know him." I said. He just sneered at my words and didn't say anything else.

I don't what's the deal with Phil but for some reason, he has always dislike Enzo ever since he met him. I don't know his reasons and I got tired of asking him since he would either dodge or ignore the question. It's not like there's something wrong with Enzo. In fact, if it weren't for him, I would've spent my whole childhood days alone, locked in that place with nobody else to turn to.

I turned my gaze to Enzo who is currently standing behind me and looked at him apologetically. "I apologize for his behavior. He's usually not like that, but with the amount of time you see him around, I assume you got used to it?"

He just smiled at me. "You don't have to apologize for his sake, Milady. I am here for you, not for him," he said. That's Enzo for you. He has always been the level-headed one.

I heard Phil's silent snicker that made me slightly glared in his direction. We then proceeded to the front door where the butler of the Standford Residence, Butler Houston, is waiting for us.

He made courtesy and bowed slightly as he greets us. "Good Morning. Welcome, Milady, Mr. Ruiz and Mr. Atrevido. Miss Maya and the Young Master Max are currently in the drawing-room. Forgive me, I wasn't told that you are coming today so the other members of the household might still be cleaning near the area." he formally informed.

I smiled at him naturally. "It's okay. I deliberately didn't inform anyone about my visit. Is Miss Leanna here?" I asked him formally.

"Yes, of course. Miss Leanna spent her night here," he answered immediately. He then opened the door and ushered us inside.

We followed Butler Houston as he leads the way to the drawing-room where my cousins are currently lounging. On the way there, it seems the members of their household immediately recognized me and greeted me formally as a sign of respect.

I returned the favor by smiling regally at them like how I was trained when greeting people. I mentally sighed. Being in an influential family, it's like you are being treated like royalty. It's the kind of environment that I grew up in in the household of my grandparents, the clan that controls the three highest sectors of Gaia Orb.

We arrived at the drawing-room where I saw my three cousins lounging on the big curved sectional sofa in the middle of the room. Maya, my eldest cousin here, was the first one to notice us entered the room. She stood up from the sofa and approached us with her arms wrapped around her chest. "You're here, and it looks like you brought someone with you," she said as she glanced at Enzo whose at my right, then at Phil whose at my left.

Is it just me or did I saw a small devilishly smirk on her face when she looked in Phil's direction?

Meet Maya, the certified bitter gourd in all of my cousins, more guarded than me when it comes to opening her heart to other people. In fact, she can be petulant with people. I think that's her defense mechanism. You can't really blame her to be like that with all the things that she went through.

I think it has something to do with what happened to her parents and to the past relationship that caused her to change. I don't exactly know what happened to her parents since it's a touchy subject to our family, but from what I remembered, her parents are separated. I haven't even seen her father before. All I know is that the patriarch of the Standford family is a forbidden person to talk about.

Because of that certain occurrence and her past relationship, she became a bitter person who thinks that love is just a trap to make the strong ones weak, and showing weakness can draw holes of opportunity for the ones who will use it against you. She became even more petulant, especially when she found out about Phil pursuing Leanna.

I guess that's how powerful the impact of love is in life. It could wreak havoc in your once organized life and can leave a scar so deep that some are often permanent to remind you of it as you take your step forward. Love is not a measure of compatibility that can be taken lightly, because you'll never know the impact it brings once it comes into your life with a bang.

"This is a surprise visit, milady." Max addressed me playfully as he looked at us from his seat where he is sitting comfortably with both of his arms resting on the back cushion of the sofa like an arrogant buffoon he is. "I get that the guard dog of Lis is to be here, but I didn't expect the gallant sybarite will be joining us as well," he added as he stared mockingly at Phil. From the corner of my eyes, I heard Phil tch and saw him glared back at Max with disdain.

Obviously, the Standford siblings share their common dislike to Phil, probably because he's pursuing Leanna despite his colorful history of charming his way to women. I get if Maya dislikes Phil's nature with women. However.....

