I’M A BRAT AND I’M IN LOVE
(No more broken hearts)
Chapter 15
(Forgotten memories ???)
“Once upon a time, a beautiful little princess lived in a magnificent glass castle. The little princess had everything she could ever want, toys, dresses, shoes, and everyone in the kingdom wanted to be her friend, because she was so beautiful and so nice. Anyone who knew the little princess knew that she had the perfect life.
Princes from all over the land would come to seek her hand, both young and old, but the beautiful little princess would always reject them all. This never deterred the princes, as they kept coming from far and near.
One day, an injured prince came by the glass castle, and the little princess stood at her balcony to talk to him, thinking he was one of the many princes that had come to court her.
“Have you come to seek my hand?” She demanded, but the handsome prince paid her no mind, instead he busier himself with trying to tend to his wounds.
The little princess tried and tried, but the handsome prince simply refused to answer her. She soon became very angry.
After he had finished tending to his wounds, the handsome prince finally directed his gaze to the little princess and asked, “Would you care to give me some food and water? So I can be on my way?”
The little princess, glad to finally have his attention, responded proudly, “You will receive nothing from me until you can find a way to enter my castle. But know that you will surely fail. As no one else has been able to enter.”
The handsome prince thought long hard, and replied the little princess, “No one has been able to enter, not because the castle is fortified but because the castle is you, and until you come out yourself, no one can ever get in.”
The little princess stood with wide eyes at the prince’s revelation, and took a good look at her castle. It was big and beautiful, but she was so alone. The handsome prince stood waiting outside as the little princess grabbed a stone, and with a mighty heave, broke down the walls of her beautiful glass castle.”
Six year old Rika Sato sat on her bed with twinkling eyes as her Nanny, Greta closed the storybook she had been reading to her and sighed. “I don’t know why you like this particular fairytale Rika. It’s so depressing!!! Why won’t you let me read you nicer stories?” She said as she placed the book on Rika’s bedside table.
Rika picked the small, hardcover book and held it to her chest, ignoring Greta’s question.
“Greta? Will you read it to me again tomorrow?”
She asked sweetly.
Greta laughed. “Rika darling! At this rate you’ll be able to recite this story in your sleep! Why don’t we try something different tomorrow? Like Cinderella or Snow White?”
Rika shook her head, her long blonde hair swaying slightly, as she held the book up.
“No. This is the one I want.”
Greta patted the little girl’s head fondly.
Rika Sato was a special child, much different from other children, in her speech, actions, and her way of thinking. Greta had been her Nanny since she was a baby, and she didn’t know whether Rika had always been like this, or if she changed as she grew.
At just the tender age of six, Rika had exceptional people skills, and she knew how to read people’s moods and how to decipher their thoughts. She also had a strange side though, one that she hid so well from outsiders.
Greta knew that as she got older, Rika would probably be able to master the art of hiding her true self, and the only reason she was able to see it closely now was because of the nature of their relationship, but even then she still hid it so well. The way her face would change into fake smiles when around people, and how the smiles would turn scornful behind their backs, were only some of the traits of Rika’s dual nature.
For such a young child to behave in that manner, most people would call her a little devil! But Greta didn’t have any children of her own, and she loved Rika Sato, regardless of whether she acted like a devil, or an angel.
“Now now mi querido (my dear), time for bed. It’s going to be a big day tomorrow.” Greta whispered as she kssed Rika on the head, and covered her with her duvet. The little girl stared at her with empty eyes, before turning in her bed to sleep. Greta smiled fondly, and quietly walked out of the room.
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Rika Sato was bored. Her mommy and daddy were having a big party to celebrate their Company’s anniversary, and she always had to attend, even when she didn’t want to. She always had to attend even when she just wanted to spend time with Greta and read her favourite storybook.
She didn’t like those parties. She didn’t like those people. They were so simple and eat to predict. Every one of them was there probably to get money, or to become her parent’s favorites.
Her mommy always told her that one day she would inherit the company, so she had to show everyone that she was ready by being present at every one of the Company events.
Rika dared not voice out her annoyance though, as doing that would earn her a scolding from her mother, and a talk from her father. She didn’t mind the scolding, but she dreaded the talks her father had with her in his study. She hated them, and if pretending to be complacent and putting up a fake smile was what she could do to avoid them, then she would. That didn’t stop her father though, as the talks continued, till they became a normal thing that he did, even when she didn’t do anything wrong.
