Chapter 3 - Two: The New Home

As we entered into the house, the first thing that came into my view was the Grand living room and the two spiral staircases going towards the second floor.

The house was as huge and breathtaking from inside as it was from the outside.

It was built entirely in modern-day design and the interior decor was something that I had only seen in magazines or online. Everything was polished and shining as the sunlight filtered inside through the floor to ceiling windows.

I once again stopped in my tracks to admire the beauty and glamour that had graced my eyes but a tug at my hand pulled me towards one of the staircases.

After we reached the second floor there were rooms lined one after the other. We finally stopped in front of one of the doors. It was in the center of all the other rooms.

Daniel opened the door and stepped aside for me to enter. If I was shocked by the beauty of the rest of the house then I had no words to describe the room.

My breath got stuck in my throat as my eyes took in the room in which I had entered. It was a massive room with the queen size bed placed in the center of it.

The walls were painted in light violet and blue colors. Due to some coincidence, these two were my favorite colors.

"Unpack and then freshen up. The others will be home in the next two hours. Come downstairs when you are done," Daniel said in a soft tone as he gave my head a soft pat before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

I let out a sigh and pulled my suitcase on the bed and opened it. I shifted all my clothes in the walk-in closet which was half the size of my bedroom. My shoes and slippers followed next.

The bathroom was huge and as lavish as the bedroom and closet. I put all the toiletries in the bathroom.

I didn't bring any personal items with me. Nothing that could remind me of my past and the darkness that it held. No pictures or resemblances.

It took me barely ten minutes before I was done with my unpacking. Though the room was luxurious but there was nothing comfy or familiar about it. It was completely bare of anything that would give it a personal feeling, a feeling of familiarity.

I sighed as my eyes took in the room which appeared lifeless to me even after its expensive decor and design.

I took a long shower, letting the tiredness seep out of muscles. After that, I ended up wearing black leggings and a large brown sweater that was too big for my 5'1" frame. I blow-dried my waist-length hair and loosely braided them, a few loose strands falling around. With the last touch of baby pink lip balm, I was done.

By now I was both thirsty and hungry since it was almost five in the evening and I hadn't eaten anything since the single sandwich that I had for breakfast. I was too nervous to eat anything on the plane and therefore missed lunch. But controlling hunger was nothing new to me. I had learned to control it through a hard way and it's going to stick around.

I came out of the room and started walking towards the right, the same side from where we had come upstairs or was it left?

And when after wandering around for nearly ten minutes I still didn't come across any staircases at all, I got my answer. The worst part? I wasn't sure exactly which part of the house I was in anymore.

After wandering around for a little bit more, I finally found a huge oak door which was left slightly ajar, and I could hear soft murmurs coming from the room.

Having no other option, I slowly raised my right hand and lightly rapped on the door. I was biting my lips so tightly that I was afraid they would end up bleeding.

The whispers stopped immediately and I heard hurried footsteps moving towards me, towards the door.

Honestly, I should not be afraid, right? After all, it's my brothers' house and now I was also a member of it but in reality, my heart was beating so rapidly that all I could feel or hear was my heartbeats.

At some point, I even thought about turning around and running away but before I could have even registered the thought properly, it was taken away from me as the door finally opened, and my fearful eyes settled on a pair of dark green eyes exactly like mine.

I watched as the frown on his face changed into recognition and then into confusion.

"Emilia." He softly said like he was afraid to break the moment. It wasn't a question, rather it was a confirmation of my identity.

"Crist who's disturbing us?" Another pair of green eyes appeared behind the man who was standing in front of me.

The question finally broke out Crist from his trance and a smile appeared on his lips.

I was so not cursing myself for not fleeing away when I had the chance. The first thing that I noticed about these two was the dangerous aura around them, which had miraculously disappeared as they recognized me.

'Was it really this easy to tell that I'm their sister?' I asked myself but of course, I already knew the answer.

