Ayra's POV
Next day...
I woke up in bed because I had just woken up. I don't know why Bryx and I weren't sleeping side by side, but it's probably for the best because he's quite flirtatious.
I headed straight to the bathroom to take a shower. Afterward, I got dressed and went downstairs. Bryx was already there, along with Claize.
"Oh, what are you doing here, anyway?" I asked my brother, looking serious.
"I'm coming with you," he replied with a mischievous grin.
"Coming where? Don't you have school?"
"No."
"You're not allowed there."
"Please, big sister, let me go. My crush goes to that university, sister." He pleaded with puppy dog eyes. What a kid! Who's his crush, anyway?
He's too young!
"Who?" I raised an eyebrow, curious to know.
"I don't know her name, that's why I'm going."
"What grade is she in?"
"First year college."
"You're only in fourth year high school, Claize."
"Age doesn't matter."
I gave him a stern look. "You're just a womanizer!"
"Wow. The number 1 big sister is talking." He teased me with a smirk. "What about you, sister? You used to go everywhere, sitting wherever you could find—"
"Shut up, Claize!" I shouted at him, worried that Bryx might overhear us.
"Hehehe, just kidding, sis."
"Where's Bryx?"
"He left earlier with a sexy girl."
I furrowed my brow. "I'm going to eat first."
"Me too!"
Claize didn't wait for me and went to the kitchen.
Such a big eater.
"Sister, I think your husband is replacing you," Claize commented with his mouth full. Tsk!
"It's been a long time."
He paused in his eating and looked at me seriously. "Is he cheating on you?"
"Yes, why?"
"I should have punched him, hehe."
I was surprised. "You punched him?"
"Yeah, he had a sexy girl with him."
"What does the girl look like?"
"About my age."
He got a slap on the back of his head from me, causing him to wince.
"Ouch, sis!" he said, rubbing his head.
"That wasn't his girl, it's his sister. You mistook him and even punched him. Geez, Claize, you should get to know people first."
"Who is she then?"
"She's Zerixa!"
"Sorry. I didn't know, sis."
I ignored him and continued eating. While we were eating, Bryx arrived.
"Where have you been?" I asked nonchalantly as I ate.
"You're awake," he replied, taking a seat next to me.
"Claize said you have a thing with Zerixa," I said, continuing to eat and giving Claize a sly look. Teasing him.
"Come on, sister." Me and Bryx both laughed. "Sorry, bro. She's just so pretty, maybe I got jealous, hehe."
"Do you like her, Claize?" I asked seriously, sitting up straight. Serious.
"Every girl likes Claize." Bryx chimed in from beside me. True enough.
"Yeah, right. Every girl likes—hey, no!" Claize was still childish as ever.
"Hahaha." Bryx and I laughed together, and I joined in teasing Claize.
"Brother Bryx." My brother seemed a bit silly, doing puppy eyes. Disgusting. "Can I come to the university with you? You guys own it anyway."
"Sure."
I gave him a disapproving look. "Claize is just a womanizer!"
"Sis Ayra, come on, just this once."
"Tsk!" I just brushed my teeth and left them.
While brushing my teeth, I thought of a condition for Claize.
"You can come with us, Claize, in one condition." I spoke while brushing my teeth. I turned to face them with toothpaste in my mouth.
"One condition?" He said, looking thoughtful. "Okay."
"I know a mafia guy. You have to kill him in front of me." I looked at him lazily, not removing my gaze, serious.
It was clear that the two were surprised.
"I can't do that," Claize protested immediately.
"Wifey, what are you making Claize do?" Bryx asked confused.
"Just for fun," I replied.
Claize answered. "Sis, I'm not a hitman or anything."
"Hahaha." I chuckled lightly. "In this day and age, people have no limits, Claize." I spoke calmly.
No one in my family knows that I am an empress. I'm a criminal. In the gangster world, I've been with assassins, we even have a different hideout, and Dark is involved in that. I don't know what updates he has because he hasn't said anything yet.
In the empire, there are no issues. Everything is fine there, so I don't need to go there.
In the mafia, there are many problems because our enemies are cunning. The Crionines are the only ones who want to kill us, so we're keeping an eye on them.
All of this puts my child in danger. In the empire, twins are not allowed. My children can also be at risk because of that. So what I'm going to do is quit all of this. The empire is the most dangerous, and I need to find a new empress because they can kill me.
"Sis?"
"Ayra?"
I snapped back to reality when they called me.
"We've been calling you for a while now because we're leaving. You've been standing there lost in thought. Are you okay?" Bryx asked.
It seemed like I had been standing there for a while.
"Shall we go?" I called to them and walked out.
Jean's POV
"Why are we waiting for them, Kim?" I calmly asked Kim. She'd waiting for Ayra.
"Just because I don't want to go inside yet. I want to be with Ayra," she replied.
