Page 35 of Nemesync
His eyes are black, commanding, and if it were teenage me, I would have been scared. But not anymore. And he forgets that sometimes.
Sighing inwardly, I brace myself for another one of his orders. “What is it,Baba?”
Elias eyes me with suspicion and anger. “I’ve been hearing reports. You’ve been disappearing every day for the past week, and you weren’t there for the wedding. What are you up to?”
Oh, fuck.
“Just some personal matters,Baba. Nothing that concerns you.”
His grip tightens on my arm, and I wince, a flicker of pain crossing my face.
Here we go again.
“Don’t play games with me, Zanae. Everything concerns me. You’re my daughter, and I need to know where you are and what you’re doing at any fucking time.”
Is that so? Because when I was kidnapped, he didn’t flinch nor try to find me. I came home bloodied, with red eyes, hurt, and he didn’t even lift his head to look at me. He just told mea few hours later to get ready for a mission. Like a wounded soldier. Like I was fine. Like I wasn’t in pain.
But that night I died.
And my father didn’t care.
I disappeared for days, and when I returned home, everywherehehad touched me, I cut.Hishands lingered so often around my stomach. I looked in the mirror, seeing the shadow ofhistouch trailing down and down. It felt like the only way to erasehispresence was to cut my skin there.
I was the sole master of my pain.
Blades became my favorite weapons even in real life with my enemies, and with my own self.
I came back to my father, destroyed, and he didn’t fucking care. I needed my dad, I needed him, and he never showed up.
“I’m not a child anymore, Baba. I have my own life, my own responsibilities, and you’re disturbing them right now.”
He scoffs. “Responsibilities? You’re wasting your time on foolish things. Your mind is a fucking asset, and you should be using it to serve the family.”
I shake my head in disbelief. Family? Where? Nowhere to be found. I want to scream and cry, but I can’t. I won’t.
Keep pretending, Zee, I mutter to myself.
“You know what? I’m tired of this. I have my own things to take care of. I’m not going to back off. I’m sorry that you feel left out, but hey, it’s exactly how I felt all my life.”
His eyes flash with anger, darkness,emotionless, or maybe psychosis. He tightens his grip even more on my flesh. “You will do as I say. I have plans for you tonight. Important plans. You’re gonna meet important people and tell me if one of them is a traitor. You will cancel whatever stupid thing you have and be ready to assist me. Do you fucking understand that?”
My jaw clenches.
Not today, Father, not ever again, not until my body fucking disappears under the ground.
“As I said, I have something to take care of tonight. And it’s non-negotiable.”
Elias looks at me like I am a disappointment. I want to smile because, at the end of the day, I’m his only heiress, even if he hates it. I’m going to take the lead one day, and I know he’s going to roll in his grave.
“You know,Habibti, I’m your father, but I’m the Emir first, and my empire will always be the priority. Let me down, and you’ll see.”
He releases my arm, leaving behind a visible mark, blue and reddish.
Don’t show him that you’re in pain, Z.
Never.
I rub my skin, masking the pain with a defiant stare. I’m just a soldier, being scolded by my commandant. “Funny that you say that when I helped you create that empire since as long as I can remember.”
