The Unwanted Destiny

CHAPTER: XVIII

Cara's POV

"So... you're telling me that... YOU GOT SUSPENDED?!" Lynn loudly gasped with a bewildered yet amused look on her face. "Finally! Welcome to Earth! Cara! You're at last a human!" She exclaimed as she scanned through my suspension letter. I always knew that she was slightly insane but now I am fully convinced that she is insane to another level. Like beyond repair. "Are you kidding me? I GOT SUSPENDED LYNN! DO YOU HEAR ME? WHAT AM I GOING TO TELL HER HIGHNESS?!" I shook her while squeezing her shoulders. Her eyes widen. Her palms clasped against my cheeks. She looked at me with a simple smile on her face. "You silly woman. Just ace your exams and you'll graduate. Don't overthink it." she said.

"Yeah, sure." I sarcastically replied as I removed my hands from her shoulder blades.

"Just think about it. You are just suspended, not expelled! So be grateful! and all you need to do is, make sure that you both pass the finals. There is nothing else you can do, except poisoning that jerk and crying at his funeral."

"No thank you! I don't want to be charged for murder as well."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure no one finds out. Trust me." She joked seriously. She was joking about the poison right?

"Fine. I'll try to come up with a better idea." She voiced again. I leaned against my chair as my thought bubble began to expand. WHAT AM I GOING TO TELL HER HIGHNESS? WHAT DO I DO? EVERYONES' GOING TO BE SO DISAPPOINTED! And the last thing I had to do was commit a crime! I WANT TO KILL THAT BASTARD BUT I CAN'T AFFORD TO END UP IN JAIL! Arghhhhhh!

Soon, Lynn's voice overlapped my inner voice, "By the way, how well does he do in academics?" She raised an eyebrow. "I don't know, but that idiot doesn't look studious though." I answered as I pondered.

"Then, there is no other choice. Just make sure that he passes the exams too."

"You mean help him cheat?! Are you crazy? If they find out, I'll be screwed!"

"What the heck Cara! Think straight! I'm not telling you to help him cheat, just make sure that he won't fail!"

"But...How?..." But before Lynn could answer my question, one of the staff whispered into her ear.

Her expression turned sour. "What! Cara, give me a minute. I need to check on something." She immediately stood up and began to pace as the staff led the way.

I shouldn't bother Lynn. She already has enough problems to deal with. If it wasn't for me, I would've graduated last year along with her. It's my problem, I have to deal with it.

'I'm heading home. I'll talk to you later.' I texted Lynn.

Before I step into the house, I need to go in with a proper plan. What do I tell them? I have no clue. Wait. Let me just Google it.

'How do you tell your parents you got suspended?'

Search results...

1. Just tell them. ...

2. You can't always protect other people from having negative feelings, or prevent yourself from disappointing people. ...

3. If you feel some justification for your actions that led to the suspension, then tell your side of the story.

So I should just tell them? Or not? A fifteen-minute drive did nothing but confuse me even more. I guess I should just tell them. What's the worst that could happen? So...Well... Here goes nothing. I pushed open the enormous front door. The sound of laughter traveled to my ears, inviting my feet toward the direction from which they came from. It led me to the living room. It was crowded. It usually doesn't look full even if my whole family was there. But today was different. Today, I see new faces. I scanned the room to find three new faces plus one familiar face sitting around the antique marble-top coffee table, along with most of our family members. I wonder who that is. Moreover, I couldn't find, Merk, Noah, Neil or Aaron there. I'm screwed now.

"Oh, there she is!" Her Highness walked towards me. She carefully placed her palm on my back and escorted me gently towards the crowd. As I got closer, my brain worked harder. Finally, I recognize that face.

"Damian?" I accidentally voiced out in confusion. How come he is here?

"I am so glad you remember me, Cara." He stood up and greeted me. He slowly sat on the sofa, while her highness shouldered me to sit beside him. So I had no choice but to follow her command. The other three unknown faces introduced themselves as Damian's mother, grandmother, and his sister. I didn't know he had a sibling. At least, he didn't look like it. "Though Cara has an awful habit of forgetting faces, she seems to remember Damian. This proves that there is something special." Aunt Rui Wei chuckled while she eyed my mother, and the rest of the adults joined her, except Damian and I, of course. He looked down at the carpeted floor as his head pointed towards the ground and his fingers intertwined with each other. Her Highness noticed that.

"Oh, the weather is beautiful today, is it not? So why don't you both go on a stroll in the garden and admire the scenery while we, the boring adults continue our boring conversation. I can assure you that you will fall in love... with it, Damian." Her highness induced us, subtly. Damian's eyes questioned me, my eyes pleaded with Her Highness and Her Highness's commands. "Go on Cara, accompany him to get some fresh air." That's it. It has been decided. No point in begging her now. All I can do is to accompany him to the garden, BUT I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE WITH THIS MAN!

A few minutes of endless silence passed as both of us took steps along the stoned pathway of the garden. The evening sun disappeared slowly, replaced by the moon and its stars. The lamp posts in the garden began to emit light, slowly highlighting the sudden change in the atmosphere. Only the sound of our footsteps was heard. Maybe it was because I was too cautious about doing anything that could grab his attention, including my inhales and exhales. I turned around once to make sure that he was still following me. The lounge coat that he was wearing inside was hanging over his arm while he walked about two steps behind me. I would believe if someone told me that Her Highness has already made a deal with the night, to not disturb us in return for its beauty, because it was quiet. It was awfully quiet and waves of chill air pecked my cheeks every once in a while. My feet began to complain. My shoulders began to freeze. I should've brought my coat. Regret fills in. Unexpectedly, something warm embraced me. The suit coat that was idling over his arm a few seconds ago was on my shoulders. Before I could decline his help, he sat down on one of the white desert sand benches in the garden and patted the space next to him, indicating me to accompany him. I had no choice but to abide. My body begged for a rest as well. So, I sat on the very corner of the bench to avoid any type of contact.

"I thought you let us be friends." He broke the silence with a disappointed look on his face.

To Be Continued...