"Miss!" Jack shouted as he ran behind me. His voice was filled with concern and anxiety as he ran behind me.
As I ran, I fell in front of the stairs that were in the centre of the entrance. The moment I fell, my father came walking from the corner with Grand Duke Osiris. They were at the top of the stairs, and I was at the bottom of the stairs. They were surprised, as they saw me falling as I tripped on the carpet inside, in front of the stairs.
"Latie!" My Father shouted, surprised as he rushed down the stairs towards me.
The moment my eyes met my father's, I suddenly felt angry. "Father!" I shrilled out.
"We need to talk, right now," I said as I got up, rubbing my knees and arms.
"Are you okay?" He asked as he scanned all over my body for any wounds.
He held my arms as he searched my body for injuries. I pulled away from him, and I glared at him, but then remembered that he was my father, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
"I am fine, Father, but we need to talk right now," I stated as I limped past him.
"Yes, yes, we will talk, but let's first get you treated?" he asked me in a pleading tone, as he glanced at my scratched knee and limping feet.
As I reached the top of the stairs halfway, Grand Duke Osiris stopped in front of me, and he asked, "Are you really okay?"
"Good Afternoon, Your Grace, I am truly fine. Please do forgive my manners for greeting you this late," I answered in a flat tone as I bowed at him.
"Please do not bow," he said, attempting to help me up.
My body yanked away from him unconsciously, and I lost my balance as I fell on Jack, who had been standing behind me. "Please don't touch me," I let out angrily.
If Jack had not been behind me, I would have probably fallen down the stairs.
I glanced at the Duke, and he looked surprised by my reaction. I looked away.
"Jack, please help me up the stairs?" I asked as I looked at Jack.
He nodded his head, and he picked me up in the bridal style. I closed my head as we walked past the Duke, and I could feel his eyes following us as we disappeared around the corner of the top of the stairs.
Out of curiosity, I opened my eyes, and I saw an amusing smile plastered across his face.
I glared at him, and he raised his eyebrows in amusement. He smiled at me and winked at me.
"What the hell is wrong with him?" I muttered, through my breaths.
"Hm?" Jack asked, confused.
"Nothing, walk faster, please," I answered as I turned my head back to Jack.
He nodded his head and he walk faster. When we reached my room, he sat me down on the sofa.
He then asked; "May I-" He stopped halfway through his question and said, "Never mind,"
"No, please ask freely, Jack," I encouraged him as I gave him my full attention.
"I'm just curious," He started. "Why do you hate Grand Duke Osiris so much?" He continued.
"He has a scumbag face," I answered as I remem-
Surprise struck my face as I couldn't even remember how he looked. How did I forget his face so quickly? No, did I even look at his face properly?
"Scumbag Face?" Jack questioned, confused. His words pushed me off my train of thoughts.
"Basically, what I mean- What I'm saying is that he looks like a crook," I informed him, my words feeling like a reason to justify my explanation.
"But you don't even know him," he pointed out.
"I-" I stopped myself, and I sighed.
Poor Jack, how could I explain that I actually knew that man perfectly through pages? How do I tell him that that Man is a crazy, jealous person whom I will have to die with?
I shook my head, and I looked at him and said, "You're too young to understand."
He stared at me with a bored expression that screamed, 'Sweetie, I am 24, and you are 17!'
I burst out into laughter, and he chuckled, but our laughter was disrupted by a door opening. It was my father.
He came rushing in, concerned smeared across his face. A doctor followed behind, and my father gestured for him to cure me.
He didn't say anything. He just carefully watched as the doctor cleaned my wounds and dressed them.
The doctor gave me medicine for pain as my father insisted that it could be painful. Once he was done, my father looked at me.
His eyes were filled with guilt and shame, yet hope lingered there too.
"Jack," my father spoke as he stared at him. He nodded his head, and he excused himself.
I stared at my father, my heart pounding and breaking. My father stared back at me, his eyes searching for something. The deafening silence made my palms sweaty, and my heart pounded through my ears as the silence took over.
"Latie, my Angel," my father finally broke the silence. He walked and sat next to
me. "I am sorry," he added, patting my head.
"You-" I struggled as I closed my eyes.
"You promised, Father," I finally let out. I could hear myself cracking. My voice trembling as the words left my mouth, "You promised,"
"I am so sorry, Latie, but I-" he stopped, and he started fidgeting with his hands.
My Father would fidget with his hands if he felt embarrassed, ashamed or if he did not want to talk to anyone.
"It was the Grand Duke of the Western Ulrika Duchy that scammed me," he finally let out. "He scammed me... and no one- No one was willing to help me, but then Grand Duke Osiris offered to help us," he explained further.
"What?" I asked.
"I was scammed by the Grand Duke of the Western Ulrika Duchy, Steven Collins," He admitted, embarrassed.
"Grand Duke, Steven Collins?" The words left my mouth. The Name felt so familiar. Why did the name feel so familiar to me? Ah!
Steven Collins! He was the Duke who had made a lot of money from a mine that everyone thought was filled with waste. That Scumbag! I had intended to leave him and his achievements alone, but now- He went and messed with my fucking life.
"An eye for an eye," the escaped as I dug my nails into my palms. "I am going to ruin you!" I yelled angrily.
"I am going to take it all away from you!" I added my voice, trembling as I cried.
"I'm- I'm- You don't deserve to have any achievements!" I cried out. MY father pulled me in for a hug, and he rubbed my back as I cried out in frustration.
"Shhh," he shushed me gently.
"Don't cry," he added gently, as I continued crying out of frustration.
Where did I go wrong? The question kept haunting me. The moments of all the times that I helped my father with investments came to me; all the times I told him what ventures I thought would succeed rushed down on me.
'It's my fault!" I cried out.
"No, no, it's not," my father refuted.
"It's my fault," he acknowledged. It was the first time since we started this conversation that my father acknowledged that what had happened was truly his fault. I continued sobbing until I felt tired. When sobs became quiet, my resolve became clear. I wiped my tears, and I stared at my father; "How did no one help you?" I questioned him.
"That Bastard- He spread lies about me," my father answered. His voice went from angry to sad.
"How?" I asked.
My father started explaining what happened. Turns out, the grand duke approached my father and convinced him to invest all our wealth into a business venture that would be revolutionary. It was currently a business that couldn't survive. He told my father the business venture was called cryptocurrency. How the hell does one use cryptocurrency when this world hasn't even learned about stocks and their markets? This world didn't even have the technology for it! This world's fundamentals are built on fantasies, magic, mythical beings, and items.
The more I heard my father talk, the angrier I got. I scolded him for investing in 'cryptocurrency' as he didn't even understand where the word came from. I explained to him what the stock market was, and he couldn't grasp the fundamentals of it. I eventually gave up and went back to the Academy.
My mind kept wandering what was going on? I knew that there were never any mentions of cryptocurrencies in the novel. So why? Is this some messed up type of destiny? No, I can't let it play out like it did in the bo- I-
I must survive and live the happy life I worked hard for even if I have to change the plot of the entire story, but will I be able to do it? Can I?