As Ryuha sat on the couch, the pain medication surging back with a wave of numbness, she realized that she wasn't welcome. In all her years of life, Eliza had been the only one to show her any amount of kindness, she was like a ray of light in her dark world but now, after she had finally escaped, Ryuha had realized that Eliza was nothing more than a thin thread of hope that her young mind had tried to grab, when all hearts are turned stone, ones that were once 'family', Ryuha could not help but cling to the only remnant of the fragment of happiness. And that was Eliza.
Now she gazed upon her little sister, who could have been very well favored by all of the gods, she was in all respects the main character and Xavier Fox, Ryuha's supposed fiance, her male lead. It was apparent the way they gazed into each other as they talked and Xavier's fake smile that Ryuha had memorized from the long hours of staring, the very fake smile she had been fooled by just a few hours earlier because of her vulnerable state in the hospital. Personally, Ryuha considered it inexcusable to show such feelings of naivety against someone who possibly loathed her and the fact should have been cemented the very moment Xavier asked for her hand in marriage. After all, she had personally seen Xavier's mask slip when talking with Eliza, the animated look in his eyes and his subtle attempts at flirting with Eliza which went totally over her head because her little sister was very dense. Her love was only one-sided and she should have not let her emotions rampage like that of a teenager's, why would Xavier ask for her hand in marriage unless it was a business deal? In retrospect, it should have been fairly obvious. As she was reflecting on her behavior, Eliza said her name.
Ryuha perked up and tilted her head at Eliza, a small smile on her lips. If Xavier was a master at putting up a facade, Ryuha was no less of an expert. She had to endure years of continuous abuse from her family and then had to hide it in front of rich heirs from first class families from around the world and pretend that she was the pampered, spoiled first daughter of the Carters. If she had ever wondered why they even kept her around, seeing as they were so intent on loathing her, the answer was apparent when she turned eighteen and they had threatened to sell her in a business marriage to an old man and when she refused their will for the first time, they had kicked her out. And now, they were finally getting what they had wanted: to sell her away.
"Ah! I'm so happy that you're finally getting married." Eliza beamed at her, with a happy smile on her face. Ryuha smiled in return, she noticed that there was an odd look in her sister's eyes. It was a mixture between happiness and relief tinged with guilt and regret. She had little experience with receiving guilt, the only times she had memory of someone looking guilty in that place were few and old, her mother and father used to have that look in the very beginning and that was the only reason she could recognize it.
"I can't wait until you can speak again! Two weeks right?" Eliza was twitching with nervous energy, her locks of golden hair escaping from behind her ear as she gazed repeatedly between Xavier and Ryuha trying to ascertain she was right. Xavier nodded, "You'll have to take her to the hospital every day, and after speech therapy it shouldn't take more than a month. It was lucky that her vocal cord wasn't damaged completely." Xavier glanced at me but then averted his eyes, "I can offer to drive her to the hospital." He finished with a smile towards Eliza. Eliza grinned outright and gave Ryuha a 'you-finally-have-a-boyfriend' look. If only she realized that the only reason she was single because of her parents. Eliza did not have a complete idea of what they did to her. The only thing she knew was that her 'parents' and 'brother' treated her coldly and did not consider Ryuha as a part of their family. After all, they couldn't afford their image to be tarnished in front of their dear lovely daughter. Ryuha smiled softly, projecting the very image of a woman about to go on a date with her beloved, she had to play the perfect role of an older sister like she had over there. Keeping an impenetrable fortress in her face was the only way she could curb her emotions and supress it. She couldn't let them get the best of her like at that bridge. If she was to die, Ryuha would have to plan meticulously and it would only be possible at Xavier's estate where the servant weren't aware of her 'habits'.
So she smiled and laughed at appropriate times until it was time for her to take the medication and rest. Xavier left with one last scrutinizing gaze directed towards Ryuha as if appraising her once again, it seemed he had read through her fake expression, Ryuha wasn't surprised. After all she hadn't been trying that hard. It was nothing out of the place in rich families where heirs were taught to be merciless and that was one of the reasons why people were drawn to Eliza whose kind charm hadn't been diminished by the ruthless training needed to become a successor candidate. Granted, Ryuha hadn't had the privilege of the training either but she had no need for it. It came naturally. It wasn't a surprise that Xavier Fox, the epitome of being a perfect heir had seen through her half hearted attempt. After an enthusiastic goodbye from her sister, the maid, whose break time had finished, had pushed her towards her room.
And like that Ryuha spent the remaining three months in the tranquil house of Eliza, a maid attending to her every needs, her first love and now set to be her fiance personally driving her to the hospital every evening to the doctor, kind love from her sister who was insistent that they spent all their time together, and so the end of the peaceful period came, which was a relief to Ryuha who wanted nothing more than to escape this life, which surely had been once her dream but now only came with an inexplainable burden on her heart and the feeling of being shackled. She just didn't care. All Ryuha could do was wait. And that was one thing that kept her going.