"Hi…" Jenice greeted with a subtle dislike in her tone.

Eliz just smiled and intended to ignore the lady. It was early in the morning, and she didn't want anything to ruin the start of the day.

But Jenice was persistent.

"Can you recognize this?" Jenice asked.

She showed her a car key that had something dangling in it.

"Is that Maximus' key?" Eliz asked as she could recognize the key chain.

Jenice laughed.

"Stupid," she said. "This is mine. Isn't it cute? We have matching key chains. I can't leave my car keys at home even when I'm not driving. That's how precious it is for me."

Eliz's eyebrow raised alone. She called her stupid and it annoyed her.

'So why is she telling me that? What's the point?' she thought.

"Do you want it?"

Eliz's forehead creased. "No. Why would I want that?"

Jenice shrugged. "How would I know what's inside a thief's brain?"

Eliz gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. Being called a thief was waking something inside her. She didn't like the feeling she was getting.

"Babe!" Jenice suddenly shrieked.

She stood up and ran towards Maximus. She hugged him like they hadn't seen each other for a year.

Maximus didn't even give Eliz a single glance. He was busy attending to his girlfriend.

When the two left, Eliz stared at the floor. The car key was lying on the floor. Jenice dropped it earlier.

Eliz bit her lower lip.

She felt her heartbeat race fast. Sweats formed on her forehead, and she had chills. Her throat went dry, so she gulped many times.

The abnormal urge to take the thing on the floor had taken over her. Her hands were itching.

She wanted to pick it up. She couldn't think of anything else but the car key on the floor she wanted to take. Her thoughts were fixated on it.

Her breathing started to become heavy. Eliz blinked many times and held her hands together.

"These symptoms…" she murmured. "No, it can't be…"

**

At the dining table, Marcelina noticed that Eliz was quiet during breakfast.

"Darling, are you okay?"

Eliz seemed to be out of focus.

"Hey, Eliz?"

When Eliz finally heard her mom, she snapped back to reality.

"Mom?" she called.

"Are you okay?"

Eliz nodded.

Their icy quiet breakfast was shattered when Jenice suddenly freaked out.

"My key! My car key! I lost it! Oh my god, what am I gonna do? Where did I lose it?"

"What's happening?" Marcelina asked.

"I think I lost my car key." Jenice looked at Eliz. "Have you seen it? I showed it to you earlier."

Eliz shook her head, and then her eyes landed on Maximus' doubtful eyes. He was glaring at her.

Suddenly, he stood up, went near her seat, and pulled her out of the table.

He took her to the living room and harshly pushed her onto the sofa.

"Where is it?" he just said.

He reached out his palm to her like he was asking for something.

Eliz got confused about what was happening. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't feign innocence. Hand me the key."

Eliz was insulted. "Shouldn't you ask first if I did take it or not?" Bitterness polluted her voice.

Maximus scoffed. "I don’t need to ask to know. Besides, there's only one thief in this house. There's only you."

Eliz stood up bravely and fixed her clothes that were crumpled because of Maximus' harsh hands.

"I'm not a thief. I told you I have a condition called kleptomania. And it's been years since I stopped going to sessions. I'm already free from it."

Maximus grabbed her wrist and looked at her with spite.

"People don't change. You can't change who you are. Once a thief, always a thief."

He dragged her upstairs. Eliz struggled to get away from his grip, but he was way too strong for her.

"What are we doing in my room?" Eliz asked. "Let go of me! It hurts!"

Maximus knowingly looked beneath her bed and took out a box. Eliz's eyes widened in shock.

"That's– What are you doing!" she screamed.

She immediately went near Maximus and tried to take the box away from his hand.

"That's mine! Give it back!"

Maximus was taller and stronger. There was no way she could overpower his strength.

"Please, I'm begging you. Don’t open it. Give it back to me."

Eliz begged with a sense of urgency. She was afraid that Maximus would open it.

With one last attempt, Eliz tried to reach for the box, and as a result, she tripped. Fortunately, she was able to hold on to Maximus' neck, and as she did that, both fell on the bed.

Maximus was on top of her, flustered by the accident.

Silence reigned in the room as they held each other's eyes captive. It was the perfect opportunity for Eliz to explain, so she took it while she could.

"I know exactly how you see me, Maximus. But still, your suspicion hurts. You, of all people, knew I never wanted to steal anything. I have no control over my urges. You know the word thief itself is a trigger to me. But you're not even helping me because of the way you look at me… and every chance you get, you'd call me a thief."

For a second, Maximus' eyes became soft. Like he felt sorry for her.

"Your paintbrushes, mom's necklace, you still haven't forgiven me for that? That was ages ago. And all the things you said I stole from you, I returned them when my symptoms subsided, didn't I? So what else have I stolen from you that I haven't returned yet?"

Maximus couldn't answer.

Because the one thing she stole from him and hadn't returned yet was something he shouldn't speak about. Something he was ashamed of and angry about.

"You're heavy," Eliz commented.

Realizing what she meant, Maximus immediately stood up.

But he hadn't forgotten why he was in her room. He opened the box and was dismayed to see what was inside.

He inspected the box once more. He threw the contents on the floor, not believing that the car key wasn't there.

"Disappointed?" Eliz said with unhappiness.

"What is happening here?" Marcelina barged inside the room. Her eyes were wide and confused.

Jenice was there too, looking like a curious person. She almost looked like she was having fun watching a show.

"What is this Maximus? What are you doing? Are you suspecting your sister of theft? Is that it?"

Marcelina couldn't believe what her eyes had seen.

Eliz's teen pictures from school were all scattered on the floor. Eliz had taken them from the album Marcelina created because she was embarrassed by how she looked in those photos.

"I know you didn't like your sister, but isn't this too much?"

"Mom, I just…" Maximus could only say.

Marcelina threw something at Maximus, and he caught it. His eyes circled when he saw Jenice's car keys.

"Take that!" Marcelina yelled.

She walked near Eliz and dragged her daughter out of the room. She led Eliz to the master's bedroom, and that was when her sobs became audible.

"Mom, I'm fine. I swear. I'm the one suspected of theft, but why are you the one crying?"

Marcelina wept even louder.

"I'm just so sad. I feel like I failed as a mother. To think that your own brother suspected you of something so–" Marcelina cried again.

Eliz couldn't do anything but hug her mother. She understood perfectly why Maximus reacted that way.

He had a reason to, and her mother didn't know that.