When my car stopped in front of my home, I didn't even glance back at Mia and entered the house by using the spare key because I didn't want to bother Dima and quickly dashed to my room.

"Oh my god, Liara! What happened to you? Wha-" I could hear Dima rushing to my room but she stopped at the entrance as soon as she saw me snuggling my teddy bear. I was struggling to avoid talking to her and covered myself with a blanket.

"Dima, I'm really tired. I just... I just want to sleep so... goodnight," I mumbled, composing myself and pretending to fall asleep.

I heard the lock of my bedroom door click and concluded that she'd finally left me alone. The loneliness I felt was creeping the hell out of me after what I'd come to know today. But my pathetic acting didn't persuade Dima because the next moment, I felt the bed dipping beside me and a hand wiping away my tears that wouldn't stop falling down my cheeks.

"Liara, baby, will you tell me what's wrong?" She whispered as she came closer to me.

"You really don't know what's wrong, Dima?" I yelled at her but I was unsure whether she had any idea about what had happened today. I couldn't believe that she hid this from me. I was angry at her because she knew about him all this time yet never told me. I didn't want to look like a fool in front of her and I wasn't a kid anymore that she needed to console me with her lies.

"I was being lied to my whole life. Dima knew about him. Dima knew about my father!" Inner me is screaming inside my mind, choking my breath, making it harder for me to speak.

Yes, the man I'd seen just an hour or something ago happens to be my father. Mom had never shown me any of his pictures. She'd said that he never wanted us and when he found out about her being pregnant with his child, his first words were to abort me. But when she had denied, he left us and never came back as his departing words were to either choose me or him. Nevertheless, I did not question her about it.

After that accident and losing the only two people who were and still are my only family, I'd dwelled in my mom's bedroom the entire day. Amidst this, I had found an old photo album hidden beneath the wardrobe with a special lock system. I've always had the knack to try different things and learn anything and everything that I can. Basically, unlocking with a hairpin was one of those things.

Inside that album, I remember seeing a worn out and old picture. Although, not too old to not recognise the couple in it. In the picture, they were both standing closer to each other and the guy was kissing on the girl's forehead. The girl in the photo looked identical to me and then I realized that the boy in the photo is the person I loathe the most. They looked happy and I thought that maybe mom misunderstood about dad not wanting us?.

I'd asked Dima many times about him, but she refused to say anything to me. Although today after watching him with that blonde woman, I lost it. My father didn't want me, he'd wanted to kill me because he already had a family somewhere else. He was just screwing with my mom.

***

I shuddered when the memories of my mom crying in her room flooded in my mind. My body shook with outrage. I had so many questions and no one cared enough to answer them. I was kept in darkness till now.

"Liara princess?" I hear Dima whisper.

"Dima, I don't want to talk to you right now. Talk to me when you are ready to tell me about my father who'd technically screwed my mom as well as every other damn detail about their relationship. Or else just... just leave me alone." I announced, not proud of my tone but my voice was still shaking while my whole body was shivering.

I glanced at her and saw pain, shock, regret and other emotions swirling in her eyes which I couldn't quite comprehend. I turned my head away from her and she walked out of my room without saying another word.

I hid my face in my soft teddy bear, breathing in my mom's faint smell and cried until I couldn't think properly. The last thing I saw before losing my consciousness was the black dots forming in front of me.

***

As I stood in Liara's living room, I glanced at the clock which stroke 2 am. I decided to pass the night here so I could check on her when she wakes up.

I could think about only one thing - the way she got out of the car. I was shell shocked by seeing her reaction at the venue. She was quivering when I'd found her. I've never seen her in that state before. She's always been a strong woman so imagine my horror when I saw her reacting like that.

I paced back and forth as all the thoughts consumed me. She didn't even look back after getting out of the car. Dima was also quiet. She quickly ran after Liara but soon came downstairs. I tried asking her multiple times about what happened but she refused to tell me anything. All this was making me super tensed.

The ringing of the doorbell brought me back to reality.

"Dima, you stay. I will go check who's it," I said, gently squeezing her hand and walking towards the door. As I opened it, I found Keryl waiting outside, biting her nails anxiously.

"Hello, Miss Keryl. Come in, please," I insisted and welcomed her awkwardly.

She didn't bother to look at me and trotted towards Dima. Keryl started whispering something when she got closer to her.

"Dima, for heaven's sake! What in the world is happening here?!" I demanded, surprising myself. I was tired of being ignored.

"It's personal, Mia and-" Keryl began but was cut off by Dima.

"No Keryl, it's okay. She is family, and I know that she won't hurt Liara. We can confide in her." She mumbled and put her hands on Keryl's to assure her.

"Are you sure about this?" Keryl asked. She was reluctant to include me in their topic of discussion. I stood there dumbfounded, not knowing if I should say something or not but decided to stay silent instead.

