"Thankfully there are no fractures but you'll have to apply an ointment for the next couple of days to help with the bruising and swelling." The doctor explained to me.

My mom sat next to me and nodded at him. Cecelia's dad had called her while I was getting examined by a doctor. I'd expected to wait a long time at the ER, but the name Legrand held some power. Almost immediately a doctor appeared and started his consultation.

He handed my mom a ointment and some painkillers before leaving us. The nurse had tended to my wound and put a bandage around it. I haven't seen it yet but I could tell it looked bad from my mom's expression. She sighed and kissed my cheek before turned to Cecelia's dad.

"Thank you for taking my daughter here, Mr Legrand." She thanked him.

"Charlotte is a good friend of Cecelia. I loved to help." He waved it off.

She smiled gratefully before turning back to me with a serious look.

"Don't go near those Cassano's again. They could do worse things than these."

The fear in her eyes made me shiver. She was right. If they were so unbothered by half choking me against a locker, then I didn't want to know what else they would do to me.

"So that means no piano competition." She added.

My face fell. I really want to compete but I also didn't want to get beat up. I would disappoint not only Mrs Hall but also my friends. I've even chosen to play 'Howl's Moving Castle Theme Song' because Eunha was obsessed with that movie. Beside all my friends would come and watch.

"That won't be necessary. I'll have a talk with Hector Cassano."

The fear on my mom's face after the mention of that name was absolutely terrifying. She looked as if he just mentioned the worst monster on planet earth. And perhaps he was. I wouldn't be surprised if he was, he was a Cassano after all.

"No." She said quickly.

Cecelia's dad raised his eyebrows before leaning against the wall.

"Those twins have bothered my daughter before. The most effective way to make them stop is to have a talk with their guardian. Hector is a reasonable man."

Their older brother is their guardian. August had told me that their parents disappeared almost two years ago and no one know what happened to them. It was insane because their mother was Amanda Cassano, CEO of Dream Entertainment, a recording label. She was also a very famous ballad singer. It was hard for celebraties as famous as her to just disappear from the public.

"I-" Cecelia cut my mom off.

"Don't worry, Ms Jones. My dad is quite good at this. Besides, Charlotte has a very big chance at winning this competition and she's worked hard for it."

My mom stubbornly shook her head. Sometimes she got so overrun by her fear that she became terribly stubborn. I know nothing would change her mind.

//////////////////

It was late at night and I laid down in my bed when my mom entered my room. She wore a tired expression. She skipped dinner because she'd been calling with my father. They must've talked for hours. Usually, she looked euphoric after a phone call with him. But now she looked down.

"Your dad wants you to compete."

That took me by surprise. I'd expected him to agree with my mom.

"But-"

"Don't worry. He's nearby so he'll make sure that you're safe."

I didn't know what that meant, but that made her smile. I nodded softly. She pressed a kiss on my forehead before wishing me good night. I'd get to compete, so I was excited.

But I just hoped that those twins would not come for me again.

/////////////////////////////

omniscient narration:

"Cassano."

"Hector, it's me."

A short silence followed.

"James."

Hector Cassano always answered short.

"I'm calling because of your twin brothers."

Again silence but this time it was because Hector had to take a deep breath. His younger brothers could only cause him trouble.

"What did they do?"

"They choked a girl against the lockers."

Hector didn't say anything, so James continued.

"The girl is a good friend of my daughter, so I took her to the hospital. Her neck is quite bruised but luckily no fractures."

"Send me her parents' information."

He'd have to contact them and pay for her hospital visit. Once again he'd have to clean up the mess his little brothers made.

"Don't worry about it. The mother wants nothing to do with the Cassano's. I respect that, so I won't be giving you any of their personal information."

People feared his family, so Hector wasn't surprised to hear that.

"Will you tell me why you called or will you continue wasting my time, James?"

James chuckled softly.

"I just called you to tell you about the girl. She made me wonder if you had a child."

"I don't."

"Well, she's the spitting image of you. It's absolutely insane. I'd think that she was your baby, if I didn't know the truth."

Hector didn't really understand where James was taking this. He didn't have a child, especially not one that would be about fifteen. He was only twenty six, which meant he would've had a child at eleven. It didn't make any sense.

"Come to your point." He reminded James.

"Just come to the piano competition. She'll be there and see for yourself."

He ended the call. Hector rolled his eyes. He grabbed his agenda to see that Friday was his sister's piano competition. She'd begged him to come, so he made time for her.

James was one of his business partners, who usually didn't fuck around. But still this phone call put him on edge.

He'll just see on Friday.

/////////////////////////////

Charlotte's POV:

Friday came quickly. My mom had laid out a nice dress for me to wear. I looked great but you could still see some bruising on my neck. I hadn't tried to hide it. Why should I? But my mom was insistent that I put some makeup over it for the competition. She didn't want me to give off the wrong image to the judges.

I just went along because arguing with her was too tiring.

I stood back stage playing with my fingers. I wasn't nervous. I knew my piece by heart and I was confident. It wasn't about winning but just doing something that I really enjoy.

Amelia was one of the first to play. She was a talented player. She had scowled when she spotted me but I just ignored her. After that incident with the twins, they hadn't bothered me again. Though, they did sent me glares earlier.

But my friends were here so I felt safe. My mom had an emergency meeting at work. She worked for a consultant company now. I was surprised that she decided to go to work because she never did. But she enjoyed her job so I was happy for her.

