Chapter 1 - Michael Astley

“Papa! Look at what belle did!” I saw a little girl run towards a man that seemed to be her father from how she calls him. With her pigtails and her cute yellow dress, she approached his back.

“What do you want me to do with this?” The man that seemed to be in his mid to late 30’s turned around to look at the small child. He has green eyes and blonde hair with white streaks, a sign of aging.

“I-I got a perfect score! I drew you, me, Ethan, and mama!” The little girl stuttered whilst she showed her work from school which got a perfect score.

She seemed really sweet, and her father seemed really strict on the other hand. I don’t know what I’m currently seeing or where I am, but, the atmosphere seems quiet. Not necessarily calming or relaxing, just…empty?

*RIIIP~*

The man took the little girl’s drawing and ripped it right in front of her. The sight was beyond disturbing, the little girl’s face which held hope that her father would appreciate it turned sad.

“Come back once you actually made an artwork and not a horrendous garbage.” The despicable man threw the ripped pieces of paper in front of his own daughter.

I could only look at the little girl with pity; her head was now downturned and she gripped her little dress tightly. The man turned around and left the little girl who was trying not to cry.

“Belle’s a good girl, and good girls don’t cry.” She repeated this sentence again and again to calm herself down. Her eyes were teary and she tried her best not to cry but I could see that she was really broken-hearted.

“I just have to do better, papa doesn’t want bad kids.” She kneeled down and took the pieces of ripped paper and ran the other direction.

‘What a fucking dickhead.’ I whispered to myself as I looked at the old man’s back turning the corner.

.

.

“…her situation…”

“There seems to be no…”

“…case is very odd.”

I slowly gained consciousness and started hearing voices. I slowly tried to open my eyes and soon, I saw three heads with the two talking to each other.

“The young miss is awake!” Said a familiar voice of an old woman. It took me a few minutes to finally open my eyes properly and I saw three people in total.

One was the familiar old maid who took care of me, she seemed relieved and at the same time in panic. The second person was a bald old man with round glasses and a distinct moustache. He had a stethoscope in his ears and was checking my condition as of the moment.

The third person was a man with blonde hair and green deep set eyes. He was staring right back at me with a strict face. One could guess that he had contempt in his eyes when looking at me.

“There seems to be no problems with her health, sir. It is most likely caused by exhaustion.” The bald man with the weird moustache took off his stethoscope and talked to the old guy behind him.

“Exhaustion from what? From living luxuriously and doing nothing all day?” The man looked to be in his 40s glared at me as the old maid tried sitting me up so I could drink water.

“Well, sir. As you know already, the young miss has sleep apnea and suffers from various lung and physical conditions. She’s easily exhausted.” The doctor winced at the old man’s glare and tried explaining my situation.

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“She has plenty enough of medicine and lives a rich life, what more is there to be needed?” The blonde man spoke sharp words as if everything was just a nuisance to him.

“Just feed her the usual medicine, let her sleep, and feed her.” We made eye contact once more but this time, I was able to recognize the middle-aged man.

“I don’t have time so get back to your room before I make you.”

“Don’t you ever shut your mouth!?”

“You stupid child, just go.”

“I don’t have time with your nonsense.”

His voice echoed through my head. Various memories came in and out of my mind as if I was in some trance. I could only stand still and let the visions in my head pass.

“Stop with this nonsense and get back to the academy on Monday.” I finally snapped back to reality when I heard his voice once more. And this time, I looked back at him dead in the eyes with hatred and disgust hidden in me.

I’m not sure if he wanted to say anything more but he just stood still rooted in his place when I made eye contact. I don’t know how to describe what I was feeling at the moment. It was a mixture of Isabella’s and mine, it was confusing and it made me want to just bury my head under the ground.

I don’t know what this was but my head was all over the place. The air conditioning sounded annoying to my ears and the doctor speaking wasn’t helpful either, the sun was too bright for my eyes, the smell of detergent on the old woman’s clothes was too strong for my nose, and the blankets just didn’t feel right on my skin.

Soon, I realized that the old blonde man had already left and the sound of the door banging was left behind. The doctor turned to me and started writing down something on a piece of paper.

“I’m going to prescribe you the sa- “ Before he could even finish the sentence I already cut him off.

