Chapter 1- YOU BELONG TO ME

"Miss Alora, wake up. You're going to be late." It's Krista, one of the maids in the house trying to wake me up while holding the food tray. She's standing in my bedside wearing her usual blue maid's uniform with white apron. Her hair is tied up with blue ribbon. She's just 25 and was working with us since she turned 18. She is my personal maid but I considered her a friend.

I opened my eyes and started moving. I stretched my arms and yawned.

"What time is it?" I asked while still sitting on my bed. Krista put the food tray in the breakfast table beside my room's window first before answering. "It's 7 in the morning miss. It's your first day in senior high school and the assembly time starts at 8:30. I have prepared your bath and your uniform. Your things has been prepared as well."

I nodded and started walking towards the table. Krista prepared a blue ternate tea, bacon & egg and 2 loaves of bread for breakfast. I sit and picked up the tea while looking at the window.

Our house is located at the North City. It is a 6000 sqm mansion with 20 rooms, 31 bathrooms, a helipad, 5 pools, a bowling alley, a 50-car garage and 100-seat theatre situated in the most expensive place in the whole country. For some, it may be a dream place but for me it's more like a prison than a home.

"What are you thinking miss?" My thought was cut off when I heard Krista's voice. I looked at her and she's now tidying up my bed.

"I told you to just call me Alora. How many times do I have to remind you?" I consider Krista as my friend and not just my personal maid.

"I'm sorry miss. I did not forget but today madam just arrived and if someone hears me calling you on your first name, madam will know immediately. I might lose my job and you might end up living in the dorm." I was staring at her while she explains her side. Did I feel hurt? Mad? Offended? Sad? No. Nothing. I still feel nothing.

I nod and started eating. When I heard my mom just arrived, I didn't feel anything at all. No feeling of happiness or excitement. I felt nothing.

I finished the last strip of bacon, stand up and went straight to the bathroom. I took a quick shower and prepared myself to go to school.

I went to the garage and looked for a car to drive it to school. In North City, students from Golden Oak that belongs to the Platinum and Gold section are allowed to drive without a license. The car that belongs to you will be registered in the mayor's office and school's system and you will be given a privilege card. Once you turned 18, a driver's license will be delivered to you immediately.

At the age of 16, I already owned 12 luxury cars. I never bought them. It was a gift from my eldest brother. He's a car maniac so he decided to build a car company and he's currently in Europe doing car shows. He's been there for 12 months now. Before he left, he promised to give me 1 luxury car every month that he's not at home. And so my collection of cars begins.

I decided to go with the latest car he gave me, the 2021 Lamborghini Sian Roadster. I never really like expensive things but I rather use it than throw it aside.

I left and drove directly to school without seeing my mother.  I usually park at the ground floor but I am already in a hurry and decided to park in front of the school. I didn't notice that everyone is looking in my direction while my car was passing by. I am already at the entrance driving slowly since a lot of cars are in front of me when someone approach me.

"Alora! How's summer break?" It's Nina, a girl from my previous class. Nina is a bronze student. She was admitted because of the sponsorship program. In Golden Oak, the four students classification are studying separately but there's one subject that all students regardless of classification study together. The school said that students should appreciate and learn from each other, however, in reality, students in higher society discriminates and bully those below them. Nina is one of the students who was bullied before but ever since everyone saw her talking to me, they left her alone.

"Nothing exciting happened. I'm just at home the whole time. How about you? Anyway, hop in so we can chat." The entrance gate is almost 30minutes away from the main building if you will walk from there.

Nina went to school by bus and walk from the gate to the school's main entrance. She's a year older than me. She's wearing a knee length blue dress. I can see that the color is already fading due to frequent usage. This is her favorite dress, it was a gift from her mother she said. Nina's family owns a small ramen shop in the East City. She's the eldest of the 7 children. Her family is barely surviving the life in the city but she's still very positive in everything. Nina is smart, pretty and friendly. Although, she belongs to the Bronze Class, she's known to a few students from the Platinum Class. Well, she runs a few errands for them like buying stuff, working on their homework and projects, she basically does everything for them in exchange of money, security and maybe popularity. Almost everyone in the Bronze Class envied her.

"Thank you. Well, I helped my parents at the shop. We have a lot of customers during summer break so they needed an extra hand. We can't afford to hire one so I volunteered." she replied with a smile on her face. She looks happy and her smile looks genuine, not fake. I wish I could be like her. She doesn't have everything but she's happy.

We reached the parking lot and I decided to park near an oak tree. Everyone was staring again and I'm not sure why. I grabbed my things and went out of the car when I heard guy's voice behind me.

"Whoa! Alora, you also have the latest Lambo! Your brother is really amazing!" It's Luke, the richest student in Golden Oak. His family owns a shipping company, an airline company, they said they own half of the businesses  in the country. Not to mention their businesses in the US, Europe, UAE and China. I really don't know how rich this guy is and I don't really care. In fact, I don't care how much money a person has. Luke is also the hottest guy in the campus, as everyone describes him. He's the fantasy of almost all the girls here. That excludes me, of course. I don't really like him. He's arrogant, self-centered and always smiling.

A lot of students are looking at our direction. Luke is always the center of attention so when you are with him, everyone will also look at you. I didn't look back and just continue walking but Luke runs behind me and grabed my hand. I froze.

"Hey, Alora. Can we talk? I want to tell you something." Luke said it with a soft voice, it's not his usual tone but it's clear and loud enough to hear by everyone near us. I frowned and looked at him.

"What do you want? You can tell me now. We already attract the other's attention so talking alone is meaningless. So can you tell me now so I can go to class?" It's not a question but an order. Luke is looking at me in a different way. I don't understand why he looks at me with his eyes sparkling. Is that affection? Amusement? I can't remember how many time we talked to each other. Most of them ends up in an argument and I was always the one running away from him. I hate arguments, long talks and I hate explaining myself to anyone. They won't understand me, they don't care.

"Are you sure? Do you really want me to talk about it now?" Now everyone in campus stopped walking and silently wait, including Nina who's already beside me.

"Yeah, spill it now! I don't have all day. I also don't have time to talk to you except now." I replied slighlty annoyed. Luke is still holding my hand and I don't know why I didn't snatch it away. I faced him, stared into his eyes and waited for him to talk.

"Okay. Your wish is my command, princess." I frowned again. Princess? Did she call me princess? Why? She always calls me Alora, Smith or Miss Smith. I don't understand this guy at all.

Luke smiled and picked something in his pocket. It's a red box with a tiny ribbon at the top. I noticed everyone around us was already holding their cellphones and I knew that they were already taking a video of us. I froze.

In my head, I know I should run away but my body suddenly can't move. He opened the tiny red box and there it is. This is the 24.9 carat emerald cut diamond ring with 2 more large diamonds on both sides set in platinum surrounded with 30 more diamonds. This ring was designed by my mother itself and was said to be the most expensive ring that Hoseki has been made. It is also limited only to family members. I looked at the ring and to Luke's face with confusion.

"Alora, our parents decided for us to get married after we graduate from college. So from now on, you belong to me."