I was finally called up on stage and I sat down behind the beautiful piano. My fingers were warmed up and I softly placed them on the tiles. When I play, something takes over me. I let go of everything and just bare instinct takes control. It's always been like that and I enjoyed that feeling.

It was what sex felt like.

Okay, that was a bad comparison because I'm a virgin.

The tune brought a smile on my lips. Howl's moving castle is such a nostalgic movie. The soundtrack, animation, and story were just superior. To be honest, anything by Studio Ghibil was iconic.

Last week, we had a sleepover at Cecelia's place and watched Ponyo together. I would literally die for Ponyo. She's the most wholesome, little thing ever.

Do you sometimes get that feeling that you just wanna squeeze something so tightly because they're absolutely wholesome that I makes you melt.

I get that a lot. With Ponyo, cute babies, cute animals, sometimes old people, Eunha when she grins at me, Morgan when she scrunches her nose when she eats something bad.

I want to squeeze it all.

When my piece ended, I stood up and bowed to the audience. My friends sat at the front and were roaring with cheers. It made me grin so widely that I feared my cheeks would fall off. I was so happy that I met them.

My eyes went to the Cassano's as I walked off stage. They sat at the front as well. Even during the competition, people were gaping at them with fascination and fear. I had to admit that they were a very good looking family but also psycho.

One of them was looking at me and it sent shivers down my spine for two reasons. Firstly, he was obviously Hector Cassano and that man scared me despite actually knowing him. Secondly, something irked me about his appearance.

Don't get me wrong. He's a very handsome man, way too old for me though, but I could see his appeal. He had lighter shade of brown hair and bright blue eyes. His face was sharp and stone-like but he looked even better than those models from Calvin Klein.

He wore a navy blue three-piece suit that brought out his eyes and wore a large, expensive watch around his wrist. What caught my attention was his golden signet ring with a big C on top.

A family heirloom maybe?

His eyes narrowed only slightly when he caught my eyes. I held my breath as that uneasy feeling crept all over my skin.

I couldn't help but wonder.

Why do we look so much alike?

/////////////////////////////

"Congratulations to Charlotte Maria Jones!"

Did they really have to say my middle name?

I was handed a big trophy which immediately put me in a good mood. I like receiving things. So I accepted it with a big smile. Eunha was jumping up and down in excitement.

Squeeze. I wanna squeeze her cheeks.

Because I was such a good person, I turned to Amelia next to me and wiggled my eyebrows at her in victory.

This bitch sexually assaulted me. All the compassion I had for her went out through the window.

Fuck her.

She scoffed and stormed off like the sore loser she was. The crowd clapped for me and I posed like a true Gen Z for the camera with a piece sign up.

Victory can really corrupt you. Because in the spur of the moment, I turned to the glaring Cassano' twins and flipped them off with a wide smile.

Who was I? The Cheshire Cat?

I didn't really wait for their reactions as I walked down the stage and was embraced by my friends.

"Did you see her face?!" Cecelia laughed loudly.

We all joined her and I felt Daniel put his arm around my shoulder. This boy made me blush more than anything else. We didn't have any classes together, thank god, or my crush would've become worse.

He was in the gifted courses with Amelia. He was not only handsome and kind but also smart.

"I'm paying. Who wants to get ice cream to celebrate Charlotte's victory?!"

We all cheered in excitement and I got giddy when he didn't remove his arm from my shoulder.

Before we could go, we were stopped by someone I'd never thought would bother to even speak to me.

Hector Cassano.

"Charlotte Jones?"

The way he said my name made me shiver. He had no expression on his face which just scared me. People like that were usually psychopaths.

"Yes?"

Fuck, my voice was shaking.

"I would like to apologise on behave of my brothers. They shouldn't have used violence on you. That's not what they were raised to do."

"Liar." Cecelia muttered under her breath.

Thankfully only Daniel and I caught it.

"I see."

I was not going to accept his apology. Not when those twins were still glaring at me.

"Congratulations on winning tonight, as well. I'm sure Amelia wishes the same."

Amelia was snuggled up in the arms of a tall blond. He looked like he was in his mid twenties. He had light blue eyes and a calm face. He was softly comforting his sister.

"I doubt that." I commented.

Daniel squeezed my shoulder in warning. I shouldn't provolone Hector Cassano but his stupid apologies were pissing me off.

"You only won because Mrs Hall likes you!" Amelia accused me.

That was a load of bullshit. Mrs Hall wasn't even part of the judge committee.

"Amelia."

He only had to say her name for her to look down in shame.

"My sister-" I cut him off.

"Your sister touched my boobs and slammed me into a locker. Your brothers pushed me up against a locker and choked me. I really don't care for any of the apologies you give me, because let's be honest, they're not genuine."

The blond man's jaw dropped but there was no change in Hector's face. He only seemed slightly annoyed that I interrupted him.

"Yeah, bestie, you tell him!" Cecelia purred.

Eunha gasped and softly slapped Cecelia, but who could really stop her. That girl had no fears.

"Let's go." Daniel softly nudged me.

I nodded and turned away without saying goodbye. This damn family was getting on my nerves. In this moment I didn't care that I pissed them off. It's what they deserved.

But what I would later learn is that this what kickstarted the whole mess I'd get dragged in. It all started with Hector Cassano getting interested in me.