“Close the blinds, turn off the air conditioning, and bring me a new duvet, a heavy one.” I looked at the old woman nana and spoke in a serious tone.

“And you, just leave the prescription and go.” I know it’s very rude but I couldn’t handle him talking anymore.

Soon, the air conditioning was turned off, the blinds were shut, and my duvet was replaced with new ones.

I stuck my head under the pillows and covered myself with the blankets. I could only hear Nana’s soft voice.

“I know it’s upsetting young miss, but don’t worry too much, I know your father was just worried about you.” She left right after saying that having the misunderstanding that I was upset with the middle-aged man for what he said.

After spending a few minutes under the blanket I was finally able to collect my own thoughts.

‘Bullshit.’ That old geezer who’s done nothing but ignore his own daughter. Do social services not exist here? I remember vividly what he’s done so far to neglect his own daughter, I also know what Isabella has done so far to “buy” his favor. Honestly, I just want to mash his face on mud.

For people outside of the family and for those who don’t work for the Astley’s, Isabella is a lady who has it all. Everything she can ask for is served right under her feet, be it materialistic things or the attention and praise of other people. She’s smart, she’s dignified, she’s from a rich family, what more could she ask for right?

What’s unknown to them is the fact that her whole family is blaming her for her mother’s death. Isabella knows that fact already but chooses to act ignorant and still try to hold onto a small thread of hope that her family might actually love her.

Another unknown fact to them was that she’s suffering from sleep apnea and various lung defects. She never does physical education in the academy and always has a doctor situated in the campus just in case something goes down.

‘They’re the epitome of emotional neglect.’ Both her father and her brother, as well as her cousins and uncles view her as nothing but a parasite feeding off of Michael’s wealth “just like her mother”.

“For fuck’s sake how is it a child’s fault?” Just so they could justify their greed and actions, they all blame it to a damn child.

Everyone’s fucked up in here, even the students in the academy. There’s three types of treatment that Isabella receives. Either they fear her, completely ignore her, or those puny assholes who look down on her.

As of the moment, there’s a rumor going around that Isabella was adopted into the Astley’s. I mean I wouldn’t blame them, considering that only Isabella had black hair and black eyes in the family. There’s another rumor going around that she’s a result of her mother’s affair.

There’s so much new information in my head that my brain might as well just go haywire from all the information. Not only do I have the memories of the original Isabella, I also know what would happen to her and to the people involved with her. Her future, her love interest, even her downfall. It’s all in my head.

After almost half an hour of me lying down in the dimly lit room, I stood up and grabbed a piece of paper. Other than Isabella’s memories, the most important thing was my own memories.

I finally remember my name, my age, my occupation, and how I died. I turned on the desk lamp and wrote what I remembered.

Name: Seon Demi

Nationality: Korean (I didn’t grow up there and only lived for 4 years of my life, I can’t speak Korean either, what a shame.)

Location: Lives in the States (I remember crying because of how much the medical expenses cost and the amount of student debt I have)

Age: 29 (Ew, I’m already 30.)

Gender: Female (I have a feeling I was gender fluid but I don’t really remember.)

Occupation: Pursuing a career in medicine (I don’t know what I’m pursuing exactly, but I remember working in a hospital for a long time.)

Likes: Animals (I think I had a hamster once but it died right after I bought it. It was on sale in the pet shop.)

(Note to self: Never buy animals on sale, they’re most likely already on their way to death.)

Dislikes: Children (I just don’t like them)

How I died: Stabbed to death. (I can’t remember exactly how and who stabbed me but I had a feeling of betrayal.)

“Seon Demi, Demi Seon, Demi.” I repeated my name again and again in my head and memorized it.

“I’m almost 30 and I remember having a break down with my friends when we went to a bar. I even said that I’m an old hag now.” I whispered this under my breath and repeated my name again and again once more.

“If I want to get back to my reality, I have to hold on to who I am, otherwise, I’m as good as dead.” I made sure to hide the piece of paper where I could only find it. If I somehow begin to forget who I am, I know where to find the paper. If I remember anything else, I’m just going to write it down and hide it in the same place.

“Now, all I have to do is wait for that floating ball of light to come back. I just have to survive with what I remember for now.”

‘Besides, I still have two days before going back to the academy.’ I thought to myself as I sighed and rested my head on the table.