We were led to the dining room by a man who I assumed her dad’s personal butler. The room was spacious with several panorama paintings and a hanging lamp on the top of the ceiling.

Maria’s father sat at the middle edge of the dining table. His three wives were on the clockwise side and the other side were his two sons and two daughters.

They were already eating. I saw the menus on the table were still plenty. Her father wiped his mouth with a napkin and looked at us. He lifted his hand and others stopped eating. Everyone finally noticed our presence.

“Ah, look who is coming back after a month? Where were you, Whore?” A teen boy ridiculed Maria. I frowned when I saw his uncaring attitude. He was Maria’s little brother, the third child of five siblings. I already heard he lacked manner and sympathy, but I didn’t know it was this severe.

“Mario, mind your manner. We have a guest here,” said her father as he looked at me. I felt like my soul was sucked into his deep eyes. It was the gaze of a predator eyeing its prey.

Mario, the third child, nodded at the father, but he still grinned at us smugly. I really wanted to give him a lesson or two later. However, I paid him a little attention at the moment because Maria’s father invited us to join the lunch.

I sat beside Maria’s little sister, the fifth child. Just looking at her tiny size, I estimated she was still around ten years old. She looked cute with her baby fat cheeks. When we entered the room, she was quite cheerful and lively to play with her twin older sister, but currently her body shook when she saw Maria on the opposite side. I wondered what Maria had done to her.

The fourth child—the older twin sister—glared at Maria and gnashed her teeth. The first child—a man in his twenties—gave me and Maria a smile and continued to eat. The three wives didn’t spare any glance to us. They were either taking care of their own children or eating.

“For now, let’s eat,” Maria’s father said.

I was hungry too and the menus on the table looked tasty, so I didn’t refuse. However, Maria suddenly slammed the table, and it made us—including me—stunned.

“Salmon, deep-fried fish, fish stock soup. They are all fish-based food. Haven’t I told you countless times that I am allergic to fish?” Maria pointed at her father.

I didn’t understand her sudden tantrum, but her father had been polite to us. I stood, walked to her back, and massaged her shoulders. “Maria, calm down. They don’t know we will visit this place.”

“No, you don’t understand our family’s tradition, Adrian. When the security informed our arrival, they shouldn’t have served a plate on my table. There shouldn’t have had anything on my table because maids should’ve prepared something for me.”

“Looks, it is not a big deal, Maria.” I really didn’t understand a woman’s mood. Before we arrived, she acted indifferently, but she suddenly threw a tantrum at them. I was lying if I said I wasn’t embarrassed.

Maria’s oldest brother only shook his head and continued eating. Other wives were indifferent at it. Maria’s little sisters were too scared to move. Maria’s little brother gave us a mocking look.

Her father was calm too. After chewing his food, he spoke, “There is no need to do that for a girl who ran away from the home. You sully my reputation”

Tears flowed out from Maria’s face, and she ran away to the stairs of the second floor. I suddenly understood why she acted like that. No one in here cared about her even after she ran away for one month.

I was about to follow her when her father said, “You will stay here, Mr. Adrian Taher.”

“With all due respect, Sir, but you can’t order me around.”

“Yes, I can. This is my house and you are my guest. Now, sit.”

Maria needed consolation, but I guessed I couldn’t offend her father too. I didn’t want him to make things difficult for us. At least when we left this house, I would give her all my attention.

I came back to my seat and continued eating. The menus in front of me suddenly didn’t look so appetizing anymore, so I only ate a little.

After lunch, I said to Maria’s father that I wanted to talk, but he told me to wait because he needed to do something important regarding his business, and he went to his workroom.

Maria’s oldest brother invited me to take a walk instead. I didn’t refuse because I wanted to get things done as soon as possible. He invited me to see his personal garden in a greenhouse. He introduced me to many plants, but I didn’t care to be honest. I got along for the sake of being polite.

I thought we would talk about Maria. It made me curious if this person really didn’t have any love for her. “Brother, don’t you want to know about Maria’s life on the street?”

Her eldest brother looked at me and smiled. “I already know. Don’t you think it was quite unrealistic how her life was fine and smooth on the street? I sent people to help her in secret.”

He simply said that and walked again to introduce me to other plants. Heck, I really didn’t understand his uncaring attitude. I grabbed his shoulder, turning him back at me. “Wait, if you already know she lived on the street, why didn’t you bring her back?”

The eldest brother tilted his head as if feeling confused. “Well, that’s because it was her choice to run away from home. As a member of this family, my job is to keep a check on her in case she will make a scandal that will taint our reputation and face.”

