Page 313 of Hateful Games

I am not fucking up the world’s greatest gift that’s happened to me.

A woman stealing my heart that I vowed to keep black and lock in a cage. To not let it be my ruination like the way it was for my parents. I never believed a love that fulfilled and made you happy existed. A love that didn’t eat away at your soul, but fed it.

In my world of deceit and greed, it’s a myth.

A reality out of reach.

Until Rose, who shattered all my beliefs.

The first time I touched her when she was sixteen, she jolted me like electricity. It felt as though a loaded truck slammed into me. That’s how powerfully I was hit with the stunning force that was Rosalie Kapoor. Since then—in that one single and terrifying moment—I knew I had met my match. But I couldn’t let her know.

Couldn’t let my emotions slip, giving her an edge. So, I treaded carefully, sealed my emotions around her. I perfected the mask of indifference, a bully, an asshole to ensure she never peered beneath to find the true feelings that she was stirring.

We’ve come so far that I’m not going to let a secret—no matter how tumultuous, tragic, and appalling—destroy my chance of keeping her forever.

It’s time for my father to confront the sins of his past.

Once and for all.

Today, he’s graced the office with his presence. A week after Rose and I spent that bittersweet night at my parents’ house. Not once he’s asked if Mom is all right. Does he even remember he lost his second kid and almost me? I’ve never resented a man as much as I do him.

Without knocking on his door, I push it open and stroll in.

He looks up from the pile of papers on his desk and furrow in his brow disperses into a smooth line. Lowering his reading glasses, he asks, “How are you, son? Your mother and I were thinking of inviting you and Rosalie over.”

“Why did you choose Rosalie, and not Jasmine, all those years ago?”

He jerks in his seat, looking taken back. No signs of the truth reflecting in his eyes whatsoever. Steepling his fingers on the desk, he regards me carefully before asking, “Why do you ask? Aren’t you happy with Rosalie?”

“Call it curiosity,” I answer, taking a seat across from him and crossing my legs. “The oldest daughter is usually the first choice. Yet you skipped right past her. She also wouldn’t have rebelled as hard as Rosalie did. Anyone’s curiosity would be piqued.”

He knows.

It takes everything inside me to stay seated and let the rage simmer down. He’s had a kid with another woman, cheated on my mom, and still remains delusional to say my marriage to his rival’s daughter wasn’t about getting closer to Lily.

Lily is as much to blame.

Has she been leading him all along?

Are they still having an affair?

“How long have you known, Nova?” he asks after a tense beat of silence.

“The question is, how long have you, Dad? Was it when she chose Mihir over you? Let another man raise your daughter? Did you marry Mom just to spite her?” My voice rises an octave with each livid accusation. He remains stoic and unflinching. “Do you still fuck her? Was my marriage convenient for your affair? I mean, you don’t have to hide being seen with her in public since we’re all one big fucking family now. You can flaunt your mistress in front of the entire world without shame.”

“Stop!” he roars, slamming his fist on the desk. “Don’t you dare insult her.”

“You’re one to talk,” I sneer angrily. “You can treat Mom like shit, ignore her existence, and insult and make a mockery of your vows, but one word about Lily and look at you. No wonder she still drinks.” He flinches. I shake my head in disgust. “Probably thinks you go to Lily every night to cheat on her. Because of you, I’m lying to my wife every day. She has no clue. Do you have any idea how much it will devastate her?”

“I’ve never cheated on your mother.”

I laugh humorlessly in disbelief and at his audacity. “Did you forget you have a kid with her?”

“You only know one side of the story, Nova. I’m guilty of a lot of crimes against your mother but cheating isn’t one of them. Neither is lying to her. Yes, I’ve always loved one woman, but Lily has moved on and it’s taken me years to accept that. Teresa has known the truth from the beginning. I didn’t learn about Jasmine being mine until years later from Mihir, who couldn’t resist taunting me how he not only stole the love of my life but also my kid. I told your mom everything before confronting Teresa. Except I didn’t know Mihir had been filling your mom’s head with lies behind my back that Teresa and I were still seeing each other.” Expression turning grim yet earnest, he unleashes the biggest bomb. “Your mother is the one who fixed your marriage with Rosalie, son. She and Mihir guilt-tripped and threatened Lily about revealing that I was Jasmine’s biological father if she didn’t say yes. Teresa, being distrustful as she was, thought this would ruin any chance of Lily and I getting together. Except there was nothing to end.”

I sit, stunned and speechless.

Is my mother truly capable of that? Then again, I know all too well that in love, all’s fair and lines all but disappear. The ones you think you’ll never cross.

---