I raised one of my eyebrows in Max's direction. "Max, please refrain yourself from calling Enzo and my best friend some offending names when you are no better than him." He stared right back at me with a challenging look on his face. This guy has some nerves complaining about Phil when we both know that they are not far from being alike.

He then shrugged his shoulders indifferently as if it's no big deal. "Not my fault that it fits them perfectly," he said. I mentally rolled my eyes at his remark. He talks like the word "sybarite" doesn't fit him when it's clearly one of the best words to describe him. That's Max for you.

Maximus, mostly known as Max, is the younger brother of Maya who, just like his older sister, also has issues when it comes to opening his heart to people. However, they handle it differently and changed differently. If Maya became guarded and a certified bitter gourd, Max became a certified Casanova.

His day wouldn't be complete without constantly flirting with girls on their campus. He's just like Phil but worse. He doesn't take any girl seriously and he doesn't even last for more than a week with any of his flings. In fact, there was a time when he played girls at the same time! With his frequent conquest with girls, one would think that he planning on building a harem for himself when he gets married.

Despite his reputation, girls still crave his attention because of his good looks, physique, jock behavior, and status. Too bad that he uses them to lure girls. With this attitude, he only proves how rare it is to find a decent guy who will treasure girls seriously. For him, having a serious relationship will only be led to empty promises that will inevitably end because you will only get lured and deceived. It's better to be the player than the one being played. Break them before they break you.

While I want to defend the women from his belief, I can never fault it since girls are not innocent themselves. While there were boys who can play and sugarcoat words, they are also girls who are shameless and two-face. It goes to say that a deceiver and manipulator has no gender, especially when the person is smart enough to use his/her tactic to overrule their conscience about what they are doing. There are many people in a game of love, even different industries, which makes it more dangerous.

"Now, now, break it off. I assume Lis is here for our tradition. How about we tone it down? It will be embarrassing to our guests if you guys start throwing snarky remarks to satisfy each other." Leanna cut off our starting competition. I raised one of my eyebrows at her statement. She actually called us embarrassing? Puh-lease! She just wants to create a nice impression on Phil. She doesn't have to include us in her plan.

She then looked in Phil's direction and looked at him apologetically. I mentally rolled my eyes at their eye contact. Oh, Please. If there's anyone who needs to behave, it's her. She's the one who usually loses her temper whenever we get together. Not only that, Leanna is the type of girl who is noisy, wayward, rowdy, and has no filter with her words when she let herself loose, which she usually does whenever we get together like this. She's not actually the prim and proper type except when she needs to be. Among all of us, she is most likely the only one that has no issue when engaging in a relationship with someone.

Maya gave off the same expression as she looked in Leanna's direction briefly before looking at Butler Houston whose right behind us near the door. "Thank you for accompanying the guests, Butler Houston. Everyone, please clear the room," she said as she looked around at their staff whose in the room, cleaning. Butler Houston and the staff made courtesy first before going out of the room, leaving the six of us in the seat.

Maya returned to her seat at Max's right and looked at me "Well, take a seat, Lis. Let's start the game." she said as she gestured the space on the couch opposite where Max is sitting.

I turned to look at Phil. "What about you? Do you want to take a seat and join us?" I asked.

He shook his head and smiled. "No, thanks. You go ahead and do your tradition. I'll just be right..." He then looked around the room until he stopped, "there, beside Enzo." he said as he points towards Enzo's direction, whose standing near the door, by his thumb.

I raised one of my eyebrows at him. Why does he want to stay with Enzo who he clearly dislikes rather than being near to Leanna? It's not like they're buddies or something.

"You sure you don't want to join the fun? It will be more exciting with more people." Max butted in as he smirked at Phil viciously. I mentally rolled my eyes at his statement. By exciting, he most likely means making Phil do callous dares that he planned.

Phil glared at Max. "I think I'm fine right there, but thank you for the offer," he said sarcastically.

Max shrugged his shoulders at Phil's response. "Suit yourself. It's your loss," he said.

Phil rolled his eyes at that, "Yeah, right." he mumbled.

I sighed at their conversation before looking back at Phil. "Okay. Join us later after we're done." I said.

