Chapter 3 The Challenge

A whimper left Lily's mouth as the girl covered her quivering lips with her hand, her brown orbs were glassy, messy with crystal tears. She sat on the balcony of her room, gazing out of the window to seek solace, her heart was breaking, throbbing as if it was taking its last breath.

It hurts, it hurts to hear that you are being hated by someone who you love the most. All her life she only wished for one thing, and as much as introvert she is, she was an extrovert for him. As much as timid she is, she was strong in his case, she was bold, vise whenever he needed her. She lied awake when he was sick, she stayed with him when he was down, she cheered him up when his dad scolded him and she hugged him assurance when he gave up on anything, only to hear that the same person wished she wasn't there..in his life.

Her fragile hands weren't able to suppress the agony as a small sound left her lips, escaping out through the gap between her fingers. Her voice was hoarse, a visible example of how long she was crying.

"I hope you'll love me like I meant something for you one day"

• • • • • •

With a burst of intense will power, Adrick forced his eyes open, revealing irises tinted with streaks of blood shot red. The effort was clearly painful as his eyebrows came together in a tight grimace, a visible sign of the suffering he was enduring. His jaw clenched tight as he fought to swallow down the pain that threatened to overtake him.

He didn't mean those words, heck! He didn't mean any of those words.

He was angry, frustrated... above all, abandoned.

That was his father, who was always more proud of her than his own son. He heard that father's love sons the most but then why does his father care more about his friend's daughter than his own son?

Is it because she's timid? Fragile? Chirpy? And that he's cold, emotionless and stoic?

Is it his fault? Don't parents love their children no matter how they are?

A single tear drop rolled down his eyes as he was forced to suppress all his feelings. He was already weak in his father's eyes, he didn't want to lower his impression on his father's eyes anymore.

Liliana...

A soft sigh left his lips recalling her heart wrenching reaction to his words. He knows he hurt her, but he was hurt too. It was normal for him to hurt others when he was hurt, that was something he always did to lessen his pain, or to make everyone else also feel what he's feeling.

Deep down he knows, he knows that Liliana is the only good thing that happened to him. A girl to love you with her heart, pure and genuine. And he knows her like the back of his hand. As much as he wants to believe that his mother was the only person who loves him, he knows it's not true.

He has caught her skipping school to stay with him when he's sick, helping him with homework by saying out the answer aloud as if rechecking it, giving him food when he's hungry saying she cooked more, giving him hugs when he's down saying she's the one feeling down.

But somewhere deep within, he couldn't acknowledge any of it. Maybe the small spark of hate that has brewed inside him since they were children. Maybe the bitter memory of everyone pampering her more. Maybe the sadning fact is that his father also cares more about her than his son.

The sound of footsteps quickly gathered his attention as he wiped the tears away, schooling his expression. And his ears soon caught up to the familiar footsteps.

"You're still here?" The sonorous sound of his father reached his eyes, making him straighten his posture.

"Yes"

Adrick watched as his father advanced forward, standing beside him, the man carrying himself rich and well.

"I expected more from your part, 'rick" Daniel said, his eyes staring right ahead. His hands tucked inside his pockets as he let out a sigh.

Adrick's hands clenched tight into a fist, all the softness his eyes had for Lily vanishing into thin air.

"You are older than her, you should've taken care of her" his father continued, his voice plain and rough.

"She ain't a baby" adrick uttered, meeting the coldness of his father's voice with his own.

"You aren't one as well"

"Why are you here, Dad?" Adrick asked, his blue eyes not ready to look at the man beside him, his role model, his hero.

"I know you don't like Lily, but trust me and your mom in this. She's the perfect girl for you, we only want your happiness" Daniel said, and Adrick failed to see the softness in his eyes, the slight tenderness of his voice and how his head turned to the right to see his son who was so caught up in his own world, his eyes glaring daggers.

Adrick turned around, meeting his father's blue eyes with his own. His eyes held a million stories, as much as he tried to suppress them, his eyes couldn't hold them back.

"Happiness was something that left me a long time ago, Dad, if you didn't notice. At least let me have my own opinion in this matter, you tend to forget it's my life to live"

• • • • • •

"What made your face scowl like that?" One of his friends asked, a chuckle leaving his lips as he wrapped an arm around Adrick's shoulder.

"Leave me the fuck alone" Adrick snarled, his jaw clenching hard.

"Oh C'mon, You are always in a bad mood, but you look worse today. What's wrong? Did your princess work you up?" He let out a laugh, clearly pissing Adrick off.

