Middle Child Syndrome - Chapter 48

Chapter 48: Ch 48: Did you want to know
“Is there anything I can help you with, Damian? Or did you come here to irritate me because Emily will not pay attention to you?”

Rika asked, her voice dripping with bitter disdain, almost as if she couldn’t bear to hide her frustration any longer.

She did not want to think the worst of her friends, but it was hard to form positive thoughts when you were being held like a prisoner, and not even your feet were allowed to touch the ground.

Damian smiled almost amusedly at Rika’s irritated grumble, but he did not say anything to her until he put her down.

“I am here for safety reasons.”

That explained a lot, but not enough at the same time.

Rika felt flattered, but she did not want anyone to keep an eye on her.

“Go back! I do not need a bodyguard. I am sure that the news of what happened to my kidnapper has spread already. No one would be foolish enough to come after me now.”

Rika assured Damian, but he did not look satisfied with her reassurance.

“Okay, fine! You can accompany me to my workplace. But I do want to know where Emily is. You don’t usually wander very far off from her. Did something happen between you two?”

Rika knew she had joked about the alpha pair being joined at the hip, but she had observed that over so many years of being with the two.

So, to see Damian without her other half was jarring.

Especially when the dark-looking man had a slight smile on his face.

“Emily…is a little busy. She will not be able to meet you for about a week, so I came in her stead.”

That was…a lot. Rika was not sure if she had ever heard Damina speak this much.

He may have spoken a decent amount when they were kids, but as soon as Damian had presented, he stopped speaking and let his pheromones do the talking.

“I see! So, Emily is busy with something? I don’t suppose you will tell me what she is doing, right? No wait! Just don’t tell me anything right now. I feel it would be better for me not to know what is going on in your world.”

Rika quickly turned her words around so she would not have to go down the mafia hold and its dark side.

Damian was patient and did not interrupt Rika’s babbling. He walked very close to her, and she felt his presence whenever she stepped.

Rika could swear that she felt Damian’s hands brushing and touching her own when he walked. But every time she looked at his hands, they seemed away from Rika’s.

She was not sure if she was hallucinating at this point or not, but it felt close to it.

Even more surprising was that the aggressive puppy Rika had picked up was behaving.

She noticed how the puppy looked at the older alpha a few times before it calmed down and decided not to do whatever mischievous shit it was thinking.

It was a calm and silent walk. It was also the most time Rika had spent alone (barring the puppy) with Damian without anyone else around.

As aggressive as Damian could be, he remained relatively calm and unbothered, which is how Rika liked him.

“We are here. I will return to pick you up once your shift is done.”

Damian assured before he disappeared to god knows where. Rika was not particularly interested in knowing where either.

Especially since this was their gang’s area, and it was pretty evident what Damian had come here to do.

“Let’s…not think about it. Whatever Damian is here to do has nothing to do with me. I just need to worry about what I will do for my work today.”

There was half an hour left before Rika’s shift started, and she felt energised. She was about to open the door when her phone rang.

Rika had half a mind not to pick up the phone, but her habits kicked in, and she picked the phone up on the third ring.

“How are you feeling now, Rika? I wanted to come and meet you yesterday, but I decided to give you some time to yourself. I hope you are feeling better by now.”

Her mother’s calm and demanding voice washed over Rika’s senses, and her body relaxed.

It did not sound as if her mother was disappointed or angry at Rika, and it was always a relief to know.

At the same time, Rika felt almost as if her mother felt guilty, so she had not called her until now.

‘Well, not that I care that much. But it is nice to know that mother cares a little about me.’

Rika decided to answer her mother’s worried questions this time because her mother sounded sincere and wanted to know what was happening to her.

“I feel fine! I spent yesterday sleeping it all away. I am currently at my part-time job. It’s in a flower shop, and it is safe as well. Rocxx, Emily’s cousin, can vouch for this place if you want to check it out.”

Rika knew her mother well, so she also knew that her mother would want to check out the palace she was working in.

Rika did not expect her mother’s silence on the other end of the phone.

It made Rika nervous because she could not figure out what made her feel this way and did not want to know.

“You got a part-time job? When did you get it, and why? You could have done it at our company if you truly wanted a job. Do you think I wouldn’t have appreciated having you around and helping me out?”

Her mother’s question made Rika realise she had never told her mother about getting a permanent time job.

But in Rika’s defence, a lot had happened up until now, and it had left her mind. She had forgotten all about telling her family about what happened.