"That tour that you were talking about, let's go." I said.

He looked surprised. "Us?"

"Yes. Us. Let's start life afresh, somewhere." I said.

"Afresh? Were we not happy here, dear?" He asked me, with a smile that made me quite afraid.

"You know the truth." I said.

He nodded his head. "Yes, I know. I know the truth very well."

"Good! Then, let's head off somewhere. Start afresh and lead a happy life, possibly." I said, feeling extremely uneasy, but I didn't let that show.

"Yes, someone is going to start afresh and lead a happy life. But it's not the both of us, just me." He said.

"W-what?"

He brought the papers which were on the dining table all this while. I saw that they were some kind of bank documents. I was quite taken aback. "Dad, what is this?"

"Didn't you say that you'd look about the tour I was talking about? I think I might want a little break for myself. This is regarding the expenses."

I couldn't believe it. My fists curled up on their own, and my body started shaking fervently. "What kind of a father takes money from his own daughter this way? Aren't you ashamed?"

My choice of words might have been wrong, for something in him snapped, and his face was now daunting. "Oh? Now suddenly, the way I retrieve back the money, my family's money, is quite shameful?"

"Father, please, I understand-" I began.

"Then, shall I tell you a shameful story? You probably know bits of it yourself." He said.

"Appa, please-" I didn't want to hear it. 

Truth was poison when it came from the wrong person.

And I knew it, all too well.

"There was once a bunch of happy children in a poor orphanage. They had bond more closer than siblings. The only thing lacking in their life was money! If only, they had enough money, they'd have everything. For they were smart, too damn smart, all of them."

I couldn't breathe.

"One day, they came to know about an old rich man who'd just lost his wife, and his son.' How could the two of them be tricked?' They wondered. But they didn't have to think long, for they saw how weak the two of them were. So the happy bunch began forging a series of clever manipulations that would lead on for the rest of eternity and ensure that they lived comfortably for the rest of their lives."

My legs gave out, I was now on the ground.

"They targeted the one void that was inside the father and son duo. Love. So one of them, decided she'd make the son fall in love with the son. And she did, she had a son with him, but it didn't last. But they didn't worry, for they had a backup plan, which would only make them stronger." He said.

"I beg you, stop!" I pleaded.

"Yep." He said. "She succeeded in both the missions, gaining the trust of both the father and the love of the son. And they even ended up getting married to each other. They had a daughter."

I could hear no more. I wanted to vomit. Even though I'd known everything, hearing it directly was more sickening .

"So, who is more shameful? The people in the story, or me?"

"I understand! I am so very sorry, I beg your forgiveness in their place. I really do. I just don't even know what to say!" I said, my voice shaking. "But, can we forget everything that happened and turn our lives around?"

"No. Just me." He said.

"Am I not your daughter?"

"I don't know about that. But I do know that you are her daughter."

And then I knew that there was no point in arguing. There was simply no returning back. "Is that so? I am very sorry that you feel that way. Now, where do I sign in the papers?"

He pointed towards the corner of a page, and I complied.

"I hope it brings you peace, as long as you are happy." I said. Honestly, I didn't even feel a bit sad to part with the money.

"Peace? This is not the entire thing. It's just the half of it." He said.

"What do you mean?"

"That boy's." He said.

My heart stopped.

"No! I won't let you take his money! You have all the rights to take mine, but not his. You never cared about him! You never treated him right! He deserves atleast this much!" I said.

"It's my money." He said.

"It's our family's. Not yours alone. You haven't worked a day in your life. You have no rights. I won't allow it to happen, at any cost." I said. "Please, I beg you."

"It wouldn't have reached him if it weren't for your mother. And you wouldn't have gotten a rupee yourself." He said.

"I am your daughter! He is your son! We are your children! No matter the history with our mothers, we ought to love each other. Our mothers might have tricked you, but we're innocent. You know that, right? You're our father and you brought me up. You know how much I love you." I said.

My father stood at me, looking at me vacantly. It was as though I was talking to a stone wall.

There was a knock on the door. I knew it was Arjun, and I dreaded about what would happen now. I ran before my dad could, and opened the door.

"Just go home, Arjun." I said, pushing him away. "I told you I wouldn't be coming."

He held the door tightly, and pushed it towards me and I had to take a step backwards. But, by then, my dad had already gotten a hold on the handle, and opened it wide.

"Welcome, son." He said.

The air turned more colder than it had been, and I saw Arjun glance a look at me. I could see that this was what he had been expecting, and that this situation was what he'd been trying to say- and avoid. 

But I'd simply ruined everything by coming here.

"I've been expecting you" He said. "My lawyers will be here soon."

"Didn't I tell you that he won't be signing your papers? Isn't my money enough for you? You could count it all day and still be alive for a lifetime! Why are you so greedy? He is your son! Your blood! Wouldn't you want him to lead a comfortable life?" I cried, my voice breaking. "Arjun, just go home!"

However, Arjun wasn't one to leave me behind, for all these years, he'd risked everything for me,and he wasn't someone to walk away from the situation so easily.

"Listen, we can talk about this." He began saying to my father, but my dad  stumbled and almost fell on me.

I saw the my father grab a paper cutter which was nearby, and felt my pulse go fast. Everything happened in a few moments.

I felt an extraordinary pain in my arm and I saw white everywhere, but I could hear everything clearly.

"So, are you still open to talks?" My father said.