Loathsome Brothers

Girlfriend

Eleanora's Pov

"I'm here!"

I stare at the text I just sent. The blue ticks confirming that he has seen it. He must be on his way right now.

Last night was a full-on drama. First getting caught by grandpa then him handing me over to Andrei like a prisoner who has to be kept under strict watch.

Then coming back home to thousands of messages from Arius concerned of my wellbeing. And then the conversation that I was dreading.

I had expected Andrei to be pissed off by what I had done. Even though he supported me when it came to Luce, I had suspected him to not like my attraction towards a guy who my whole family allegedly hates.

But he was so understanding of the whole situation. He was patient and rational. He asked me questions that I myself didn't know the answers to.

And when I explained it to him, I realized what I actually felt. That conversation cleared my mind. It forced me to contemplate on the doubts I always pushed aside.

I realized that I do like Arius. And the idea of being his girlfriend, doesn't seem too bad. After all he is the type of guy I always thought I'd like.

I really believed that I only need a physical relationship but maybe I was wrong. I was craving for someone who'd do anything for me and Arius was the best fit.

I was so selfish that I only moved forward with what I thought was best for me. I didn't care that I broke my family's trust or the way I treated Arius knowing that he probably has a small little crush on me.

But after Andrei's support and reassurance, I think I'm ready to not treat this whole arrangement as a form of healing. I need professional help and not what my fucked up and twisted mind desire.

I was sure that my family will never allow me to be anywhere near the Ashfords. And I was sure that I didn't want another guy in my life who'd have any sort of right on me.

That was a huge part of why I never wanted to be Arius' girlfriend. I didn't want him to change. I wanted him to continue treating me the way he always does and never try to exercise control on me. 

I didn't want that care, compassion and compliance to be gone. I wanted him to love me unconditionally.

My phone dinged and I turned it on thinking it would be Arius replying back but it was Gio.

"I'm going to be at a party tonight. Please tell Andrei my friend is sick or something and I can't make it to dinner. I love you"

I frown at the message before a ping of anger seeps in me. Gio has been out alot lately and it's annoying me big time. It's our family rule to be present for dinner, he can't go on breaking it every other day.

What the hell has he been up to? Whenever I ask, he tells me he was with friends but refuse to invite them home rather than going to there place each time.

And everytime he has to ditch our family gathering, I'm the one who has to talk to Andrei about it.

It had become a common occurrence for the rest of my brothers to ask me to present all the absurd ideas and seek permissions from Andrei.

Everyone knows that he's a slightest bit biased when it comes to me so they use it to their advantage and I have to do their dirty works.

I reply back with an "Ok, I'll tell him" and decided to talk to him about his regular disappearances when he's home. I want him to atleast tell me what's up.

The door to the equipment room opens and I turn around. But it's not who I expected. It's Luce. And I don't know why he's here.

He has been trying to talk to me ever since the competition two days ago but I've ignored all his texts and calls. He even tried to talk to me this morning but I purposely asked my brothers to accompany me to my class.