NIRELLE - Chapter 37: Chapter 37

The first movie is cut short by an urgent call. I look at him as he stands up and walks to the far corner of the room to take the call. I try to act as if sitting alone was not crippling me with fear. He comes back a bit later with a sorry expression on his face.
"You can keep watching it; I have to leave for something important," he says, sounding vague, but he does not owe me an explanation on what he does with his time, so I nod, trying to understand. "You can stay here and watch the movie still," he adds, and I shake my head, stumbling to my feet almost immediately.
I know I was acting weird, but there was no way I was going to stay down here alone. Who knows what could happen if I did? I was not willing to take the risk at all. "We can pick up another tome," I say.
I am enjoying the movie, but being down here makes me think that somehow I am going to return to the past and see that all of this was a dream, and I was still stuck in the basement of the Thamore mansion.
"Are you sure? I don't want to rain on your parade."
"Yeah, I am sure I can pick up a book to read."
"Well, okay," he says as he moves to the screen and begins to unplug it. I feel bad that we did not get to watch the movie, but I was happy to be out of there as well. As soon as we are up again, he walks away without a word, and I am left there standing and thinking of what has just happened.
"Lucien is a jerk," I manage to murmur as I watch his back until he is no more. "He is a total big one." I don't know why I have come to this conclusion; I just know it to be true. I know work was urgent, but shouldn't he have had to let's check on me since I was acting strange all the while we were in there?
The rest of the day is a blur as I continue to lounge around and scroll through social media. Occasionally, I see chats from the class group pop up, and from what I gather, they were all attending an event, and it seemed to be a big deal. I remember when I was enrolled in this private school after moving to the mansion, everyone was a bit closed off, but when they saw me with Cory, who happened to be one of the coolest guys in school, they all thought it would be nice to be kind to me, and that was how I began to make friends.
Everyone in my class and the school at the time were privileged children, daughters and sons of businessmen who were too rich to count their fortune and senators who had embezzled just enough of the nation's money to live as lavishly as a man with genuine wealth.
I know that there is no way I would be invited to the event, and even if I were invited, what was I supposed to tell Lucien? I know that he had told me I could go wherever I wanted to go, but I was sure that this place was not on the list of places to freely go. By the time I am down for dinner, Theo is back.
"How was your day?" we blurt at the same time, and a smile claims our face at the realisation.
"I did nothing; I am sure yours is better though," I say, and he shakes his head.
"I will kill to do nothing now. Lucien here is trying to get richer, and so he is killing me with a ton of work." Lucien owned up to showing that he did not like our conversation, but he did not show it, and Theo was not done yet. "I mean, I get it; you are a genius. Why must others suffer for you?" he asked, and I nodded as if I got what he meant.
"When my economics teacher told me that the rich always get richer, I thought it was some kind of myth. After staying around the rich long enough, I'd say they are the greediest people ever; they always want more."
"I agree totally," he nodded like a child who was being asked a series of questions. "If I had never agreed to help your husband, I would be a normal man, probably working a nine-to-five, living in a normal house, and maybe married, but now that I have some kind of wealth and power that commands everything, I want more of it. I want to keep having more," he explains, and I smile. I can relate a bit. Now that I have tasted what freedom looks like, I suddenly want more of it; I want to be totally free.
"I can understand that," I say, and he feels seen. It was nice to have a normal conversation for once. Lucien never spoke to me like I was human, always demanding or telling, never having a conversation. It was not like I always had conversations at the mansion, but somehow I wanted this to be different. For me, I had to act like it was one and chime things in there.
"Can you both understand that this is a table and we are supposed to be eating and not chatting?" His voice was cold, the kind that sends shivers down your spine without even you noticing it. His hand lingered on the glass, knuckles pale, as if holding something back.
"Does it mean we can't chat and eat?" Theo asked, and Lucien shot him a glare.
"Basic table manners," he murmured, and he sounded like a child who was trying to school those around him.
"I understand that, but I don't see anyone talking with their mouth full," Theo responds, and I want to say something, but I am glad that he is the one doing the talking. He grunts in response, and Theo faces me again. "I think I will take a break soon."
"I thought I said..."
"Why are you being such a difficult jerk?" The words fly out of my mouth, and I am shocked, but I try not to show it. I see Lucien turn to me with shock while Theo sits there trying to cover up the proud smile he has on. The clink of my cutlery on the plate was the only sound in the sudden silence. Across the table, Lucien’s eyes narrowed, his grip tightening around the stem of his glass. Theo cleared his throat, trying to clear the air, but the feeling lingered longer than any of us would like.
"A difficult jerk?" He is finally able to compose himself and mutter.
"Yes, you are being very difficult; you don't have conversations with me, and now that Theo wants to have one with me, you are stopping him from doing so."
"You can get a fine without having conversations," he replies, and I can't believe that is his focus.
"Of course I can, but that can only work if I am buried in work all day like you or Theo, but I am doing nothing, and now I might lose my mind," I add, and he blinks rapidly. I can see him taking the information in, but I don't see a reaction. I take off the napkin from my lap and stand up.
"I just lost my appetite, so I'm going to bed," I say and do not wait to hear anything from both of them before I storm away in annoyance.