We were in the parking lot waiting for them. Speaking of them, they're here now. I noticed a young man who was the first to get out of the back seat.
I only saw him now, and yes, I admit he's handsome. He looks a bit like Ayra and Brother Black. Maybe he's their youngest.
"Oh, what are you guys doing here?" Ayra asked, looking at us with a puzzled expression. She must be wondering.
"We're probably waiting for you," Kim replied and glanced at the young man. "He's handsome, huh."
I looked at the young man, and I caught him staring at me. It made me feel awkward.
"He's my brother, by the way." The young man whispered to Ayra, and we couldn't hear what he said. I think he's 16 years old. Still a kid. "Oh, Jean is your crush, huh? She's in her third year of college, Claize."
I furrowed my brow.
"Ate, why did you say that?!" Claize blushed almost instantly out of embarrassment.
"Hahaha." I chuckled lightly. "In today's times, people don't care about age, Claize." I said in a cool tone.
"Jean, Claize says he's going to court you." It was the first time Bryx talked to me, but it wasn't a big deal to me.
"You're still so young," I said with a normal reaction. "You're only 16, right?"
Just by looking at him, you wouldn't even realize he's still a teenager because of his maturity. He has a great physique. Why is Ayra's family so perfect?
Yes, his older brother who passed away was handsome. I promise he became my crush.
As for Ayra, I'll admit she's beautiful. In fact, a lot of guys have pursued her, but because she's a snob, many have given up. Her beauty is enviable. Even if she were a beggar, she'd still be beautiful.
And here's Claize, he's just the same.
"Age doesn't matter," Claize said with a smirk.
"Ayieeeee." Kim teased with a grin, poking my side.
Ayra suddenly punched Claize lightly. "You've been using that line many times, Claize. Do you really mean it?"
"Sis, I'm just in love," Claize said while rubbing the area where he was punched. Love so soon?
"Ayieee! I vote for Claize for Jean. It's true, age doesn't matter. He's so handsome, you and Jean look good together," Kim chimed in, grinning mischievously.
"I'll vote too when you and Dark become a couple because I know you have a crush on him," I said, unable to stop laughing as Kim paused in shock, her face turning red.
"Kim, do you have a crush on Dark?" Ayra asked seriously.
"Uh-uh, I think so, hehehe," Kim replied.
"He's single."
"I'm single too, sis," Ayra's younger sibling chimed in. "Can I court your friend?"
"Why are you asking me for permission?" Ayra asked, getting annoyed with her younger sibling's antics. "Ask her," she said, pointing to me.
"Can I court you? Uh, Jean, right?" Claize asked me directly without hesitation.
I was a bit confused, but I answered, "Y-Yes, you can?"
"Yes—" Claize was about to continue when Ayra stopped him.
"That's enough, Claize, she agreed." She sounded grumpy.
"Good thing you agreed, any girl would agree to court him because he's incredibly handsome and perfect," Kim commented, swooning.
"That's right," I said, and we began to walk.
He's 16 and I'm 19. There's a 3-year age gap between us.
"Have you and Ace okay? I don't want your friendship to be ruined like ours," Ayra asked her husband as we walked down the hallway.
"Wow! Who's that handsome guy?"
"I hope he studies here."
"He's so handsome!"
"He must be Lopez's sibling!"
Wow! They know Claize but me? I don't.
"He's so handsome. Huhuhu."
"Wow! I'm going to like him!"
"Looks like you're taking my place, Claize." Bryx joked.
"With this kind of handsomeness? Tsk!" Claize replied proudly.
Men, really.
"We're all going to seat in at Ayra's room."
"Whatever."
"Sis, me too." Claize chimed in.
"Fine! Fine! Do whatever you want with your lives!" Ayra said out of her patience.
I was puzzled because Kim wasn't saying anything. I looked at her, and she was busy with her phone, scrolling through pictures of Dark.
Girls! Dark is really handsome! He can make you swoon!
"What's that?" I asked.
She surprised.
"It's nothing," she replied while hiding her phone. She's something else.
It's so obvious.
Tsk.
While we were walking, we bumped into Ace, Ross, and Dave.
"Hey! Let's all seat in at Ayra's room!" Dave announced to them.
They all glanced at Claize.
"Oh, it's you, Claize!" They all said.
Wow! They only know Claize as Ayra's sibling. While me—wait!
"Have you known Claize for a long time?" I turned to Kim.
"Of course. We've known him along with Nicol."
Tsk!
"Hi, I'm Mixiclaize Lopez." Claize suddenly extended his hand to me.
Mixiclaize.
I reached out to shake his hand. "Nice name," I replied with a smile. "I'm Jeanzell Franco."
"Jeanzell," he repeated. "Such a beautiful name."
"Ahem!" We all turned to Dave, who cleared his throat, realizing we had everyone's attention.
"We're just getting to know each other because you know, I'm courting—uh, I mean, I'm already courting," Claize announced with a grin.
