Middle Child Syndrome - Chapter 256

Chapter 256: Ch 256: This is what they think
“I’ll be heading back now. I don’t think I am equipped to deal with all this bullshit anyway! I hope you all have a nice work day.”

Rika quickly gathered her stuff and decided to leave the office. She had no intention of staying longer than she had to.

It also ensured that Rika would avoid running into Mark or her mother for the day. What better news could there be for her?

“O-Oi! Are you seriously leaving? Is that a good idea? Wouldn’t this cause you a lot of trouble?”

The alpha who told Rika about her system not working looked baffled at her response. He had not expected Rika to take off and head home.

At worst, he thought she would threaten him or even spend the rest of the day with Mark or Alpha Goodwill.

“I don’t have much time or patience to deal with this. Anyway, I should be taking my leave now. I will see you tomorrow once my station is fixed.”

Rika had a weird feeling about the way everyone was looking at her.

She did not like it and wanted to escape the hostile atmosphere immediately. People were too stunned to stop her, so Rika faced no problems.

Rika was sure Mark would come to look for her later, but it was no longer her problem to take care of. She was sometimes at her beck and call.

“It looks like I have some time today. I should take Shuu for a walk or maybe take him to the flower shop. I did leave Daniel to handle it all alone.”

Rika felt guilty about what happened and relieved when she told Daniel she was quitting.

The beta looked surprised but relieved at the same time.

“I still can’t believe Daniel told me that it won’t matter whether I work with him since I am not at my job about 60% of the time! It’s not that he was wrong, but still! He could have worded these things better.”

Rika sighed as she forced her room’s door open.

It was dark inside, and Rika expected Shuu to run toward her instantly. But her pup was not in the room, and Rika could not find the light switch to save her life.

Once she was fed up, Rika used her mobile flashlight to see where she was.

As soon as there was a light source in the room, Rika felt a bonny hand grab her ankle, and Rika let out a terrified scream before she tried to get that hand off her ankle.

“Let me go! Hey, let me go right now!”

Rika half-thought, smacking the hand holding her, when she heard a familiar voice speak up.

“It’s fine, Rika! It’s just me, Charon. You don’t have to freak out since I am not dead or hurt. I fell asleep on the ground, and your voice woke me up. Now, take a deep breath and calm down.”

Charon looked equally sorry and amused about Rika’s situation, making Rika feel foolish.

Charon’s voice made Rika feel better instantly. Rika’s fast-beating heart slowly calmed down as she registered the presence of the older beta in the room.

“W-What the hell! I felt scared! I thought my heart would leap out of my chest…but what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in college? Did you take the day off?”

Rika asked in a concerned voice.

Now that she was much calmer, Rika’s mind could think once more. And it reminded her that Charon was at a suicide risk and could relapse if she was not watched.

Charon must have also realised that because she quickly cleared her name out.

“It’s not like that! I was not trying to kill myself or anything! I just wanted to lie down on the cold floor and relax. I fell asleep before I knew it. Don’t look so worried.”

Charon assured Rika, but she couldn’t follow her advice, especially after everything Charon had done since Rika met her.

“Enough about me! What are you doing back here so soon? Weren’t you supposed to be at work during these hours?”

Charon asked without any bias, and Rika felt speechlessly awkward once more.

She hesitated to tell Charon what was happening but decided to do that anyway. The older beta was the only one who would listen without any bias.

When she was done, Charon seemed to know why Rika was bullied but was also hesitant to tell her about it.

In the end, Charon put a hand on Rika’s shoulder and gave her an awkward look back.

“You don’t have to care or worry about anything, Rika. But if you genuinely want to know what they think, you can try to put yourself in their position. What would you think if Young Master Mark suddenly started paying attention to an unknown person?”

Charon asked, and it suddenly clicked inside Rika’s mind. She suddenly knew why everyone was talking behind her back and why she seemed like a problem for everyone.

“Oh god! Why would anyone even think that and…just no! Just thinking about it is enough to make me sick! Shit! How do people come up with shit.”

Rika complained, now trying to keep herself in check.

“Well, you are cute and well-mannered. Just because you don’t see your appeal doesn’t mean others don’t see it, either. Don’t overthink about it. Things will clear out soon. Young Master Mark gets bored quickly, right?

It will not take long before he finds a shiny new toy and goes after them. You just have to last that long.”

Charon assured Rika, but Rika did not feel assured.

She would have believed Charon and relaxed if she had been a random person. But since Rika was not a random person, she doubted Mark would let her go this quickly.

‘I’ll talk to Mark tomorrow. I need to clear the air between us, even if it is awkward now. I can make Mark change his mind….probably.’