His oppression

The Visit

Chapter Eleven: THE VISIT

When I got a text that my parents were visiting, you can be sure that I panicked. Who in their right mind would think this is the perfect time to visit your daughter when you’ve neglected her all her life? Just because her grandparents were out of the picture, you think you’ll start being parents to her? What has really gotten into their minds?

I’m not even positive on why I panicked and ran around the apartment fixing bits and pieces that I find out of place. Thank God Radcliff had been sorting out my things when I’d leave him to go to work and the space had never looked so tidy and neat. The last time I’ve seen the apartment so clean was the time Diana stopped by to help with my things and I could tell that was ages ago when I don’t practically remember what had occurred when she was here. Maybe because she didn’t stay too long-- long enough to even take notice that I had done some cleaning before she arrived.

What am I even thinking about at a time like this?

Radcliff had probably caught sight of how I have been pacing back and forth from my room to the living room area because he’s been following me without even uttering something. I don’t recall that I was looking for something, I presumably am right now.

“What are you doing?” he finally asked, grabbing me by my arm so I could stop wandering about. “You’ve been like this for the past 20 minutes, what is going on?”

“My mom and dad are on their way here and I’m kind of worried. I don’t know why.” I told him, biting down my lower lip hard in pure anxiety.

He looked at me as if I was losing my mind before putting his hand on top of my head again. That gesture alone made my heart that was beating so fast to calm down. He has no idea what he’s doing to me when he does this kind of thing and I’m not planning, in a million years, to tell him that.

“When did you last see your parents?” he asked, his voice in a gentle manner whilst caressing the top of my head.

Now that I think about it, he can easily grab my head because of how big his hand was.

“I-I don’t-- maybe at my grandma’s funeral.” I answered, swallowing the lump in my throat.

“You’re not certain?”

“You’re pressuring me!”

He chuckled at my response like it was supposed to be funny. I could slap him right now if he wasn’t helping me ease my nervousness. 

"Do you have a good relationship with your parents?" he asked, tipping my head up so I can make clear contact with him.

"No."

"So that's why you're frightened." 

"No. That's not it." I sighed, placing a hand on his arm. “I guess I still want their confirmation or something. I’m still really bothered by it.”

“Confirmation, what do you mean?” he just asked, his hand now roamed and settled on the side of my face. “You said you didn’t grow up with your brother? So does that mean your parents weren’t around?”

I nodded my head, a pout forming on my lips. Something I’ve rarely done because I look stupid doing it but right now, I don’t feel like he’d judge me for looking like an i***t. He looks like one too.

“I’m raised by my grandparents. I just-- this is the first time they will visit so I don’t know how to act since my grandma isn’t around to talk for me.” I told him. “And don't you dare say something about my grandma!”

“I’m not,” he chuckled lightly. “Do you want me to scare them away?”

I shook my head, sighing defeatedly. If there’s going to be a time that  I should be facing them, it’s now or never. They could have told me a few days beforehand and I could have just, what, rented a restaurant and we can have exchanged civil conversations there regardless. We haven’t even spoken a single word at the funeral and that's when I saw them for the longest time in my life. I just really don't understand what's happening and I'm the type of person to hate change when it's not intentional. I have a strong dislike for unexpected turns of events or something that's out of my control and this situation is one and has not been sitting right for me.

"I'll be with you and if things don't go as you expected them to be, then I'll do something about it."

"You're making the hair on my body stand up." I told him with a frown.

"That's a good thing, right?"

"Hell no! You're so nice it's disgusting."

"Is it disgusting to be nice at this time?" he asked, confused.

"No," I looked away, trying to think of what to say to him. "The only nice people I know in my life are my grandparents. I'm not exactly what you can call 'nice'."

"What does that have to do with me being nice?"

I hit his chest, of course not hard this time because he was really trying to be consoling and I kind of appreciated it before pulling away from him. 

"Since I wasn't given enough time to prepare anything, I've ordered food and it's on the way.. am I missing something? Forgot something to do?"

"I don't know… breathe? Breathe for a second, Aria. You appear like you're going to collapse anytime soon." he proposed.

Am I? Is it my parents the roots of my insecurities? As much as I try to conceal every weakness I have, I know I just want to be their priority for once and they'll always be people I will care about. But knowing myself, I'm never going to be direct with my feelings. That's just how I've been, keeping everything in for the sake of my pride and not humiliating myself by these petty emotions.

But nevertheless I breathed in. Held the breath for a few seconds before letting it all out, making an effort to relieve myself from the stress I'm currently enduring.

"That's it, keep it going."

I repeated the motion for a few times before managing a small smile in his direction. "Thanks."

