Rhea's POV
Rhea stood in the middle of the small room she shared with her mother, her arms folded tightly across her chest, her jaw locked so hard it hurt.
The room was beginning to feel too warm, with the evening heat pressing against the thin walls, but it wasn’t just the heat
It was the conversation, the tension sitting heavy in the air, the way everything suddenly felt too close, too tight, like there was no space left to breathe.
One side of the room held her mother’s neatly arranged bed, covered in a floral bedsheet that had faded from too many washes.
The other side was Rhea’s space, less organized, with clothes on the chair and books stacked on the bedside table.
Between them was just enough room to walk but not enough room to escape this stupid conversation she clearly didn't want to have.
Her mother was by the wardrobe, folding clothes as if they were discussing something ordinary, like this wasn’t about to turn into something Rhea had spent years avoiding.
“I already told you, Rhea,” her mother said, calm but firm.
“It’s only for a short while.”
Rhea laughed bitterly, the sound sharp and empty, like it didn’t even belong to her, she hated when her mom tried to do this
She was always trying to invalidate her feelings because she didn't feel the same
“Only for a short while?” she repeated.
“You want me to go and stay in that man’s house, and you’re saying it like you’re asking me to visit a neighbor.”
Her mother let out a slow breath but said nothing and the silence made it much worse.
Rhea’s anger rose higher, pressing against her chest until it felt like it would spill out whether she wanted it to or not.
“No, tell me, Mum. Are you hearing yourself? After everything, after all these years, you think it makes sense for me to go and stay with him?”
“He is still your father.”
Rhea’s face hardened instantly, something cold settling behind her eyes.
“That man stopped being my father a long time ago.”
Her mother turned to look at her then.
“Don’t say that.”
“Why not?” Rhea snapped, her voice rising before she could stop it.
“Why shouldn’t I say it? Because it makes you uncomfortable? Because you want to pretend he didn’t walk out on us?”
Her mother placed the folded clothes on the bed and faced her fully.
“No one is pretending anything.”
“That’s exactly what you’re doing!” Rhea shouted. “You are acting like sending me to his house is normal. It’s not normal. None of this is normal.”
The walls seemed to close in around them.
Rhea could feel it, that familiar pressure, like she was being pushed into something she had no control over.
She hated how calm her mother looked. She hated that she was standing there acting reasonable while asking her to do the one thing she had spent years building her life around avoiding.
She turned away and paced the narrow room, her steps restless, uneven.
“You know what I don’t understand?” she said. “Out of everywhere I could stay, why there? Why his house?”
“Because you need somewhere close to your work, and he has space.”
“I would rather rent a room.”
“With what money?” her mother asked.
Rhea stopped pacing, her chest rising and falling faster than she wanted.
“I’ll figure it out.”
Her mother gave her a tired look.
“No, you won’t. You just started this job. You need to save what you earn.”
Rhea shook her head in disbelief, a hollow feeling settling in her stomach.
“So your solution is to throw me into his perfect new family?”
“No one is throwing you anywhere.”
“That’s what it feels like.”
Her mother rubbed her forehead, clearly trying to stay patient, but Rhea couldn’t understand why she was getting mad, she was the one being forced to do something she didn't want to
“Rhea, this is not about his new family. This is about you needing a place to stay for work.”
Rhea let out another bitter laugh, the sound quieter this time, but heavier.
“You really think I care about the work part? I care that you want me to live under the same roof as the man who forgot I existed.”
Her mother’s expression softened for a second, she thought she might let her be but to her disappointment she didn't.
“He didn’t forget you.”
Rhea stared at her, something sharp twisting in her chest.
“Mum, he left.”
“He still asked about you.”
“Asked about me?” Rhea said sharply. “Is that supposed to mean something? He asked about me while living his life somewhere else?”
Her voice tightened, her throat starting to burn.
“And now you want me to go there like nothing happened?”
Her mother hesitated, then spoke.
“I spoke to him.”
Rhea froze, those words hitting her harder than anything else.
“What?”
“I called him,” her mother said carefully.
