Chapter 38: Turret

Neuron made me wait at the doorway and told me he would tell his sisters about our early departure from tonight's bout.

As I patiently waited for him, the twins emerged from the door and walked closer to me.

I smiled at them. They both smiled back at me.

Maybe they're friendly, contrary to what Neuron had told me.

Rafael's smile stayed but Gabrielle's immediately wore off. And from that angelic smile she gave me, it turned into a grimace.

She crossed her arms on her chest. And when she saw Rafael did not do the same, she gave him a scolding gaze so Rafael also crossed his arms on his chest.

With a really annoying and mean gaze she said. "Hey old lady, we don't like you."

Old lady?

"Excuse me I'm just 27!" I corrected her.

She did not pay attention to what I said.

"Leave our Prince Uncle alone! You don't deserve him! We don't want you in this family." Gabrielle continued her attempt to bully me. "Right?" She wanted Rafael to confirm and support her declarations.

Rafael, as if he doesn't want to answer, stammered while saying, "Yes. That's right."

They're just six years old. And Gabrielle is already showing a not-so-nice personality. She's not doing her archangelic name any justice.

"Why?" I demanded an answer.

"We just don't like you." She sounds so mean and rude and annoying that I wanna smack her at the back of her head to teach her a lesson for disrespecting someone older than her.

"Are you scared I'm going to steal your uncle away from you?"

"Hmp!" She snubbed at me.

"You know what, I'm actually the safest person for your uncle. Why? Because I don't care about the throne, or this palace, or being a royal. Not at all."

But I'm also the most dangerous. Because I'm missioned to burn down the throne he is supposed to sit on.

"Hi, what are you guys talking about?"

As if programmed, Gabrielle and Rafael immediately uncrossed their arms when they heard Neuron spoke.

Neuron is smiling adorably like he is liking that the twins and I are together. Not knowing that the twins are trying to make me exit his life.

Neuron crouched down to talk with the kids. He held each of their hand.

"Uncle really likes her. You like her too, right?"

Hearing Neuron say that to the kids, I don't know. It was heart fluttering. He's openly saying he likes me.

Rafael and Gabrielle gave me a quick glance.

"Yah, we-- we like her," Gabrielle answered but it was obvious that her answer was forced. I don't know if Neuron caught that.

"Uncle is leaving now. Come on, give me one last hug."

I find their relationship cute. I wish I had an uncle like Neuron when I was young. Then I wouldn't have felt that depressed at my parent's death. Then maybe I would've become a little less lonely.

Before going back inside, Gabrielle secretly gave me a nasty look.

That brat!

"Are you sure we can just go home like this? The royal meal isn't even finished."

"It's fine."

I doubt that.

"Then let me formally bid them goodbye."

Neuron nodded and so we went inside the dining room. I stood in front of them and bent my body.

"I am grateful to have the honor of sitting inside this room, dining with you, Your Royal Highnesses. But may Prince Amirson and I leave this meal now?"

It's obvious they didn't like that Neuron is leaving earlier than he should. I don't know the rules, but I could guess, that it's inappropriate for them to leave without finishing the event. I don't know how Neuron's conversation with them went when he asked for their permission to leave. But I bet, it wasn't that good.

"We will see you," the 2nd Princess deliberately trailed her sentence, "again."

And strangely that sounded genuine, not in a good way, but in a scary way. It's like she was sure she was gonna meet me again. And that somehow scares me.

The 3rd Princess walked near me and held my hand.

"I hope you give our baby brother so much love. He needs it," she whispered so no one else could hear her.

I just smiled at her.

After asking their permission, Neuron and I left the dining room. I thought we were gonna leave the palace directly, instead, Neuron grabbed my hand and led me towards the elevator.

"Where are we heading to?" I asked, still disoriented.

He just smiled at me and then he pushed the very top button. Which means we're heading to the highest floor of this tower.

"This is the central tower. This is the king's tower. I, on the other hand, used to live at the east tower with my sisters."

"And the west tower?" I posed a question.

