Ariana's 20th birthday...
It was 12 am in the midnight and Ariana was up on her bed. Her eyes gleamed with a mix of sadness and happiness.
It was her 20th birthday but then she didn't know what to feel.
She was considered an adult by society but then she was far from that.
She had not even interacted with people for as long as she could remember.
Deep in her heart, she wished she could get a wish on her birthday but all she got was pain.
"Ariana..." She heard a low and creepy voice and fear gripped her heart. Her head snapped to look at the door as it creaked open.
Tightening her hold on the pillow with her, she knew who was at the door, already.
"Ariana..." The person called out again and at this point, the door was wide open. The room was dark and so was the hallway.
However, the moonlight streamed in through the window, casting a shadow on the figure at the door.
"Father..." She called out, in a meek tone with widened eyes. The figure at the door was her father but she could only see his silhouette.
"Say that again..." He whispered as he took a step into the room.
Ariana swallowed as soon as she finished his words.
She knew what was in for her now.
"F...father..." She stuttered with a terrified look on her face.
Mr. Rays hated being addressed as father by his daughter but why.
"You dare call me father?" He asked as he continued to advance toward her.
Ariana wished she could burrow into the bed but she had nowhere to go. She was frozen as she could see her father's scary and crazy expression now.
Her eyes trailed to his hand and she swallowed for the nth time.
There was a whip in Mr. Rays' hand. He dragged it across the floor as he approached her.
Slowly, he took it up and weirdly caressed the whip.
"You like this?" He asked, with a sinister smile on his face.
Ariana was quick to shake her head, terrified of what was going to happen next.
"Oh, my sweet girl. You don't like it?" He asked, in a sinister tone.
She nodded her head and then curled up into a ball as she wanted to protect herself from what was going to happen.
The way he had addressed her as a sweet girl caused her heart to ache.
She wished he could call her that always and sincerely.
"Guess you have to like it now." He said, sneering. He was already at the bed and in the next second, he raised his hand and the whip landed on her.
"Ahhhh..." Ariana screamed as she felt a searing pain.
The skin on her forearm was torn due to the force of the whip.
"No! Please! Don't hit me." She pleaded and she was quick to go on her knees on the bed. Blood started to drip from her hand onto the bed.
"You dare to tell me no?" Mr. Rays asked, with a crazy look. Without remorse, he raised his hand again and landed another hit on her.
This time, it landed on her thighs. Her pajamas got torn and a faint red line could be seen on her thighs.
Ariana continued to scream in pain as the whip landed on different parts of her body.
She cried out and immediately rushed out of bed.
She fell to the ground with a loud thud as she couldn't steady herself.
"Please..." She pleaded but her father caught her by the legs and started to drag her across the floor.
She kicked against him but she was powerless, physically and mentally.
"You can't get away from me! You bitch! You are an imposter!" He shouted as he dragged her ruthlessly across the ground.
Soon, he got to the stairs and his eyes gleamed.
"Please! No! Father!" She shouted and then held onto the stair railing, trying desperately to not let go.
However, Mr. Rays dragged her with all his might. Ariana felt like her arms would get disjointed from her body due to the force applied.
Her head landed on the staircase and she yelled. Her head lulled to the side, as she passed out.
However, he continued to drag her down the staircase. Her head banged continuously against the stairs.
There were bruises all over her body at this point.
As soon as he got to the foot of the stairs, he threw her across the ground.
Her body landed with a loud thud. In the next second, he kicked against her stomach, fiercely.
"Wake up! Up, you little slut!" He yelled, as he bent down to hold onto her head.
He slapped her across the face and then slowly she opened her eyes.
At this point, her face was swollen and she had bumps on the back of her head.
A wicked smile was seen on Mr. Rays' face, however, Ariana looked at him with a weak gaze. Her heart was weak as well and it ached.
Every day of her life, she would get whipped one way or the other.
She was tired and she wanted to know why her life was like that.
"Why?" She asked, in a low tone. Her eyes were half closed and he sneered.
It wasn't the first time she was asking that question but her father never answered her.
"You want to know why?" He asked, sneering. Swiftly, he let go of her and stood upright.
He got no response from her but he didn't need one. A look of pain flashed across his eyes but it was quick to vanish.
"It's because you are an imposter!" He yelled, his eyes red.
Ariana had heard him call her an imposter countless times but she never knew why.
"Why?" She asked.
"You are not my daughter! You are just a fake!" He yelled, angrily.
Ariana was stumped and she felt like his words were piercing through her heart.
"I am not your daughter?" She asked, in a shaky tone. A tear slipped down her left eye as she continued to look at him. The pain in her heart multiplied, in hundred folds.
Never in her life did she think she was adopted or from the streets.
All the family pictures she had seen for as long as she could remember, she was in them. She thought had been with her father since she was a baby.
"You are a clone! A fucking clone!" He shouted and turned around. His fist slammed against the wall in anger.
"W...hat?" Ariana said, shakily and in disbelief.
Her half-hooded eyes opened up.
Did he mean her whole existence was a lie?
She couldn't believe it and in the next second, she burst into a peal of hilarious and painful laughter.
"Do you think this is funny?" Mr. Rays thundered and Ariana flinched.
"You have been a clone for the past 6 years! You should be grateful that I created you. You were never my daughter! My real daughter lays 6 feet under the ground!" He yelled and Ariana could see his eyes brimming with tears but he couldn't shed them.
His words cut through her continuously and she wished she could die in the next moment.
All the memories she had about her life were not hers. Though she had not interacted with a lot of people in her memory, she realized she was living another person's life.
"W...why? Why did you have to bring me into this world when I'm not good enough for you?" She asked, in a pained tone.
"That's none of your business!" He said, through gritted teeth with his hands clenched into tight fists.
There was a mysterious look in his eyes and in the next second, he turned around and walked away.
On the other hand, Ariana watched his back as he vanished from her sight.
Tears streamed down her eyes, uncontrollably.
She realized she should have known!
She could recall that the beatings only started when she turned 14th.
She remembered she had just woken up from a deep sleep and the next day, everything changed from what she could remember.
"No!!!!" She screamed, with great agony. She clawed at her chest as if she wanted to tear out her heart.
The pain was too much to bear.
She didn't want to be an imposter!
She didn't want to be a clone!
She didn't want to live someone else's life!
She just wanted to be her father's daughter, however, it would never be possible.
Slowly, Ariana stood up to her feet. Her eyes gleamed with determination and she decided to end it all.
In the background, she could hear Mr. Rays zoom off in his car and a creepy smile crept onto her face.
She was going to end her fake existence!