10 — What’s The Truth ?

"Officier!" A loud voice was heard from outside the police station which caught the police officer in charge by surprise.

Zahra barged inside the police station with quick steps, with high determination in her eyes.

She aggressively pushed away the guards in front of the door trying to stop her.

Sylvia and Cocoa followed Zahra, who brought them along for backup like last time, pushed the guards away as hard as possible, making way for Zahra to go inside.

"Let me meet my dad!" She banged her hand palm against the table, glaring at the older man sitting in front of her and trying to remain calm despite the commotion.

After a moment of silence in which Zahra took a few quick breathes to calm herself down, the police officer stood up calmly and bowed to her, returning a smile in exchange for her aggressive attitude.

He then quickly went behind her and pulled the chair for her.

"Oh my, aren't you the princess of Averlyon everyone is talking about in the news? Crown Prince Yuden came here to take you, right? I remember very well..." The officer continued blabbing about everything that happened that day when she got taken away by Yuden.

"I apologize, Your Highness," he finally said, leaving Zahra and her friends astonished.

"Tia, what the hell is he on about?" Sylvia whispered.

"It doesn't matter. It seems like even if it's fake news, he will listen to me. So let's just pretend to be a princess for the last time." Zahra whispered with a little chuckle.

"Ahem!" Zahra coughed as if she was clearing her throat. She felt a sense of superiority and she loved it. "So, you remember that man? Aziel Ralph that you arrested a few days ago? I want to meet him."

"Uhmm... that might be a little difficult..." The officer sighed.

"Are you going to disobey me? You better do as I say! I thought you were sorry about how you treated me that day but I guess it was all talk," Zahra wasn't sure if talking about this matter would help her.

However, she needed to take the chance she got.

"Yes, yes, Your Highness," the officer bowed and gave a sign for the man standing beside him to guide the way.

The man bowed to Zahra when she stood up as he led her to the prison cell where Aziel was being kept.

The barriers were locked. The lock was opened by the man who led Zahra the way.

"Please make it quick. He can't meet anyone for a long time," the policeman spoke before leaving the place to give Zahra some privacy.

As Zahra entered, the dark place soon lit up, and her vision allowed her to view her father who was lying on the ground.

Aziel had bruises all over his face which had turned nearly purple, making Zahra anguished at the sight. Her gaze then travelled to his legs; he seemed to have not been able to move. There was a pool of blood on the ground as well as the walls, clearly visible even in the dim light.

"D-Dad?" Zahra slowly stepped closer to the man on the floor.

"T-Tia?" The man whispered, looking up to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. He quickly sat up, but he let out a groan of pain from the sudden movement.

"Dad!" Zahra fell to her knees, holding him tightly in her arms, giving him a tight hug. "I missed you so much!"

"I... missed you too, sweetheart," Aziel hesitantly placed his hand on her back.

"They hurt you?" Zahra's smile disappeared from her face which turned dark with mixed emotions.

She was eager to meet her father after days of being away from him; however, she couldn't help but feel anger at the sight of him being hurt by the policemen.

Aziel's silence answered her question. She averted her gaze to the side, unable to look at his bruised face which pained her heart.

"I meet some weird people." Zahra proceeded to speak. "They said they were my real family," Zahra scoffed. "You are my family. They lost their daughter so they mistook me for her. I mean," Zahra signed. Then chuckled, "I don't blame them. They—"

Zahra felt Aziel's hand slowly sliding down her back and landing on the ground.

Zahra gulped, her mind clouded with questions she needed to be answered. But fear took over, what if she was wrong? That made her heart drop.

"Dad?" Zahra asked. "Why are you so quiet?"

Aziel remained motionless for a second then caressed her cheek silently.

"Dad..." Zahra smiled bitterly. "Say something," her smiling face soon turned into a desperate one. She couldn't deny it anymore. She needed answers to her questions, but at what cost? At the cost of losing her father? At the cost of the pain of losing the only person she calls family? She quickly shook her head.

'Why am I assuming his answers would be like that? Maybe it's just those people being weird and crazy,' Zahra thought to himself, reassuring herself.

"Dad?" She forced a laugh. "What they were saying isn't true, right?" She finally mustered the courage to question Aziel. Her eyes were clearly pleading with him to refuse all those baseless accusations against him.

