Chapter 5

"Dad," she called her father.

Gerard sat up straight and leaned his back on the swivel chair he was sitting on. He stared seriously at Itzy, who, in turn, could not get rid of the nervousness in her chest. He twirled the ballpoint pen he was holding in his fingers and said, "Take your seat."

Itzy secretly pinched herself to calm her chest. She once again gulped in nervousness and asked her father. "What are we going to talk about, Dad?"

"You don't know, or you were just acting like you don't have an idea?" Gerard asked, the anger evident in his voice.

Itzy averted her gaze. "I'm sorry, I acted like a brat there."

"Why are you apologizing to me? Shouldn't you be saying that to the four instead of me?" Gerard asked with a disappointed sigh. "What's happening to you, Itzy? You're not usually like this when we have visitors over. Do you dislike them? Did they do something to upset you?" 

Itzy bit her lower lip, feeling guilty about what she had done. She knew she couldn't undo her mistake, so she was deeply ashamed of her earlier behavior.

"They... didn't do anything wrong, Dad. I'm sorry for acting like that in front of you and Mom. I'm just...tired of school," she said, her head hanging low as she fidgeted with her fingers. The guilt inside her made it impossible to meet her father's eyes.

She knew Jace and the others were innocent, but she couldn't help wanting to kick them out. And school had been nothing but a source of disappointment lately, leaving her drained and hopeless. Her school life had been ruined since the day Loxley and her friends made her their target.

Gerard let out a deep sigh, his initial frustration melting away as his heart softened toward his daughter. He rose from his chair and made his way over to her, his footsteps echoing softly against the floor. When he sat down next to his daughter, he hugged her tightly and felt her little body tremble slightly in his embrace.

For a few moments, they sat there in silence, lost in their own thoughts. Gerard could feel his daughter's heartbeat against his chest, and he marveled at how fragile and precious she seemed in that moment. He couldn't bring himself to be angry with her, no matter what she had done.

Finally, he spoke, his voice low and gentle. "I know you didn't mean to hurt anyone, sweetheart. But you have to understand that your words could hurt anyone. I want you to grow up with a good heart and make you realize what you did was wrong; that's why I asked you to come here."

His daughter nodded, her eyes brimming with tears. "I'm sorry, Daddy," she whispered. "I will just talk to them. I will apologize for what I did."

Gerard smiled softly, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. "That's right, you should apologize when you know that you're at fault."

With that, Itzy strode out of her father's study and headed downstairs. She approached one of their maids and instructed her to summon her four bodyguards to her bedroom. Once the maid had turned away, she darted up the stairs, her mind racing with concern that her room might be in disarray. It would be mortifying if her protectors were to witness the mess and form an unfavorable impression of her femininity.

To her relief, Itzy found her bedroom neat and tidy. She perched on the edge of her bed and gazed up at the ceiling, mulling over what she should say to her guards. Should she apologize for her earlier behavior or simply request that they keep everything that happened at the school from her father?

Her thoughts were interrupted when someone knocked on her door. Probably those four; they were the only ones she called.

She stood up and went to the door to open it. As she opened it, four handsome men appeared before her. Itzy noticed the good physiques of the men. She couldn't help but be fascinated by the strong arms and muscular bodies she saw. Ryker's healthy biceps, visible through his shirt, caught her eye, and she found herself fascinated by them. If Laszlo hadn't cleared his throat, Itzy wouldn't have been able to take her eyes off him.

She faked a cough out of embarrassment. "Come in," she said, and then opened the door widely so they could enter her room. However, to her surprise, the men remained standing outside her room, not entering.

Itzy raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you coming in?"

"Sorry, ma'am, Itzy, but we can't enter your room," Linus said politely.

Itzy frowned because of Linus' formal conversation with her. She wanted to scold him, but she remembered that she had asked the four in her room to apologize to them.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Who said you couldn't come in here?" She asked after she calmed down.

The four looked at each other, as if asking each other who would speak. Ryker nodded to say that he would speak.

"Isn't that a given? You're a woman, and we're men. A man and a woman who don't have a deep relationship can't be in the same room," Ryker reasoned.