“I told him about your job and the situation.”
Rhea’s eyes widened, disbelief clearly written all over her face
“You talked to him… without telling me?”
Her mother held her gaze.
“Yes.”
Rhea let out a short, shocked laugh, but it didn’t hold any humor, it came out as a choke
“So you planned this.”
“I wanted to make sure you had somewhere safe.”
“And what did he say?” Rhea asked, her voice sharp, almost breaking at the edges.
Her mother hesitated for a second.
“He said he would be happy to have you.”
She scoffed, the sound hollow.
“Of course.”
“Rhea—”
Rhea shook her head, anger rising again, all she wanted to do was walk out of there but she couldn't
“That’s funny. He couldn’t be bothered to be in my life, but now he’s happy to have me stay in his house?”
“People change.”
“Or maybe they just get comfortable,” Rhea snapped.
Her mother sighed, she could see the tiredness on her face
“You are holding on to too much anger.”
“Of course I am angry.”
“You need to let some of it go.”
“And why should I?” Rhea asked, her voice dropping now, quieter but more intense.
“Why am I the one who always has to let it go?”
“Because carrying this anger is hurting you.”
“No,” Rhea said, her voice low, almost shaking.
“What hurt me was waiting for him to choose me and realizing he never would.”
The room fell silent, the silence was heavy
“I was a child,” she continued, her voice softer now, but each word heavier than the last.
“Do you know what it felt like watching him build another life somewhere else? Knowing he had time for other people but not for me?”
Her mother walked closer.
“Rhea—”
“No,” she said, stepping back, her eyes burning now. “Don’t defend him.”
“I’m not defending him.”
“Yes, you are. Every time you say ‘he’s still your father,’ you’re defending him.”
Her mother shook her head.
“I am trying to help you.”
“By forcing me into his house?”
“By making you face something you have avoided for years.”
Rhea stared at her mother in disbelief, something fragile shifting inside her.
“You want me to fix things with him?”
“I want you to stop running from the pain.”
“I am not running.”
“You are,” her mother said quietly. “Every time his name comes up, you shut down.”
“Because I don’t need him!”
“Then prove it.”
Rhea blinked, caught off guard.
“What?”
“If he means nothing, then staying there for a few weeks should not matter this much.”
“That’s unfair.”
“Maybe,” her mother said. “But it is true."
Rhea turned away again, her hands shaking now, the anger starting to crack into something she didn’t want to feel.
She hated that her mother had a point.
“I can’t do it,” she whispered, her voice smaller than before.
“Yes, you can.”
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand more than you think.”
“No,” Rhea said, turning back, her voice rising again.
“You moved on. I was the one he left behind. I was the one waiting for calls that never came.”
“You were always enough.”
Rhea’s chest tightened painfully.
“Then why wasn’t I enough for him?”
Her mother had no answer and that silence hurt more than anything.
It settled into the room, heavy and final, she blinked back tears
“I don’t want to be there,” Rhea said, her voice breaking just slightly. “I don’t want to look at him.”
“No one is asking you to pretend.”
“Then what do you expect?”
“I expect you to go there, focus on your work, and survive it.”
“Survive it?”
“Yes.”
Rhea sat on the edge of her bed, the weight of everything finally settling into her body.
She was tired.
Tired of being angry, tired of pretending she didn’t care.
“What if nothing changes?” she asked quietly.
“Then nothing changes,” her mother said. “But at least you tried.”
Rhea looked around the room, this small space had always been safe.
Going there felt like stepping into everything she had spent years trying to bury.
“It is only temporary,” her mother said.
Rhea closed her eyes.
“What if I say no?”
Her mother paused.
“Then I will respect it.”
Rhea frowned, she knew her mother didn't mean that, she was only trying to make her feel better
“Just go for the job,” her mother added. “Go angry if you need to. But go.”
Rhea stared at the floor every part of her wanted to refuse.
She wanted to stay and avoid everything waiting for her there.
But another part wanted to know, wanted to understand why he did what he did
She wanted answers to questions she had asked herself all her life so finally, she spoke.
“Fine.”
