Max allowed the girl into the room. The room was big in size with a bed, a giant Television and couple of couches. The girl took a sit on the sofa and Max took the opposite seat to her.

The girl had a troubled expression on her face. It was evident that she didn't know what to say. Besides, she wasn't even sure who Max was.

Max seemed to have noticed her hesitation and spoke with a smile, " I am Max Edwinson. One of the Five….if I am not wrong, you should have met an old man proclaiming himself to be a God too.."

The girl's eyes widened as she remembered something from the past.

"Y-You...you are.." She stuttered.

"Yes, I am. You can feel confident about me and everyone else too. All of us have always been worried about you. But today, I feel relieved seeing you alive." Max said with a smile.

The girl raised her head to look at Max, her eyes started to turn misty. She pulled her arms and knees tucked her head.

Max could hear her weeping. He sighed. He didn't know why she was crying. But her situation must be related to it.

He could only slowly reach out to her and put his hand on her head as he slowly spoke, "I am here. Everyone is in this together. We have been brought here by fate. I will help you. If you want, I am willing to hear…"

The girl slowly raised her head and looked at Max. She could feel the genuine concern in his eyes. It has been a long time since someone looked at her like that. She slowly wiped her tears before speaking, " I am Anna Wesley."

She seemed to be remembering things from past as she paused for a but before continuing.

"I belong to a normal family in Ocien. My mom and dad are common people. They ran our family business of a bakery house which had been passed through generations."

Max's expression changed a bit. Ocien was another big city which housed one of the 12 Noble Houses as its guardian.

The Scarlet House.

"Things were looking good. Everything would have been good only if I never met Will….."

As Anna said those words, a drop of tear slid down her eyes. But, she held herself and continued.

"Even though both of us were attending the same academy back then, we never talked. It was a random encounter, when we met at our bakery shop and it all started."

"Strangers to acquaintances and then to friends. It took only a year and we had become like beast friends. It was then that Will awakened and things changed."

"I still remember that excited look on his face as he came to the shop. I was the first one he showed his element to. It was a bolt of lightning."

"He was a variant."

"At that moment, we didn't know what it truly meant. But I was just happy for him."

"When the next day arrived, I came to know that Will had transferred out. He seemed to be moving to the Ocien Magic Academy."

"I couldn't believe it. How he could have left behind without saying a word. I felt a bit heartbroken. I couldn't understand my own feelings at that moment."

"Later that night, I heard a knock on my window and found Will below. His family seemed to be forcing him to move, but he didn't want to leave. He confessed that he wanted to stay by my side, that he was in love with me."

"At that moment, I too understood it. Why was I feeling so good? I was in love with him too."

"Even though he wanted to stay by my side. How could I let him waste his talent? Even more so, I didn't want his family relations to turn sour because of me."

"In the end, he finally had to give in to me. I still could remember his expression as he admitted defeat to my stubbornness."

Max looked at Anna speak as several expressions flashed past her face. She seemed to be smiling at one point while crying at one.

"I thought that I wouldn't be seeing Will anytime soon. But I seem to have underestimated him. He came to see me even with all this. He travelled a long distance everyday just to see me."

Even Max couldn't help but give it to the guy. This Will was truly lovestruck. Ocien Magic Academy was after all, located at the very corner of the city and Ocien was a big city like Ishtar. If compared to Arcane, Ocien or Ishtar might be ten to twenty times in size.

Even though they were called cities, they had developed very well with a noble house in lead. At this point, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them a state itself.

So, that person was truly something if he travelled such a distance to just see her.

"It went well for the first two months. But, one day, it all changed when a person came to our shop."

"It was Will's elder brother."

"That's what he said to me. It was through him that I came to know that Will belonged to a much higher section of society. Somewhere I couldn't possibly imagine myself to be."

"I could clearly understand what it meant. His family wanted me to get away from him. For them, I was like a hindrance or cheap person trying leech off of him."

Max couldn't help but shake his head as he thought, 'These people from high class society are always the same. They really feel that they are something special.'

"I didn't know what to do? It was then that his brother said something which infuriated my family. He...he.." Anna struggled to speak as she clenched her fist and tear began to drip on her hands.

A chill flashed past Max's eyes. He wasn't stupid. He could understand where this was going on.

"You don't need to force yourself…" Max spoke.

"No! Let me...I want to…" Anna replied. She had been storing these things deep within her. She wanted to let it all out for once.

"He said that 'a girl like me was only worthy of being his play thing...I was being foolish if I imagined even being with his brother.' He even offered money to me for a service."

"My father was enraged. He along with my uncle beat Will's brother and threw him out."

After that, our life became hell….