When Ryker gave her a reason, Itzy's eyebrows quickly furrowed together once again. Despite living in the modern world, she wondered why they still thought like that.

Just as Itzy was about to speak, Laszlo interrupted her with concern. "There are four of us, ma'am, and you're the only girl. Sir Gerard might think poorly of us and terminate our employment."

Itzy raised an eyebrow, hinting that she knew how to get them evicted from their home. However, for now, she decided to apologize first. She needed to gather the courage to carry out her next plan.

She shrugged. "Then I'll just say it here," she said, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry about what happened in the dining room. I'm just tired from school, and I took my tiredness out on you. I'm sorry."

The boys smiled except for Jace, who was just looking at Itzy, as if checking to see if her apology came from her heart or if she just blabbed it.

"No problem, ma'am. We understand; we were also tired on the first day because the girls were coming onto us," Linus said, shaking his head while sighing. "Damn, I didn't think we were that handsome for us to cause chaos on our first day."

Linus immediately received a blow to the head from Ryker. "Excuse Linus, it looks like he's been carried away."

Itzy smirked slightly, but when she realized that she was smiling, she immediately frowned and looked away from them.

Laszlo cleared his throat to get Itzy's attention and said, "We will go first if you have nothing more to say and an apology is accepted, ma'am."

"Uhm...can you not call me ma'am? We're the same age, right? It's uncomfortable. Just call me by my name. Itzy," she said, smiling.

It's not simply because they are the same age that she doesn't want them to address her as "ma'am". The main reason is that if they get used to calling her 'ma'am' at home, they may accidentally address her that way at school as well.

"But your father told us to call you that, ma'am," Jace finally said.

"Just don't call me that in school, got it? I don't want anyone to know that I have bodyguards, so let's keep it a secret, okay?"

The four nodded immediately, and when they had nothing to say, they decided to go back to their respective rooms. As they were turning to go back to their respective rooms, Itzy called out to them again.

"Uh…" She scratched her head, looking hesitant to ask, but finally managed to do so. "What are your names again?"

"Linus," Laszlo introduced to the one next to him on the left. "Ryker," he said, pointing to the one next to him on the right. "Jace and Laszlo," he said, pointing to the ones next to Ryker before pointing at himself.

Itzy nodded. "Are you going to Dad's study?"

The four men nodded. Itzy bit her bottom lip. "You may go, but Jace will stay with me for a moment."

The three looked at Jace, asking with their eyes if he had done something wrong and why Itzy wanted to talk to him. Jace just shrugged because he didn't know the reason either; only Itzy knew.

After a while, the three left Jace. Itzy and Jace just followed the three with their eyes, and when they finally disappeared from their sight, Itzy spoke. "I'll get straight to the point," she said. "Don't report to my father about what you saw earlier at school."

Jace tilted his head. "I don't get what you mean, ma'am."

Itzy took a deep breath. "When you saw me walking out of the restroom holding my lunch box."

"Oh," Jace nodded, he seemed to remember what Itzy wanted to convey. "But your father had instructed us to report any happenings at school—not just about ourselves but especially about you."

"I'll give you a tip, so please..." She bowed her head. She doesn't know what would happen if this guy didn't agree with her.

"Are you hiding something?" he asked. His question made her lift her head.

"W-What? No. I'm not hiding anything," she replied, stammering.

Jace's eyes narrowed as he approached Itzy slowly. He could tell that she was lying because her eyes were trembling, and she stammered while denying that she was hiding something.

Their faces were only a few inches apart when Jace spoke. "Liar," he mumbled.

Itzy caught a whiff of Jace's fragrant breath, but that wasn't why her face turned red.

Suddenly, she shut her eyes tight and shoved him with all her might. "What on earth do you think you're doing? Why are you getting so close to me?" she exclaimed.

"Sorry," Jace mumbled, bowing his head. After a few moments of awkward silence, he straightened up and locked eyes with her. "But your wishes won't be granted," he declared, then turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Itzy with her jaw dropped and her face still flushed.