Chapter 529 - Switch (8) - Charles' POV

Alex was too livid to consider that I wasn't Rika. He slammed her bedroom door shut after Luke walked in with us. I couldn't blame him, he was utterly humiliated in the comments written below the post. His entire collection was also trashed to the point it was irreversible, worse than Rika's stalker stealing them from him. This was why Luke blended in with the background, watching us to step in when he went over the line.

"We should chain her everywhere we go," Alex couldn't trust her moving on her own anymore.

"Maybe for a day at most," Luke gave into him.

"We can start by beginning the study session," he placed some workbooks on the table.

Luke remained ignorant, pulling out some stationary while Alex went through all the accessories inside Rika's drawer. Brightly smiling when Alex found a bracelet, he turned to Luke, "is this the one that will limit her movements?"

"You'll have to set the location and determine how many steps she can move within it," Luke explained its features.

"I'm not Rika!" I started to find them scary.

I didn't find Luke to be generous towards Rika anymore. He possessed all kinds of accessories to shackle her, Alex's mood improving as he discovered more bracelets with similar features. I started to fight back, not wanting to suffer in her place while Alex tightly grabbed my arms so I would stay still. Luke slid the bracelets Alex chose onto her as if he was unfazed from all my struggling. My mind went blank from how weak her body was, helpless and out of breath by the time they finished.

It was no wonder Rika hated these accessories, restricting more of her freedom. Luke followed Rika everywhere with her landing in danger and more trouble all the time. Although I had always pitied him, I have never considered seeing things from Rika's perspective. I didn't have a choice but to sit in the chair in front of me. Once I sat down, I was surprised when I discovered Alex had adjusted the setting so I couldn't rise from the chair.

I waited for them to begin the study session, trying to get it quickly over with. Luke opened the workbook, ȧssigning me to do some simple questions. I found all the notes to be extremely detailed, more than the ones provided by the school. Before I could attempt them, Luke thoroughly went over all the steps, not missing a single thing said by the teachers. Alex joined in afterwards to ask me some questions to test my understanding. How was Rika close to failing her courses from all the energy they invested into her?

They started from the very basic fundamentals, something I recalled from the lower grades. Their lesson was more perfect than the teachers, going over every possibility that could come out on the exam. But these were useless to me since I always reviewed my notes before and after class. The questions they gave me were too easy, getting all of them right. Luke narrowed his eyes, recognizing something was wrong.

"You're not Rika," Luke realized.

"I told you I wasn't her from the start!" I yelled.

"Shouldn't you know this the best?" I turned to Alex.

"I apologize, I must have been consumed by my anger," Alex immediately removed the bracelets.

"Do you think I'll accept your apology? I don't even know what she's doing with my body right now!" I pointed out.

"Now put all these disgusting accessories off me," I shouted at them.

"We can't. Except for those bracelets, we'll have to leave them on. Rika's health depends on them," Luke apologized to me.

"What difference will a couple of accessories make?" I raised my voice.

Luke silently began to take them all out as I impatiently tapped my fingers on the table to wait for him to finish. I was surprised when my head began to throb when he took out the last one, making me stagger towards the floor. I gasped for more air, finding the room swirling into circles. My vision became blurry, my muscles weak to the point that they were starting to fail. The accessories made a big difference in her condition.

"Why is she so weak?" I landed in Luke's arms when I was about to fall.

"You mean exhausted, hard to breathe, and a little dizzy?" He covered most of them.

"It's not even that. All her limbs were failing on me and her vision became completely blurry," I shuddered.

"It's worse than this morning," Alex muttered.

"It must be a side effect from the supplements," Luke sighed.

"The side effects can't possibly be this strong," I gestured to him to put the accessories back on.

"This is on a whole other level. This is dangerous," I rose to sit on the chair beside me.

"I know," Luke slightly trembled.

"I don't know what else to do," he sadly looked at me.

I knew Luke was doing all he could to keep Rika alive. I wondered how Rika appeared so healthy when she always felt like dying inside. She was so fragile, everything bȧrėly balancing together so she could move around. It wasn't worth all the mana circulating in her body, much more than mine. I helped with sealing her mana, thinking we almost sealed everything.. However, she was bursting with even more than before, rendering our actions useless.