I stared at Revan's face without blinking.
“If I stay here... they’ll come.”
Those words kept ringing in my head.
Who were they?
Why did everyone seem to know something I had never known?
“I’m not going,” I said at last.
My voice was quiet, but firm enough.
Revan let out a long breath.
“I figured you’d answer that way.”
“Because I don’t know you anymore.”
The man gave me a faint smile.
“You’re right.”
“The man who used to be my fiancé wouldn’t have let me be treated like this.”
Revan’s gaze dimmed.
“That’s my greatest regret.”
I turned my face away.
Regret?
What was the point of regretting it now?
When I was hungry, he never came.
When I was insulted, he stayed silent.
Even when our engagement was about to be transferred to Tasya, he didn’t defend me in the slightest.
To me...
Regret that came too late was nothing more than an excuse to make someone’s heart soften again.
And I was far too tired for that.
“I’m still not going.”
Revan nodded slowly.
“Then I’ll wait until you change your mind.”
Before I could answer, Dad’s voice suddenly rang out.
“Wait!”
Everyone’s eyes immediately turned toward him.
I turned too.
For the first time...
Dad stepped toward me.
“Let her stay home.”
I furrowed my brow.
Had I heard him wrong?
Dad...
Was defending me?
Revan looked at Dad expressionlessly.
“Why?”
“She’s my daughter.”
His answer almost made me laugh.
His daughter?
Hadn’t he always said that whether I lived or died was none of his business?
And now he suddenly acknowledged me as his daughter?
How funny.
Revan seemed to read my thoughts.
“You only remembered her today?”
Dad clenched his fists.
“I admit we’ve made a lot of mistakes.”
Mistakes?
That was all?
To me, it wasn’t merely a mistake.
It was years of neglect.
Years of hunger.
Years of hoping to be acknowledged as someone who existed.
And I had never succeeded.
Dad turned to me.
His eyes looked different.
They weren’t as cold as usual.
“Nara...”
It was the first time he had called my name without an annoyed edge to his voice.
“Dad’s sorry.”
My chest felt tight.
My whole life...
That was the one sentence I had always wanted to hear.
But now, for some reason, I felt nothing.
I wasn’t happy.
I wasn’t touched.
I wasn’t angry, either.
Only... empty.
“You don’t need to apologize, Dad.”
My voice was flat.
“Because I’m used to it.”
That sentence plunged the room into silence again.
Mom began to cry.
Tasya lowered her head.
Even my two older brothers exchanged glances, their expressions impossible to read.
I continued.
“I used to hope Dad would look at me.”
“But Dad always looked at Tasya.”
“I hoped Mom would ask whether I’d eaten.”
“But Mom didn’t even realize that I often went to sleep hungry.”
I gave a small smile.
“Now it’s all too late.”
Mom immediately ran over and hugged me.
“Nara... forgive me.”
I instinctively stepped back.
The hug fell apart.
I looked at the woman who had given birth to me.
“Why only now?”
Mom’s sobs grew louder.
“I was wrong.”
“I know.”
“I truly regret it.”
I slowly shook my head.
“Someone who goes hungry every day will eventually stop hoping to be fed.”
“That’s what happened to me.”
“I’ve stopped hoping to have a family.”
Mom’s tears streamed down even harder.
Meanwhile, Revan simply stood there watching.
Not long afterward, one of the men in black who had arrived with Revan received a phone call.
His expression immediately turned serious.
“Sir...”
Revan turned toward him.
“What is it?”
The man swallowed before answering.
“They’ve made their move.”
Whoever he meant, those words immediately sharpened Revan’s expression.
“How long?”
“Thirty minutes at the earliest...”
Revan immediately looked at me.
“We don’t have much time.”
“I’m not going.”
“This time, you don’t have a choice.”
Before I could respond, a loud explosion suddenly rang out from outside the house.
BOOM!
Every window rattled.
The living room lights flickered several times before finally going out.
The room plunged into total darkness.
Then the servants outside began screaming.
“Sir! Armed men have entered the yard!”
My heart pounded violently.
Revan immediately stood in front of me, as if protecting me without even realizing it.
And Dad...
For the first time in my life, he also stood in front of me with both arms spread wide.
As if he were willing to become a shield.
And for some reason...
That sight only left me more confused.
Why were the people who had spent all this time hoping I would leave...
Now fighting desperately to keep me alive?