What are Friends? (6) - Helena's POV

I have the cutest younger sister. Her name is Miele, the heiress to the Nicole family. Holding her small hand, I watched her giggle inside her cradle. Although I didn't wish for a younger sibling, it was hard not to like her. Visiting my parent's house whenever I could afford to take a break from school, I always went to her room. Since she was still young, she wasn't engaged to anyone yet. She brightly smiled at me, making you want to protect her.

Going through the pictures taken by our parents of her, my heart was filled with warmth. It was different than taking care of my lazy partner. He was so unmotivated whenever we were together. I had to pinch his arm every morning to wake him to get ready for our classes. Allan would glare at me, feeling annoyed while mumbling some complaints. It was tiring to pack everything he would need for class while remembering to go over all the tiny details whenever we had to attend an event together.

I also had to listen to my friend's complaints everyday inside the café. She didn't know that I envied her sometimes. Her partner was breathtakingly gorgeous, from his elegantly carved features to his memorising eyes that drew you in. Glimmering silver locks that were stunning in the sunlight, perfect proportions that made his clothes look more expensive. He came from the Roselia family, one of the main families that led our fraction.

Luke had perfect manners and etiquette, immediately attracting attention from his aura. But he walked by everyone like they didn't exist as he only talked to his partner and cousin in the same class. He would only politely answer Allan's questions when he tried to join their conversation. Once Luke joined our class in kindergarten, Alex almost abandoned Allan. From then on, Allan switched to hang out with his cousins in other grades.

Whenever I visited Rika's dorm room, I would admire all the things in her closet. The latest clothes and accessories were seen, some pieces I always wanted to wear. But she took them all for granted, treating them as if they were nothing. Noticing that Shelly was feeling the same as me, I kept silent. Even all the expensive skincare brands were stacked on her cabinet beside her bed. My mother's eyes would brighten whenever my father bought some skincare products on special anniversaries for her.

"Luke was too much," I pretended to agree with my friend.

Most times, I didn't agree with my friend. Luke was just taking care of her the same way I was taking care of Allan. But I realized my thoughts were wrong during elementary school when we went on some field trips together. Following her around with Luke who dragged her to the most exclusive restaurants, I had to spend all my monthly allowance. Luke only wanted Rika to touch the most exquisite things, not allowing her to go near where anyone could enter.

He tried to control what Rika was exposed to in the first district, spending a great amount of money in the process. I knew this was how he normally spent his days, the Roselia family being one of the wealthiest families with all their businesses, land and property they owned in all the districts. Even though my family was within the top ten ranking, the gap in wealth was extremely big. I didn't understand why Rika didn't like being treated like a princess.

Luke was like a prince in real life. He was better than his cousin who appeared equally as stunning with the same background. Alex was extremely sensitive, a little scary from the way he treated his partner. When I was partnered with Luke in the first year of middle school, I never felt so lucky to get all this extra care from such a beautiful person. He greeted me every morning with a bright smile, trying to make me as comfortable as possible.

Attending fraction meetings with them, everything revolved around Rika. All that Luke cared about was how we would help him cover for Rika. His older siblings and cousins were the same, supporting Luke. Whenever Rika caused trouble, the rest of us would exhaust ourselves in cleaning up her mess. However, if any one of us, including Shelly made the same mistake, they would be mercilessly kicked out of the fraction.

Being Rika's friend was tiring, another burden to shoulder since I wanted a good relationship with the Roselia family. With all her quirky ideas, she was more troublesome than Allan. I didn't like taking care of her, pretending to be a saint all the time. Meanwhile, I didn't mind being with Shelly, finding us to be kindred spirits. I sighed inside my head, wishing that she listened more to Luke, who wanted the best for her.

Her risky adventures of trying to hide things from Luke increased ever since we entered middle school. Even the small apartment that was surprisingly very cheap was a bit over the line. When my family began to decline around my second year of middle school, it was harder to be around Rika. While she was complaining about how she was forced to go shopping with Luke at a luxurious store, my parents were struggling to make ends meet, selling more of our companies.

I couldn't help but agree with Alex when he muttered that she grew up spoiled under Luke.