My father's fingers hit the top of the table rhythmically. He sits in front of me, gawking intensely, his lips pressed into a thin line. The usual polished suit he wears isn't as polished as it always is. I can't decide if it's because I don't deserve the respect or because he is too angry to notice.

Each thud makes a shiver come up my spine. I twist my rings hard enough to hurt. His stare freezes me over, making it impossible to look at Nina for support. I know she's leaning against the wall a few steps away from me, probably shooting imaginary daggers at my father, but I wish she was closer to my line of sight.

"Let me get this straight," he starts, and I hold my breath. "You're betraying the family?"

"No!" I exclaim. "No, I- I don't want to go back home. I want to stay here."

He nods slowly. "You want to stay here? I believe I told you that you cannot stay here."

"You did," I confirm. "But, things considered, it's better for me to be here."

He nods again. I can almost applaud his attempt at pretending he cares about what I want. He keeps registering everything I say, as if he agrees and understands, but I know he doesn't. I wonder how long he'll take to drop the facade.

"Better how?" he inquires.

"It's closer to the university," I reply immediately.

"You just finished the year."

I swallow, unsure of what to reply. He is right, but I didn't have time to prepare for his interrogation. When he called, demanding my whereabouts, I assumed he would scream, I'd cry a lot, and then he'd take me home.

"Yes, but staying here would allow me to be more in touch with the academic life."

"The academic life?" he asks. "How so?"

I fumble for the right words, feeling myself shrink under his gaze. "I have more opportunities here since I'm closer to the university."

His fingers stop drumming on the table, and a deafening silence settles between us. He leans back in his chair, the weight of his gaze intensifies. I try not to buckle under the scrutiny of his gaze.

"This is what is going to happen," he starts. "You're going back home with me, because it's better for you. This nonsense you speak of is only that. Your mother has prepared a social gathering, and she wants you to attend. You're not going to let her work be all in vain, are you?"

I clasp my hands together at the mention of my mother, tightening my grip. She doesn't talk to me much. At least not anymore, despite my attempts. I've yearn for her approval for so long I can't remember a time before that. He is striking a chord, and he knows it.

"To introduce me to my future husband?" I ask, my voice no louder than a whisper.

"I didn't realise you knew about that. But to answer your question, yes, he will be there."

I shake my head slowly, staring at my hands. "Father, I don't want to get married to someone I don't know. I'm not going with you."

His jaw tenses and I fight every instinct to apologise and do as he commands.

I try to look at Nina, but that only makes him angrier. "Don't look at her. She's the reason you're doing all of this madness, isn't she?"

I don't reply at first, hoping Nina would interfere and tell him off. It's hard to say if I'm grateful or not that she kept quiet. Still, I glance at her all the way this time to make sure she hasn't left me. She gives me an encouraging nod, and that gives me enough strength to look at him again. Yet, it doesn't give me the words I need.

"It's not about her. It's about what I want."

"What you want?" He laughs. "You don't get to 'want'. This is about our reputation. Our legacy. The only thing that matters is the family name."

The family argument is older than me. They passed it down to my father, his father, and his father's father, just like they told me. It's something I've hated from the moment I first heard it. I was too young to be burdened with the prestige of generations of work.

"I can still contribute to the family, even if I'm not living in your house. But I need to have my life. Make my own choices. I need space to make mistakes."

He clenches his fists harder. "Mistakes? You think you can afford to make mistakes? Have you learnt nothing?"

"Father-"

"ENOUGH!" He gets up, hands hitting the table so hard I flinch back.

Two hands hold me by the shoulders upon his outburst. I feel her behind me, and that's the only thing keeping me together. She said I could kick him out whenever, and I know she's just waiting for me to tell her to do so, but I won't just yet.

"You're going home. Right. Now."

I shake my head. "Could you at least try to understand? I'm not trying to undermine you. I'm just trying to have a life."

"We gave you everything," he utters through gritted teeth. "You can't even be thankful for all the opportunities we gave you. You had what you had because of your name and now you want to throw it in the mud like it means nothing. I won't let you."

Tears run down my face. They come harder and harder no matter how many times I try to wipe them. My throat is sore and I haven't even spoken. I just want him to go away.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Nina's grip on me loosens. I look at her to see what's going on, and she holds my head between her hands, wiping my tears as futile as it was for me.

"Don't cry," she whispers. "It's not worth it."

I nod slowly. "I know..."

"You're the problem, aren't you?" he asks. "I'll tell you this only once, girl. Don't mess with my family, or I'll make you pay."

I can't breathe. I look at him, but I don't think I've ever seen him like this. He threatens people all the time. He threatens me. That never bothered me before. It was always the norm to see him angry at something or at a situation, and to see him yell and intimidate people. But I've never seen how awful that was.

"Get out," I say, but the voice doesn't sound like my own.

"Excuse me?" he asks.

