Chapter 19

Chiara

Am I dreaming?

This is the question that keeps popping up in my head as I blink rapidly.

I haven't seen Dad in what feels like years, and now it seems like his features are all wrong. The only thing I remember now is his beaten-up face from the last night we saw each other. The night he betrayed me and gave me away as payment.

All the resentment and the questions rise up my throat like bile, but the only thing that comes out of my mouth is, "What the hell are you doing here?"

He eagerly sets down the tray on the nearest table, gaping at me like a fish out of water. "Chiara. Oh, god I've been looking for you everywhere!"

He tries to reach out to me but I slap his hand away. "Do not come any closer, or else I'll call the guards and tell them you're being a creep."

Visible hurt flashes across Dad's eyes but I find that I don't care. Why would I? He literally tried to pay his debt by giving me away. He only ever cared about saving his own skin.

"I'm sorry for everything," he start