Serene silence spread around us as the ride back home was nothing but silent. I tapped my foot repeatedly again fluffy quilted floorboard of the car, the seat moving slightly in tandem.
Aiden was seated next to me, he didn't seem to notice my anxious cadence over the swift cruising of the car.
Or maybe perhaps, he was brewing his own perturbed rhythm. I glance at him inadvertently only to find him chewing on his own nails in an almost sluggish manner.
"Anxious much?", I ask breaking the silent spell
"What do you think? Military man's home", he responds without looking
"Military man?"
He finally looks at me, "Sorry, I meant it's hard to separate his two personalities. I get confused if he's playing the father's role or the military man's"
I sigh nodding in agreement.
Aiden was right, in the novel, Mr. Laurent was indeed a very.....stoic man.
He loved his duty.
That was not the problem.
He loved only his duty and.... a lot.
Now that was the problem— and a very huge one apparently.
Half of the conflicts that arose with Genny's character were the result of the existential crisis instilled by her own father.
Upholding too strong of values often binds you like fear and strangles you like love
"What took you so long back at the park?", Aiden asks with curious looking eyes
The memories at the park hit me at all the wrong places through the question. The old retching man, the eerie looking doctor and—a certain smug bastard with stupid dimples.
"Nothing much", I lie, tone nonchalant enough to divert attention.
He shrugs, "Okay sissy, I'll find out myself then, unless you saw a gorilla in the part and decided to call it your mate"
Rage explodes and my fingers instantly reach out to mock strangle him , he ducks as I yelp, "You little menace!"
"Guess I was right, after all", he snorts
I burst out laughing despite myself, my giggles bouncing off the little car windows and ringing in my ears
Listening to yourself laugh after life punching you in the gut is weird, weirdly nice....
A few long moments later I notice Aiden staring at me with wide eyes and a shocked expression.
"What?", I ask wiping a little tear from the corner of my eyes, still vibrating with laughter
"You've.... changed"
My body turns to stone, my mind still catching up. I turn toward him now facing him fully.
"W-What do you mean?", I ask
He smiles, "I can't quite put my finger on it, but it feels like you're just....kinder, funnier, and...."
"....And?"
"...And not totally dumb anymore I guess"
I snort, "Is that a compliment little menace?"
He doesn't look at me, "You're not just a brat anymore, you're a good friend, and I don't know how, but you helped Lily, you treated her well today, saved her mom's life and I guess....you're not the worst sister either"
I raise an eyebrow, "You accused me of partying like a 'spoilt brat' six hours ago'
He coughs nervously, "y-yeah, I take that back"
He finally looks at me, "Thank you sissy for being here for Lily, for me, and for everything"
My heart melts when I see the look in his eyes, it's like he got his favourite toy back from a fire that had destroyed everything.
And maybe, Genny was once that wildfire. I never thought much about her character, afterall she was never the main character, but looks like she had her reasons for being the way she is. That clearly impacted her family and the ones who loved her.
I smile returning the gesture, "Don't you ever thank me Aiden, not unless you want a gorilla mate too"
His pupils widen and grin widens, "See, I knew it!"
Yet, despite all her flaws, I can never argue that Genny was truly, a lucky girl.
Too bad, this is all just fiction.
A fiction, a headache, a disaster, my mind screams as reality crashes back on to me.
So many questions and no answers.
The mysteries only piling up, fear clawing its way back to me as I recollect the earlier events with the doctor, the vibracil pills that never exited, the cholera?
I'm pretty sure that was never the part of the main plot....
The deal with Lucien somehow made me bristle way worse, he was supposed to be cold CEO, emotionally unavailable, keeps to his own business.
And yet today, he always came off this smug devil who pokes his nose in everything I did.
It wasn't even the deal itself, it's the way everything's vague now, the road ahead—unclear.
And not to forget, the memory of his touch, still hot on my skin. That was so unlike him, unlike his character to go out of his way to do something unbefitting him—at least in the first few chapters that is..
Aiden... was not an exception, it is uncharacteristic of him too to show any amount of affection to Genny. Aiden was always present only to increase the character value of Lily, as her little sidekick..
Could it be me? Could it be my sudden presence that bought such a change in the plot, its characters? I need to figure it out before it's too late. I would hate for the happiness meter situation to repeat again.
My thoughts are soon interrupted, as the car pulls up sharply against the violet manor of a huge mansion which I waved good bye this very morning
The morning I was reincarnated. In this very mansion
Aiden's shoulder slumped slightly as he made his way out of the car, already reaching to open the main gates. I mirror the same.
An uncomfortable silence swept over us as we walked in pace towards the main door. He reaches almost mechanically and rings the bell.
The silence only grows louder with sure, firm approaching footsteps on the other side.
The grandeur of the door swings open, with its hinges creaking slightly, a testament to their age.
And now...I'm standing face to face with the secondary main antagonist, a man who believes in duty and sacrifice, forged in pain, forged to cause pain, my father—
Mr. Richard Laurent
He barely spares us a glance before turning on his heel back inside, as if we were as insignificant as the little pests in his garden full or roses and thorns.
He voices subtle yet firm as he walks, "Why didn't you return my calls Genevieve?"
The air is immediately sucked out of my lungs.
Calls. Texts. Phone
Phone. Phone. Phone.
I fucking left my phone next to that stupid tap at the stupid park.
With it, I also left my—
No,no,no
The Ouroboros ring
My final hope to finding my answers now lie forgotten somewhere next to a fucking TAP.
Gone.
Shit.