Morning.
Lucian woke up.
He had developed the habit of waking up at five in the morning without any alarm.
Slowly, he opened his eyes, still groggy.
Opening his eyes, he saw his mother hugging him, her hands wrapped around him as if he might disappear if she let go.
Faint traces of dried tears clung to the corners of her eyes.
She had cried silently through the night.
[Your mother and sister are the same… or there's something wrong with you.]
Akasha's voice echoed lazily in his mind,
'Good morning,' Lucian replied mentally
'And what exactly do you mean by that?'
Sometimes it was challenging to know what she was thinking.
By now, he was more than convinced that she wasn't an AI or a machine.
[You idiot. I mean—why does every woman in your life become clingy to you? Either they're all strange… or you're the problem.]
Her words trailed off.
[You are the problem here. I can understand that childhood friend, and to some extent even your sister, but… even your own mother?]
Lucian's brows twitched.
'Aren't you thinking too much?'
[Overthinking my foot.]
He sighed.
He didn't have any intention of arguing with her this early in the morning.
As he tried to gently slip out of his mother's arms, her grip tightened instead. It was hard to tell whether she was asleep or awake—until she murmured softly,
"Don't go… please."
Her brows furrowed. Her body trembled faintly.
Lucian held her hands lightly, causing her trembling to stop.
He sighed, then lay there, staring at the ceiling.
He hadn't realised it, but because of all the stress of money, his mother's rescue, everything was piling up in his head.
He needed rest, which he hadn't allowed himself during this year.
Even when Lia was concerned about him, he just convinced her that nothing was wrong, that he was fine.
Especially when he did his workout as if possessed sometimes, trying to remove the image of her corpse in his mind.
Slowly, his eyes closed, and he fell asleep.
***
(Fast forward to Lia's POV in her college.)
Lia's college was one of the best in the area. Many wealthy students studied here.
She was only here because of her scholarship.
Though now, she no longer needed it.
It was lunchtime. The cafeteria buzzed with voices, students wandering around.
Lia sat with her friends.
She usually brought her lunch, but today she bought something since she had overslept today.
This past year, her brother had been waking her up early, so she didn't bother setting an alarm.
Ms. Sera said that she could cook something quickly but she refused, because she didn't want her to work much after all that suffering.
She called her Ms. Sera because she couldn't just call her mother out of nowhere.
"I heard you rejected the Student of the Year yesterday."
Her friend's words brought her attention.
"Seriously, Amelia, how could you? He was the most handsome in our college."
"Not just handsome, but he is good at everything he does."
These girls… at this point, they were just fangirling him.
"So Amelia, why did you reject him?" one asked.
Lia shrugged.
"I didn't like him. He was annoying."
Hearing her answer, they were surprised.
They stared at her as if she'd grown a second head.
Elijah was someone countless girls dreamed of dating.
And she had rejected him without hesitation.
They didn't know if they should be envious of her bravery or laugh at her stupidity.
"How could you say that about me, Lia?"
A familiar voice cut in.
Everyone turned.
Elijah stood there, at 185 cm tall, with a handsome and noble face, blonde hair, and green eyes.
Eyes followed him. Admiration. Envy. Desire.
"What do you want?" Lia asked flatly.
"I just want to talk to you. You can introduce me to your friends, too."
The girl's eyes sparkled, excited.
Lia smiled sweetly.
"Girls, this is Elijah—the idiot I rejected."
Everyone's eyes widened. Elijah's smile faltered.
"Lia—"
"Amelia. It is Amelia." She corrected coldly
'Only Luci is allowed to call me that.'
Elijah's lips twitched.
'This bitch is getting annoying.'
"Why don't we talk in private?"
Lia tilted her head.
"How about no."
His gaze hardened.
Lia was disrespecting him in front of everyone.
"Don't push me too far, Lia." His eyes grew cold.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Or? What will you do?"
He smiled coldly.
"I found out that you have a brother who just recovered recently. What would you do if something happened to that cripple?"
Her mind went blank.
Her fists clenched.
'Did he just threaten my brother? MY BROTHER?'
CRACK.
Something broke—but not in sound.
"What the fuck did you say?"
Her words came out louder than intended, filled with fury.
"What will you do to my brother?"
Elijah swallowed.
Fear crept up his spine. He didn't understand why.
"Say it…
Say it again, you motherfucker! SAY.IT!"
She shouted, stunning her friends.
Amelia had never cursed, not in front of them.
So this was new.
But they weren't surprised.
They were close, so they heard Elijah's threat.
One of the girls recorded the whole scene secretly.
Their opinion of Elijah had dropped.
The others were stunned by the commotion that was caused all of a sudden.
"What happened?"
"Weren't they just talking?"
"Did that girl do something?"
"It must be right? She even cursed him."
"I heard she rejected his proposal yesterday."
"Really? Then why is she behaving like a bitch?"
Everyone started to murmur.
By now, Lia was two steps away from Elijah.
Her expression was furious.
Even though she was smaller than him, Elijah felt as if he was in front of a predator.
"Nothing." Saying that, he turned and left.
'I will kill him if anything happens to my brother.'