"They are your older brothers.” After hearing what Jimenez said, I looked at the billboard again. I rubbed my eyes and looked through the window to see it.
“What are you doing?" Jimenez asked as both brows furrowed.
"Are you sure they are my brothers?" I asked him again, unconvinced.
"Of course! They will be here later. Usually, they come home late at night. Each of them has their own engagement. Don’t worry, you’ll meet them all later." He said smiling. I averted my gaze from the large window and faced him.
"Later?" I asked again. He nodded.
How would they react once they see me? Won’t they mock and doubt me? I quickly went to a mirror in my room and combed my hair with my fingers.
"Why are you being jittery, Princess Sophia?" Jimenez asked me.
"Uh, I feel like I was being drained the whole day," I answered. I felt my sweat slowly dropping on my forehead. I cannot think well!
Suddenly, a knock on the door caught our attention. "Excuse me, Princess. Please come downstairs. Master Rudolf and Lady Ally are looking for you. "Your brothers are already here" said one of the servants.
My heart doubled its beat, I am dead! The Wilson brothers are here?! Jimenez fixed himself and opened the door for me.
"Let's go outside, Princess." He said as he wore his greatest smile.
I can do this! I know I can face them. I slowed down my steps as I reached the stairs. Jimenez followed me from behind, until I heard a voice from a man downstairs.
"Princess? Phia?" I closed my eyes when a strong light from the chandelier hit my vision. When I was three steps down the stairs, I slowly opened my eyes to see who was calling me.
If I was not mistaken, he was the one who paid me thousands after his dog ruined my costume. Would he recognize me? He couldn’t see my face clearly that day because of the large costume that almost covered my entire face? I hope not.
"Uh, hi." I thought something was holding my tongue that prevented some good words from coming out. I waved my hand a bit and fixed the loose hair strands that covered my awkward smile. He ran on the stairs and when he was a step closer to me, he suddenly stumbled and managed to catch himself by hugging me tightly on my stomach. At least, he didn’t hit his face on the ground.
"Oh my God!” I said in panic. Meanwhile, a hand grabbed his arm that was around my waist and helped him to stand up. I lifted my eyes to see who it was. Straight away, I felt a spark, an electrifying sensation though my body. Butterflies… not only in my stomach, but in my dreamlike state, flew around me as well.
I was stunned. It was him! It’s the same guy who handed me after almost hitting me with his car. Fate played very well! I was thinking that I met them before that is why they look familiar.
"Are you alright?" He asked the man who almost fell a few seconds ago.
"Yes! Wait? I thought you have work today?" the man with blond hair curiously asked him.
"I was sleeping in my bedroom and was awoken when I heard the servants scampering around." The most attractive Wilson brother said wearily. They were conversing nonchalantly, ignoring my presence.
Suddenly, they shifted their attention to me. Oh, my freaking goodness! They were like sponsored models of an alcoholic beverage with an expensive name.
"Who are you?" The man I admire the most asked me. His eyebrows arched as if questioning about my presence.
"Uh," what was I going to say? I was dumbfounded and not a word came out.
"She is our sister! Aren’t you happy, she’s back?" the blonde-haired man exclaimed joyfully.
"Really? Phia?"
“Brothers,” I uttered and nodded at them. The one with a blonde hair smiled and hugged me. The other one was still confused, based on his reaction, he still cannot accept me wholeheartedly.
"We knew that you have amnesia. I assumed that you do not remember us all, right? Uh, I'm Kieth, your Kuya Kieth." He put his hand on his chest to formally introduce himself that he is Kieth. The one who stumbled.
"And he is Clinton." He pointed to a man beside him. He had a weary eyes, I think it’s natural.
"Nice to meet you again." I greeted him casually. He wasn’t smiling at all.
"Welcome back." He answered and yawned as he went downstairs. I was a bit upset about how he reacted towards me. He was supposed to cry out loud, jump in excitement, roll in happiness, or preferably, press his lips on mine with a tight hug. Oh my God! What was I thinking?!
"I want to ask for forgiveness on behalf of Clinton. I don’t mean to embarrass him but he’s like a tasteless coffee, so boring and didn't interact with people." He stated. “But we were raised well, although we lost you, a part of us missed you.” His voice cracked.
"It’s okay. I understand and sorry for not being with you for years. Some memories were unfamiliar too." I said to him. I intentionally made my voice sound sincere in order for him to believe me. I glanced at Clinton who was walking closer to the wide, open door. Suddenly, Kieth embraced me tightly.