He smiled and nodded. "Yes, ma'am," he said as he playfully patted my head before walking towards where Enzo is, which is near the door. I then made my way to my cousins and sat on the sofa on the sofa in front of Max.

At that, we started our little tradition every after New Year. It's a get-together where we play a little game. We gather around and prepare a dare for every person included in the game. The dare needs to be related to our personality and it must be something that can help us improve our personality from the previous year. It's like our own way of performing a New Year's resolution. Only, when someone is unable to do a dare that was given to him/her, there will be a punishment given by the person who gave you the dare that you failed to accomplish.

I looked at my three cousins as we start the game with Leanna's turn. I wonder what kind of dare did they prepared today?

Philip's P.O.V.

"It never ceased to amaze me how the people, who knew the status behind Lis, treat Lis. Being the granddaughter of the former headmaster of the family clan must be a pretty big deal." I suddenly said that broke the silence between Enzo and me as I recalled how the housekeepers and staff here greeted Lis with courtesy.

From the corner of my eyes, I noticed Enzo gave me a sideways glance before responding. "It's a common protocol for every staff and member of the household whenever a member of the clan visits the other. However, it's not every day that the Lady makes an appearance at other member's mansions. It's an honor for them to see her. Compared to other visiting occasions, what we witnessed earlier was rather an unprepared greeting for a visit." he said impassively and straightforwardly as he continues to gaze ahead, most probably in Lis's direction.

I frowned at his words. "You make it sound like she's a princess of some Monarchy," I said as I looked in Lis and her cousin's direction. It looks like they are already giving off dares to each other and it's Leanna's turn from the looks of things. It's actually my first time seeing them doing this tradition. I wonder what kind of dare are they giving?

"For the Colts, she is, Sir. Lady April is expected to navigate the entire clan, including its businesses, once the current Head Mistress steps down. After all, she is the eldest child of the former Master George. Since Master George failed to meet the expectation of the family, Lady April has to have bear a far greater expectation from the Elders, hoping that she will be able to fulfill her role in the family that her parents failed to accomplish." Enzo explained emotionlessly.

Huh. Sounds like a tough job for a girl whose turning high school. I once heard about it from Lis's parents. It's one of the reasons why the relationship between her grandparents and parents is delicate. Uncle George was shunned by his family for a long time because he decided to give up the Head of the Family title. It was until they heard of Aunt Clarisse's pregnancy with Lis that they started to acknowledge them again. After Lis was born, she was separated for five years from her parents and was groomed by her Aunt Claudia, the current Head Mistress of the clan, who she considered as her second Mom.

I turned to face Enzo, who is still looking ahead. "Sounds to me like you are expecting too much from her. She is still a girl, who still needs to grow and has yet to see the world. Don't you think it's too early to think of shouldering her a big responsibility? If I were to have this kind of responsibility as her, I would think of it as a hindrance that I will have to look back on every day. It will hinder my decisions of looking ahead of what's in front of me and the future." Can't they see that Lis should be thinking about this type of responsibility when she reaches eighteen? A girl like Lis still needs to grow and mature to be able to handle this type of responsibility. They shouldn't base their decision that Lis is ready just because she is a prodigy and capable of everything she does.

Something I said must have sparked something in him 'cause he suddenly looked at me straight in the eyes. His gaze is sharp and cold as if he's silently reprimanding me with his look. "That's the point, isn't it? She's NOT you," he said firmly.

I raised one of my eyebrows at his statement. "What? What are you--"

"Exactly what I said." He interrupted. "She's not you. Therefore, she won't see this responsibility as chaining her from going further and seeing the world. She may hesitate or doubt herself sometimes, but the one thing she won't do is to see it as a hindrance." he said with resolve.

"What do you--"

"That method of thinking is what brought weight to their expectation to the next Head of the Colt clan, more specifically, to Lady April."

Wait, What? What he said made me paused. What does he mean by that?

