Aileen
"Lia, tell her," James, the principal suggested, "I think we can trust Aileen. She's David's daughter after all."
Rosalia nodded lightly, "Alright, I'll tell her. Listen very closely."
She begins to tell her story, their story.
"James and my family don't have any friendly connection. The first time we met it was during a party. My parents were busy talking so I snuck out and roamed around the place and bumped into James, standing in a corner by himself, looking outside the night view on his own."
"I don't know why, but he looked so cool back then that I walked up to him on my own without thinking. Walking up to him, I asked him his name and age. When he spoke with me, I already fell for him. The 8-year-old me already fell for the man who was already old enough to be an adult."
"I know it sounds funny. But, that was how I was back then. I always looked at things which were way beyond my reach."
She met him at such a young age and fell for him. That sounds like my one-sided crush on Dave when I was little.
"I know he considered me just a child, but I kept talking to him anyway. But soon, our parents saw us and my parents dragged me away from him yelling at him. I was confused as to why they did that. When I went home and asked them about it, they just told me to stay away from him."
"When I began to understand things, I found out our families are two rival companies that have been competing against each other for many years. Actually, my parents are a bit stubborn if you ask me."
"So? Did you see him again?" I asked.
She nodded glancing in the principal's direction, "Yes, two months later again when I was out with my family. He was with his friends this time so I didn't dare to approach him. But, he did look in my direction. After that, I bumped into him for countless times and we made subtle glances at each other."
"Yeah, those were some taunting days," Principal chuckled, endearingly staring at her. "I was feeling weird having feelings for a girl old enough to be my sister. But, as I grew older I stopped seeing her as a child only."
Suddenly, I recalled what Dave had said to me one time ago. He also had feelings towards me, but as I was young, he kept aside his feelings.
"She charged at me directly with her feelings and words which made me grow a soft spot for her, and eventually we fell in love despite our family's bad blood," he asserts, "We used to meet frequently without letting our family find out about it. And like that, we started dating officially. After her high school was over, she enrolled in my college as we had planned. And things went on pretty well but a week later, her parents found out about me and her and they got upset."
What?
"My mom was yelling at me and my dad told me to leave the college right away. I insisted that I'm not going there to see him and after a few terms and conditions later, I finally managed to attend college like normal people," Rosalia added, clenching onto the railings tightly.
"Terms and conditions? What were they?" I asked.
She pressed her lips together and her eyes narrowed, "My parents have a good connection. Some of their friend's kids are also attending this college. They told them to keep an eye on me, giving reports about all of my activity. That's why, I was banned from seeing or interacting with him. If they find out about us, my mom has threatened me that she's going to marry me off against my will."
"What? This is ridiculous! What has he done to deserve this treatment?" I yelled, fisting my hands. "Rival family or not, why do the children have to suffer because of the adult's choices? This is your life, your will, Why do you have to listen to them? This isn't right at all."
"And yet, there's no choice for me other than to listen to them. Cause I'm dependent on them," she sighed.
"But, what about the principal? Your family is against her as well?"
He nodded dejectedly, "It's not that different. And things are difficult for me as well. I don't have that good relationship with my parents either."
"What?"
I can't help but get angry hearing all this. How can their families get in the way of their love?
"In order to shift their attention from him, I decided to use Skylar and made him my boyfriend. Our relationship was so overhyped everyone believed we were dating for real. But we eventually broke up," She said, leaning against the railings.
"Did you tell him beforehand to play along with you?" I asked a bit hesitantly.
"Yeah. He was a good boyfriend for some time. But, I got bored of the fake relationship cause the only one I loved was James only. I think Skylar was hurt by this. Whenever I used to fake my relationship with another boy he would get angry."
Is that the reason when I first joined college Skylar told me to stay away from Rosalia and Rosalia told me to stay away from him?
"But, you mentioned Skylar and you two are cousins," I turned to the principal, "Then, why do her parents allow her to date Skylar when they have a problem with you when you are from the same family? I don't understand."
His eyes lowered down at his hands, "That's because I'm the most hated in the family. My mom isn't my real mom. She had an affair with my father because he was wealthy, and eventually ran away after giving birth to me. My stepmom and dad's family bullied me a lot for it. Meanwhile, Skylar's mom is a noblewoman from a rich family. It was an arranged marriage and both of them are very successful in their career."
"So, if you compare me and my background to him, then clearly he's the better one suited for her. That's why they made an exception to him when she started dating him."
This much indifference, just because of their parent's influence?
"How come you two even accepted this in the first place?" I retorted.
"As I said, we had no choice," Rosalia replied, walking over to the principal's side. She rested her head against his shoulder. "Skylar played his part well, but I hated sneaking around all the time. James and I used to fight so often because of this. I even tried to hang out with other boys to make him jealous which he didn't like at all, did you?"
"No, I certainly did not," he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "I hated your antiques to make me angry."
"We even fought a few days ago, and then Skylar interrupted us and took me away from him it was on the day of the match," She replied looking at me, "I remember you called back then. I made an excuse to hang up on you."
Uh…. I surely remember that day because of how lovey-dovey you two were trying to be. That was hot.
"Even if that was an act, I did not like him kissing you," the principal grunted, looking a bit upset. "But, he did give me some advice to reflect on my actions. That I'm thankful to him for."
"I'm sorry about it, but you took your revenge yesterday when you came to get me, didn't you?" she joked.
"Hm…maybe. I was happy to see his sad face. But, you left without telling me. At least Skylar called me to get my girl. I saved you tons of scolding from your parents. Be thankful a bit."
"I'm thankful always," she smiled, snuggling close to him.
They are so cute to look at. So, all this while Skylar helped her keep their relationship secret and they had been playing their part in it too.
And I was thinking, Skylar and he were fighting for one woman. My imagination sure is wild! I almost thought she was playing with both of their feelings while keeping her hands clean.
"This was our answer to all of your questions. What else do you need to know about us?" The principal asked, looking at me.
"Uh…. I…. I feel really bad to hear what you are going through just because of your mutual feelings towards each other. It's bad to see how children have to suffer because of their families' circumstances," I replied. "They should let you two be together already! Why do you have to hide around–"
Who am I to even say this? I also have to sneak around, keeping our relationship a secret from the world.
Is that why I find their story relatable? What would I be doing if I were in their situation? Hide around like them? Or face the problem at hand?
Do I have the courage to do that?
"You are really kind, Aileen," Rosalia remarks, drawing our attention, "You resonate with others' feelings, you sympathize with them. That's not something all people do. Because everyone is busy with their affairs, they don't have time to worry about others so deeply, do they?"
"Uh…. that's…. I don't think I'm exactly like that…. I think it's normal to do it, that's all," I replied, trying to force a smile.
"Now that I think about it, you remind me of Dave when he was around your age. Both of you are so similar even though you aren't related," Principal comments, smiling. "It's mysterious, isn't it?"
"Are we….. really similar? I feel like I lack everything that he has, compassion, courage to say what's on your mind, knowing when to take action, confidence, he's way cooler than I am."
"You shouldn't underestimate yourself like that," Rosalia said, stepping forward.