Chapter 9

Parents.

I never understood how other people call their parents their comfort. I never felt that way toward mine. On the contrary, they are my biggest fear. The start of my tragic story. Their mere presence makes me tremble, and yet, here I am in a situation wherein they might even disown me. Would that be a good thing to happen?

Growing up, I always tiptoed around my parents, afraid of making any mistake that would infuriate them. What would happen to me once they found out about my secret? A secret that I tried hard to bury.

The last time I saw their outburst was when Aiden decided to take a different path. They were so angry that after that incident, they put all the pressure on me as if I were their only child. I did everything I could to satisfy them on his behalf, and through the years, they never talked about Aiden again as if he was never part of our family.

Will they do that to me as well? Are they going to pretend I never existed? Despite not feeling warmth from them, I still wish they could at least be proud of me. 

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But I guess they won't go as far as disowning me as well, maybe they'll punish me differently since I'm their last hope and they can't afford to lose me. And that scares me more, as I don't know how they will react to it or how harsh it will be. The fear of the unknown gives me a chill at this moment.

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At night, I stood in front of a mirror and stared at my reflection.

Is that even me?

The reflections I see right now are all lies.

Where are the scars that show how painful it has been?

Why is everything concealed?

Acting bravely when all my life I've been afraid.

I touched myself through the mirror, and teardrops fell.

My lies are so consistent that even I was fooled. I've always followed what my parents wanted; I was too afraid to do otherwise. I followed everything. Now, I forgot who I really was and who I wanted to be.

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The day dawned again, and I woke up to a continuous ring on my phone. I wanted to sleep more, but I couldn't handle the noise coming from my phone, so I sat down and saw my swollen eyes and tired look. I laughed at myself and felt how ridiculous I was for being vulnerable.

I shrugged it off and started putting on my mask again. I checked my phone to see who was calling me incessantly and saw Piper's name on the screen. I raised my eyebrow, realizing what I had overlooked.

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Crap... I pulled my hair out of annoyance at myself. How could I forget to tell her I'll be out of Australia for days? I hurriedly answered the phone to tell her the turn of events that happened in an instant.

"Hello?" I hesitantly said, and I immediately heard her shouting on the other side.

"Addie, what the heck!!!!

You and your brother were photographed, and people are assuming you guys are dating! Which is totally crazy, like, duh? Can't they see the resemblance at all? Also,

Why do I have to see on the news that you actually flew to Korea?

You..." Piper continued scolding me, and I just listened to her. Her shouts are too loud for someone who just woke up, and I still can't process what she's saying. At times like this, she sounds like a rapper spitting word after word.

I don't know if I'm just lightheaded at the moment or if I really heard her right, as I was too dumbfounded by the news she relayed.

What a ridiculous statement, me

dating my brother?!

We still haven't resolved the prior issue, and yet another problem stems from it already. *sigh*

Why does my brother have to be this popular? How can he even handle such scrutiny from the public? Don't celebrities have private lives as well? They are too nosy, and why do they say anything without proof-checking first? That's what I hate most: people who just assume whatever they want to think, regardless of whether it's true or not. Very illogical, very stupid. And I hate stupid people.

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Ever since Aiden left us, no one knew who his family was. He never told anyone about it, not even his agency. They just went ahead with his idea that he would maintain this mysterious background. As his details were never revealed to the public, it made people curious about him, which made him more popular. Yet now, the situation has changed, and this mystery has backfired.

If I remember correctly, only his high school friends knew who he really was. During his school days, he acted so freely that outsiders would never think he was actually from a very prestigious family. When going to and from school, he took buses or walked on his way with his friends, while my parents would have one of our drivers bring me in a private car wherever I needed to go.

You can say we were brought up differently since Aiden was out of control. Unlike me, my parents had a hard time bringing my brother to social events, so people really weren't familiar with him as a son of the Williams family. So, of course, it's normal that they wouldn't know we're siblings.

From the outsider's perspective, it looks like Williams's family has only one descendant, which is, unfortunately, me.

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Things are getting out of hand, and if this continues, it would be a rough road in my brother's career; he might even say goodbye to this profession. Then what? It's not like our parents would take him back. This is all he has.

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For the entire day, we both stayed inside the apartment as reporters were flocking outside. I drew my curtain a little bit to check it and saw there might be at least 50 people outside waiting for any movement they could capture.

Seems like his location was exposed again. *sigh*

I decided to go out of the room to check on Aiden. He had been busy answering calls from his agency since morning,

And here I am, just watching him with a heavy heart. My mind is still a mess, and I can't think of anything that might help his situation. What even is the point of me flying here?

I feel helpless.

🎶How will I start?

I've been holding my pen,

Staring at the blank page.

I thought I had plans.

But it stays on my mind

And I can't seem to write it down.🎶