Enzo then sighed audibly and closed his eyes momentarily before looking ahead in Lis's direction again. "Head Master George desired the same thing before. He wanted freedom, so he dealt with it on his own, and left the weight of responsibility that only he can carry behind the moment he took the pleasure of what he saw. It left conflicts and a bad impression on the family that put the trust of the people at risk. However, Lady April showed resolve and worked hard to learn all about it to continue what her father left off. She knows that she may encounter uncertainties along the way, yet she still vowed to be the kind of Head Mistress that can carry the responsibility on her shoulders as she takes a step towards the future she wants." Enzo said with certainty as he continues to gaze straight at Lis.

I couldn't but frown. Tsk. What is this?

Hearing him say all of this with such certainty irked something inside me. Has the responsibility of the Head of Lis' family always been that big that they still hold some grudge to Uncle by giving it up? What does he mean by Uncle George's decision brought weight to the expectations of the next Head of the Family? It's not like Uncle George wanted to leave his family.

He desired freedom, freedom from being chained by the responsibilities that he didn't choose to have. It was brought upon him because it was expected of him as the eldest child of the former Headmaster of the clan. They can't actually expect Uncle not to feel forced about it, especially since it was given to him when he was still a teenager with little experience in the outside world.

I inwardly clicked my tongue as I looked at Enzo who is still focus on looking at Lis and the others' direction. The way he spoke something about Lis is just..... it's annoying. It's like he knows Lis better than anyone. It's what ticks me off every time I see him, which is often. It doesn't make it better to know that he does know Lis better than anyone else.

Being Lis' personal bodyguard since childhood, they grew up together and are glued together to the hip. They saw each other every day, probably do things together, and practically share everything. It pisses me off knowing that he knows her and how her mind works better than anyone. He can read her just by looking at her.

I, on the other hand, can't even seem to know how her mind works. Lis is full of surprises. Even with all the things that I know about her, she still manages to surprise me every day. Furthermore, I don't know anything about her extended family, the Colt clan, other than her cousins here. I don't know anything about them, but they are said to be influential in business and connections, and Lis is expected to oversee these businesses once she comes of age. She like miles away from me and I can't reach her no matter what.

With this realization, I suddenly began to question myself if I'm worthy to be called her best friend. My chest suddenly became heavy at the thought of it. Am I really her best friend or I'm just the one thinking it? When it's clear that this bodyguard of hers knows her more than I do.

"Oh, come on! Seriously!? First, no partying, then giving up two of my flings, and now no dating!? What am I suppose to do during weekends?" I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Max's voice. I looked in their direction and saw Max messing hair in frustration.

"I'm sure you have your friends to cover your weekends. Besides, I didn't know that Anna and Maya were going to dare that to you. In fact, blame your habit for playing around for that." Lis said as she leaned against the sofa.

Seeing Lis from a distance made me realize just how regal she is in every way. Her demure, stance, the way she speaks and delivers messages, and even how she carry herself speaks like a true Head Mistress. She shows her role respectively and takes it without any doubt. It makes me wonder...

If Lis was in her father's position at that time...

Will she also give up the position to be the Head Mistress? Or will she accept the position and take it with pride like the pride she's carrying now?

I am curious, yet afraid to know her answer because I'm afraid it won't be the answer I'm expecting because it might mean that she's willing to do anything for her family and while I like that about her, I'm afraid that I will be at the other side where I don't stand a chance of what she's willing to protect.

"Phil? Phil!"

I jolted out of my thoughts when I heard Lis's voice. What the-- I didn't realize that she's already in front of me, looking at me questionably. "I've been calling you for a while now. What's on your mind that got you dazed?" she asked.

You. However, I did not dare to say it out loud. "Nothing," I answered instead. One of her eyebrows rose as if telling me that she didn't believe my bluff, then she smirked at me with a goading look. I was surprised when she suddenly walked closer towards me until our faces were inches away from each other.

Dang! Too close.

My body tensed at her sudden approach as she continues to look at me eye to eye. "I saw you. You've been staring in our direction for a while now. You're so lost in your thoughts that you didn't see if anyone's looking." She suddenly said.