The same green eyes, dark brown hair, and over the top beauty, it's a give away that the two men in front of me were my brothers. I didn't need verification for that. The exact reason why I never questioned Daniel when he came to pick me up.

He could be a fraud or someone pretending to be my brother but just one close look at him and I knew that he was one of my six brothers.

"Em!" The younger one, who was staring at me with huge eyes from above Crist's shoulder, said as his eyes took in my presence at the door.

I was trying to find if they were happy, confused, or angry after seeing me here.

Well, that's bold of me to think that they would be happy after seeing me, a girl who had suddenly appeared in their lives out of nowhere.

As for confused, then it was normal for anyone to get confused to see a complete stranger roaming in their house and even knocking on their door to alert them of their presence.

The last one that's left was anger and that's when I realized that I had disturbed them during some kind of their discussion and as far as I remembered the younger boy didn't look happy about the fact that they were disturbed according to the words that he had spoken to his brother.

That's why I immediately started explaining myself.

"I a-am so sorry. I just wanted to go downstairs just like Daniel has asked me. But since I am new here, I got lost and couldn't find my way either back to my room or downstairs. That's when I heard some voices coming out of this room. I didn't mean to disturb you but I am not sure which way should I go." I was literally babbling by the ending and my fingers were tightly clutching the hem of my sweater that ended at my mid-thighs.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting the hearty laugh that was accompanied by the insult of my explanation.

The next thing I knew, I was surrounded by a warm embrace for the third time that day. It took me some time to realize that rather than one, I was being hugged by both of my brothers.

I wasn't sure how to respond? Should I hug them back? Or should I say something? Exactly how was a person supposed to behave when two of their brothers, who didn't even exist a few days ago, hugged them suddenly at their first meeting.

Wasn't hug registered for close ones, family, friends, and relatives? I couldn't be considered as a close one. Though I'm their sister by blood but I'm as a stranger to them just like any random person walking on the street.

My mind was so confused and full of questions that I remained stilled. My hands were hanging loosely by my side.

Maybe my two brothers also felt the stiffness in my body because soon they released me. There was an expression in their eyes which was not easy for me to read but soon their face bloomed into small happy smiles and that strange expression disappeared from their eyes.

"Welcome home Em! We have been waiting for the entire day to welcome you." It was the younger one who spoke. He looked at least two or three years older than me but again I didn't know a single thing about my brothers or their ages.

Also, he said that they were waiting to welcome me? Sure, I could see that. If my memory was right I was greeted by an empty and cold house with no sign of welcome hanging anywhere.

Crist probably read my thoughts because the next moment he replied.

"We actually wanted to welcome you in a nice and warm manner, but Domenic thought that it could be too much for you to see all your brothers at the same time. That's why we decided to wait until you have settled down for a few hours before having our first dinner together tonight." His voice was soothing and soft.

Like he was afraid of frightening me. For a moment my breathing stopped at the sudden thought that passed through my mind. What if they already knew about my past? What if they already knew exactly how broken I was from inside?

No! That's impossible. I had made sure to keep everything a secret about my past. I had buried it deep down from the sharp eyes of everyone.

If they had known about my past they would never have brought me to their house, to their family. No one wanted a broken little child in their lives until....they want to broke them more.

************

AN:

WHAT BOUNDARIES SOUND LIKE

It's not your responsibility to make sure that others are responsible.

It's not your job to rescue people from their drama.

It is okay if others get angry.

It's okay to say no.

It's your job to make yourself happy and figure out what brings you joy.

It's not your job to think, feel, or live for others. You have a right to feel your feelings no matter what anyone else feels about your feelings.

No one has to agree with you.

No one has the right to verbally abuse you, and that includes family, friends, partners, and coworkers.

It's not okay to enmesh with your thoughts, emotions, or other people.

It's okay to spend time alone without explaining yourself.

You do not need permission to be who you are and to think what you think.

Other people have every right to not like you or disagree with you, but they do not have the right to disrespect you.

You have a right to end draining conversations and relationships.

You know yourself enough!