My heart was pounding.
I faced my father’s stare with a dead stare while he searched for answers on the ground.
He clenched his grip on the door, contemplating deeply on sothing, and that made wonder... Should I just speed past him and get inside the hut?
I an, there’s a chance he might catch but... What if I have them hold him down?
My father might be the chief, the most powerful beast in our tribe, but as he was at his age right now, I doubt he’d be able to put up a strong defense against those two who were in their pri.
Of course, he could break free right away but it’s not like I need them to hold him down for a minute.
I just needed five seconds.
Five seconds were enough to let go into that hut and see my mother.
"Do you still not want to let in?" I asked, and the reluctance in his face said it all.
I didn’t want to talk much anymore. The air was already heavy as it was, trying to force heavy breaths would only make uncomfortable. So...
"Fenric, Damar," I called and they gave their listening ear. "Hold him down for ."
With that simple command, they both acted without question.
My father, who did not expect to go that far, was startled but it was already too late by the ti he tried to hold his thoughts together.
They both grabbed his arms, pushing him down and he grunted at the impact of his face to the floor. I quickly jumped past him and got into the hut.
"Stop! Arinya!" He yelled and shook free with all his might, as if stopping from going in was more important than the energy he had saved for years in case of any ergency.
He shook the two off right away and wanted to grab but it was too late.
I stood at the entrance, with no expression on my face as I stared at the inside of the hut.
My father grabbed my arm, but he did not grip hard or try to throw out.
He simply stood there, his mighty figure hovering over mine in a dark shade, and his head lowered as his shoulders dropped.
"I told you not to look, Arinya." He said, his voice slightly shaky. "I told you to leave it and just go. I—"
"Father," I interrupted him, and then dropped my hand on his that held my hand.
But it was not out of comfort. Rather, sothing disturbing was stirring inside . Sothing that pricked at the contact of this man who had birthed along with the female who was now six feet under.
I turned my head, looking at him with that dead look in my eyes. A mix of pain, hatred, and bitterness...
"In this tribe, do you know the person I hate the most?" I asked, but he could not answer, as he did not know what to say or why I had asked such a question.
The answer should be obvious.
Anyone would say it was Veyra, since we were always in that situation where she was pitied and I was hated.
I even expressed my disdain towards her just recently.
So, it was understandable to say that. But the truth is... The truth is, the person I hate the most was...
"It’s you, father," I said and forcefully pushed his hand down, freeing myself from his grip.
The answer took him aback.
The reason he did not let want to see her wasn’t that she wasn’t in the best condition, but rather that he kept trying to stop because he didn’t want to know the truth.
He...
"I hate you the most and that’s because you let it all happen."
Rakan let the bullying happen. He let be the criminal. He never looked at with the gaze he was ant to show his daughter after I had gone past a certain age in my childhood.
He loved Veyra more than , because he saw my mother in her more than he could ever see in .
He saw his incompetent self in more, more than the woman he loved.
I respect him for the love and devotion he has for his wife, to the point he went against the tribe and even risked catching the stone-skin disease in order to make sure she survived.
But that is it.
I do not respect him for anything more.
The mories of him playing with as a child, broke a long ti ago, distorted by the eyes of cruelty he looked down on with.
Everything could’ve changed if he just done sothing.
I, Arinya, who was hated and persecuted—I, who hated the tribe and thought of myself as a failure—I, who thought my mother had abandoned just like the rest of the tribe... Wish I had never been born as the chief’s daughter and that I never had a father like him.
My heart broke, seeing the rock that was in this hut, surrounded by dried flowers, and a few fresh flowers from Rakan’s recent visits.
The thought that my mother had died and I hadn’t gotten to see her face wasn’t the only thing that shook up. It was the fact that she had only died recently.
If I judge the ti of her death based on how dry the flowers were, I’d say it was about a week and a half.
It was before I ca into this world.
For my father to express that my mother wanted to see , despite the fact that she was already dead, only ant that during that ti, Arinya had been persecuted and treated as if she were a criminal; her mother, who was on her deathbed, longed to see her.
But my stubborn and biased father did not do anything about it. He let mother die without seeing .
Was it so hard to just let co see her before she died?
Was it so hard to let Arinya know that there was still one person who cared about her?
Why... Was he so cruel to ?
Only .
If it had been Veyra my mother had asked for, would he have let it be and let my mother die without seeing Veyra?
Tears rolled down my cheeks.
Tears of pain, bitterness, and the sheer hatred that was seething in my heart as I glared at Rakan.
"From this day forward, you are no longer my father," I pronounced and his eyes widened. "I do not have a father, and you do not have a daughter nad Arinya, is that clear?"
"Arinya, what...?"
"I said is that clear?!" I yelled, sending a shockwave directly into his heart.
I rejected him and didn’t wait for his answer before storming out, the tears rolling down heavily.
Fenric and Damar looked inside the hut and saw the rock that served as a tombstone, but my mother was nowhere in sight. This imdiately made them understand the situation.
They looked at my father with the sa hatred I had, as if sharing my feelings with through our bond.
They could feel how much hate and bitterness wrapped my heart when I thought of my father, and that made them hate him as well.
After all, he had hurt their beloved mate.
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