I give him a slight smile, as he just stands there, in slight disbelief. As he's standing there, his eyes widen suddenly. "Oh, where are my manners? Come inside. It's freezing," he offers, moving out of the way so that I can enter. I walk inside, and am immediately surprised by how well kept his apartment is.

The walls are painted with tan and white colors, adding a soothing aspect to the apartment. There's a kitchen on the right side, with granite countertops that look like someone polished them for an hour. The whole apartment is lit with a pale yellow light, completing the comforting aesthetic like a bow on the gift. Sure, it's not the biggest apartment in the world, but there's a nice amount of furniture, the color scheme is nice, and it's clean. I'm so glad it's clean, because I don't like things being dirty or messy.

He closes the door behind me, and I hear him walk a little bit closer to me. The anxiety inside me boils to an unspeakable point. I can't help but feel a little bit scared because this is the same man who was sent to jail for 16 years for killing my mom. This is a huge chance I'm taking. I don't even hesitate, before I spin around to ask him an insane question. "You're not going to kill me, right?" I ask, holding my hands up in a defensive position.

Arjun's eyes widen, and he shakes his head. "What? No! You really think I would call you over to kill you? One, that'll make too much of a mess, and I'm way too tired to clean up blood, skin, hair, and whatever other bodily tissues or liquids a human has today. Two, I'm not that heartless. I actually want to talk to you."

I relax a little bit, and put my hands down. I turn my head to look for a place to sit down. I spot the couch that's sitting in the middle of the apartment, and he follows after me. He sits down next to me, and says, "I do want to get this straight. How good is your Gujarati? I'm really curious." He asks the last two sentences in my mother tongue, Gujarati.

With confidence, I say, "I like to think that it's pretty good. Mason made me learn it so that I didn't lose sight of my mother tongue. He also made me learn Hindi," in the best Gujarati that I can manage.

He gives me a slight smile, and says, "That's some pretty good Gujarati! I'm impressed! At least Mason did something right."

My face falls at the sarcastic remark. Usually, I'd snap back and refute a sarcastic remark like this, but I'm way too tired to do so. I feel so drained, both physically and emotionally, that I can't think of anything witty to say.

Arjun notices my slight discomfort, and tries to break the ice. "Do you want some water or something? Dinner is going to be ready in a little bit. The aloo is still cooking, but it won't take long."

My mouth waters at the thought of aloo. It's one of my favorite dishes, and also one of the few things in which it's really hard to screw up. "Yeah, water sounds nice," I say, and he gets up to go get a glass of water from the kitchen. As I hear the water filling up the glass, I start to settle back into the couch and relax. Maybe this isn't going to be so bad after all.

Arjun hands me the glass of water, which I thank him for, and he sits back down. "So, if you don't mind me asking, what brings you here? From my experience with other people, they don't change their minds easily. What happened? Is everything okay?"

I bite my lip a little bit to fight back the tears that are forming in my eyes. I set the glass down on the table, and say, "I found out about the affair my mom had with Mason. I just couldn't look at Mason after that, but I realized that you were fully justified to leave her. So I came to talk to you and see your point of view on things. You were right, Arjun. I definitely shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

He gives me a sheepish, yet reassuring smile, which only causes more tears to form in my eyes. Arjun notices this, and scoots in closer to me. "Hey, it's okay. Don't cry. I hate seeing people cry," he says, and he wipes a tear that fell with his thumb.

I gulp back the lump that's starting to form in the back of my throat. "I understand how you hated me when she was pregnant with me. I-I don't blame you for running off," I say, with my voice breaking. Arjun's eyes widen another time, but this time, shock is also thrown into the mix.

He leans in a little bit, with that shock grabbing at his eyes. "What? Hate you? Ashmita, you think I hate you?" I don't reply to that. I just squeeze my eyes shut and keep on letting them fill with tears. Arjun's finger goes to my chin and he lifts my head a little bit.

"Ashmita, look at me," he says, and I open my eyes a little bit. "I can never hate you. Ever. Just because I ran off when she was pregnant with you doesn't mean I hate you. Look at you! You're beautiful, you're smart, you're kind. There is nothing to hate about you. And even though I wasn't around to see you grow up, you've become the daughter that I've always wished for. If she was here, then your mom would be so proud of you. I know it."