"I said leave me the hell alone" Adrick snapped, making his friend raise his hands up in the air in mock surrender.

Just when he was about to utter something his eyes caught the familiar silhouette walking in, donned in a black crisp shirt tucked inside a white cargo, that platinum silver cross chain hanging on his neck attractively. His jet-black hair was slicked back to perfection, with a few strategically placed loose strands falling onto his forehead in artful disarray, accentuating the striking gleam of the eyebrow piercing that was prominent against his smooth, fair skin.

"Isn't that Ace?" His friend let out, raising an eyebrow at Adrick who looked in the direction only for his scowl to deepen.

But before he could say anything, his friend was already in front of Ace with a grin on his face.

"Hey man! Couldn't talk to you yesterday" He grinned, his blonde hair swaying with his movements.

While Ace just raised his eyebrow, his eyes stuck on the scowling man behind the blonde.

"What made your friend whine like an elementary school girl?" Ace asked, poking his inner cheek with his tongue.

A laugh escaped his friend's lips as he came back to circle his arm around Adrick, who shoved him away with a cuss.

"Is the brave boy Adrick having mood swings? Want your mommy, Adrick baby?" Ace mocked, a chuckle leaving his lips as he gazed at Adrick.

"He's just pissed that his parents want him to date Liliana" adrick's friend replied on behalf of him, that grin not leaving his face.

Ace's forehead creases at the mention of that name, Liliana. That 5 feet 2 inch girl with long black hair that reached below her hips, brown orbs like melted chocolate, porcelain skin like a doll....and the brain of an idiot.

"What? The Adrick boy hates his future wife, huh? Heard that your dear parents already fixed your marriage with her. Sucks to be you, man" Ace muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose, smirking.

"Do I need to personally tell you to shut up?" Adrick stepped forward, his aquamarine eyes sending daggers straight to his eyes.

"You ain't my freaking dad to shut me up, Boy. And if you're that eager to shut anyone up, go and tell that to your father. Aren't they too eager to set you up with that quirky girl?" He chuckled, shaking his head at him, making Adrick rile up.

"Don't bring my father into it"

His gaze hardened, the playful glint in his eyes extinguished in an instant. Voice steely, he retorted, "Isn't it in your genes to bring up family during a fight?"

"That's the past" Adrick groaned, his eyes twitched, before he clenched his jaw hard.

"Would that make any difference?! If anything, that makes me wanna bury your filthy self down the ground alive, make you know the worth of life, each breath you have and let you feel how it feels when you get to know that you're the last few breaths of your life" Ace snarled back, the two men standing in from of each other, their toes touching and eyes connected with a heating glare.

"Don't think too highly of yourself, Ace. You ain't a saint either" Adrick uttered back, fighting back the guilt that he always suppressed.

His eyes narrowed into a steely glare as he growled out, "Well, I'm damn sure better than you, you bastard."

"Oi Oi, what are you both planning? A second world war in the middle of school?" Adrick's friend piped in.

"If you both don't remember, you two broke my car's front glass in the last fight. So in no way you both are gonna rip each other's head here." The boy shrugged, before a light bulb on his head.

His friend flashed a wide, eager grin as he proposed, "How about we settle this with a good old-fashioned match? A formal competition to see who truly reigns supreme." The men stared back at him, disinterested and unamused, their eyes lacking the same enthusiasm. It was clear that they weren't impressed by his proposition.

He scoffed and muttered under his breath, "Do you think I have time to waste on some loser?" He adjusted his bag on his shoulder and gave a dismissive shake of his head, making it clear that he wasn't interested in participating in the proposed match.

"What? Don't tell me you're scared, Ace. Maybe you don't have anywhere to run away like last time?" Adrick said, a cruel smirk emerging on his lips, which almost reminded Ace of the Adrick he once knew.

"Fuck off"

As Adrick took a step forward, the air seemed to thicken with tension. His eyes locked with Ace's in a glare, the intensity palpable between them.

Ace observed as Adrick's smirk widened even more, revealing a cruel glint in his eyes. "C'mon, if you win," he drawled, the words dripping with condescension, "You can demand anything from me." The offer hung heavy in the air, adding to the intensity of the moment. His stance was relaxed, but Ace could see the underlying hint of menace in Adrick's eyes, warning him of the consequences of accepting the challenge.

"...And if I win"

"Then you'll make Liliana fall in love with you"

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