Solving Riley

❄Chapter 1

"I'm tough, I'm ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, I'm fine"

-Madonna

Riley's POV

Removing the scarf around my neck, I finally let the cold air take away my thoughts. Today was the day. I was finally getting shifted to one of the busiest cities in the world, New York. It's been three years since I was last here. Although I was bitterly going to miss my dear home which was at Boston, it was going to be a new challenge coming back here.

I had been packing for six days straight, living on coffee and takeaways and today here we were, in my relatives' apartment, 8th avenue, New York. I was finally coming back here, after three years later. Unfortunately, I couldn't let the euphory of being in this city overwhelm me. The reason we were here was disheartening. My father died a month ago. Considering he was suffering from cancer for two years already, death was like a blessing for him. I cannot lie. I miss him. So much that I've spent days sneaking into the bathroom and crying. Deep down, I believe that he's still here with me. In my thoughts, my actions, whispering motivation in my ear as I take my decisions.

'One day, I will be gone. There will be pain, trouble and lots of responsibilities but always remember that you have to stay strong despite of all the difficulties. Life never waits for anyone, nor is it easy. You have to work hard and make it a memorable one. You have to move on for life goes on.' after he said this, I laughed considering it as a parenthood speech but now that he was really gone, I realized its importance. There was a huge hole in my life and I had to live with it.

The month had been a disaster for us. After the big incident that happened in my career, I left everything I was. I became Riley Summers. I started wearing fake glasses and fake retainers which made me look like Velma from Scooby Doo. I had to apply dark makeup every day before stepping outside my house. I coloured my hair pitch black from my original brunette. I made sure that all my highlights were gone.

I became the nerd because that was the only option left for me in order to live a normal life.

Back then, my father was my only support system when I went through those bad days. He kept reminding me that I was normal yet unique, just like everyone else. He was the best man I ever met in my life, my first hero. After everything in my life was shattered, my father was the only one who picked up the pieces and stuck us together. He supported us, emotionally and financially. When we had decided to start a new life, we left all our lavish ways of living and shifted to a petite house at Boston. In these three years, I forgot all the pampering that I experienced in the first seventeen years of my life. And now, as my father was n more our backbone, we were conclusively in trouble with no family income. I wish I could be what I was, three years ago. But I had made my mind now, and there was no turning back.