THAT rascal is starting to get on her nerves.
After dropping that iconic line, Kiel just let out a loud laugh before turning his back and left. Seconds later, Levi and Josiah followed him without a word. They didn't even glance at their parents and just walked away as if nothing happened. Of course, as someone older than those three squid (older by soul), she still acted as the bigger person and just let them get away.
But that doesn't mean she's kidding about the fire.
"I'm always serious about my threats." She whispered as she lit up the photo that she soaked in rubbing alcohol.
It's Kiel's photo. She found it from OG Aria's photo album. It's a photo of Kiel wearing full motorbike safety gear while standing beside a new motorcycle, holding a helmet and keys with a happy smile plastered on his face.
That smile. She doesn't want to see it again. She's gonna prove tonight that she can wipe that smile permanently off from his face. What does the OG Aria find from her brothers valuable? Why does she care so much about them? They don't like her a bit, even when she got home from the hospital, none of them cared about her.
The OG Aria gave all the love that she had to her brothers, leaving nothing for herself. She felt irritated for the original owner of the body. Aria thinks it's stupid. She spent her whole life alone, she cared for no one and the moment she finally found someone to love, that son of a bitch fiance of her stabbed her in the back and took everything that she had.
But now that she has a new life to start, she's not gonna let it happen again.
Aria grinned as she watched the flame begin to burn Kiel's face completely from the photo. When it was about to reach her fingers, she dropped the photo on the wet floor where she poured the rest of the rubbing alcohol that she found in her room.
She already met countless rude people when she was still a loan shark, most of them are men. Aria knew how to handle those types of people. The first step is to scare them, which is why she's trying to burn Kiel's room right now. She usually just goes to step 2 but out of consideration for Kiel since he's still a teenager and younger than her (Aria thinks she's still older based on her soul age), she's gonna go easy on him.
If the first step is not gonna work, she'll do step 2-which is to beat him up to death. If it still isn't gonna work, she'll run to the kitchen, grab the biggest knife that she can see and just stab Kiel multiple times.
The fire already caught up Kiel's door, which made Aria very pleased based on the wide smile on her face. The flame just keeps on getting bigger and bigger, the black smoke is now starting to fill the hallway but Aria doesn't mind. She's fascinated and curious at the same time about what's gonna happen next.
***
"THE underground match against Ethan's gang will be held on Wednesday. Are you still up for it?"
Kiel scoffed while his eyes were focused on his computer screen as his hands were busy on the game controller. He's playing with two of his friends while video calling each other.
"Why are you asking me? I've never backed down from a fight."
"We know, it's just that it's Ethan that we're talking about. He's a good fighter and you know it. The last time that you had a fight with him, the match ended in a draw but we both know that you nearly lost your sight from that match." George, Kiel's right hand man in their gang, reminded him.
He grimaced while trying to remember the greatest fight that he ever had against Ethan's gang, his rival since Junior High School.
"It's a close fight. I would have won that match if it weren't for my eyes. I went easy on him, that's it."
Leon, one of his gang members, snickered. "You bet, boss! You can't even open your right eye after the match. You clearly lost that fight, Ethan is the one who went easy on you."
It's the most intense fight of his life, his right eye nearly got blind when it was hit by Ethan's fist. He admits Ethan is a very strong opponent but Kiel believes that he's just unlucky that day.
"That's bullshit!" Kiel groaned when his character died after being hit by a bomb. "What the heck, you killed my character!"
"Not my fault, boss! You got hit by the enemy because you're weak at dodging." Leon said with a mocking laugh.
"You should be covering for me!"
George chuckled as well. "You just suck at video games, Kiel."
"Yeah, right. Thanks for making me feel so dumb, genius." He said sarcastically.
"You're welcome."
He groaned out of annoyance, but that doesn't mean he hates them. He's just annoyed.
"By the way, I heard that your sister has already got out of the hospital. How is she?" George suddenly asked.
That question made Kiel's mood sour. He doesn't want to talk about that gremlin but knowing George, he's just gonna bombard him with a lot of questions if he's not going to answer him.
His crazy sister is close with George because every time Aria looks for Kiel, it's his right hand man that she contacts and asks his whereabouts. For Kiel, his little sister acts like a freaking stalker. She wants to know everything her brothers do, she wants to be always included, she's so clingy that she just follows them all around. Even the whole school knows how freaky their sister is, that's why most of the students are avoiding Aria.
Kiel grimaced as he remembered the scene earlier. How dare she slap and threaten him in front of everyone? She's crazier than before! She's confusing the hell out of him.
"She's a weirdo." He finally answered before crossing his arms in front of his chest. "After hitting her head, she finally lost it. Aria is creeping me out."
George frowned. "Why are you so harsh with your sister?"
"Harsh? I'm just telling the truth, George. She slapped me in front of everyone earlier, that girl even has the guts to threaten me!"
"That... doesn't sound like your sister." Leon interjects even before George could reply. "I mean, yeah, she's a little bit creepy because she's acting like a stalker but I've met your sister before and she's a bubbly person."
