Chapter-4: Just a broken person with a second chance.

(Niel's POV)

Who am I? I guess that's the question that led me to where I am right, it's not like I wanted to be in this position or that I couldn't have done anything about it, but sometimes we don't make the right choices, and we don't change what's wrong.

My story was a pretty average and simple one, I was just a kid who was up for adoption and I was eventually adopted by a couple of middle-aged people, those who I called mom and dad. They never got to have children of their own so, they adopted me and I lived as their child until their last breaths.

Growing up I had a very normal life, I went to school was bullied, had friends, fought a couple of times, got into trouble, and so on. I never got everything I wanted but I never missed anything I needed either, I can't complain about how that went. I have always been thankful to my parents for everything they provided, and so I always tried my best to keep up with their expectations... The problem is I might have lost myself in that gratitude.

As years went by I was a relatively good student, nowhere close to a top student, but I was always around 80s and so on in terms of percentage in my tests. I did everything my parents asked of me to the best of my capabilities, but it always felt like it wasn't enough... It felt like I wasn't good enough...

My focus on proving myself to my parents evolved into something unhealthy before I knew it, and I was partially faulty in the construction of that unhealthy mindset. Eventually, I started sacrificing all the other parts of my life to study which isn't so uncommon among students, the problem is that I started to isolate myself from the world for it, I had less time for friends, dating, and even for myself. I was throwing all my time into the perfect child image I created if myself after getting overwhelmed by my parent's expectations of me.

I continued to live that way and I didn't really stop to question my own happiness or if that was what I really wanted, all I thought was, if they are happy then I'm happy, right? If only I knew any better. At some point, I would just exchange some words with the people I called friends during school and that was it, sometimes I wouldn't even do that. My results showed my hard work and I was the number one for the longest time. Then I graduated High School and entered university, where I finally started having some serious problems, cause I thought I knew who I was, but I was just an amalgamation of expectations and pressure that was on be part coming from myself.

After meeting some people who knew what they wanted which barely existed in high school, and even though still rare in University were more in comparison, I started to question my happiness, who I was as a person, and what were my objectives? It was then I had a mental breakdown and could no longer understand what to do with myself, I was in such a bad state that I ended up losing my scholarship by failing the necessary exams and had to start seeing a psychologist, my life stopped for a whole year while everyone else advanced.

After that one year, I was starting to grasp some things I had been missing most of my life about myself, then I became a very confused and unstable person for quite a good while, things didn't look like they were going to improve. Thanks to the support of my parents and some people who still considered me a friend after all the trouble, I was able to eventually come back but this time I didn't have it in me to get a scholarship, so I had to ask for a student loan.

I continued to study economy and juridical even though I didn't really like them, but since I still didn't know my own passion I just kept going. One day my university graduation came, I was no longer able to keep my top scores since a lot of my time was spent in therapy, but I still got some decent ones.

I graduated and got the congratulations I so desperately destroyed my life for, and it was not one bit worth it. A few weeks after my parents both died of old age, and then my problem only worsened, with nobody to 'fight' for my doubts about myself got worse than ever. Another half a year of therapy with the money and I finally had an understanding of who I was, but it felt like it was too late.

I had tried to declare bankruptcy for my student loan but I was informed that was not possible and I had no choice but to pay, and with that, I tried to apply for a job at multiple places, but most of them rejected me immediately due to lack of experience while the rest told me to wait but I never really got an answer back.

For the rest of the year, I lived off a part-time job and support from the government. It was also during this half a year that I started to familiarize myself with multiple hobbies that I had missed on most of my life, just because I decided to f*ck myself.

For the next year, I thought things would change and get better but the pandemic happened there was nothing I could do about it, I just spend that whole year discovering who I am. It paid off as I learned a lot despite being closed at home. I never got to pay my student loan off.

By the end of the year, I got lucky and managed to get a spot in the beta tester Origo project of Booba soft, and that's where you should know what happened next.

I hope I don't mess up this life as well.

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(3rd person POV)

In the same room with the wooden crib, Niel is now being breastfed by his mother Elaina. While his father Farn was starting to get impatient and worried about something.

"What are you even worried about? Lillian can take care of herself better than most children her age." Elaina said with a grin on her face as she enjoyed watching Farn cry overdramatizing the whole situation.

"You are underestimating the dangers of this world, anything could happen, and before we know it our little princess is taken away!" Farn said overdramatizing the whole situation while making an expression of worry and a terrorized tone.

"You've been reading too many horror and mystery novels, I'm telling you nothing's going to happen to her," Elaina said rolling her eyes at Farn's behavior and even though it's nothing new to her, something in her just can't get used to it.

"If something happens to my little princess, I'll crash the world down to destroy whoever the culprit is!!!" Farn got all fired up as flames could be seen coming from his eyes as he said that.

(Is he always this noisy?) Niel asked in his mind seeing the behavior his father is engaging in right in front of him.

"Sometimes I wonder if you really are a noble and not just some random barbarian the Silverheart house adopted." Elaina remarked with a small smile of mockery.

"What? Why a barbarian of all things?!" Farn said with a dissatisfied expression, it seems Elaina touched some kind of weak point.

"Maybe it's because of how barbaric you are at night." Elaina said with the biggest smug, making her calmer and collected behavior from before, look like a lie.

"Oh dear Elaina, you know the baby's here." Farn said in response with a smaller smug than Elaina's.

"I did nothing wrong, I said only the truth unless you no longer have it in you to keep it that way." Elaina teased Farn with her legendary smug.

"You have yet to see what I'm really capable of, but tonight might be it." Farn continued with their exchange.

(Oh, you two just get a room already!) Niel thought to himself as he couldn't get over the awkwardness of witnessing his parents in moments like this.

Just as the situation in the room was getting worse for Niel, who was starting to melt from having to hear this conversation, his saviors arrived just in time.

"Mom! I called Shelia! She said she'll be here before I can-." Just as Lillian came back she started shouting about having completed the task given to her, and just before she could finish her sentence a shadow rushed into the room at high speed.

"Aaaaaaawwww!! He's adorable! He has mom's hair and dad's eyes... I even think... Isn't his nose similar to mine! Hahaha, he chose the right big sister to pull facial features from!" A girl with white medium wavy hair, violet eyes, and dark skin covered in tattoos said with a very excited tone and expression as she smiles warmly. She's wearing a medium-sized full white dress that reaches her knees with a black ribbon on the waist area, black leggings, and black leather boots. Her physique is impressive as can be seen from her arms and legs that are very toned and packed with some muscle.

(Is everyone in this house so noisy? Also only now I've noticed, my mother and even my just introduced big sister pack some big badonkers and I wish I didn't notice it.) Niel thinks as he gets greeted.

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Author's note: Also please remember to comment, vote or review if you're liking the story. I value feedback and look to improve!

Thanks for reading!