Chapter 557 - Melting into Spring (6) - Shelly's POV

My eyes went large from Charles' explanation. Alex's clothes were only second to his precious collection of watches and rings. I was surprised he would let my friend go for this. In fact, he wasn't doing anything when she pulled on his sleeves, telling him that she was tired and needed a break. If anyone else stretched his clothes, it was likely he would hold a large grudge against them. I wouldn't be surprised if he searched for a chance to take his revenge.

I accidentally tugged his sleeve, mistaking it for my hair a few years ago. However, he yelled at me for hours, not taking a break for ruining his shirt. And for the rest of the year, whenever we ran into each other, he would always maintain a fixed distance away from me. From then on, I always remembered to pay attention to my surroundings. I wouldn't go close to his closet if I wanted to live a peaceful life with him.

Alex also hated other people touching him, but it didn't seem to apply to Rika. He was familiar with Rika touching him, often taking care of her to help Luke.. Sometimes, he was the one to touch Rika like shaking her awake for classes in the morning routine video. I knew that whenever Alex left our dorm room, it was due to nursing Rika back to health. But he expected something in return from Rika.

Lately, he almost possessed an equal authority as Luke when giving permission in what she could do. While he didn't care what I did in the club room, he always made sure Rika was following the rules Luke had set for her. When Luke couldn't make it to the club room one day, Alex went to the club room without him. He was harsher than Luke, nagging Rika for almost everything. From pointing out she was wrinkling her uniform from rolling around the floors to how she couldn't roll her eyes at him.

He tried to scold her privately, pulling the office walls up. But he forgot to turn on the sound-proof setting on from being too exhausted, overloaded with fraction work. Everyone in the club room pitied Rika, not noticing most of the mistakes he pointed out. They didn't know Luke and Alex always treated her like this. Luke and Alex mostly left her alone in the club room with the exception of dragging her back to the dorm room when the sky started to get dark.

"We're going to the next store soon," Luke interrupted my thoughts.

I understood why Rika hated these shopping trips now. It was different from hearing her complaints to actually seeing what was happening in front of my eyes. She didn't have a choice but to follow everything they said. Otherwise, she would get threatened by them that they would confine her to her room in the mansion. While I had always admired the things inside her closet, I didn't consider the painful process behind them.

It was hard not to pity Rika. Charles and Alex were intentionally buying everything for her, knowing she would suffer from their purchases. I gave up on buying something for myself, everything soon taken away from them. By the time they were finished, I was exhausted while Rika was already sleeping in Luke's arms. Although I felt bad for my friend, I couldn't follow them on another shopping trip again.

"Would you like to rest at our mansion before returning to school?" Luke politely offered.

I accepted his offer, following them into the teleportation gate. I raised my head, the mansion magnificent and sparkling inside. But the main floor was nearly filled with their orders for Rika. I couldn't close my mouth, staring at the pure number of boxes. I didn't realize they had purchased this much. Luke didn't seem to think it was unusual, ordering the servants to put them into one room.

"When is the next shopping trip?" Charles turned to Luke.

"Maybe in the summer," Luke was already thinking ahead.

I couldn't believe they were going shopping again that soon, wondering how Rika was going to wear all the purchases they made today. They had to have spent more than a hundred million Aris. Rika wore her uniform all the time in school, making all the clothes they purchased to be rarely worn anyways. With Charles paying for the bill in one of the stores, Luke made Rika change into one of the dresses Charles chose. While Rika wore the shoes and accessories purchased by Alex.

Luke placed Rika on the chair in the dining room. He took out several bottles of medicine, trying to spoon feed her while she was unconscious. It was awkward watching them, finding the feeling to be different than watching it through a video. Whenever Rika frowned, he slowed his pace while rubbing her back to help her digest the drink. Rika coughed sometimes, making the drink splatter, ruining his shirt. However, Luke worked hard to finish feeding the bottles to Rika without a break, taking more than an hour while I enjoyed my chocolate milkshake.

"Return to school if you're done with the milkshake," Alex turned to me.

"I want to be with Rika longer," I knew Rika would be disappointed if I left.

"She's not going to wake up anytime soon," Alex started to look annoyed.

"If it wasn't for Rika begging us for hours you wouldn't be here in the first place," he added.