❝The only kind of love I want is one where even if it is just for a short moment, it feels like I have lived a lifetime in that moment with that person. ❞ - Jhanvi Raichand.
**You CANNOT read this as standalone. Read Dare to Be before reading this...
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2.37 State of Mind
Organized crime.
They are difficult to eradicate for that exact reason. There is a hierarchy. Everyone has a role. Everyone knows what their role is in the bigger picture. Everyone sticks to that role.
And the person at the top, the boss of the mafia... how do you ever come to accept the fact that your biological father is just that? How can one wrap their mind around all the heinous acts he is capable of committing? All the innocent lives. All the terror he leaves behind in his wake.
It makes my insides sick with disgust that the blood in my veins comes from him. Of all the scenarios I had created in my head growing up, this was not even an option. It's the worst wake-up call to reality.
Aarav calls me his Angel. The one who snips away the darkness that might threaten his soul whenever he thinks about his father. But, after learning who my own father is, how can I ever return to being that person? I have had this darkness lurking around me my whole life and I was blissfully unaware.
What I wouldn't give to remain in that state of mind.
My whole life, he had been absent. Whatever gave him the right to barge into my life now and bring along all of his havoc with him?
With determination, I march towards the room Dmitri was staying in for he had tagged along with us to Aarush's home. He pauses his sit ups at my arrival, his eyes widening slightly on seeing me first thing in morning. Perhaps, also because I am approaching him rather than him being the one to follow me. Crossing my arms over my chest, I announce. "Pack your bags. You are leaving."
He stands up on his feet with a counter, "You may be my boss's daughter, but you are not my boss. You don't give me my orders."
"I don't give a damn." I seethe in anger. "I have told you many times since you arrived that I do not want anything to do with that man - especially after knowing who he is."
His body stiffens and he carefully begins while taking a step towards me, "Whatever you think you know..."
I shake my head taking one step back to keep my distance. I may have foolishly challenged him before, but I am not repeating the mistake knowing his ties to the mafia. I am better off staying far, far, away from that kind of danger. "I know exactly what the truth is, so don't even think about twisting it to fit his agenda. Whatever he thought he can achieve by sending you here, he thought wrong. I want you out of my life. I want him out of my life. Period."
Having expressed my wishes explicitly, I turn on my heel to leave.
Unfortunately for me, he does not let me leave easily. Before I can blink, he blocks my path standing in front of my only safe exit. "Sadly, I don't really care what you want. It's what you need."