I secretly gulped. When she's like this, I can never lie to her face. She can easily catch if I was lying or not. I awkwardly smiled at her. "I was just lost in my thoughts. Sorry." I said. At least with this response, I didn't lie to her. I think she saw right through my reaction because one of her eyebrows rose. Did she notice? Did she found out that I'm thinking about her?

"Does your thoughts include a certain someone? You know, someone like Leanna?"

Or not.

I mentally smacked my head. Of course. Lis may be a person with great capabilities but when it comes to something like this, she's dense. Of course, she's thought that I'm thinking of Leanna. She probably thinks that Leanna is always in my mind 24/7.

I mentally sighed and ruffled her hair playfully. "It's something that a girl like you shouldn't worry about.", I said. From the corner of my eye, I can see Enzo watching us with an expression I can't make out. His face looks unreadable. I don't exactly know if it's a good thing or not so I brushed it off.

Lis pouted and fold her arms like an unsatisfied child throwing a fit. "Oh, Boo-hoo. It only made me even more curious.", she said. Her reaction made me laugh. For someone who knows Lis' status, you wouldn't believe that she can be quite childish.

I shrugged my shoulder at her and didn't say anything. She rolled her eyes at my reaction and just brushed it off. "Anyway, come join us. We are discussing staying here a little longer and hang out. Are you going to stay longer as well?", she asked.

"Sure, I'll stay.", I answered then followed her as she returned to her spot on the sofa. I'm relieved that she changed the topic. This way, I don't have to tell her or make up any excuses since I'm bad at it when it comes to her. I took a seat at the vacant spot between Lis and Leanna on the sofa.

"Ah, is the beau joining us as well?" Tch. There he goes again. I really dislike the expression Max was giving whenever he looks in my direction. Those eyes are filled with mockery and that smirk that I just want to erase. Although I can understand his dislike came from my detailed personality with girls, it's not like he is any better! In fact, he's worse than me when it comes to stringing girls along. This damn hypocrite!

"Yes, I'll stay longer. Since Lis and I came together, it's only appropriate to leave together" I point out.

"Heh? As expected, it's more interesting when you join." He said with the same mocking expression as he leaned his face against his left hand.

What's that supposed to mean?

Annalise's P.O.V.

After giving dares to each other, we decided to hang out longer and watch some movies. Maya and Max went on to inform the stewards of their household to prepare the entertainment room for us to use while Leanna went to the kitchen to check the stock of foods for us to enjoy, leaving Phil and me in the drawing-room. Well, the three of us if you count Enzo who insisted to stay and stand guard beside the entrance door.

"How did you come up with a tradition of giving dares to each other every after New Year?" Phil suddenly asked.

Oh right. I haven't told him about it yet. Though, it happened a long time ago. "Hmm... It started when we were kids. Those people near us have high expectations of everything. When they were unsatisfied, they pointed out our faults. Later on, we learned that no matter what we do, society will always want us to do more, to exceed more. So, we found fun out of it and decided to give each other a dare, something that can help us to do something that's out of the ordinary and can help us recognize that the things we lack on. Eventually, it became a fun game where we pick on each other and made one another do something thrilling."

It's funny how we used to lower ourselves over some expectations that our family wishes. Thinking about it now made me see it differently. Those expectations and rules that both my grandparents and aunt gave to me just showed how they value the character that we show in front of others to maintain the pillar of strength in our family. It made me see just how crucial it is when meeting different characters in a sea of people, not knowing whether they are a threat, a friend, or someone who wear a mask to lure their prey.

"Why a dare? You could've just listed it on a piece of paper that can serve as your New Year's resolution.", he asked even further.

"Well, not all that you've written can easily be fulfilled if you just write alone. It will be useless without actions so we made it a dare that comes with punishment if you won't be able to do what are tasked to do.", I explained.

Phil went silent at that. It looks like he's in deep thought about something. I wonder what it is. He was the same earlier when we were giving dares. I saw from the corner of my eye looking ahead spacing out. He didn't even realize that I was already in front of him because he was lost in his thoughts.

"Is it tiring?", he suddenly asked.

"Hmm? What is?"

"Is it tiring having to bear so much responsibility on something you didn't choose to have?"