"Get out," I repeat. "I'm not going with you and if you try to do anything against Nina, I'll tell mum you're cheating on her with the maid."

"I'm nor cheating on your mother," he almost yells.

"I know, but who do you think she's going to believe?" I ask, knowing she's been paranoid about it in the last few years.

"Are you blackmailing me?" he asks.

"No. I'm asking you to leave and to not do anything you'll regret."

He fulminates me with his eyes. "You think you can blackmail me? I'm going now, but you're no longer my daughter." He looks at Nina, hatred in his eyes. "You're going to regret this."

Only when the door closes behind him I feel safe. I breathe a lot more easily once it's just me and Nina in the apartment again. I get up and look at her, wiping all the tears from my face.

"I'm so sorry," I tell her. "I didn't mean to make this whole mess."

She shakes her head. "It's okay, don't worry about it. All that matters is that you are safe and that he won't bother you again."

"Won't he?" I ask, unsure. "Is it really over? He said he is coming after you."

"It's fine." She shrugs it off and then smirks at me. "I have a lawyer, remember? What is he going to do? A smear campaign?"

"He might, actually."

"I'm ready. Let's go." She grins.

I sigh. "You're not worried at all. You should, Nina. I don't know what he'll do, or if he'll do anything at all, but if he does..."

"I'll move countries and change my name. A whole new adventure. It'll be awesome."

I can't help but smile at her, even worried. "Fine. But give me a hug. I need one today."

She engulfs me in her arms, and I let myself relax for the first time today. At this moment, I let myself be free of all worries and cherish the victory. Maybe it won't last long, or maybe he'll leave me alone for good this time. It's still hard to believe I just did what I did, but for now, I want to be happy and worry later.

"Thank you so much for being with me," I mutter against her neck. I couldn't let go, even if I wanted to. It's like her body shapes perfectly against mine.

Still in the embrace, she loosens her grip so she can look me in the eye, making me catch my breath. "I told you I'd be here every step. And it was all you. I did nothing."

"You were there when I need you to be," I tell her, mesmerised by her smile. "And I had to fix things for myself for the first. You gave me the strength I needed."

"Well, you did great."

I grin, trying to keep my eyes on hers, even though I'm closer to her lips. "Nina?"

"Mhm?"

"Will you give me the strength for one more thing?"

She frowns. "What's that?"

I don't think I have the courage. My breathing is the loudest thing in the room, and I'm sure she hears it. And even if not, my heart is thudding harder than it ever did.

"Giada?"

"Nothing," I mutter, letting go of her. "It's nothing."

"What do you mean?"

I walk away from her, but I have nowhere to go. The room I'm sleeping in is hers. The entire house is hers. There's not a single corner where I can have privacy. I made a grave mistake and now I have no place to call mine.

"Giada?" she calls again, stopping me from wandering further away. "What's going on?"

"What's going on?" I ask, feeling like there's never enough air in my lungs. "What do you mean, what's going on? This is your apartment. I'm stuck here with you and I have nowhere to go to now."

She freezes. "I didn't realise it was so terrible to live with me."

"It's a nightmare," I tell her. "I thought we felt the same. But then this happened and now you don't act the way you used to anymore."

"Giada-" she starts, but I'm on a roll.

"I really thought you liked me. I thought when you said we weren't friends that we meant the same thing. But now you don't do the things I want you to do. And you know perfectly well I won't do them either. You know if it depends on me, nothing will happen. That's why you changed. You don't want anything to happen."

"I think you need to calm down and stop making stuff up in your mind."

"I'm not making anything up." My lip quivers, but I won't cry again today. "You don't like me the way I like you. Maybe you all you wanted was someone you could sleep with and never talk to again and now you're stuck with me."

"Today was hectic," she says, too calmy. "I know you're not okay, but I'm not going to have this conversation with you right now."

"What are you afraid of? Breaking my heart? Don't worry. You already did."

I don't know why I am saying what I'm saying, but the way she isn't reacting is pissing me off. I wish she would at least understand.

"I'm not trying to break your heart. I just didn't want to make this uncomfortable for you. I thought- It wouldn't be fair to you if I tried anything while you're here. I didn't want to take advantage of the situation."

I frown. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I like you too. Now go take a breath outside, or something. I don't know. I need you to calm down."

"Nina-"

"No, I'm serious. Go outside. I'm not talking to you if you keep saying I'm breaking your heart."

I look down. "I'm sorry. Give me a second." I start walking towards the balcony but stop and turn her. "Hey?"

"What?"

"I like you," I tell her with a smile. "A lot."

She rolls her eyes but smiles. "I like you too."

Okay, but if we ignore the ending (which I hate) that argument with her father was not bad. That's what takes her to snap, and I didn't even plan on writing it until she decided to do it all on her own.

One more to for cutesies and then epilogue

Thank you for reading