Chapter 16: Who the Hell am I?

N A O M I

I took my favorite black backpack and stormed out of the mansion. As if on cue, five cars arrived. Everyone went out and gave me a confused look.

"Let's go to the headquarters. I'll explain there. Where will I ride?" I asked, moving my gaze on each one of them.

"You can go with me." Ares said and they all went back to their cars. It's like we are grouped by partners.

Ares' car is a Bugattie La Voiture Noire. My dream car. It's just stunningly beautiful that it leaves me breathless.

"Oh, are you falling for my car? Be careful, the owner is much stunning than it is." Ares stated with a smirk. He is wearing a black polo where half of it is tucked in under his black pants. How the hell is he so hot--- what the heck am I saying?! I shaked my head as an attempt to get rid of those awful thoughts.

I scanned the other cars. Kyousuke owns the Sweptail By Rolls Royce. The one beside it is a Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita, owned by Chase. The Lamborghini Veneno Roadster was owned by Elijah. And Apollo owns the Lykan Hypersport.

I got in the passenger seat of Ares' car. The seat is very comfortable and it's really designed for racing. The all-black leather interior makes me fall in love with it more.

"Shall we go now?" Ares asked. I nodded as reply and stared out the window, watching the sunset.

The familiar road greeted us as we passed through the giant gate. Finally out of my cage.

"Ares?" I called to him. I realized that this was the first time we talked since the attack. "Hm?"

"Can you stop the car?" I asked and he did stop and parked the car in front of a restaurant. "Ares, why did you avoid me back then? Is it true that you were blaming yourself? Because if you did, you're an idiot."

"I accept being an idiot if it is coming from you." He said, his gaze meeting mine. His eyes...it's full of worry and guilt.

"I didn't pushed you back then, for you to blame yourself."

He then smiled bitterly. "Exactly. I wish you didn't pushed me. I wish you didn't risk your life. Can you please let me protect you? Let me risk my life for you."

"Why are you doing this?"

He then cupped my face using his right hand. "Isn't it obvious, my queen? You almost died right in my arms. I saw how you suffered and I can't do anything. Can't you see how it killed me? My queen, do not protect me. Please put yourself first before anything else."

I only stared at him, eyebrows knitted. His words are too confusing. Why would he suffer so much just by seeing a person he just met, dying? Here he is again, ruining my already chaotic system.

"Just stay safe, my queen. I'm begging you." His voice cracked a bit on the last words. His eyes teary but the tears won't fall. I only nodded and let my gaze wonder outside the windows. It's getting dark and the moon and stars are now showing. The trees are barely visible now.

Ares started the car and drove it back to school. It usually takes at least two to three hours but it only took us an hour and we are now inside my hideout.

"Can someone cook?" I asked as my gaze travels from each one of them.

"How about you?" Alexa asked and I glared at her. "I'm tired."

"Got hit again?" Alexa asked hesitantly.

"What do you mean?" The boys asked in unison.

"Doesn't matter. Boys will cook then," I stated and the boys looked at the girls for a while, as if communicating with their eyes. After a while of staring contest, the boys finally left to go to the kitchen.

Alexa took something under the table. A first-aid kit.

"I'm really fine." I insisted. They glared at me and I only sighed in disbelief.

They then start tending my scratches and bruises. Luckily, none of them were visible. It took them half an hour to finish tending to my injuries. We waited for another thirty minutes when Chase called us for dinner.

The table was perfectly set and different dishes were in the middle. "Who cooked which?" I asked.

"Ares and Elijah cooked the pesto pasta. Chase and Apollo cooked the chicken. While I cooked the crab soup," Kyousuke stated, pointing at each dish.

"Let's just eat!" Lia and Rhea said, making all of us burst out laughing. After our laughter died down, we savoured our dinner while chatting about random funny things. The whole dining room was filled with voices and laughter. A smile can be seen in each of our faces.

"Who will wash the dishes?" I asked.

"Not us!" The boys quickly retorted.

"The three of us will." Thea said, pointing at Rhea, Lia and herself. The two were reluctant at first but ended up doing it in the end.

We went back to the living room, the girls seating on the sofa while the boys on the floor. The girls took half an hour to finish washing all the dishes.

"Let's start the meeting?" I said standing up and they all nodded in agreement. "What happened while I'm away? Any progress in your investigations?"

"We have no clues regarding the fire accident. Du Ho failed in attempt at stealing your position while you're away. But now that you're back, you will be going against the school body. Also, there is no clue about Adonis' whereabouts." Alexa reported.

"Keep on searching for Adonis but do it as lowkey as possible. Find the activities of anyone involved in the fire. I can handle the re-election with ease. Let's just hope I won't be getting tons of death threats. It's a hassle handling them." Thea took notes of everything we discussed. I sat back on the sofa, beside Alexa.

"Now tell us, why did you leave the mansion immediately?" Apollo asked.

"I confirmed something. It's funny how I already expected it but it still hurts." I forced a laugh.

"What is it that hurts you?" Ares asked, worry written all over his face.

I then smiled at them bitterly. "I'm not my father's daughter. I don't know what my real identity is anymore. Tell me, who the hell am I?" A tear escaped my eye and I quickly wiped it. "And the fact that my existence ruined the happiness of my my so-called, "parents", hurts. It hurts so much that I feel like dying."