I suddenly felt a dip on the bed beside me and looked up to see the unnerving brown orbs which held sadness, mercy, anger, sympathy and... love?? He engulfed me into a warm hug and I instantly felt as if my father had hugged me, but he wasn't alive. 

After a few seconds, he pulled away and said, with remorse clearly etched on his face, "I'm really ashamed and sorry for my insensitive remarks and for judging you so quickly. I just couldn't imagine that such a young girl would ever have to go through so much. And as for your step-father, as long as you are in my safe guard, you don't have to lose sleep over anything. I will protect you and take care of you like my daughter, that is, if you trust me enough. 

I know that it's a lot to ask as of now but always remember, taking risks are never bad. Don't ever jump into a ditch intentionally when you know it is destined to result in your doom, but at the same time, don't pass up a golden opportunity just because you were too much of a coward to take a risk."

Now let me tell you what exactly happened when I came back to my senses. 

(Flashback to this morning...) 

I looked up from my comfortable blanket to see the brown eyes of a tall, well-built man, his chocolate brown eyes slowly turning black as a livid expression settled in them, his mouth set in a straight line. He was sitting in the same position on an armchair in what looks like…...

'Oh my God,' I thought. Me being in a strange, unfamiliar room by myself meant only one thing - I had been caught by my step-father's men. 

I was so groggy and disoriented and my head was pounding so hard that I didn't even take notice of my surroundings and just thought of this scary-looking man as if he was a daily occurrence in my life. 

Initially, I couldn't grasp my surroundings, then gradually, all the memories of the past night started flooding my mind as if I had been hit by a ton of bricks. The sheer horror of what I had done and how bad the consequences of that action could be dawned on me just then, and without a second thought, I sprinted out of my bed towards the door but was caught by another burly man who was six times larger than me. 

"No, let me go! I don't want to go back home. Please let me go!!" I shouted and protested, struggling harshly in the beast's steel-like grip but it was to no avail. 

After I had spent all my renewed energy and started to feel a bit dizzy again, I had no choice but to sit down and embrace my fate with open arms. The man who was still sitting in the armchair in front of me, looked like the boss. I had no idea who these men were because I had never seen them around my step-father but their aura screamed of absolute power and that they shouldn't be messed with.

The intimidating man started shouting at me, "Can you please explicate why you were roaming around the city at two in the morning with just a backpack when the weather was as bad as an apocalypse? You were obviously running away from home because your mamma didn't buy you a dress, weren't you? And you also almost got hit on by some drunkards who obviously wanted to kidnap you but thank God I arrived there on time and scared them away! Spoilt brats like you are going to be the end of this world. Running away for little issues is not the solution! Now tell me why did-"

I couldn't take it any more and burst out crying. This man did not have the faintest idea of what he was saying. He thought that I was some emotional, dramatic and hormonal teenager trying to run away after getting admonished by my mamma. I was livid. How dare he judge me like that? I was going to give this stupid, arrogant man a piece of my mind no matter how much his eyes scare and intimidate me. 

I stood up from my bed furiously trying to wipe my eyes and shouted at him, "You don't have any right to judge me! I didn't run away because my 'mamma' got angry, I ran away because she will never be there to scold me… and if I stayed any longer in that house, my step-dad will kill me just like he killed my mother! So let me be free and let me go wherever I want to and out of this city as soon as possible, otherwise he will search for me and…. take me back and…. beat me again-"
I broke down again as memories of my terrible past came rushing to me — 

All the curses thrown my way. 

All the beatings rained on my frail body. 

All the insults and mockery directed towards me, without an ounce of penitence for what he had done. 

Without a shred of idea of what kind of pain he had inflicted on my mind and body.

He might have freed my mamma from this unforgiving and cruel world, where people of the likes of him exist in millions, but by choosing to torment me bit by bit every single day, he was gradually sucking the light out of me. My innocence, my optimism, my enthusiasm for this world – everything was gradually slipping from my hands – along with my sanity, and all I could do was watch while my hands were tied up tightly. All I had anymore were the memories of my mamma, and I wasn't sure if I would have that too forevermore. 

