Aurelia woke up feeling much better than she had the day before. Although she was still trying to wrap her head around what was happening to herself, she was able to take things in stride- one of the many abilities she had because of her dulled emotional perception.
It wasn't that she couldn't feel the emotions. They just didn't last long. She learned to read people's faces. Not very well, but well enough that she can get by. Her own emotions were something she learned to identify only after evaluating based on the people around her and what she learned from movies.
Now she knew she had to deal with a whole new set of people. While she could assess her own emotions, she knew she would have trouble with the people she was about to meet.
Oh well! Just fake it till you make it.
Not that she planned to adjust her emotions for others. If they didn't like her the way she was, they could go scale a wall. She would have said something worse, but she hadn't met them yet. She would keep her curses until she knew they deserved it.
Because she went to bed early, she was able to wake up early. She woke up at around five and wanted to eat something, only to realise she had eaten all the food the night before.
She touched her stomach and sighed. She finally acknowledged the fact that she had no money. She was poor. She thought about the bank card with her measly savings. It was too early to go out to get something to cook, and she didn't want fast food in the morning.
She decided to wait until someone came to pick her up. Whether they cared about her or not, she would demand food. Since they wanted her to acknowledge her family, they needed to take care of her.
At around eight, she heard a car pull up to the house. She walked out to see a sleek black BMW. She noticed it idling there. No one came out to greet her or even let her know they were here.
Noticing this, hungry or not, she went back inside, packed the few clothes she had, then went to lie down on the sofa. It was ten minutes before an impatient knocking came from the door.
She slowly walked over and lazily opened the door. She stared at the person standing at the door; neither of them spoke.
She took in the man standing at the door. He looked as if he was here on business, wearing a black blazer and trousers. The serious expression on his face made Aurelia want to laugh. Instead, she stood there, her face neutral and waited for him to speak.
"Miss, we have come to pick you. When you saw the car, why didn't you get in?"
The obvious annoyance in his tone made sure Aurelia didn't have to guess the meaning.
"If someone comes to your house, parks their car and doesn't get out. Would you think they are coming to you? I saw the car. How was I supposed to know who you were looking for?"
She watched him open his mouth, but she didn't wait for a response. She had already grabbed the bag when she got up. So, she walked out, closed the door and made her way to the car. She didn't need to know or care what he was thinking.
He was the butler who came to her before. The last time they spoke, he was even more rude. The poor little girl couldn't even get the chance to say anything. She was informed about what was happening and what she needed to do, and then they left.
She looked out the car window to see that he had only just turned around. He had yet to hide the anger on his face, so she saw it. She let out a light chuckle. If the other people in the house are like this, it's going to be fun.
The car made its way down the bumpy road, and Aurelia watched as the house disappeared as they bent the corner. She didn't know when she would come back to that house. But she knew she would keep it intact. The memories that lingered in that house should be kept. She didn't want the memory of that family to disappear.
That also made her think of something she had overlooked. Where was the actual Aurelia? In the book, she didn't die this early, so why was she in her body?
In the end, she didn't dwell on it. She chose to believe that the other Aurelia either went to her world or took over a body with loving parents and would enjoy the rest of her life, instead of suffering.
Whatever the actual answer was, she wouldn't get it now.
More than an hour had passed before they reached their destination. Aurealia watched as the houses changed from small one bedrooms that looked as if they were made of mud to larger apartments. Then, from large apartment buildings to villas.
She sighed again as she saw the progression.
She clearly felt the difference in the air. The place she lived before gave her a slightly suffocating feeling. She knew it was because it was close to a danger zone. The further she moved, the better she could breathe. Even the air quality changed, making her feel lighter.
They finally stopped at a villa. Aurelia sat in the car looking at it. She wasn't sure what she expected. Maybe an all black house with bats hanging? The book made the Starlight family sound unbearable. She even remembered that the family died, leaving the heroine an orphan.
But seeing the spacious house with its elegant design, she couldn't help raising an eyebrow.
She didn't bother waiting for anyone to open the car door. She didn't expect it to happen. She didn't even know if they would open the villa door. No one came to greet her. She didn't know if anyone was home. The book said she arrived in the evening. If that's the case, then what happened between when she was picked up and when she arrived?
Nothing happened to her. She couldn't help but wonder if she was missing something.
She knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. When she didn't get an answer, she looked for the doorbell and started ringing that instead.
In the space of five minutes, she rang the doorbell more than ten times. No one came to the door. Even the man who brought her here had disappeared.
She started to understand why it said she arrived in the evening. That disgusting family let her stay outside for hours.
Aurelia wasn't going to stand there and wait. It had been coming up on ten minutes since she stood here waiting. She touched her stomach. She didn't feel like starving here until night. Since they didn't want her here, she would leave.
She turned and walked away. It was almost ten o'clock and she hadn't eaten anything. Lucky for her, this body was used to hunger. Not that it made it any easier for her. She was hungry and thirsty. She felt that these people wasted her time.
As she walked down the driveway, she felt someone looking at her. She turned to look up at the villa. There she saw a young woman glaring down at her. Her heart-shaped face was full of unconcealed disgust.
It didn't take much for Aurelia to know it was the female lead.
Aurelia scoffed as she saw the look on her face and continued walking. Just as she was about to leave the premises, a car drove up.