That's when the tears start to flow out of my eyes. I almost collapse into Arjun, and he brings me closer into his embrace. I sob in his chest, as he sits there and comforts me. "It's okay," he whispers in my ear, in an attempt to comfort me.

It's working.

*******

After crying in his chest for a while, I feel my tears dry. At this moment, it feels so good. It feels amazing that I got the opportunity to let it out to somebody. I felt like I couldn't do it to Mason or Sarah, because of their part in this mess. Nathan isn't the best person at comfort. I feel slightly bad that this is my last resort, but at the same time, I don't regret it. He's doing everything that he can to make this less painful.

After he feels my tears dry, he brings my head out of his chest, and gives me a slight smile. I return it, and with that, my stomach starts to growl like a vicious tiger. Arjun notices this, and says, "I think it's time for some food. I'm getting hungry as well."

****

"Woah, don't go overboard. Save some for yourself!" I squeal, as I look at the mountain of rice piled onto the plate.

He looks back at me. "Come on. You need to eat! I'm not letting you go hungry. If you can't finish it, then I'll eat it. Are you sure this is too much?"

I place my hands on my hips and give him a sassy look. "Yes, I'm sure. That's enough to feed me for a whole day. Take some for yourself," I slightly plead, and he finally caves in. He takes a spoon and puts a little bit onto his plate, while serving himself more from the pan.

He then spoons some aloo onto my rice, and I prepare myself for the tastiness that's sitting in front of me. "Let me know if the salt and the spices are okay. I don't know how your spice tolerance is, so I didn't make it too spicy. If you want it spicier, let me know. I'll add more," he tells me, as he starts to eat his food.

I take the spoon and start to tuck into the hot food that's staring me down, waiting to be eaten. The flavors, spices, and textures hit my tongue once I eat it, which makes me smile. The crisp coating on the potato and the gentle spices make me feel satisfied. "It's really good. The spice is pretty good. But for saying you didn't put a lot, you did put a lot. Not complaining, though," I say, to which he gives me a smile.

"Thanks. Did I? Must've went heavier on the spices than I realized. But anyways, eat up. And then sit down. I have some chocolate in the fridge for dessert." I give him a smile, as I walk over to the couch to sit down.

After eating dinner, dessert, and brushing my teeth, I realize how tired I actually am. Crying about how much Mason betrayed me drained a lot of my energy, so a good night's sleep is what I probably need. I walk out of the bathroom in pajamas, with my hair tied back into a loose ponytail.

Arjun is setting up pillows and a blanket on the couch. I walk over and take a seat on the couch, so that I can start getting some sleep for the night. Arjun places a hand on my shoulder, and says, "Woah woah woah. I'm not letting a guest like you sleep on the couch!"

I raise an eyebrow. "So, where am I going to sleep? The kitchen?"

Arjun lets out a little chuckle, and says, "No. I'm not that mean. You can take my bed. I'll sleep on the couch."

"Are you sure?" I raise an eyebrow at his insistence for him to be a little bit less comfortable.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I've fallen asleep on the couch way too many times. I've gotten used to it. You sleep in my bed today." He gets up, and then walks to the bedroom where I'm going to sleep today. I follow him, slightly impressed at his courtesy when it comes to this.

"I tried to make it as comfortable as possible. Get some sleep. You need it more than I do," he tells me, as I pull the covers over my body. I rest my head against the pillow, and just stare at the wall. I can't help but think about everything that's happened so far.

Everything just seems way too crazy. I found out my biological dad isn't that bad. My adoptive dad had an affair with my mom. There was a whole mess when it came to the pregnancy. Everything just seems way too weird for me to process.

But now that I am at Arjun's house, I know that I could definitely do one thing. Get his input when it comes to the case.

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Aw I love chapters like this. I think Arjun wants to make up for lost time since he absent for 99.9999% of Ashmita's life. Do you think he would have been a good dad had he stuck around? Let me know in the comments.

Hey everyone! How's it going? Yeah I was dying for you guys to read this chapter, as I've said previously, like hundreds of times. But now it's here, and we get to meet him!

I don't have much else to say. Hope you guys liked this chapter!

Please vote/comment/share/follow/message if you like my work! See you all next Sunday with a new chapter of TSOC! Have a great week!

Love you guys, and stay safe,

Shree