Twisting Destiny

Chapter 54

"Brother, you are going to be late. You should go now." Rhianne said to divert Francis's attention.

Francis stares at Rhianne's smiling face and he instantly knows what she is trying to say to him.

'Go now and stop harassing Keith.'

"Tch. You are being fooled, my dear sister." Francis muttered before going to the kitchen so he can say goodbye to their mother.

In Francis's perspective, Keith is still not yet the right person for his sister. Rhianne is the precious princess of their family. Their parents including him raised her with all the love, support, and care they can possibly give to her. So he cannot just give his sister to a brat who still knows nothing about the real world.

Francis is aware that he is becoming a bit biased right now. He should not judge that brat too much. Just like Rhianne, Keith is still a student who is readying himself to inherit their family business. Calvin once told him that Keith will handle their family business while he will dedicate himself to the field of medicine.

Still, he is not yet ready to see his baby sister to become someone else's girlfriend. Francis is thinking that he is still not yet giving her the best treatment that a brother can give to his sibling. Even their father is thinking the same thing as him. It is only their mother who keeps on nagging them to let Rhianne decide whether she will accept Keith it not.

When Francis left them for a while, Rhianne looks at Candice to check on her.

"Candice, did you finish your jewelry already?" Rhianne asked to divert her attention too.

"Yes! I made a matching keychain for us!" Candice happily said while looking at Rhianne. Her mood quickly changed as if she was not bickering with Keith a while ago.

"Oh! I saw you making it earlier. The yellow one with a daisy on it is so cute!" Rhianne said. When she turned her head to look at Keith, her eyes widened when she realized something. "Oh wait! I still need to finish what I am doing earlier."

"Rhianne, I will go now." Francis said as he walks to the door.

"Okay. Take care, brother! Eyes on the road. And wear your seatbelt while driving."

"Yeah, yeah. I know what to do." Francis helplessly said.

His sister is such a caring person. That is one of the reasons why he does not want her to be snatched so early from their nest. Francis politely says goodbye to Candice before looking at Keith. He only gave him a squinted look before leaving their house.

"..."

"Wait for me here. I only need to attach the locks on it and my project will be finished."

"Huh? I thought you will—"

"Mr. Protagonist, please join Candice here for a while." Rhianne said before running upstairs.

"..."

"..."

When they cannot see Rhianne anymore, both Candice and Keith let out a sigh. After moving slightly to make himself more comfortable, Keith put the pillow that Rhianne threw earlier on the space between him and Candice. Candice saw Keith's action but she did not say any comment about it.

"You." 

"I have a name. And a really good one. Even Rhianne likes it too." Keith said. "You can call me by my name and no one will charge you for that."

"Who cares about your name?" Candice said with a frown. "Nevermind about it. I have a question for you."

"...What is it?"

"Do you like her?" Candice asked.

"I love her." Keith answered without any hesitation.

Candice's brows furrowed a bit but she did not say anything.

"I have a little issue with your question, but I still gave you the right answer." Keith said without looking at her.

"Psh."

Candice did not ask any more questions for a while. She also moved a bit to make herself comfortable. While she is staring at the staircase, Candice suddenly falls into her own thoughts.

She is not blind. Candice can see the way Keith looks at Rhianne. It is not just a simple affection for a crush or to the person you admire. It is a similar look when his father looks at his mother—A look that is full of love and respect.

Candice can admit that she is not being fair with her treatment of Keith. Candice does not have any animosity towards him. She is just annoyed with his overprotective stance over Rhianne. Why does he need to be that wary of her? She knows that Keith is courting Rhianne, but why he is protecting her that much? But while spending more time with Rhianne, she suddenly got a clue to answer her question.

How can she say it?

Rhianne is so...oblivious.

Oblivious to the point that she can attract every boy with her pretty looks in their school, unaware that people are always staring at her, and Rhianne is so ignorant that she has an adorable personality which made people want to dote on her so much. When Candice tried to point it out to Rhianne before, she only gave her a weird look as if she was talking nonsense. She also heard her mumbling some words like 'They are looking at the original female lead, not me.' sometimes when they were together. To avoid making Rhianne flustered, Candice did not ask the meaning of those words.

"Hey."

"What?"

"How long have you known each other?" Candice asked in pure curiosity.

"We have already known each other since we were eight."

"And you two are inseparable?"

"Sort of?"

"Do you hate it when Rhianne meets new friends or people?"

"No. But why are you—"

"Then you do not like it when Rhianne ignores you?"

"Well... Sometimes?"

"Are you afraid that Rhianne will forget or leave you?"

"No. I have enough trust with Rhianne that she will not do it."

"Then why are you so wary of me?" Candice finally asked.

"Huh?"

Keith cannot help but look at Candice. She is giving him an expression that she needs to get her answers now. Sighing, Keith returned to his original position before looking at his wristwatch. It is still early for the dinner date he reserved for tonight. And it seems like Rhianne will not go downstairs any moment.

"I am not wary of you, okay?" Keith started to answer her question. "Well, maybe a little bit. To be honest with you, I am just worried that you will use Rhianne's kindness for your own advantage."

"...Ah?"

Now it was Candice's turn to be surprised.

"You already know her family background, right?" Keith asked. "The Cartel family is famous in the business industry because of their numerous companies and branches in different cities."

"Yeah? What about it?"

"Well, you see. Rhianne can attract people not only because of her looks and personality but also because of her family background and status."

"...Oh."

"I am just afraid that Rhianne will befriend someone again who is just after her status and money. Knowing Rhianne, she will either question herself if she did something wrong or if she did something to hurt the other person. She is too soft and a crybaby, you know?"

"Again? What do you mean by that?" Candice asked.

Keith let out a sigh again. It actually happened once when they were in high school.