He laughed a little and revealed a bit of voice in his heart. “She is a drama queen, yes? She tried to go away from people at the same time she wanted people’s attention too.”

“How dare you!” I lifted him by grabbing his shirt. “It is normal to want attention. If she needs attention, then your job as a big brother is to spoil her. Damn you!”

“Are you really that kind of person, Adrian? You like violence like her too? The next time I talk something bad about her, you will beat me senseless?”

I clucked and put him down. I felt panic a little too. What if he told his father about this and they would make things difficult for me?

He fixed his cloth. As if sensing my regret, he said, “Let’s pretend you didn’t do that to me. I actually keep in touch with Maria’s aunt, so we know your intention for coming here. Maria goes away from here means less competitor for me. We will even support her until she is a bachelor graduate.”

“You talk like she is an item or pet. Don’t you have any love for her?” Baiting him to reveal his true feeling about Maria didn’t work, so I decided to be blunt.

The brother walked back past me to a yellow flower called Daffodil. He stared at it blankly and answered, “Have you ever feel one-sided love? Adults have to give younger people love first, but it is our right to get at least respect if you can’t love adults back.

“Younger generations like to trample on adults’ feelings for the sake of their own ego. That’s what Maria did to me. I gave her love and attention. It was her who refused to respect me first.

“Know this, Little Brother, Adults are human too just like you. We have a limit in our patience.”

The brother smiled at me. “That’s why I choose to protect and love people who respect me back.”

I felt complicated because I couldn’t refute. After thinking about it, I often hurt my teachers’ feelings too, and they weren’t related to me by blood. I suddenly felt guilty for no reason, but that wasn’t a reason to believe in what he said.

“What had Maria done to you, Brother?” I asked.

“We aren’t close enough for me to talk about my past with you. Go ask Maria.” The brother continued walking, but when I followed him, he stopped and turned back again. “You don’t have to accompany me anymore. From now, I want to be alone.”

I watched as he walked deeper into the middle of the garden. When he stopped to see a certain flower, I shouted at him. “Brother!” I waited for him to look at me. “I am still a teenager, and I don’t have a qualification to lecture you, so let me pass my elder brother’s advice to you.

“Result is chance plus readiness. I don’t know anything between you and Maria, but I believe you have given her a chance. But know this, Brother, Teenagers haven’t matured yet. If younger generations aren’t ready, then it is adults’ job to make them ready. That’s it, Brother. See you.”

I didn’t bother to see his reaction. I left the garden and entered the house again. The butler had waited for me and escorted me into the father’s workroom on the second floor.

The father faced the window. He probably looked at the eldest brother’s garden below. The butler announced our arrival, but he didn’t turn back to see us. He saw our reflection on the window, and I could see his sharp eyes too.

“You can leave us,” he ordered the butler.

The butler bowed and left the room, leaving us alone. The situation was awkward. There were so many things I wanted to say, but I stumped on my words. Luckily, the father wasn’t that dense and kind enough to start the topic.

“Kid, what do you love in Maria?”

“I love her spoiled and cute sides. I can hear her sweet voice for hours. Her face is just my type. When she uses the same shampoo as me, I still like to sniff her hair,” I answered without hesitation.

The father finally turned back and walked to his desk in front of me. I stopped talking and waited for him to sit. His lips curved up into a grin. “Those are what I like about my wives too, but I suppose those are not love.”

“Then what is love?” I asked in a demanding tone.

“I don’t know. I don’t know what love is, but the thing I care about the most is myself in this world. Is that love in your opinion?”

“I don’t know, Sir. In most situations, I always try walking with others I care about at my sides, but I guess that’s because of my sense of justice too. I care people to protect my justice and my peace of mind.”

“I like your honesty, Kid. I thought Maria dates the worst kind of thugs. You aren’t that bad from what your teachers told me.”

I felt awkward when he said that. If this was an anime, maybe I would drop a bead of sweat.

He continued, “I agree with your answer. Every act and purpose in this world are always based on our ego, whether for the greater good or our pleasure. That’s not a bad thing if you ask me, but we are different. I act to satisfy my pleasure, while you act to protect your moral compass. We can’t see anything together from the same point of view.”

I really wanted to ask his point to say this, but I held it in his honor. I would be lying if I said I didn’t want their financial support. The man in front of me was known as a philanthropist. Even if he didn’t care about his children, it would be bad publicity to not take care of them.

I was prepared to listen through his self-quotes and brainstorming, but his next words made me genuinely want to listen.

“Kid, do you want to know why my other kids hate Maria?”