Breathe. Hold it, damn it.Calm the fuck down.
Door—justa bloody door.
Glancing at Natasha, I exhaled. “Not now. I’ll explain later.” My grip tightened as I pushed the door open.
When I entered, my muscles went rigid all at once. My breath caught at the sight before me: the old man, devouring his food while humming as though nothing had happened, as though nothing ever did.
I laughed. How hilarious, how fucking revolting. It was more revolting that I shared his blood. Worst of all:the fact that that old man was my father.
Unable to hold it back, I scoffed. “Shameless, as usual.” The words dripped with contempt, making him glance up from his plate. I looked at my father as if he were nothing but gum on the bottom of my shoe. I walked over and sat across from him.
He looked back down at his food and continued eating, calm and unbothered. Huh… of course. As always.
Made something, playing innocent little prince, and let others clean up.Repeat.
In the past, he’d have shouted and sized us up from head to toe if his children had treated him this way. Perhaps now he’d learned to accept it. How gallant. It made me want to tear that mask off and show his filthy real face.
Dad sat in silence,finallylooking up at me with cold eyes and belittling me, then sighed. He reached for the napkin tucked at his collar, dabbed his mouth, and met my gaze again, with false attentiveness. “I’m keeping quiet because I know you’re angry. I’m aware—”
Oh, go to hell.
Fucking pathetic.
Fucking. Bullshit.
A sharp snort escaped me while my fists clenched tight, the knuckles turning white.Hold it,damn it. He was still your dad.What an arse father. Poor you.“I don’t fucking care.”I do. I care so much, and it drives me crazy, Dad!No, I’m already crazy. Right?My voice shook as I tried to cage my fury. “Just tell me about the work. I’ll do my job since I replaced Zaeem as the lead on this project. Now tell me what solution INDTV Group has for thisdisgustingissue.” The last words spat out like venom.
Because it was disgusting. Embarrassing.
What went on in this old man’s head? Preaching to his children not to ruin his name, the company’s name, just to keep a get-out-of-jail-free card for himself?
My eyes narrowed, and my voice pressed low, forcing him to hear. “Because, as usual, when your fucking stupid actions affect us, we’re the ones who have to clean it up.” My grip tightened on the glass in front of me. Natasha, seated beside me, laid a gentle hand over mine, reminding me.
Right.Hold it in. Breathe.
Damn it—food, plates, glass, spoons,knives—
“I’ve spoken with our chief legal adviser and Tsabinu.” He snapped his fingers, and a man stepped forward, handed him a brown folder and placed it in front of me. “Here are the preliminary files. After this, Tsabinu will contact you. Since you’re in charge of this project, it’s proper that you attend meetings with them. Tsabinu will also join the meeting with PT Artamain. So, before you meet them, speak with him first—”
So many wrong things screamed in my head. Instead, I found myself asking, “He’s just a deputy. Why is it always him facing me? I want to consult directly with the chief legal adviser—”
“Because he’s your friend. Back then, you always told him everything. More than your brothers, me, even your mother. If something happened, you’d go to him first.” He paused. “So, I personally asked Tsabinu to help you and—”
Fuck it. You’d lost it. Let go. Everything was already broken anyway.
My breathing shot ragged. I stood and slammed both palms onto the table. “NOT ANYMORE!” Water spilt from the glasses, the still steaming soup tipped over to the side—yet my father didn’t even blink. Fuck’s sake! I really wanted to laugh.
Meeting this old bastard was a nightmare.
Zaeem thought this could stitch a new thread, discard the rotten ones, and start fresh. But Zaeem was wrong—he was always wrong when it came to this—because every fucking time I met our father, I would always find a reason to bury him alive.
He was the same asher.
Ruining everything!
“And whose fault is that?” I growled at him, my words piercing like daggers. My stare sharpened, and I hoped it would slice him open. My palms burned against the wood, but it was nothing compared to the fire inside me.
He held my gaze for a moment, and I’d had enough. I fucking couldn’t stand his face another second. “I know it makes you sick to hear this—”yeah, right, that was why shut your mouth.“But I apologise, son.”