"The west tower is where we usually take our lessons before. For stuffs about being a prince and a princess, how to speak properly, how to behave in public. It was torture for me to memorize hundreds of pages of useless stuff when they could've taught us real-life applicable lessons."

"So I see you hated studying," I joked.

He narrowed his eyes on me and made me sit down on the couch. Then he sat next to me.

"It's not that I hated studying," he tried to defend.

"Come on! Just say you hated it. I mean, who doesn't right? We all don't want to study."

He chuckled and slightly pinched my nose.

"So you were a bad student too," he deduced.

"No, I wasn't!" I retaliated. "Not wanting to study doesn't necessarily mean a bad student."

He suddenly cackled. Like he's so amused by me.

"Don't laugh," I scolded him and he instantly pressed his mouth together to stop himself from laughing.

"I seriously could've swore you were a good student. You know, one of the smart ones up there."

"Well," I replied in a cocky tone. "I never said I was bad at studying. I only said I hated studying."

He gave me a weird gaze.

"Why did you suddenly sounded so cocky? Did you just bragged that you did well in school?"

I pinched his waist and that made him laugh even more.

Well, I did well in school but that was when I was in elementary. And in a smaller school, particularly. If I'd also do well in high school, I wouldn't know. I would never know. Since we weren't allowed to go to high school.

He circled his arm on my shoulder while still having that annoying grin on his face. So I rolled my eyes at him. And then he moved his hand from my shoulder to the back of my head and pulled my head closer to him to kiss me.

But the familiar sound of elevator doors opening came. So he stopped moving. We both stared at the elevator door that is now completely opened.

"I hate that door," he mumbled.

I softly chuckled at his childish remark.

He grabbed my hand and walked me out of the elevator.

Just like what Neuron said, we're at the highest point in the palace. Despite the excitement, I couldn't help but get nervous when Neuron made me look down on the ground. I could swear my head spun when I saw how far we are from the ground.

We're at the turret. And although it's walled up to my chest, I could still feel the wind in my face going back and forth.

Neuron brought me to the other side of the turret.

"Look," he pointed downwards.

And my mouth hung open when I saw the enthralling night view of Gracia City. I couldn't help but get lost at the moment.

It's beautiful. It's magical. That's how I felt in the moment.

Then I remembered something so I looked at him. "So this is where you captured that photo on your kitchen wall."

He nodded.

I stared down again at Gracia.

"Because the palace was built on a higher ground, you can see Gracia from here."

Although I lived in Gracia City my whole life, this Gracia City I am looking at right now is so unfamiliar to me.

I don't often see picturesque city view.

All I remember about Gracia are trees, and mountains, and the picket fence in the camp. Because they are what I see all the time. And because of that, subconsciously, I started believing that's Gracia as a whole.

And now, by seeing this, it's making me realize just how much things I lost because of Mirando. Because of him the soldiers and I had to live remotely. Away from the civilization.

Because of him, I've never even went to high school. Because of him, we had to starve during our trainee days whenever we fail to perform what was expected from us.

Food is always scarce. And we had to wear the same uniform every single day so that we don't have to ask the camp for more money to buy more clothes.

All I remember about Gracia is the smell of sweats from the soldiers. Their sun-burned skin from continuously training under the heat of the sun. The rotten wood of our door in the dorm. Our creaking bed that sways whenever we move because the wood is already rotten.

Why? Why do these basic needs have to be inaccessible for us? Why did Mirando let this happen to us?

I felt Neuron's arm wrapped around my waist from behind. He rested his chin on my shoulder. I held his hands that were on my stomach. Then he touched the ring on my finger.

"If I say it's love and togetherness, then it's love and togetherness," he softly said.

At first, I didn't understand what he was saying. I couldn't get into the context.

"Meanings could always change. Depending on how you see it, and how you intend it to be."

Then my conversation with Isagani popped up in my head.

**

"Do you even know the meaning of a butterfly weed?"

"Love and togetherness," I answered.

"You believe that sh-t?"

"Why? What does it mean?"

"It means 'leave me'. The person who gave this to you wants you to leave."