But my inner self was screaming, "Hello! Are you talking about me? I'm standing right in front of ya!. Can you see me?"

I watched Dima directing me to take a seat on the couch.

"Please just tell me what's going on already. It's really freaking me out right now. Because at this rate, I think I might get a heart attack as well." I informed her, feeling my heart beating at an uncannily quicker rate.

"It's... it's about Liara's father," Keryl announced with a solemn expression.

"Her what?!" I exclaimed because I knew very little about him. Liara had never mentioned a single thing about him to me except for showing his picture.

Keryl then proceeded, "I saw him at the event with his wife and children today. I've always hidden this from Liara that... I am her father's sister. He is Gabriel, my brother, Mia," she said, pain and shame evident in her voice.

She then shifted her attention towards Dima, completely avoiding my 'are you serious' look and explained. "Dima, I was unaware about him coming along with his family in that event otherwise I would have warned you beforehand. I saw Liara standing there frozen and shaken. So I ran towards her but she'd already disappeared. I'd checked the entire place and when I neared the backyard's corridor, I saw her with Mia. Mia held her for a few minutes and then they were gone so I concluded that Mia brought her home."

Keryl glanced towards Liara's room making me turn my head along with her but it was empty. I raised my eyebrows at her but she ignored me again.

After few minutes, she continued, "As I rushed to come here, Gabriel blocked my path. I just prayed to God that he didn't get any hint about Liara being his daughter when he stopped me and asked about her. I brushed it off by saying that she is my friend's daughter." I could say that she was really nervous because her voice shivered.

"Please tell me that he believed you," Dima asked hopefully and I could clearly see the discomfort in her eyes.

"I don't think that he believed me so easily. But I didn't give him much time to think about it and just came here as soon as I could." Keryl said and paused as if thinking something.

"We've never shown her his picture but seeing Liara's reaction, I am sure she knows that the asshole is her father," Keryl gritted.

"But why are you both hiding the truth from her? I mean, I know how she knows about her father because I've seen his picture too." I thought out loud. They both looked at me with shock.

"How?!" They asked me in unison.

"I remember the day when aunty had passed away and Liara was staying in her room while I gave her company. So that day, I saw her holding a photo from an old album. When I asked her about it, she was silent for a few minutes as if in a trance and then later mumbled that the man in the photo is her father." I explained to them, recollecting the blurry memory of the past.

"Oh my goodness, she will never forgive me for hiding the truth from her. How am I going to face her? Why didn't she ever ask me about that photograph? She's always asked me about her father but never once did she speak anything regarding the pictures." Dima started crying, hiding her face behind her hands.

"Because she's a very tough girl. Besides, she may want us to confess about it instead of straight out asking about any of it. I am familiar with that calculative mind of hers and I'll admit, I am really proud of her." Keryl said a faint sad smile appeared on her face.

I nodded my head in agreement. Although, curiosity got the best of me so I asked, "Wait a minute, what triggered you both to not tell her about him? What is even more questionable is that he never came to see her and didn't even bother to look for her after that accident."

Before I could get an answer, we heard the clacking of heels. Keryl signalled me to stay quiet. A few minutes later, Liara walked downstairs.

She was back to her formal self, wearing plain formal pants and a white shirt while her hair was styled back in a messy bun. Her face was clean from any makeup except for the lip balm. She is the goddess of beauty. She looked beautiful even in her formal look. But her face held a hint of sadness and her eyes were red. One could tell that she had been crying.

"Dima I am going to the SAMS. I have some work that needs to be done. And don't wait for me tomorrow, I have a few meetings to attend so I won't come home until late at night." Liara said.

Without even turning towards us, she walked away while we just looked at her dumbstruck.

Keryl cleared her throat and brought our attention back.

"I guess it's time that we tell her the truth. I cannot watch her in this state. Sorry Dima, but I can't hold back anymore. I know she is not going to concentrate on her work in this state of mind. It will worsen her health if she does not get proper sleep and I know it for a fact that she will not until she gets all her answers," she said.

"Just... just be careful, okay?" Dima mumbled between sobs.

"I'll come with you. I've always been with her when she needed me even if she never asked for it. And today, I know that she's gonna need me again. So I am coming," I strode along with her not allowing any more arguments.

With that said, we both drove towards SAMS International through Keryl's car as I'd come here in Liara's car.

***

Once we reached there, she parked her car and we could see that only a single light was on, on the topmost floor. Liara must be inside her office, submersed in the work to overcome the pain she was suffering.

My chest tightened thinking about what she was going through. I was unaware of the truth and why they were hiding it but it's not that simple. That is all I could conclude by seeing Keryl twitching with every step she took.

**†***†***†***†***†**

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*A on/N~

I tried different povs to explain the situation better. So, comment whether reading the story with different povs is confusing helpful? Because that will help me decide whether I should add my MC's povs as well or continue with only Liara's pov.

PN: I love teddy bears 🤭🤫