Chapter 351 - I Didn't Want to Know (1)

"I think we should let Rika go now as an exchange for us being free from any charges," their cousin pointed out.

Eliza, the person who was obsessed with Luke, had her fantasies shattered. She was the only one holding them back, hoping she could use me in the future. I almost dropped the game console in my hands since I didn't want to go back.

"We should call him first," Elise turned to me.

"Just one more day here?" I clasped my hands together.

"We can't, there's already too many people looking for you," she turned on the news.

My jaw almost dropped as I saw my most recent portrait on the screen. I was wearing my school uniform, holding the trophy from the competition. The only reason why nobody discovered my current location was from me never stepping a single foot outside his apartment. Only their cousin went in and out of the building. Our tracks were also mostly hidden from using a hover car that erased all their data afterwards.

This was done for security purposes since other people could use this information to kidnap young children from powerful families. Luke must have been pretty desperate in trying to find me as he tried to keep my exposure to the media as minimal as possible. All the pictures of me taken in the second district were also taken down immediately after they found me.

"I'll call," I didn't want to get them in trouble.

I sighed before punching in his number. I slapped my cheeks as I needed my acting skills more than ever. Luke instantly picked up the call, trying to get a view where I currently was from the objects around me. This was why Elise had already closed all their curtains, getting a sense of how Luke thought from my memories.

I passed my marble to their cousin as he decided to negotiate everything. I really didn't want to leave this place, but I could visit my parents right after this. I listened to the news changing topics as it showed that the travel between the first and third districts were open again. Their cousin took a deep breath before facing Luke, "we'll return her at an agreed spot if you don't press any charges against us and let us go."

"I'll trace the call," Ben mouthed to Luke in the background.

"We'll talk after you return Rika to us," Luke clasped his fingers together.

"Then we can end the call now before you can trace us," he threatened them.

"Where?" Luke narrowed his eyes.

"Near the closest mall from your mansion," he seemed to have already decided.

"Swear on your family crest that you won't place any charges on us," his hands nervously trembled.

"Both of you in this call," he noticed Ben.

My head started to oddly throb while I listened to their conversation. My vision wobbled while colours stretched to create strips of my surroundings. A big thump was heard as they all turned to see me collapse onto the floor. I panted, cold sweat coming from my head, trembling warm hands that couldn't be stopped. My consciousness slipped away from me as I could hear Luke agree to their demands immediately after noticing my poor condition.

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself already inside the Roselia family mansion. I wondered what happened while I was asleep. But I froze when I found a younger version of Luke, the appearance of when I first met him in kindergarten, standing in front of me. He was a really cute child back then as I looked at him in a new perspective.

"This is your fiancée. You'll have to take care of her as your future bride," Luke's grandfather held me in his arms.

I found the sleeping Rika leaning forward towards Luke as his grandfather bent down to show me to him. I gasped as this was where that memory had stopped last time. She tussled in his arms, feeling uncomfortable. Luke's face had no emotion as he stared at her, wondering when she would wake up.

"She's going to stay with us for a month before you enter school together," he explained.

When Rika opened her eyes, she instantly started to cry since only unfamiliar people were around her. She didn't know where this foreign place was, she just wanted to see her parents and her younger twin brother. Luke watched her loudly cry, tears and snot running down from her face. He wondered why she acted like she wasn't even one year old yet.

"I want to go back to mommy," she sniffled.

"Bring me to mommy," she looked at Luke's grandfather for help.

"I'm going to leave her here for you guys to get familiar with one another," his grandfather placed her down onto the couch.

He warmly smiled before shutting the door behind him. Luke, awkwardly stood in the middle of the room, wondering how to handle the crying girl in front of him. He never encountered something like this before. His cousins weren't like this as well.

"Nothing will change even if you cry," he pointed out to Rika.

"I want mommy!" Rika glared at him before continuing to wail on the floors.

Rika thought that her mom would fetch her soon. She was just a little late today. If she cried for her attention again, she would immediately come running to her as usual. Luke covered his ears as Rika didn't stop crying until she went back to sleep again from exhaustion. He wondered how he was supposed to go to school with her in the future. She would only be an annoyance if she always behaved like this.