Childhood Stories with the Doll

"Thanks," Evan said to the food delivery man as he gave him a hefty tip.

The food delivery man, named Mike (at least that was the name stated in the food delivery application), made an affirming nod and left.

Even though he tended to be quite stingy, Evan had a basic understanding of how hard it is to work in the customer service industry, so as much as possible, he usually gave a great deal of tips to them.

Evan sighed before closing and locking the door, glancing at the white circular wall clock to check the time. 

It was already past 1 a.m.

Where did the 'fast' in the fast food chain go? 

But then again, the traffic was probably bad in Berlin, so it couldn't be helped that the food took quite a while to arrive.

After placing the food delivery in the refrigerator so it wouldn't get spoiled, Evan headed to his room. 

Much to his surprise—or perhaps he shouldn't—Eternity was sitting on the edge of his bed with a spaced-out look on her face. She had probably been waiting for quite some time already.

"Eternity," Evan said her name gently, his standard tone whenever he was talking to her. "What are you doing here?"

This snapped her out of her reverie. She turned her head toward him and smiled lazily.

"I'm waiting for you," she replied.

"Obviously," he said without a hint of sarcasm as he walked to her and sat down beside her. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I wanted to spend more time with you tonight." She breathed lovingly. "Since you know."

Eternity's cheeks became flustered.

"This is the first time you sucked my dick," Evan supplied for her.

She bobbed her head.

"Did I do well?" She asked in a weak, shy voice.

"Oh, you're just fishing for praise, I see." Evan looked amused.

"No!" She pouted. "I genuinely want feedback—why are you laughing?"

Evan removed his hands from his lips, forcing the curves on the ends of his lips to straighten down. "I just find it amusing that you often use programming terms when you talk. You must really be more similar to a robot than a sex doll."

Eternity didn't look amused.

"But to answer your question," Evan said, running his hands on the strands of Eternity's long red hair. "You were amazing."

Eternity looked down, smiling feebly with hues of red painted on her cheeks. "I'm glad."

Evan ruffled her hair, causing messy strands of red everywhere. She glared at him with her moss-green eyes, but it had a more charming than intimidating effect on Evan.

"You know," Eternity fixed her hair back into place, an annoyed look still plastered on her face. "I noticed that you and Freiheit are the polar opposite for a pair of brothers. You don't even look anything alike."

Evan snorted. "Because we're not blood-related."

"Oh?" Her moss-green eyes widened.

Evan nodded. "I think I've mentioned before that I was adopted."

"Ah, yes, you did," Eternity affirmed. "Let me refresh my memory. You mentioned this person named 'Mister Royall' and how he adopted you when your father, I assume your biological one, had an accident at his workplace, the same one Mister Royall owns."

Evan nodded.

"But I don't understand. How does one become adopted if your parent is still alive?"

"I don't know the specifics myself." He shrugged. "I just know that Mister Royall legally adopted me, and that one day, I was living in their mansion with an annoying brother who welcomed me with open arms."

"I assume that annoying brother is Freiheit?"

Evan nodded once more. "Though if you're curious, I do have a biological sibling. Her name is Cynthia. Mister Royall also adopted her along with me."

"Where is she now?"

"In the United States, studying medicine, Cynthia decided to become a doctor specializing in rehabilitation medicine after what happened to Dad."

"What happened to your father?"

"He became unable to walk after the accident," Evan explained. "Mister Royall took accountability for an accident that wasn't even his fault, and he's been paying for Dad's expenses, from food to medical bills, all by himself." 

Evan paused, thinking. "That's an odd choice of wording. It's not like Mister Royall can't afford to pay for it. But anyway, you get my point."

It was Eternity's turn to nod. "Can you tell me more about your family?"

"Adopted or biological?"

"Both."

Evan chuckled. "I'll start with my biological one, then."

Eternity nodded again.

"My father was a janitor at Mister Royall's company. His pay wasn't exactly big, as you can guess from his job, but we were happy. We were happy but poor. 

"But that time, I didn't give it much thought that everyone around me was wearing branded new clothes and playing with the latest gadgets while I was still wearing the same t-shirt I had three years ago that was previously oversized but became too small for me at the age of eight."

Evan's expression darkened. 

"Speaking of eight, it was at that age that Dad suffered an accident, and the Royall family adopted me. I met Freiheit, whom I thought would hate me since he was a posh only child, while Cynthia and I were poor siblings with tattered clothes."

Evan's face turned gleeful as he recalled his fond memories with his adopted brother.

"Much to my surprise, he took a liking to me almost immediately. He liked Cynthia a little too much that if they met in different circumstances, he would've hit on her when we were older. But then again, he hits on every girl he meets, so Cynthia isn't exactly special."

Evan shivered at the thought of Freiheit flirting with his biological sister. Eternity tilted her head like a confused puppy, but Evan shook his head dismissively and continued. 

"I found out later that Freiheit was like that towards us because he wanted to pursue a career in the arts."

"Which is he pursuing now?" Eternity asked. 

"Yes, exactly." Evan nodded affirmingly. "In other words, he wanted Cynthia or me to take his place as the Royal Blue heir. He was merely using me since it can't be helped since this is an eat-or-be-eaten world."

"Wait," Eternity gasped. "You're the heir to a billion-dollar company?!" 

"I'm actually the CEO," he clarified, blinking blankly at her. "I haven't told you this."

"You told me just now." Eternity pouted.

Evan shrugged.

"Since you mentioned this, don't you think you were also using him?" Eternity pointed out. "You are living the life you are living now because he decided to relinquish his heirship."

"That's true," Evan chuckled, seeing the irony of the situation. "It was cruel of me to say that when I was exactly doing the same."

Eternity became quiet and stared blankly at her hands, her usual tendency when thinking of something, and she didn't know how to word it correctly.

"What is it, Eternity?" Evan asked, noticing his doll's changed demeanor. 

Eternity looked at him with surprised eyes. 

"I know you want to say something." Evan smiled gently at her. 

A smile that was only reserved for her.

She gulped and looked like she was gathering the courage to say what she wanted.

"Come on." He knitted his eyebrows together. "I won't get mad."

Eternity hesitated still but ended up saying it anyway.

"You didn't mention your mother."

Ice-blue eyes dilated, and his breathing suddenly hitched.

Seeing Evan's suddenly tense demeanor, Eternity already had a clue for the reason for one of his main traits, but she was afraid of voicing it out.

Evan's hatred for women started with his mother.