CHAPTER 7 – INTROSPECTION
Félix lay on his plush bed. Gabriel's generosity knew no bounds. The guest room that he had been allocated was bigger than both his and his mother's rooms back home combined. The en suite bathroom was richly decorated in marble. He had a small entertainment area, a massive television and a direct line to the kitchens in case he felt like something more substantial than the snacks in his personal mini-fridge. Everything his heart desired and more – just as it had been a few months before when his father was still alive.
He stared at the ceiling. He had been thinking about his mother all day. Now he emptied his mind and allowed it to wonder.
THE AGRESTES he thought. How could it be that his family had been reduced to relying on THE AGRESTES.
His smooth forehead wrinkled in a frown.
THE AGRESTES. No matter how successful his family, they had always been one better. Over the years he had slowly grown to hate his famous relatives, who always seemed to outdo him.
His father was a merchant banker, rich beyond many men's dreams. Yet compared to Gabriel Agreste he was a pauper.
His father was well-known and respected in London banking circles. Gabriel Agreste was a household name in hundreds of countries.
Félix had long been praised for his good looks, his piercing eyes, his perfect figure. But he was not his cousin, Adrien, who had the same beautiful looks but who was also a world-famous model, worshiped by thousands of girls around the world.
In England Félix did well at school and was considered exceptional because he spoke fluent French. But he knew that Adrien brought back numerous academic accolades each year and that he spoke fluent French, English and Mandarin in addition to being an accomplished piano player.
Félix had had friends at school, people who liked him for his money and his looks and who had disappeared as soon as it became clear his family had fallen on hard times. He thought back to the sickly messages that he had recently deleted off Adrien's phone, messages of genuine warmth and caring. The messages had sat like ash in his stomach as he realised what true friendship looked like. His "friends" had no interest in him as a person, and merely liked him for what they could get out of him. "I love you" he whispered, remembering the girl with pigtails' message to his cousin. Rage flashed across his eyes.
He cousin had it all: looks, money, brains and friends. To top it all off he was a NICE person. Félix thought back to his cousin's hug, how good it had felt, the strength he had drawn from it, the fact that he had sat hugging him for hours in his time of need. "Can't you have one flaw Adrien?" he asked himself. His cousin was so nice it was sickening. He was so nice that he hated him for it.
He had thought that the scales had finally tilted in his favour when Adrien had lost his mother, only to have them levelled again when his father passed a few months later. Now it looked like he might lose his mother too. He had already lost his lifestyle. Again Adrien was winning.
Even his mother had not been treated equally. His mother was Emilie Agreste's identical twin sister and her best friend. Yet as the older twin it was Emilie Agreste who inherited the Graham de Vanily rings at her wedding, leaving his mother with nothing. Well, not quite nothing.
Félix smiled and opened a secret compartment in his suitcase, admiring the ring that he had stolen from his uncle a few days before. It was a small victory, but one which he savoured.
"The wheel of fortune will turn AGRESTES" he promised himself. He placed the ring back in its hiding place and settled back on his bed, before dropping of into a restless sleep. When he finally dreamt, it was of his perfect cousin being brought low, and his heart filled with savage glee.