**

I removed Neuron's hands and faced him.

I raised my hand and showed him the back of my hand with the ring on it.

"Why? What's the original meaning of this ring?"

Please don't tell the exact same thing Isagani told me. Please. Anything! Anything! Just not leaving!

He looked at me absentmindedly like he doesn't know what to say.

"Neuron, don't make me repeat myself," I warned him.

"Leaving," he said in a very low voice. Like he doesn't want me to hear it. But it was audible enough for me.

"What?!"

"For you to leave me."

I didn't mean to. And I didn't want to.

But a tear fell from my eyes.

"Neuron, you slept with me! You kissed me! You said you like me! You made me your girlfriend! But all this time you made me wore a ring that signifies leaving and break up? How f--ked up is that?!"

I took off the ring and forcedly returned it to him.

"Rathna, listen--"

I didn't let him finish and I walked out from him and went back to the elevator alone. It was bold of me to push the close button without him, but he was fast enough to stop the elevator from closing.

He sheepishly entered the elevator. I moved at the very corner of the elevator so that I wouldn't be near him.

When the elevator closed, silence befell upon us.

He turned to look at me, but I never looked at him and continued to keep my eyes away from him. We stayed like that until the elevator opened.

I even went out of the elevator ahead of him and just bravely went outside the palace. Good thing I remember where to go.

Maids and butlers were lined up in the doorway at the same position when we arrived earlier. I walked in the middle of the aisle they made and I knew Neuron was following me because they greeted him.

"We will be waiting for your return, Your Highness," the head mistress said.

I never looked back to look at him. So because I didn't hear any response from him, maybe he ignored the maids.

I hated how I still have to ride his car even when I'm mad at him.

He rushed to his car to open the door for me but I was faster. I didn't let him open it for me. And as soon as I entered the car, I wore the seatbelt on my own.

When Neuron saw that I already wore my seatbelt, he sighed and wore his own. He didn't turned on the engine right away and glanced at me. Although I wasn't directly looking at him, I could tell he's looking at me because I could feel it and I could see it from my peripheral vision.

We stayed quiet as he drove the car.

Then my phone beeped. I received a text from the Chief saying, "You did well, Paul."

Instantly, I stole a quick glance at Neuron. And then I felt bad again for betraying him.

Why am I even sulking about that stupid ring?! When it was him who should be mad at me for lying this whole time! Who am I to fret about honesty when I'm not honest to him?!

I've never felt this terrible after completing my missions. In the past, no matter how evil my missions seem to be, when I get to finish them without a hitch, there is always this sense of fulfillment after.

But right now… I just feel terrible.

"Take me to your apartment," I told him.

He looked at me in surprise. "You're not mad anymore?"

"I still am."

He immediately became quiet.

Now that I succeeded on my mission, I have to sort things out with Neuron.

"I'm actually having thoughts of breaking up right now," I opened up courageously.

Neuron impulsively stepped on the brake in the middle of the road so the cars following us were honking their cars to scold us about our sudden stop and make us move.

When Neuron realized what was happening, he continued driving but stopped somewhere out of the road.

"How could you say that?" he sighed with his furrowed forehead. "Listen, about the ring--"

"Neuron," I cut him off mid-sentence. "Just answer this one question for me."

We stared at each other and he looked nervous.

"Did you, or did you not, tapped my phone to monitor me?"

He had no reaction at the first few seconds.

But then his forehead wrinkled like he's so confused.

"What are you talking about?"

"Just answer me!" I demanded. "Did you install a spy app on my phone?"

"Why would I do that to you? I haven't even touched your phone. Rathna, what is this nonsense?"

He looks so lost. Like he doesn't understand a thing of what I am saying.

"Wait," he suddenly uttered like he realized something. "Someone tapped your phone?" He asked out of pure worry.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and immediately hugged him.

What a relief! What a relief!

"Hey, what's happening?" He asked and hugged me back.

I'm so glad it's not him. Thank God it's not him.

But if it's not him, then who?

Who tapped my phone?