Middle Child Syndrome - Chapter 160

Chapter 160: Ch 160: The yelling contest Pt2
‘I need to run away now. These pheromones are getting heavier, and my body feels sluggish. I still have time to make it since I can’t smell them.’

Rika’s instincts were screaming at her to run, but her body, in a cruel twist, was already slipping out of her control.

Being in such a position was not only terrifying but also paralysing. Rika had no one to blame but herself for this.

After all, she had caused her brother to slip this far.

Rika tried to run for it, but she did not even take two steps before a solid hand warped around her arm and tugged her back against a solid chest.

“Stop running away! The more you run, the more you agitate me. You will stay here and tell me about your grievances right now, and I will not take ‘no’ as an answer. After that, you will come back home with me. Do you understand?”

Mark’s pheromones were overwhelming Rika, but not in a good way.

Too much of it was being introduced into her system, which could trigger her heat at this rate.

“S-Stop it! Fuck you! Let me go now.”

Rika struggled but could not break her brother’s grip on her arm.

Her knees were already giving up and buckling under her weight. Bile was also making its way up her throat.

“Y-You asked why I don’t want to come home? This is precisely why I don’t w-want to! Every time we fight, you end up using force against me. Y-You never do that to S-Suzie or F-Father. So, why me?”

Rika was surprised that her voice was still clear enough to be understandable.

Mark looked taken aback, and his pheromones flared a bit before stabilising.

“Huh? What kind of question is that? Of course, I cannot use force against Suzie or father. They are delicate since they are omegas and-”

“You are such a hypocrite.”

Rika’s voice was soft when she spoke, and before Mark, he had been flipped over and thrown down.

“You were soft on Suzie before she even presented, but you never showed the same consideration toward me. Father did not know how to interact with me, so he never visited me. Mother was too busy for me, and Suzie pretended as if I did not even exist.”

“What do you even know about me? Nothing! The head butler attended all my school meetings and other events because everyone else was too busy. And even that man did not like me because he found me to be a stain on the family.”

“I just…want to live my life as I want now. So please, leave me alone.”

Rika had never spoken aloud about what she was feeling.

The harsh pheromones filling the room abruptly stopped, and Mark lay on the ground, stunned after what he had just heard.

On the other hand, the outburst took a heavy toll on Rika’s psyche and body. Her emotional state was causing her to keep releasing pheromones, and her throat felt clogged.

Rika could not breathe. Her chest was heaving, and it was painful.

She knew she needed to take a deep breath and calm down, but Rika’s mouth was forced shut, and her eyes felt out of focus.

Nothing made sense in her mind, and all Rika could concentrate on was pain and more pain.

“Rika, are you alright? H-Hey, calm down. Your pheromones are out of control. This is not good for your body and-”

Mark was panicking, and for a good reason.

He tried to reach out and stabilise Rika, but her vision was hazy. Her brother’s silhouette resembled the omega ‘Darling’ that had kidnapped Rika, making her feel terrified.

“Don’t touch me! S-Stay far away from me. Please, don’t come near me.”

Rika’s eyes were filled with uncertainty and fear. Mark backed away at lightning speed, raising his arms to show that he did not mean any harm to Rika.

But panic was not something that subdued just because someone backed away.

Especially a panic attack filled with pheromones that was making Rika’s body spasm like this.

“H-Hey, hang in there. I will go and call for a doctor right now. J-Just calm down a little bit and-”

Mark was panicking as well now.

His phone was ringing, adding to the panic, and Rika’s was also ringing.

Mark lunged for his phone, but he picked up Rika’s instead without looking at the caller ID in his hand.

“Rika, where are you? Why were you not picking up my phone until now? Hey, say something! You are beginning to scare me.”

Emily’s voice on the other side of the phone felt like a miracle. Mark could not explain why he felt so relieved but knew he needed to speak.

“Emily Steinz? This is-”

“Why do you have Rika’s phone? Fuck! Where the hell are you? Tell me right now, and we will be there. Something better not have happened to Rika, or else I will kill you.”

The threat had some real force behind it. It even made Mark flinch, and things threats did not usually phase him much.

“You can do what you want to me after you come here. Just come to the fifth floor, room 506. Rika is not in a good condition right now. Get a tranquilliser as well while you are at it.”

Mark begged, and Emily cursed.

There were more moments, and the voice reached the phone from the other side. Mark could only guess that Damian had made that noise.

Mark would have felt more fearful if he had not been in utter panic.

“You idiot! Stop panicking right now and search Rika’s back pocket. She usually keeps medicine there to calm her hormones down. Just give her a shot of it so that she calms down. We will be there soon.”

Mark quickly looked around in a panicked manner and found the small syringe.

He had not even known that Rika always kept such medicine on her. But now was not the time to think about such things. Now was the time to act.