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Natasha
I was born lucky. Many women have dreamed of being born into a family that wouldn't let them lack anything. It was a special kind of gift. My birth was also a gift. With my parents married for over ten years without a child, my birth was something they rejoiced over.
I inherited my mother's golden hair, and my green eyes were a gift from grandfather. From the moment I was born, I was pampered. Treated like a special being. Nothing wrong with it. I didn't mind at all.
I was loved, and everything my parents made me do was in the best of my interests. Or so they said. For instance, enrolling me to learn ballet was to help me learn how to balance. No matter how much I wasn't interested in it…but I had to do it. With my toes suffering from pirouettes and so on.
Horseback riding was a way for me to be bold and daring, giving me a taste of adventure when I had a phobia of horses. I even fell off once and almost got trampled. I never went horse riding after that.
I was made to learn the piano when I wanted to learn the violin. I was taught how to eat a balanced meal. Even when my cousins told tales of fast food and ice cream, along with junk food that made my mouth water from just imagining it.
The kind of school I went to…and the kind of clubs I was to join…everything had been offered to me on a gold platter. I didn't hate it. Like my parents had mentioned, it made me into a woman who had built herself according to a standard that many people envied. But I still felt empty. I wasn't able to do what I wanted, and it seemed like I was the only one who was bothered about it.
"You should be grateful that you have parents like that," Lawrence said.
I was only fifteen then. We had grown up together. It was my parents' idea of helping me form alliances with people of the same social standing. Lawrence Williams, who was two years older than me, had a big-brother kind of role in my life. He was a good friend. But maybe because he was handpicked by my parents to be my playmate, he had the same mindset.
"Aren't your parents like mine as well?" I asked.
"And do you ever see me complain?" he retorted as he flipped the pages of the book he held.
He visited me, and we spent time together in the family study. Under the watchful gaze of my head maid, of course. My chastity was no joke to my parents.
"It's just that, isn't there anything you want to do? Something you really desire?" I asked as I flipped through the pages, completely focused on him.
He paused his reading and lifted his eyes, settling them on me for a few seconds; and in a way, it made me somewhat comfortable.
He looked away and continued his reading. "I always have what I desire. It's only a matter of time."
An odd one, that Lawrence. But he was the closest thing to a friend I had had from my childhood all the way through high school. When I was done with high school, I wanted to study anything related to the arts or social sciences, but my parents decided that I must study medicine.
It was the only time I was able to bargain with them. They'd let me study whatever I wanted as long as it was medicine. I took my time and researched the field that would best suit me. Because of my skin and how much my parents had invested in my beauty, I picked up an interest in beautification. Dermatology was the only course that seemed to align with what I enjoyed doing.
I enjoyed learning the course but, Lawrence had moved on to study financial accounting. I was left on my own in medical college. With none of my cousins around, and no one my parents had handpicked for me to associate with, I was left on my own.
I didn't know how to associate with the common folk. My parents had always told me that people who were in the lower classes would only be friends with me because of my wealth; it shamed me to say that I actually believed them. And the wealthy ones were too arrogant for my liking. So, I decided to go at it solo, only partnering with people when it came to projects and assignments.
Even without my parents, my life was still being dictated for me. It was exhausting, and depressing. Naturally, people tended to avoid me because they thought it was what I wanted. The rumors around were that I was a stuck up rich girl who thought the rest of them weren’t worth her time. Sigh.
Then I met him. I was in the garden, a little outside rest area the college had installed for us to relax. While I read the notes I had compiled for the day, I noticed someone walking around like he was lost. It was distracting so I put my book down and focused on him.
He walked back and forth, before eventually giving up and taking a seat next to me without asking. He let out a sigh and ran his fingers through his messy hair. For some odd reason, it made me feel all tingly on the inside. I used to have crushes, so I understood what was going on with me. I just stared at him, but he seemed completely oblivious to the human being sitting next to him. He finally turned to look at me. I looked away immediately completely burying my face in my book.
Why did you do that?
The smell of the pages told me that the book was too close to my face. I could still feel his gaze, specifically on my hair.
"Emilia?" he called gently.
"Huh?" I pulled away from the book and turned to look at him.
His gaze seemed furious at first, but they softened as he noticed my eyes, "My mistake. I apologize."
"Oh, it's okay," I said.
He smiled and looked at the sky, almost like he was questioning life. He seemed familiar.
"What's your name?" he asked without looking at me.