"Yeah. She may not have friends but she's actually kind and jolly. Maybe you crossed the line this time, that's why she slapped you." George
"Crossed the line? Tss. She's just over reacting. I didn't even do anything to her! She just stood up, walked to the fridge then just poured the whole pitcher of cold orange juice to me without any reason at all."
"Yup, that's crazy, but I still can't believe that Aria could do that." Leon
"I really don't get why you're treating your sister like shit. You're her older brother, you're supposed to be protecting her." George lectured.
Kiel's brows furrowed as his nostrils flared, clearly showing the anger that's been building up since his encounter with Aria.
"What the fuck, dude? You don't need to lecture me about my sister, if you like her then just date her! Why do I need to treat her better?" He angrily threw the game controller on the floor. "She's nothing but a leech that keeps on sucking our wealth dry, she's just like her mother!"
"Hey! Watch your mouth, someone might hear you!"
"So what? Everyone knows how I loathe that lying, conniving bitch! She can cry all she wants, the hell I care."
George squinted his eyes while his lips turned into a thin line, showing that he's also getting upset due to Kiel's behavior.
On the other side, Leon's eyes are widening as he stares at the growing fire behind Kiel. His friend's bedroom door is burning and the flame is slowly reaching the ceiling.
"Boss..." He called as he gaped.
"What? You're gonna lecture me too, Leon?"
Leon shook his head and pointed his trembling finger on the screen. George's jaw dropped when he finally noticed what Leon was trying to tell them.
"Kiel! There's a fire behind you!"
Kiel immediately turned his gaming chair and stood up. He was dumbfounded when he saw how fast the fire spread on his ceiling. It already burned his posters and picture frames on the wall and now starting to reach his carpeted floor.
"Shit. Shit. Shit."
Sweat started to break out from his skin out of panic, his heart began beating fast. Kiel reached out for one of his shirts from the nearby cabinet and poured the water from his tumbler on it. He used the wet shirt to cover his nose as the black smoke began to fill his whole room.
"I'll call the fire department!" George volunteered. "Leon, call Kiel's house! We need to alert his family!"
"Alright!"
The video call from his computer had already ended. The electricity from the whole house went out when the fire reached the wire socket from the wall.
Kiel immediately ran to the balcony of his room and opened the double doors. He went out to gasp for some air, hands were trembling and he could feel his knees shaking due to the fear of getting burned by the flame. He's terrified of the idea of dying from the fire.
"Fire! There's a fire!" He shouted desperately. "Help!"
Luckily, some of the staff already noticed the fire after the electricity went out. Their people immediately ran to look for a ladder to help him get down from the balcony, some of them just got out from the mansion to look for other help. He can also hear the loud siren of the firefighters coming from afar.
Kiel had trouble going down from the ladder, thankfully their staff were there to help him. His whole body was trembling and when his feet reached the grass, his knees finally gave up. He can't focus at all because everyone is talking all at once while surrounding him. He didn't even notice Aria's presence in front of him.
"How was it?" She casually asked.
He froze upon hearing her familiar voice. He just noticed the pair of feet that stopped in front of him. Her tone is calm but he can sense something from her voice.
Kiel lifted his head, only to see his younger sister staring blankly at him. Head tilted and hands behind her back, she looked at him innocently as if she's genuinely curious about what happened to him.
"What…?"
"The fire." She blinked. "That's one hell of a near death experience. Is it terrifying? I'm curious about what you felt when you realized that the fire might have killed you any second if no one noticed you. We're you scared? I don't remember anything when I woke up from the hospital, so I don't know what I felt when I fell from that three story building."
A chill ran down to his spine when Aria squatted down to level herself to him, her chin rested on her palm before letting out a sinister smile.
"I told you, a fire might have broken out tonight."
Aria's voice echoed in Kiel's mind.
"A fire might have broken out from your room in the middle of the night, so make sure to sleep with your one eye open, brother."
He remembered what Aria told him earlier. That sinister smile, that strange question that she's asking, her threat—he's certain, Aria did it!
"You bitch!" Kiel charged at Aria. "You did it!"
He held Aria's neck and began to strangle her out of anger. He was expecting her to cry while trying to get out of his hold, but he was stunned when he saw how Aria chuckled while doing nothing. As if she knows that she doesn't have to do anything to escape from his hands.
"Kiel!" His stepmother screamed while running towards their direction.
"I hope you learned your lesson, Kiel." Aria whispered before screaming. "Mom! Dad! Help me! Someone please, help me!"
He can't believe what he's seeing. Aria changed her tone of voice and expressions so quickly as if she's so used to doing it. The tears that he's looking for began to rush down to her cheeks, her face easily flushed as if she'd already been crying earlier. If he didn't see it, he might have thought that she's an innocent girl. She looks so pitiful.
Kiel doesn't care who's pulling him away from her right now. There's a lot of voices screaming and calling his name but he's acting as if he doesn't hear them and just remains staring at Aria who is now being surrounded and comforted by his stepmother and father. He knows that his brothers, Josiah and Levi are trying to get his attention but he just can't get his eyes off of Aria.
He knows. Right there and then, he knows.
'That is not Aria Valiente.' He said in his mind before clenching his fist.