“I missed you.” He whispered close to my ear. It sent shivers down my spine. I felt heat on both my cheeks. I supposed to have a crush on Clinton but this guy broke it! Well, I am not here to look for a husband-to-be, but for my mother.
"I’m crying! I can’t believe what I am seeing. You guys are hugging each other." We heard Mrs. Ally’s voice downstairs. We smiled at her.
"Come on, you'll be introduced to another family whom she invited to come here for you to get familiar with,” he said and grabbed me by the hand as we went to Mrs. Ally. I glanced at our intertwined fingers and everything seemed to be moving slowly. This is surreal.
An old woman who just arrived caught our attention. She hugged and kissed Kieth on the cheek, Kieth did the same to her.
"I can not believe that you're standing beside me right now! You're so pretty, no doubt that you are the real princess Sophia!" to my horror, a girl said and s*****d my butt.
"I'm Eunice Morgan, your cousin." she said cutely. Wait? Morgan?
"Daddy!" she exclaimed and embraced Mr. Morgan. Sugar Daddy? Mr. Morgan isn’t married to her right? She’s too young for him! Or are they having an affair? I knew Mr. Morgan for being prim and proper and being in this kind of situation isn’t acceptable. I need an explanation!
"Mom, Daddy is a giant liar. He said Sophia isn’t coming yet." Eunice pouted and held the woman’s arm.
"Let him, sweetie. Aren’t you proud of your daddy? He found Sophia." The old woman said convincing Eunice. Mr. Morgan tapped her head and kissed the old woman. Uh-oh, my thoughts were wrong. It was convincing to think that Eunice was married to Mr. Morgan rather than to his wife who looked like their grandmother.
Suddenly, the old woman kissed me on my cheek. I smiled at her and secretly wiped it.
"Let's keep her away from the media. Her life can be in danger.” Mrs. Ally told them.
"Keep her from Wilson International as well. News is a contagious disease; it can spread in a snap."Mr. Morgan suggested.
"How about her studies? Later on, she will be using her name." Mrs. Mercy Morgan said.
"That's easy, we will inform the faculty and staff ahead of time. There are too many people who wore Wilson as their last name. I don’t think Sophia will be recognized.” I don’t really understand why they hide me or my identity as Sophia Wilson. They treasure her as the last expensive stone living on earth.
"Okay, there are the Wilson brothers who will protect her in case anyone finds out about it, right?" Mrs. Ally confidently said. We all nodded. She was the only daughter, she could not protect herself from any danger. I carried her name and reputation, I should be careful of my actions from now on.
"We will send her to Mouseton University to ensure her safety." Mr. Rudolf Wilson declared. I felt excitement; I will study without worrying about my tuition! I love the idea.
"Wait, where is Krypton?" Mrs. Mercy noticed all of a sudden. Everybody at the dining table was being silent. Krypton? Is he the one who Jimenez was referring to earlier?
"I don’t have any idea." Kieth shrugged.
"Me too." Clinton continued eating. I have only met two of the three brothers. I haven't seen Krypton yet since I arrived.
The guests left after we finished eating. I didn’t know that Mr. Morgan was related to Sophia. He grinned at me as they went inside their van. Mrs. Ally sent me to my bedroom so I could rest. She also told me not to wait for Krypton because he is a quit busy man and he will arrive at a later time. I would not wait for him; I just forgot the way back to my room.
"Go to sleep, Phia." Kieth said as he walked past my bedroom.
"Goodnight" I smiled at him. It always seems awkward calling him brother.
I went into my room and started fixing myself afterward. Before going to bed, I headed to the large window and stared at the billboard. I immediately noticed that image of Krypton.
He’s like a gangster appearing in a movie as an antagonist. He looks familiar but I don’t remember seeing him before. Maybe, he has appeared in my nightmare before.
I went to the bed and laid down. Ah! It's so soft! I love being a princess!
3:32 AM, I jerked out of sleep when I heard a sound of footsteps outside my room. I sat in my bed and looked at its shadow from the slightly open door. Oh my Goodness, I forgot to lock it! I slowly stood up and closed the door gently. I did not turn on the light so I could not worry anyone outside. I heard a conversation between a woman and a man.
"Where are we going, babe?" I heard a husky voice of the woman.
“In my bedroom, of course.” said the man.
I covered my mouth after hearing it. Why are they making this mansion their lodge?” I haven’t heard any footstep outside, maybe they've already entered the room. I carefully opened the door and went out; I walked into a room with the lights still on. Perhaps the voices came from here.