"Why don't we sit down and have a little talk?" he suggested, grabbing my shoulders and making me sit down on the sofa. "Let me know a thing or two about your parents."

"What could I tell you? I told you they were absent my whole life." I folded my arms against my chest. "I don't know a thing about them except for the fact that they're horrible and neglectful parents!"

He nodded his head, putting his leg on top of the other. "My parents are as well. The way they could get back to me was through buying me lavish things I didn't even need. So I find comfort in other people. The real people who took care of me were the maids and guards of the mansion. I don't even believe that my parents spent a lot to find me. They just went away— got away from a life they're so over for."

I looked at him, feeling a little bit of sympathy. This was a slight common of ours and it's kind of comforting to know that I know someone who goes through the same circumstance I was going through. Even if he was a hundred years old.

"They were just never around to watch you grow and that was selfish of them."

"I like to think they were working hard to put up a good future for me. They hired a private tutor to have me Learn what they do and sooner or later, they'll have their wealth handed all down to my name and I'll be fully involved in their business."

"That's still selfish." I replied, pausing for a moment to think. "Because they have something planned for you and they just choose to ignore what you want. What did you want?"

"What did I want?" he asked like he really wasn't expecting my question at all. For a few minutes we were quiet as he was thinking, his mind elsewhere. "I haven't really thought.."

"Oh come on, you were 27 years old. Didn't have any childhood dreams that you still wanted to do?"

"Oh, I wanted to be a knight!" he smiled at me. "Maybe I had been influenced by the guards and Sir Walter the great. He is certainly the factor why I wanted to be a knight."

"To fight off dragons and save the maiden in distress?" I snorted.

"I don't even like the attention I get in the kingdom. It was very unnecessary."

"Yeah, I don't believe you. There isn't a man in the world who doesn't like attention. Especially from women. Do you know men often want attention more than women? Beautiful women, even."

"Of course, it is nice to be looked at by women but that's not what I wanted before." he told me before poking the tip of my nose with his finger. "I wanted to be an adventurer and noble "

I slapped his hand away with a frown. He looks like he knows his way to a woman's heart. And this— this isn't helping me at all.

"You had the money, why didn't you do that? Why didn't you just leave?"

"I can't. I had responsibilities. Maybe if I had a brother or something." he shrugged before smiling at me again. "Maybe in another world and time, if I get to live my life again I'll be the adventurer I've always dreamt of being."

"That's good." I smiled back at him.

"How about you? What did you want to do?"

"Oh.. now that I thought about it, I really have no idea." I laughed nervously.

It's turning out that I've always been a huge hypocrite around this man.

"I've seen magazines, advertisement around with people's faces on them, why don't you try that? That modelling—"

"Ha! You're never going to get me on one, never!" I stood up, poking my tongue out at him. "What makes you think I'll do that?"

"I've seen these models and they all have pretty faces."

I laughed out loud, wiping a fake tear. "That was the funniest s**t I've ever heard! You think I'm pretty!?"

"Breath-taking,"

I choked on my saliva when I heard that. Now I'm starting to think this man was playing with me and my feelings. He knew his words around as if to charm you. Maybe he was the witch! Man witches exist, right?

Now I get how people thought charming women before were witches.

"Come on, stand up." I just told him.

He understood, standing up on his feet, causing me to tilt my head upward to see him.

"Do you know how tall a woman should be to be considered as a model?" I asked him, looking directly into his eyes.

"I thought you just need a pretty face to get in."

"How tall are you?"

"I am almost 7 foot in height."

My jaw dropped at that. I should have expected how tall he was when I was around him all the time. Myths said tall people were common a few centuries ago and I think Radcliff knew that.

"I'm 5 foot 4, Radcliff." I said slowly.

"And?"

"You can get into modelling when you're at least 5 foot 7. The ideal height is 5 foot 9."

"Oh, that can be a problem. Your height is a problem."

"No s**t," I sarcastically responded before pouting. "Maybe a job that doesn't require me to do statistics, maths or whatever. I want to use my brain in a creative way."

"An artist? A painter?" 

"I don't know how to do things like that." I huffed, plopping down on the sofa again.

He looked at me before sitting down beside me, his hand now on my cheek again. "Whatever it is that you want, do not waste anymore time going after it."

"I'm supporting myself. I can't— I don't want to be living in the streets."

"Oh come on now, love." he pinched my cheek gently. "Aria is a brave woman. You have to be a little more fearless about your decisions."

"Pft," I frowned.

Radcliff is more or less just my counselor at this point. Before he could speak, there were knocks on my door.

"They're here."