Rika had spent a lot of her aware years playing two roles, and soon it had become part of the her, the part of her that pretended to be the sweet goody two shoes, and the other person who enjoyed toying with people. She found that experimenting with people’s feelings were fun, it was fun to test their limits and see just how far they could bend to her whim if she pretended to be so sweet.
Her daddy was just like this. He also played two roles, the person he was with her, and the person he was with everyone else.
The party was in full swing, and Rika smiled and waved, aiming to please. Greta had made sure she looked her best. That woman really tried too hard. But she was one person Rika didn’t feel pressured to pretend to. A group of friends ran up to her.
“Hello Rika!” They all chorused. They were holding a beautiful cheesecake.
“That looks lovely. Who is it for?” She asked sweetly.
They all smiled. “It’s for you Rika!! We all worked together and baked it for you. Because you’re our friend and we missed your birthday last year!”
Rika smiled gratefully. “Thank you so much…you didn’t have to do this!!! I’ll enjoy this cake so much!!” She said happily, and her friends’ eyes twinkled with satisfaction.
These wonderful friends had took so much time and effort to bake a cake for her. How couldn’t she be grateful?
The same smile she had used to gratefully accept the cake, was the same smile she used to dump the cake down the trash.
A sinister smirk spread across her innocent features. “What a bunch of idi0ts.” She whispered.
She noticed some movement and quickly turned back. She was sure the kitchen had been empty when she entered. Could someone have followed her?
Her eyes met the cold stare of a Raven haired young man, who was standing at the kitchen doorway and watching her carefully. He looked vaguely familiar, and Rika wondered where she had seen him before.
He watched her silently for awhile before moving on, leaving her feeling unsettled.
She dashed out of the kitchen and back into the party, searching for the strange man. After minutes of searching, just as she was about to give up and go take some juice, she spotted him, sitting by himself on a bench.
She ran up to him as fast as her little legs could carry her, and flashed him her signature smile, the one that usually knocked the wits out of most people.
“Hello Mister!!” She greeted as she sat beside him. He gave her a glance, then turned back to his phone.
No reaction. Guess he wasn’t like most people.
“You saw what I did earlier didn’t you? Why didn’t you stop me?” She asked, swinging her legs back and forth.
The man sighed. “If I had tried to would you have listened?” He replied, his voice coming out low and tired. He had deep, sad eyes, but he was extremely handsome, as handsome as Rika’s six year old mind could process. She giggled.
“Why didn’t you try and find out?” She asked, moving closer to him.
He gave her a long stare. “Because it was none of my business. You might be a little kid but you sure as h.ell are responsible for your own actions. You shouldn’t do something you think is wrong expecting someone to stop you before you do.”
Rika pouted. That wasn’t quite the answer she was experiencing.
“Do I know you Mister? I feel like I’ve seen you before.”
He stared at her with those deep, intimidating eyes.
“I’m Mr Akabane’s son. And you must be Rika Sato.”
She smiled brightly. “Mr Akabane…..that means you’re Levi Akabane right?” She asked excitedly.
Levi turned back to his phone. “Yeah.”
Rika giggled again. “Don’t you wanna know why I threw the cake away?”
Levi sighed. “Not really, no.”
She burst into sultry laughter. “You’re funny Mr Levi! Really funny!” She exclaimed, smiling at him so innocently.
She began swinging her legs back and forth, humming to herself.
“My favorite storybook in the whole world is about a princess in a glass castle. One day a prince comes and tells her that no one will be able to come into the castle until she lets them. This makes the princess realize that she has been alone all along, and she breaks the castle. But I think it’s stupid. If I were the princess, I wouldn’t break my precious castle. I would break the people trying to enter instead.” She said out of the blue.
Levi stared curiously at her. The words that came out of her mouth were far older and sinister than her age. She seemed like an innocent kid, but it looked like her mind was twisted. He sighed.
“You wanna break people Hun? Well do you think that you’ll even be able to reach the people you want to break without breaking your glass castle first? The prince had a point. Even if you wanna hurt people, you’re gonna have to let them in first.”
She stared at him with wide eyes, a look of realization and a blush creeping along her face.
“You’re so smart Mr Levi. Woah. When I grow up, I’m gonna marry you.”
Levi scoffed. “Is that all you got from what I said?”
Rika smiled, a smile that didn’t look twisted or fake, her first genuine smile.
“When I’m old enough, let’s get married Mr Levi Akabane!!!”
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