I thought it was rude but I did open the door quietly. I peered from the outside but I didn't notice anyone—plain white ceiling and black bed was represented on my vision. I went inside and wandered without making any noise. Such a beautiful room for a man but,
"Yes, babe. Uh, that’s it.”
I heard a woman moaning. I covered my ears because I did not want to hear that sound. I intentionally came here to intrude on someone’s privacy!
"Krypton!” a woman moaned even louder.
Wait, What? Krypton? Is that my brother? I mean, Sophia’s brother? My piqued curiosity made me want to go inside the bathroom where the moan was coming from. I stepped closer to the bathroom and peeked from the open door. To my horror, I witnessed something that is not appropriate to see!
Oh my freaking goodness! My virgin eyes! There they were. The woman sat on the sink while she clasped on the neck of the man, named Krypton. They're both half-naked; Krypton was kissing her in the neck. Oh my God, Oh my God! I never thought of watching p**n, live. God forgive me!
"Who are you?!" the woman screamed.
I immediately covered my eyes but eventually removed my hands from my face after peeping through my fingers. I noticed Krypton walking towards the door and opened it wide to see me.
"As far as I remember, I bring only one woman each night. Who are you?" his thick eyebrows raised.
A memory came suddenly, "How cheap." I remembered him! The one who insulted me in the bar. Yes, it’s him, arrogant one!
I may be lucky to have this kind of family except for having him. How come that this man and the princess are blood relatives?
"Babe, err, excuse for a while." The girl said, putting on her clothes and went out.
"We’re not done yet!" Krypton called but it did not stop her from leaving and she went straight to nowhere.
"I said, who are you!" His voice covered the whole room. It was scary!
"Uh, I..I” I was trembling in fear. I noticed him glaring at me as he waited for me to answer.
"Sophia? Krypton? What happened here?" Mrs. Ally asked as she entered.
"Who’s this girl? A newly recruited maid or what?” he pointed his finger at me.
"She's Sophia, your sister." Mrs. Ally told him and smiled.
Krypton looked at me in disbelief and eyed me from head to toe.
"Really? I am not stupid to believe this joke.” He laughed hard. Jimenez was right, he’s unfriendly, and may add, a very arrogant man.
"How could you--" Mrs. Ally held back and didn't like how Krypton behaved towards me. Mr. Rudolf also entered the room and stood right beside his wife.
"Let's go, both of you go to sleep. Send your woman home, Krypton. We’ll discuss this morning. Goodnight Sophia." Mr. Rudolf declared and they left the room.
As I walked towards the door, Krypton’s laughter became louder.
"You're Phia? I remembered my sister as a beautiful girl. What happened to you?" he chuckled.
What was I supposed to say? Should have I insulted him too? No. Bad idea.
“Thank you,” I responded sarcastically. He then sat on his bed and looked at me.
“You’re only pretending, right?” he asked me seriously. I was sure that he didn’t know a thing about my and Mr. Morgan’s deal. Maybe, it was his instinct. I shouldn’t be concerned at all but was still worried.
“What are you talking about?” I asked and pretended to be confused.
“Hush, I will talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight.” He smirked and covered his face with a pillow.
I stormed out of his room and went directly to my bedroom which is only three meters away from him. I heaved a sigh. I couldn’t afford to be under the same roof with a man who doubted me. Would I survive being here?
"I’m not pretending. You’re wrong!" I shouted but I knew he couldn’t hear me.
I can’t sleep. What happened earlier kept playing on my mind. I noticed a Macbook not far from my bed. I opened it and googled for anything interesting. From worldwide news and undiscovered animals to the profile of the Wilson brothers. There’s a blog about them so I read it to explore more of their worlds.
Wilson International is composed of five divisions: airport business, alcoholic beverage company, fishing industry, etc. I knew the company that Google was referring to so I proceeded with the basic info.
I have learned that Kieth Wilson is two years older than Sophia but he’s only months older than me. The second page was about Clinton Wilson. Obviously, he’s a mysterious man and the most intelligent among the brothers. I am smiling while looking at his pictures. I think he likes to wear a plain white shirt as I have seen most of his pictures. I paused when the site says ‘Click next to Krypton Wilson’. Nonetheless, I still proceed to the next blog about him.
There was no much information about him, just the basic info like when he was born, his background as a student, and being a bully when he was young. What a jerk.
The only thing I can do now is adapt to the new environment. I have no idea about my future here, but I promised to myself that if I find my mother, I will reveal my real name and true identity.