'Slap'
"How dare you show yourself at the party?"
It was the first time her mother hit her. Selene saw her at the party. She saw Percy looking at her so she told their parents that she sneaked inside.
Her face hurts and she can taste her own blood coming from her lower lip. But the most painful part was that she was slapped by her own mother. Yet, she didn't cry. She just stood there without blinking an eye.
"You're a disgrace! We gave you everything you need, how could you ruin my trust?" Her mother yelled.
"I-I just wanted to see"
'Slap'
She received another one, but it didn't come from her mother. It was from her sister. Her mother didn't even bother to stop her. She was just looking at her daughters. She let Selene punish her.
Selene slapped her in the face over and over until her cheeks were swollen. But she never shed tears. Then Selene whispered something in her ear.
"I know you like Percy. But he will never be yours. He will never like you. So dream on. He's mine so don't you dare look at him with those disgusting eyes of yours."
Then they left her and locked her in her room. She walked towards the broken mirror and looked at herself. She was a mess. Both of her cheeks were red. Her lower lip had a small cut and there was blood coming from it.
She smiled. Then she walked towards the bookshelf and picked her favorite book to read as if nothing happened.
She was locked in her bedroom for two days now. The maids will just bring her food and come back once she's done. She never wondered why her family treated her like that. She never questioned her parents why they treated her differently. She never asked her mother why she loved Selene but not her.
Selene and her were twins but they grew up separately. They never played with each other. She never eat with her. She was tutored ever since she was little so she was always in her room.
As they grew older, Selene would occasionally visit her in secret. Not to play or chat with her. She will come to her room to beat her whenever she's mad at something. She will always blame her.
Her mother never asked where she got the bruises. She thinks her mother knew about it but she didn't do anything to stop her sister from hitting her.
After a week, her mother let her out, only to be taken to another villa. Her father told her she will be living with them separately from now on. She actually felt relieved.
She was brought to a small villa half an hour away from Anderson's mansion. She was left with two maids to help her everyday. She was thankful, at least she was not alone.
The house was still big enough for a 12-year old girl and two servants. There are 4 rooms inside and a garden. There was also a maple tree there. It was her favorite part of the house.
"I am Noriko and this is my cousin Nikita. We'll be serving you from now on."
When she looked at them, they were smiling at her. Their eyes didn't show any disgust, it was sincere.
"Can you be my friend?" she blurted.
They glanced at each other and happily answered in unison.
"Yes!"
They are her first friends.
They spent their days in the villa peacefully. They've been living there for a week now but her parents never visited her. She didn't hear anything from them either.
She was resting under the maple tree, she was reading some books when she heard something from the bushes. She stood up to check what it was. She crouched down and was startled when a boy came out of nowhere.
"I found you!" He said.
She cannot believe her eyes. It was Percy.
"W-What are you doing here?" She frowned.
"Visiting you of course!" Percy answered excitedly.
"Y-You shouldn't be here! Someone might see you." She stammered.
She was afraid that someone might see Percy and tell her family about it. She couldn't risk her peaceful days in that villa to be ruined just because of him.
"Don't worry. No one can see us here." He said, smiling at her.
They were behind the maple tree so Noriko and Nikita wouldn't see them.
She didn't argue with him and just sat under the tree again.
"I've been looking for you." He murmured while he sat next to her.
She didn't answer. She kept on reading the book, trying to ignore him.
"Who hurt you?"
She was surprised when he suddenly asked. There was sadness and worry from his voice.
"N-No one. I- I fell." She tried to sound convincing.
"You're a bad liar. But I won't force you if you don't want to tell me." He said, looking at her.
"You're Selene's betrothed." She blurted which surprised him.
He didn't answer for a moment. He took a deep breath and asked.
"Do you feel caged sometimes?"
She didn't expect him to ask her that, but she still decided to give him a reply.
"No. I have been caged all my life."
"Then we are the same." He said.
He looked at the sky and raised his hand as if he was trying to grab the sun. She turned her face to him. For her, he was the sun. His smile was like the sun shining brightly on a cold day. It gives you warmth.
She couldn't understand what he meant. She didn't ask him further either. But she felt like behind his smile, he was lonely.
"Can I visit you again?" He asked, excitedly.
She hesitated at first, but she knew in her heart she wanted to see him again. Her innocent heart started to beat for him. She nodded in agreement.
They sat under the maple tree, watching the blue sky silently and savoring their moment together.