As always he made his daughter sit on his lap and fed her...

The girl looked at her sister and father and got jealous.

Her father realized her stare and gave her a warning look.

She looked down, got up from the chair and went to her room.

Her sister was always worried for her. She used to take care that the girl was never bullied,

and wanted her father to once again love the girl.

but all that went in vain when the father trusted some outsider

and sent the girl away forever.

_______***_______

He positioned himself stealthily behind a tree, a vantage point offering a view of her illuminated kitchen window. The sight of her washing dishes through the glass sent a wave of trepidation coursing through him.

"Ma'am, she's returned," he conveyed with palpable anxiety to the voice on the other end of the phone.

"WHAT? Have you placed that package in her room?" inquired the person on the call, their tone laced with urgency.

"No, ma'am. She returned alone," he reported.

Upon hearing this, the other party on the call displayed a perplexed frown and inquired, "Her father isn't with her?"

"No, ma'am," he confirmed, the conversation ending with a sense of disappointment that hung heavily in the air.

Ava's POV

Despite having completed all the dishes, an unsettling unease lingered within her. It was as if an inferno still raged, consuming her self-control and inner peace. Ava felt herself on the verge of breaking down.

All those years she'd spent honing herself into a pillar of strength seemed to be slipping away in the wake of her father's continued rejection. Despite her inner resolve to convince herself that he wasn't worth her emotions, Ava found herself unable to escape the ache of longing for the times when he had once adored her, protected her, and played with her.

It was incomprehensible to her that he could so easily believe a stranger's damning accusation that his own daughter was a "whore." Ava had tried to tell herself that he wasn't worth her tears, that she should hate him, but all that manifested was an overwhelming sense of missing him.

Flashback - Two years ago...

Upon parking her car, Ava was struck with shock upon noticing her father's car in the garage. He was rarely at home when Olly was around. As Olly had a night out at her friend's place, her father should've been absent.

Entering the house, she was met with a distressing sight – blood. Her father never brought his business home; it was kept far from their familial domain. But now, blood had infiltrated their sanctuary.

Ava initially chose to overlook the ominous signs, attempting to make her way to her room. It was then that a piercing scream, one she recognized all too well, reverberated from within her own bedroom.

"DAD, NO!" she cried out as she entered the room, only to be met with the sight of her friend, battered and bruised on the floor, her father looming menacingly above him.

"Ava..." he began, but her father silenced him with a violent punch.

"DAD!" Ava yelled, horrified by the unfolding scene before her.

"You..." her father pointed at her, his voice dripping with venom. "Stay away." Abruptly, he abandoned the injured man and advanced menacingly towards his daughter.

Unafraid, Ava gazed back at her father with a detached expression, unfazed by his threatening demeanor.

"I gave you one simple rule – 'Stay away from boys.' And what did you do? YOU WHORED AROUND HERE AND THERE," her father screamed, his final words dripping with contempt. At that moment, Ava felt a deep pang of hurt.

"Whore," she whispered, the word carrying the weight of her father's judgment. A single tear trickled down her cheek, betraying her inner turmoil.

"Yes, whore," her father spat. "Today, you've proven my decision right. I should've never brought you back. You were better off where you were. You killed your mother, and now you're trying to deceive me."

Ava looked at him, bewildered. "What are you talking about, Dad?"

She was abruptly interrupted. "Ava, what's going on? I came here for the project, as we agreed, and your father just started attacking me. He claims we're involved," her friend interjected as he descended from Ava's room. His unconscious state bore the physical toll of her father's torture, leaving him bewildered and disappointed.

"What? Dad, there's nothing like that. He's just my friend."

"Oh, really? Then why does your diary say he's your crush?"

Ava was left stunned, her mind racing to comprehend. "My diary? Where did you find it?"

"It doesn't matter now. You're leaving."

Ava grew still. "Leaving? Where to, and for how long?"

Yes, she remained remarkably composed, for her father often resorted to this tactic when important guests were expected or when he desired her absence. Sometimes for weeks, or even a month or two.

There was a pause, but the subsequent words her father uttered pierced her heart.

"Paris, for your so-called dream. And you won't be coming back. You're no longer my daughter," he declared before departing.

End of flashback...

Ava's phone suddenly rang, snapping her back to the present. It was her father. Not in the mood to engage with him, she chose to ignore the call and retreated to her bed to seek solace in sleep.

Moments later, a knock on her door startled her. Who could it be at such a late hour?

She hesitated briefly before cautiously opening the door, revealing Romano standing on the other side, his expression initially tense but softening as soon as he saw her.

"What's going on? Why are you here?" she inquired.

"It's you," he exclaimed, gripping her shoulders firmly to prevent her from evading his presence. "Why weren't you answering your phone? And why did you run away and come back here?" he continued his gaze intense and probing.

Ava sighed. It was just him. But then she wondered why he still looked so incredibly handsome, despite the late hour. He wore a simple shirt and pants, yet Ava found herself wandering into inappropriate territory in her thoughts, pondering whether he had a chiseled physique.

But she shook herself from her reverie when he called her name.

"Stupid me," she thought. "Did I just think such things? Oh, God."

However, something else quickly darkened her mood. Romano was Olly's boyfriend.

She stood up, distancing herself from him to maintain some semblance of control. A few moments passed before she managed to collect herself.

"Umm, why are you here at this late hour?" she asked with an icy tone.

Her earlier feelings of anger, excitement, and heartbreak were now gone, replaced by a vehement effort to suppress her unwanted emotions. She had dedicated years of her life to becoming emotionally impenetrable, but Romano's proximity always seemed to elicit something within her that she couldn't escape.

"I... Umm, you disappeared from Paris last night. Everyone was worried. So, when I returned today, I thought I should see you. But you didn't answer your phone, so I didn't have a choice but to come here," he explained, studying her carefully, attempting to discern her emotions.

"No need to worry. I'm fine, and I can take care of myself. It's late now, so you should leave. Goodnight," she declared firmly, closing the door on his bewildered expression.

She knew she had been rude, but she also understood the necessity of maintaining her emotional boundaries. She couldn't afford to fall in love with him.

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Thanks for reading.

words - 1196