"Tia..." Aziel hesitantly spoke, his gaze travelling around, avoiding hers.

"Yes, Dad?" Zahra's heartbeat started racing within her. It was beating so fast as if her heart would soon burst out of her chest.

"What they said is the truth," Aziel acknowledged.

At those words, Zahra's heart sank and her eyes filled with confusion and disappointment.

***

Zahra came out of the police station.

"Tia!" Sylvia and Cocoa, who were waiting for Zahra to come out, exclaimed, rushing to her.

"Your didn't get to bring your dad? It's okay, don't worry! We will get help from Issac." Cocoa smiled faintly, trying to comfort Zahra who seemed down.

Despite her cheerful personality, right now she was too calm for Sylvia and Cocoa to figure out what was going on through her mind. It only left them two wondering what might have happened when she met Aziel.

"I want to go home," Zahra finally made eye contact with her friends.

The two young women stood there unable to pronounce a word. Zahra never spoke this coldly before nor had she remained so calm. Even when the police were chasing her, she kept her cheerful demeanour.

"What happened?" Cocoa whispered, finally, after a long silence.

"I have no idea but we should listen to her and bring her to my place," Sylvia whispered back. "We don't know what happened but she doesn't seem okay. It's safer for her to be with us than alone."

"Are you coming?" Zahra, who had already started walking turned back, questioning her friends.

"Y-yeah. Let's go." They both replied hesitantly yet in harmony.

Cocoa called a taxi. It was already past midnight. During the whole drive, none of the three uttered a word. Sylvia and Cocoa didn't want to upset Zahra by saying something.

Meanwhile, Zahra was still thinking about everything her father said.

"We're here," the driver interrupted the unbearable silence in his car.

"Thank you," Cocoa said, getting out of the car.

After paying the driver, Cocoa rushed to join Zahra and Sylvia.

Zahra was heading towards her house when she felt a grip around her wrist stopping her from going forward. She turned her gaze to see who it was.

Sylvia forced a smile on her lips.

"Tia, how about we head to my apartment? I'm sure you're not safe from those people who took you away."

"Safe from them..." Zahra muttered to herself, thinking about everyone inside the palace where she had been kept.

The person they called Queen Dowager would remain stern to her tantrums yet give her good food although Zahra barely ate any of it.

Then, there was also the king who only glared at her no matter the few times they met although she didn't even bother talking to him.

There was the queen who seemed to burst into tears any minute every time she would see Zahra.

"What are you thinking about?" Cocoa interrupted, holding Zahra's other hand, dragging her to Sylvia's building. "Let's go."

Zahra's thoughts were cut off by Cocoa's voice.

She gave a slight nod to Cocoa and followed both of her friends in silence.

Once arrived in Sylvia's apartment, Zahra let herself fall on the small couch in the living room. It was hard for her to even stand still.

"What's wrong, Tia?" Cocoa inquired.

"If... if you ever find out you're not your dad's daughter, what would you do?"

"As in adoption?" Sylvia, who was in the kitchen which wasn't too far away, asked while taking out a pot which she filled with water to boil.

Zahra shook her head.

"Then what other ways are possible to have a child who isn't yours? It couldn't possibly be a kidnapper," Sylvia laughed at her own joke.

Zahra surprisingly laughed back after a long period of silence. However, her laughter seemed to not end even after thirty seconds, putting her two friends in an awkward position.

"I know it's funny, but calm down?" Cocoa slowly caressed Zahra's head.

Cocoa was the eldest among the three friends. In Cocoa, Sylvia and Zahra could see a glimpse of the mother figure they never had. She took care of them whenever they got into trouble and would find solutions to their problems.

"I'm fine, it's just really funny," Zahra proceeded to laugh louder.

She seemed like a madwoman.

Zahra's friends remained silent and let her laugh as she didn't seem to be able to stop it herself.

After a few minutes, Zahra finally stopped laughing. Meanwhile, Sylvia had made them some noodle soup quickly since her friend's visit was a little unexpected.

"I'll... go to sleep."

"But the food—" Cocoa refrained from continuing her sentence once Zahra went to the bedroom.