Why did his heartbeat feel faster than normal?

He slowly broke the hug, stared right in my eyes, as he promised, "I will bring you delicious food everyday."

I didn't quite believe him but still nodded enthusiastically.

"Rest early. You have a long day planned for tomorrow." Ezra advised, kissing me on the forehead.

Closing the curtains, he switched off the lights and left wishing me good night.

I, too, decided to heed his advice and retired for the night.

... ... ...

The jet lag finally kicked in, leaving me unable to sleep more than a few short hours.

Tired of just lying in the bed doing nothing, I got up deciding to take an early shower.

I still hadn't unpacked my bag. Unpacking would make this whole scenario too real.

My father's funeral would be held later this week. Stephen had informed me they had delayed it for my arrival.

So I didn't want to cross out the probability of them sending me back once the funeral was over. If that were to happen, it would be best for me not to get too attached to this place. Starting with this princess room.

If I were to be honest, everything in this room gave me a headache. Starting from the queen bed placed in the middle, which by the way was unnecessarily large for a single person to sleep.

The walk in closet which was completely vacant, the study table placed beside the french window, I disliked every bit of it. It just didn't feel like home?

Was this truly the old room I used to stay in? I found it hard to believe.

The washroom wasn't that bad. I was happily surprised with the hot shower, instantly making me relaxed.

I didn't even realize I spent two hours sitting in the bathtub. I would have stayed for longer if not my stomach growling in hunger.

As I went to the kitchen, I sensed movement inside.

I was surprised to see Noah there. His clothes were drenched in sweat showing he just came from an intense workout.

"Good morning," I greeted.

Noah ignored me.

I was hungry. But I didn't want to eat without taking permission, what if they become angry? I doubt they would but better safe than sorry.

Just as I was contemplating if they would mind, I heard Noah order, "Bring me an orange."

I looked around to make sure it was me he was talking to.

I picked up an orange and passed it to him.

"Peel it." He was sitting in one of the stools before the kitchen aisle. Occupying the stool beside him, I complied.

Slowly peeling the orange,I passed him a slice, "I'm Aylin."

"I know." Noah took the slice from my hand, his eyes gazing at a magazine.

"You are Noah, right?" I passed him another slice, while eating one myself.

He nodded before taking the orange I held out.

"What are you reading?" I asked seeing how focused he was.

"The Red Bulletin." He put his hand out for another orange slice.

"Its a sports magazine," he explained seeing my confusion.

"You like sports?"

"Hm."

Running out of things to say, I went to bring another orange. The first one was already finished.

I silently peeled the second orange occasionally peeking at Noah's magazine.

Noah broke the silence, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" The raw guilt in his voice had taken me aback.

"For yesterday. For locking you out for hours." It was the first time I got an apology from any of my brothers. But something told me it wasn't just about yesterday.

"Its alright." It wasn't. Not until I knew what he was actually apologizing for. But I would like to believe we had made progress this morning, albeit, a small one but progress nonetheless. I didn't want that to go down the drain for holding grudges.

"I was scared. I shouldn't have done that. Sorry." He repeated, unconvinced by me.

"Scared of what?"

He didn't bless my question with an answer.

... ... ...

"You're up early." Ezra's surprised voice came from the doorway. "Did you eat anything?"

"Yeah, I had a few oranges. I hope you don't mind?" I asked, hesitantly.

Ezra looked at me for a moment, realizing I was being serious, "Of course, no one would mind. Its your home."

"Are you cooking breakfast?" I inquired seeing him gathering ingredients from the cabinets.

"Yes. Wanna help?" He looked up at me, smiling.

His smile immediately melted my heart and I agreed, "I don't know how to cook."

"I'll teach you."

Soon we had finished preparing six servings of breakfast. It was quite fun cooking with Ezra. He didn't scold me if I cracked the eggs too hard or put too much sugar in the juice. He would instead smile at me and show me a way to fix my mistake.

I looked at the clock to see it was 8. Eveline was the first to come down.

"Good morning." She greeted, cheerfully taking a plate and helping herself with omelette and bacon.

Next came Stephen, who was pleasantly surprised to see me cooking.

Noah also walked in. He had taken a shower and changed in the mealtime. Picking up his breakfast, he sat beside Eveline, flicking her forehead.

"Noah!" Eveline cried, irritated.

"Eve!" Noah mocked in a high pitched girly voice.

"Steph, are you seeing this?" Eve complained.

Stephen, who was busy reading the newspaper, didn't even look up, "Noah, don't start in the morning."

"So it's okay if I do it later? Deal, don't go back on your words!" Noah found a silver lining.

"It's obviously not what he meant, idiot." Eveline retorted.

Why did they argue the whole time? It was so noisy. And annoying.

Kai, who seemed to have just woke up, walked in. Taking his breakfast he sat in one of the stools. They seemed used to having breakfast in the kitchen aisle.

After being done with my breakfast, I stood up to wash my plate. Ezra stopped me. He pointed to a machine placed beside the basin. "Just put in the dishwasher."

After I told him I didn't know how to use it, he patiently taught me how to do it.

Before I could go to my room, Stephen asked me to follow him.

He took me to his study.

Again?

Was something wrong? Had I made a mistake.

"No, you didn't make any mistake?" Oh, did I say that out loud?

Pushing the door open, he went behind his desk. Opening one of the drawers he took out a rectangular box covered in wrapping paper. "I prepared a small welcome gift for you."

What?

Really?

"Come on, open it." He urged, exited to see my response.

I carefully unwrapped it, scared of tearing the delicate paper. "Wow-is this a phone?"

"Yeah, I know you weren't allowed personal devices back there. Its your first time using one, yes?" He inquired, already knowing the answer.

"Yes." I couldn't believe it. I had my own new phone!

"I-thanks. Its way more than I deserve." I said, grateful.

"It's the new model in the market. I know you don't care about it but my sister deserves only the best." He boasted.

"I will show you how to use it." He offered. Once I got the hang of it, I started exploring it on my own.

Stephen cleared his throat, "I have some important matters to discuss with you."

I turned off my phone and looked at him.

"As you know, I'm your legal guardian. Which means everything concerning you is my responsibility from now. So, if anything bothers you, no matter how small of a issue you think it is, I want you to immediately find me. Understood?"

Stephen was back to the man I knew him as. Strict, stern and utterly professional.

"Yes. Understood."

"Also, I know your brothers can be quite insensitive sometimes. Most of the time. But I expect you to not disrespect or disobey them regardless of it."

"Lastly, never lie to me. I will find out if you do. Am I clear?" His tone became harsher.

"Clear." My voice trembled slightly at his harsh tone.

Noticing my fear, his eyes softened. "I want the best for you, Aylin."

"If I promise to follow the rules, will you not send me back?" I asked. The rules weren't that hard to begin with.

"Send you back?" He asked, confused.

"To the boarding school. Please don't, I promise to be a good girl."

"I will not send you there. This is your home, where you're supposed to be. I'm so sorry it took me this long to bring you back. But I will not make the same mistake ever again." He responded, his eyes filled with guilt.

I smiled, "It wasn't your fault."

And I had already broken one of the rules, to not lie.