Chapter 622 - The Prey (1)

"You're not giving me anything. It belongs to our family," Alex waved my proposal away.

"Can't your family abandon me somewhere? I would rather be homeless," I could return to the third district.

"I can live without the Roselia family. Anywhere is better than being inside your mansions," I was on the edge of running away again.

If it wasn't for the trial, I would have already run away. My priority was recovering Luke's health and only possible if I wasn't confined to my room. I also needed the bans on the rest of the mansion gone so I could collect more herbs. I squeezed the edge of the car seats, feeling helpless as I waited for Alex to respond to me. I forgot that Ethan was with us, too focused on trying to earn my freedom.

"Try running away again and our deal is gone," Alex warned me.

"Give me one more chance and reverse the bans. I kept my promise of waking and eating on my own. Plus, you can't entirely blame me for those accidents," I attempted to negotiate.

"I gave you two chances and you broke my trust both times," he was merciless.

"What do you mean by two chances? You gave me nothing!" I couldn't recall anything.

"You humiliated us once in the dining room and the other by digging holes where every guest could see you through the window," he revealed.

"If I didn't dig those holes, I wouldn't have discovered that cave!" I found this conversation to be ridiculous.

"I don't care about that cave. You knew exactly what I wanted from you, we went over it many times inside the car," Alex reminded me.

"Why can't you ever leave me alone? Your partner is Shelly," I had angry tears stream down my face.

"You're not strict with her. You treat us differently!" I pointed out.

"Of course I treat you differently. Michelle disappoints me less and doesn't break my trust like you do. I told you, if you want to be treated as our equals, you have to gain our trust through your actions first," he brought out his conditions.

"We both know you will never treat me as your equal no matter what I do. Do you think I wouldn't know? I have been living with Luke for around ten years," I didn't fall for his tricks.

"How could we ever treat you as our equals with how you act towards us? Although you woke up on your own, who dressed you for the events? Who made sure you were eating properly?" Alex tried to seem reasonable.

"That was your fault. If you chose more comfortable outfits, I wouldn't have anything to complain about. You shoved everything inside my mouth before I could eat on my own," I wasn't willing to take the blame.

"Did you think I wouldn't notice you're intentionally torturing me through these outfits and accessories? I knew ever since you purchased them for me," I recalled his passion in choosing the most miserable clothes.

I didn't need all those hairclips in my hair, pulling them off me and throwing them on the ground. I continued with yanking all my bracelets, earrings, and rings. Once everything was gathered in one place, I began to stomp on them, wondering why they were sturdier than the mansions. My entire new outfit was stamped by the Monete family crest, less likely for Luke to figure out. Alex silently watched me try to destroy the beautiful jewels mockingly glimmering into my eyes.

Once I gave up, I kicked the stunning accessories towards his side of the car, "they're yours. I'm not wearing them again. You can throw them out or keep them, but it has nothing to do with me anymore."

My negotiations with him had sadly failed. Maybe it was better to give up on the other route of trying to recover Luke's health to end the trial. I was sick of Luke who tried to control everything in my life, but with Alex added to the picture, I couldn't prevent myself from exploding. Was it possible to move one of the rounds earlier? I had the confidence I could do anything right now with my anger.

"Your tantrums won't work with me Rika," Alex coldly stared at me.

"I'm different from Luke, who is more lenient towards you," he controlled his emotions.

I brightly smiled when a great idea slid into my mind. If Alex was similar to Luke, he would do anything to prevent this. I pulled out a scissor from my inventory, grabbing onto a big clunk of my hair, "I'm cutting my hair if you tell Luke about anything from today and the next two days."

"How could you?" Alex tried to swipe the scissors from me.

I always wanted a pretty bob resembling Delia anyways, wondering why I didn't do this from the start. I was winning against Alex, every time he stepped closer to me, I showed him I was close to snipping my hair. It felt nice to be on the upper hand, having Alex eventually agree to me, "I won't tell him anything from today and the next two days before social week ends."

"You should have done this from the start. Reverse all the bans as well," I needed the freedom to work on making support items.

"I can let you in the restricted places with my supervision," he gestured to pass the scissors to him.

"Swear on your family name," I needed confirmation.