I remembered how once walking by a shop in the market, I saw this utterly beautiful dress and wanted it so badly but mamma said that she could either buy that dress or that night's dinner and I willingly let go. I always listened to her and never wanted to upset her even if it meant staying without some facilities. I just wanted her company, that's all. Seems like God wanted to take away the very thing I loved the most in my entire life. 

He then asked me the meaning of my words and I had to tell him the whole story. 

(Back to present...) 

I was extremely bemused. I wasn't in the state to read between the lines or decipher the cryptic codes he was speaking in, so I asked him. "Taking a risk? What kind of risk do you want me to take? "

The old man looked at me with utmost seriousness and said something without even batting his eyes. Something that changed my life forever.

"I want to adopt you as my daughter. I offer my name and protection to you, so you won't have to worry about your abusive step-father. You just have to put your trust in me, and accept my offer."

There are times when you dream of something which seems too real to be just a dream and even after you've woken up, the remnants of those dreams stay in your brain and shake you up to the core. But the problem is – you dream only when you're asleep, not when you're wide awake with every neuron in your conscious brain painfully attentive and eyes wide open – though I think I just developed this ability. What a genius! 

This man – who hardly knew who I was – just offered me to stay with him. He seemed to be well-to-do, for reasons still unknown. I mean this man could be a freaking gangster, who knows? There was nothing I could say. I was rendered completely speechless, being awfully lost in my own little dreamland. I came back to my senses when I heard the giant of a man exclaiming in astonishment, 

"Boss, but-but... you can't do that! What about your family? What if they don't accept her?"

The thought of his family stopped me from saying yes. My mood became sullen again as I really didn't want to intrude in someone's familial matters. 'How could you be so selfish Charlotte? How can you encroach on someone's family, when you know damn well how that feels?' 

The man instantly said in an equally serious voice, "They will have to accept her, I will see to that. My decision is final."

Then he turned to me and his eyes became soft again. He asked me again, "So what do you say? I don't want to force you, but it's for your best. Are you ready to take the risk?"

I looked up at him with hesitation clouding my eyes but he cleared it with a firm and genuine smile of his. Actually, he had a strange aura, something about him calmed me down a lot. And I was suddenly very sure of my future with that man as my father. 

Once he was assured I was not going to run away, something flashed in his eyes. I couldn't read the look as it vanished in a split second but I got distracted from it when he asked me, 
"Would you mind telling me your father's- sorry, step-father's name? "

I was at a loss but answered nonetheless, "His name is Roberto Alfonsi. He's a business  man and a mafia head also. Do you know him?"

Something more fierce than the last time flashed in his eyes as he turned to look at his bodyguard. Both men stiffened noticeably and a look of understanding passed between them which had me wondering whether they knew my step-father. 

"Why do you ask? Do you know him?" I asked him, skeptical of his intentions.

The man again turned to me and told me in a calm voice, "No dear, just sounded a tad familiar, that's all."

But that calm was more of the calm before a storm. The menacing look in his eyes that existed ephemerally died down instantly and he offered a small smile to me. "My name is Arnold Adams and he is my bodyguard Donovan."

After a long time, I was seeing a flicker of hope in the darkness. Warmth had started to spread in my heart but the reminder of my mother's... untimely and unjust death stopped that warmth from permanently residing in my heart and once again, replaced it with the practiced coldness. 

No matter where I went, I would, one day, come back for my mamma, I would come back to avenge her death and give my step-father a taste of his own medicine. Until then, I couldn't become too comfortable to remember my mamma. I had to invariably keep myself between thorns, so that I can always keep my motive in sight.

I looked up at Arnold and said with a hint of smile on my lips, the warm blue of my eyes, emotionless and distant. "My name is Charlotte, and yes, I will accompany you to wherever you take me."

---------------------------------------

So.... I'm back!!
Please tell me how did you feel about this chapter. I know it's going a little slow but I swear it's gonna pick up pace in due time.

So... Enjoy and please vote for this story.
Thanks a lot ❤