"I want to practice with you!"
Rize hugged herself and muttered, "I hate it…"
"Hmm?"
"I hate it that you are using me as a practice…" she murmured.
Rudy smiled wryly and said, "I am not."
"You just said you want to practice with me!"
"I didn't mean it that way." After a brief pause, he said, "Rize, look me in the eyes."
Rize looked Rudy into the eyes and puffed her cheeks a little.
"I wouldn't just pick up a random girl and practice with her. I am asking you because I want you," he uttered while looking into Rize's eyes.
Rize's face flushed a little, but she couldn't understand what Rudy was trying to say.
"What do you… mean by that?"
'Let's just get this straight!' Rudy decided.
"I don't want to twist it and make it complicated, so I will just be honest." Rudy held Rize's face in his hands and said, "I am choosing you because I want to do that stuff with you."
"I still don't understand…"
SIGH!
"I have hots for you!"
"Wha—! But you have a girlfriend! Are you going to cheat on her?!" she exclaimed in shock. "Didn't you just say that you love her so much?!"
"I do. I love her. But I want you too!"
"What's that supposed to mean?! You want to cheat on her with me?! And you expect me to help you with that?!"
Rize's reaction was just as Rudy had expected. He initially thought of telling everything to Rize, but he realized that wouldn't work on her. She was a slave to her parents, both physically and mentally.
Rize was raised in a strict environment and parents. They didn't allow her to do anything she wanted and used her as a tool to gain fame in society.
They didn't want her to study. In fact, they didn't even want to send her to school as they considered that a waste of money and time. However, her parents came running to take the credit when she scored the top.
They wanted to raise Rize as a housewife and marry her to a wealthy and well-renowned family. And that's why they didn't allow her to talk or meet with the boys. So much that they had sent her to an all-girls boarding school.
However, Rize never complained. She considered everything her duty and responsibility. She followed everything her parents said and did to her.
'We gave birth to you, fed you, gave you shelter, raised you, so you are our property. If you don't do as we say, we will kick you out of the house.'
That's what her parents always told her when she asked to do something of her own. She was merely seven years old when they first said that to her.
She grew up scared and meek because of her parents, and they thought they were doing her a favor. She never dared to fight for herself. Even more when they did the same thing to her little sister, who was five years younger than her.
She lived in a family of five. A mother, a father, and an older sister— Emma, herself, and her little sister— Grace.
Emma, who was two years older than her, rebelled against her parents and ran away from the house to elope with her lover. However, her parents weren't just nobody.
They were also one of the renowned families in the country, and they had a good and well-respected image in society. So they used their connection and tracked down Emma.
They framed the boyfriend as a kidnapper and a r*pist and got him locked in jail. The police and the court didn't hear what Emma had to say; her parents claimed that she was brainwashed and affected by Stockholm syndrome.
The main excuse they used in court was their ages. Emma was only a few days away from turning eighteen, while her lover had turned eighteen not long ago. They charged him with grooming an underage girl.
To make things worse, it turned out that Emma was pregnant. The case had become so against her lover that his testimony was considered invalid. Of course, corruption had spread everywhere.
Her parents aborted the child and got Emma married to a forty-year-old wealthy businessman once she turned eighteen.
They had completely destroyed her life, and they planned to do the same thing with Rize and Grace; for money and fame to keep their image intact in society.
When Rize wanted to study after she completed high school, her parents obviously refused and set her up to marry as soon as possible. But Rize managed to get a scholarship and convinced her parents to let her study.
After completing her university, she was asked to stay home, but she chose to take an internship and become a teacher. Even though her parents were totally against it and they were constantly harassing her, whenever Rize received her paycheck, they came to take it.
Rize knew that if she tried to rebel against her parents or got herself a lover, she would meet the same fate as Emma. But she didn't know that she had a guardian angel named Rudy, who was ready to go to any length to save her from her inhumane parents.
"Rize…" Rudy caressed Rize's face and smiled gently at her. He locked his eyes with her and calmly uttered, "I am here."
"What are you…"
"I am here," Rudy repeated himself. "You are not alone. You don't have to be alone. When I said, I need you… I wanted to hear 'I need you too' from your mouth."
"I…"
"You don't have to worry about a single thing. I am here, and I will always be there for you. That might sound like a cheesy line from a movie, but I truly mean it. It's your life, and only you can make decisions in your life. Don't allow anyone to hold the torch of your life.
Rize, you are you. Don't become who or what they want you to be. You are not a caged bird. You are a free bird, so fly as much as you want. I will be your air and guide you."
"..."
"I will say it again. Rize, I need you. I want you." He tightened his grip and asked, "What about you?"
"I…" Tears rolled down Rize's eyes as she said, "I need you too!"
