HER OWN DOMAIN (LEIRA)

Leira never dreamt of meeting a prince. She, in fact, wanted to be a prince herself.

'If I'm only a man, I would surely know how to love a girl, the way she was supposed to be loved. Take value in her, like a precious stone that you would never want to lose. If I'm only a man, I will take care of her in a most meticulous way. Because she was like a lizard egg, who's in just one wrong touch can be easily broken,' she thought, thinking about her mantra again.

She was staring towards her mom and dad, presently, but her consciousness was somewhere away from them. So then she decided to listen to them at least, even though she doesn't know it still has a choice to go against what her parents wanted. But she needs to be aware, what will be coming to her life, and maybe, just maybe, she can find a way to go against it.

"I will let you have your beauty rest now. However, after lunch, you will go with me to the salon." Her mom glimpsed over her hands and dirty boots, and her expression changed into agape after seeing the dirt stocked in her nails and the muddy timberland boots. Even her cotton shirt and tattered jeans pants are stained with dirt. Her mom was maybe slightly sleepy when she arrived, and she didn't notice her look immediately. "Wait, what kind of party came from?" Her mom continued.

"Just having a bonfire with some friends near the riverbank," She replied while picking up her denim jacket and wearing the earpiece before she walked towards her room. The earpiece was actually not connected to her phone or any driver, which simply means that it was muted. She just wore it on purpose, to avoid listening more to what her parents wanted to say.

"Make sure to join us for lunch so we could go straight to the salon," her mom reminded her again, but this time she didn't respond to anything and pretended that she didn't hear it.

That's how the earpiece works. A gadget that gives you the right to ignore someone.

She flopped down on her bed, as heavy as a crashing malfunctioned lift of a hundred-story building. Good thing that her mattress was soft, and she only bounced from it. Her room was as messy as herself. Her black bed sheets got specks of gray because of dust and smelled like sweat since she's not fond of using the air conditioner nor opening her windows, which she always covered with black curtains.

The dusty floors are filled with dirty clothes that never got into the hamper every time she formed it into a ball and attempted to shoot it. They got many house helpers that could easily clean her room if she only allowed people inside.

However, she doesn't want anyone to step in it, even her parents. Because for her, it is the only domain she had. The only place that she can freely be herself, if she were not only forced to go to the University, she would rather stay there twenty-four, seven, and seven days a week and play all the games she wants ~ her only escape.

Yet, things are different these past days. She left her domain and even hasn't played games for days. She felt excited to go to the University, and even her classes are mostly scheduled during night time. But, she still left the house early and just stayed inside the campus, waiting for Dinnese to arrive.

Without even bothering to change her clothes or even take off her boots, she just laid on her bed and immediately took her phone from her pocket and dial Dennise's number.

[Calling Dennise]

Leira, smiled watching over the excitement as her phone blinked with those words on her screen.

However…

Toot… Toot…

One last spark and everything in her cell phone screen turned dark.

"Fuck…" she grumbled. With it, her phone bounced on her bed after she threw it.

She was gripping to call Dennise and hear her voice aside from wanting to make sure that she came home safely. Suppose Dennise didn't only insist on riding a taxi home. She truly hankered to know where's Dennise's home is.

Not a second wasted, she took her charger and plugged her cellphone before she flopped down on her bed again and lost consciousness.

*****

Knock...knock...Knock

"Miss Leira! Miss Leira! Are you awake?" The hesitant house helper's voice peeped into Leira's dark bedroom, but not so overpowering as her snore.

Leira was lying on her stomach, and her head turned into one side, with the side of her lips wet with dripping saliva.

It took the helper several minutes to knock on her door with no response until another voice joined in with the household, an overpowering and more authoritative male voice.

"Leira! Leira! Do you plan to get up now, or I will break your door?"

The repeated call of her dad woke Leira up with a crumpled face. She groaned as she twisted to lay on her back.

"Leira!" her dad's voice reverberated and forced Leira to pull herself out of her bed and meander with still shut eyes towards the door and for that reason.

"Oof!"

She stumbled down after her foot hit the bag that was laid on the floor for several days. That bag contains several medical books that her parents brought her, thinking that she had been using them. Instead, her parents assumed and expected that she was still studying medicine in the University.

However, she had already shifted to custom administration since last semester. It's not her best course though. In fact, she never thought of any course that could be best for her. University was never best for her. She did that just to rebel against her parents because she was aware of the reason. They wanted her to study that course because as her parents had always been saying, she will soon marry a doctor, hospital owner. So, they are expecting her to own her own hospital someday.

Her parents owned many businesses, hotels, malls, farms, almost everything aside from a hospital. So they will be using Leira to get one of their dream businesses.