"WHAT?!" Ace, Ross, and Dave exclaimed.
"Yes," he proudly replied. "Age doesn't matter."
"That's true," Ace and Ross agreed.
"Tsk," Dave muttered.
"Don't fool my friend, Claize, because if you do that, I won't talk to you for a year," Ayra threatened.
"I won't deceive her but I also can't prevent her from getting hurt," Claize said seriously.
Wow! He's matured!
We walked to our room. As we entered, the screaming started again.
"Waaaaahhhh!! It's Bryxwell."
"My boyfriends!"
"Hooooooo! I can't breathe!"
"Ace and Ross! Waaahhhh!!"
"Daveeeee!"
"OMG! There's a new one!"
"So handsome!"
"Who is he?"
"Ayra Lopez's boyfriend. They're close, you know!"
Boyfriend? Tsk! They're crazy!
"Sis, it's so noisy!" Claize complained, sitting beside me. Why did he come along if he doesn't like noise?
"Don't mind them," I said without emotion.
"College must be fun, right?" he asked me.
"It depends on whether you can handle it."
"Okay."
Our professor arrived. "Okay, class. We'll be moving to a different room today because there's a faculty meeting here later. Is that okay?"
"Yes, prof!" Everyone replied.
"And Bryxwell Falcon, Dave Mendez, Ace Grande, and Ross Remin will be joining our class. They don't have classes because their professors are involved in the meeting, so they're here," the professor added. "There's one more, he's still in high school, just tagging along."
"Yes, prof!"
"Okay, follow me, class," the professor said and then left.
We picked up our bags and followed the professor. We're going all the way to the farthest room in this building, and that's when I started to feel nervous.
Please, not in the farthest room of this building.
I glanced at Kim, and she seemed just as anxious as I was. It looked like we both shared the same hope—please not that room.
We're really nervous.
Please, not there.
Oh, no! This is bad luck!
"Come in."
They all went inside, leaving us outside with all my friends while Ayra stood by the door, visibly pale.
I'm really worried about her.
Do you know why?
When she was 10 years old, she was kidnapped by one of their guards. This university, as extensive as it is, was still under construction back then. Ayra was kidnapped right here, in this abandoned room. She experienced severe trauma due to that incident. The guard used to physically harm her, and she came dangerously close to being sexually assaulted. As a child, all she could do was cry incessantly. The guard demanded a large ransom in exchange for Ayra. Fortunately, the police arrived just in time to rescue her when he was about to commit a terrible act.
No matter how tough Ayra may appear, this experience is her vulnerability.
I genuinely feel for her. She was so young when she had to endure such a horrifying ordeal. Who could forget something like that? Being physically hurt and almost assaulted, with no way to protect yourself.
She confided in us about it when we were in our fourth year of high school. It was me, Nicol, Kim, and her who knew about it. Bryx and the others were kept in the dark.
Ayra just stood there, her head down, and you could sense her anxiety.
Ayra's POV
"Have mercy on me, please, I'm crying and begging."
"Hahaha!" The two men laughed.
"I need the money for my child's medical treatment, so please bear with it!"
"Please! Let me go! I'm afraid of you!" I just kept crying.
One of the men approached me and suddenly slapped me hard.
"What? Are we idiots?" I was scared of his demeanor, it felt like he could hurt me at any moment.
"Help me! I don't want it here! Please! Help me!" I managed to speak even though my cheek hurt. We were in a dark room, and I was tied to a chair.
"Help me!"
"No one will help you, kid!"
"Help me!"
"Hahahaha!"
Hahahaha!
Hahahaha!
Hahahaha!
Their laughter echoed repeatedly.
Why can't I forget it?
Hahahaha!
Hahahaha!
I don't want this anymore!
I don't want this anymore!
I leaned against the wall and slowly sat down, tears streaming down my face.
I don't want this anymore!
I don't want this anymore!
Hahahahaha!
Hahahahaha!
Hahahahaha!
"I DON'T WANT THIS!" I screamed.
"Listen to me, sister, it's over," I noticed that Claize seemed panicked, but I couldn't calm down.
They were all surrounding me.
"Wifey!" Bryx called out.
"Be, it's in the past."
I just kept shaking my head.
I don't want this!
I looked around, and almost all of them were laughing.
"I don't want this," I said as I cried.
"Sister, it's in the past, it's over! You're safe now!" Claize shouted, clearly worried.
I don't want this!
I don't want this!
Hahahaha!
Hahahaha!
Hahahaha!
"I don't want this," I whispered to myself while crying, begging and sweating.
"It's over! It's done! You're safe now!" Kim also shouted at me.
I was about to stand up when I saw the two men who had kidnapped me, still laughing.
I don't want this, please!
"Wifey," Bryx called out, concerned.
"I don't want this," I said, and then I lost consciousness.
It's hard to force yourself to forget what you want to forget but won't let you go.
To be continued...