Alia stood before her father, not the mage that she found out about recently, but the one who had been pretending to be her father for as long as she was alive, the one man she was so hell-bent on getting appreciation from.
She had only reached the Grand Palace when she received a text from him, urging her to et him at the marketplace because he wanted to talk about sothing important.
"You wanted to see , Mr. Thas," Alia said.
The man raised his brows at her blatant disrespect as she took his na. Though he never allowed her to call him ’Dad,’ and he was accustod to seeing her use the term ’father,’ nonetheless, sothing he would later reprimand her for.
"You have changed," he said.
Alia didn’t say anything to that and just nodded as she followed him to a quiet cafe to have so privacy.
"I am sure you are not here to discuss how I haven’t changed." She raised her eyes to et his, her gaze cold, brooding, and unyielding, sothing Thas was noticing for the first ti.
It intimidated him a little. However, he was there for a bigger reason—to lay his facts straight and get things done his way; he needed to act dominant.
"You would be turning eighteen tomorrow," he said.
Alia humd.
"That’s what I have been told my birthday was," she said, keeping her voice neutral and unpredictable.
Thas cleared his throat and took a sip of water before placing the docunt over the table.
Alia’s brows scrunched a little as she looked at the blue file.
She didn’t need him to tell her that this docunt was for her. She took the file and opened the papers ticulously, reading the heading and reviewing the subsequent words.
She couldn’t help but suppress her urge to scoff at that.
She wasn’t even of legal age, but her father couldn’t wait to persuade her into signing the docunts that would waive her rights to the laboratory of the West’s healers completely.
Alia placed the docunt back on the table with raised brows.
"What about it?" She asked.
"Your mother put the laboratories and legal proceedings under your na, and you are to inherit them when you turn eighteen," Thas said.
So, it was all about everything. The reason they wanted to keep her as a pawn was to discard her yet keep her close at all tis. Because the laboratories always belonged to her.
They couldn’t make her sign the docunt in her last life, but with her already a pawn for them, they didn’t need to, and then they removed her from their path completely.
However, this ti things weren’t going according to them. Things were changing; their laboratories had burned, and the new sanction would require the owner’s permission, which was Alia’s, legally.
A knowing smile appeared on Alia’s face. So this was what Thas was after. And Hannah? She was after her life, after her happiness, no?
"It was supposed to be for the son, but you ate him when you were born. How can you even think of taking over? If you have even a little conscience, you would waive the rights and give them to your father," Thas explained.
Alia tilted her head.
"Father? Who?" She feigned ignorance.
"Are you playing with ? It’s obviously . Who else?" Thas nearly roared but stopped at the last second.
"But the last ti I checked, you said I don’t have any family and that I was just a burden on you that you can’t throw. Now I know why. It’s funny how you never acted like a father, but now that you want this ownership, you can’t wait to establish familial ties," Alia scoffed.
She didn’t mask her disdain either. Anyone looking at her could sense the disgust she felt about the situation.
"Don’t push it, you bastard. You took away my wife and son. What else do you want? You want to take this too?" Thas slamd his fists on the table.
Alia’s deanor was calm and collected, a complete contrast to Thas’ raging expression.
"Your wife? Your son? The one you were cheating on with Jessica? The reason Hannah is my elder sister." Alia asked, leaning back in her seat.
Thas froze in his place. A nerve in his forehead twitched. What the hell was this girl talking about? And how did she find out about these things that not even his closest friends knew?
"Have you lost your mind? How dare you—" Thas raised his hand to slap Alia, but the girl was done acting pitiful.
Even the thought that she missed out on such a good life in her last life all because of the cunning plots they kept creating around her and how they treated her filled her with imasurable anger.
She grabbed the glass and threw the water at Thas’ face.
The man’s hand stopped midair.
The spectators looked at him before whispering amongst themselves.
"Did that calm your anger? Now sit down and talk civilly. You made a fool out of my life for so long, but I am not raising hands here, am I? Didn’t your pretty daughter tell you that I have a short temper these days?" Alia asked.
Thas rembered hearing Hannah talking to Jessica about how Alia nearly killed Luna Dianna and sat unwillingly.
"So, where were we? Yes. You betrayed my mother with that slut Jessica, and you expect to hand over the ownership of the healers of the west to you? Keep dreaming. The Society alone was established by my mother, who worked in labs, not on beds," Alia scoffed at the last sentence.
She let the man look at the anger in her eyes that she was barely suppressing before she grabbed the notepad and pen from her bag that she always carries.
After scribbling a few words, she tore the paper from the notepad and slamd the note on his side.
Thas looked at the words, his hands trembling under the table.
"Here, I disown this family that was never a family to start with. You can forget about the ownership of the Western healers. That’s what my mother’s honorable work established. I will carry the legacy. And I don’t need permission." Alia slung the bag over her shoulders before looking at her father.
"And yes, please don’t try to cause a ruckus about this. I will send the evidence I have collected of your corruption to the council of healers before the council of the werewolves. Don’t forget who is behind ," Alia warned him and left the cafe.
Once out, Alia’s confident facade crumbled as she took a couple of deep breaths.
That was harder than she had expected. Maybe her yearning to get accepted as a daughter ran deeper into her bones than she had given herself credit for.
Thas, still in shock, looked at the words scribbled on the note repetitively before crumpling it in his hands.
This bitch. How dare she talk to in that tone? How dare this little piece of shit who used to hover around , waiting for my appreciation like a lapdog, learn to bark back?
Thas looked out the window at the girl, who sat in the luxurious car.
It was all because of him. It was all because she thought the king backed her. Thas scoffed before a dark chuckle left his mouth.
He really wanted to handle this the easy way without getting his hands dirty with blood, but it looked like that wasn’t an option anymore.
Reviews
All reviews (0)