“My beautiful Ari,” he whispered, proud tears, Fatherly tears, welling up within his eyes. “You’ve grown.” He embraced me tightly, his arms bound snugly at my back.

  “Dad,” I said, slightly pushing him back, “you act like we haven’t seen each other in years,” I laughed.

  “Well, it’s practically been that,” he followed up. “Please,” he motioned to the seats behind us. “What can I get you?”

  “Me?” I chuckled. “Let me treat you for once, you’ve been treating me all my life.”

  “I insist,” Dad said, “I won’t allow any further discussion on the matter.” He whipped his napkin into the seat of his lap. “But truly, what brings you here!? Did the allure of chocolates entice you a little too much?”

  “Not exactly,” I smiled, “but I’d be lying if it wasn’t on my mind now.”

  “We can fix that,” he said, his eyes scanning the menu, following his pointer finger across as if upon an ornate Ouija board.

  “Dad,” I sat up, my hand crossing the table and resting atop his. “You know this isn’t just a regular visit.”

  “I...” he started up, “I am aware,” he finished after a long pause. “Certain contacts reached out. You must have powerful friends.”

  “And powerful enemies,” I spoke gravely.

  His eyes darted nervously from left to right and back again.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “They've been hunting me.” I whispered.

  The watering eyes nearly burst out of his head. “No...” his fist clenched.

  “Does the name Nanamin...mean anything to you?”

  Waitstaff passed by and delivered two large glasses of water to the table. Dad scooped up one briskly and cleansed his throat of the poison that would assuredly spew forth soon.

  “He...no...EXODUS, have levied quite the threats upon you...upon us. They’re capable of terrible things and want whatever speech you have planned to stop.”

  “I...I know...and I’m sorry, but I can’t.” Dad shrank, his eyes withering before me.

  “I’m not telling you to stop,” I continued. “But we need to proceed with caution. You have to tell me what you’ve done. There are other channels that we can go through. We can take them down!” I tried not to raise my voice too loud in the fervor of it all.

  “You...you don’t understand Ari.” He rubbed his eyes, now brimming with different tears. Tears of sadness and guilt. “I’ve done bad

  things...horrible things. You think you’re doing right by your family, by the people around you.” He lifted the napkin and dabbed at the corner of each eye. “You just want to make a better life for your loved ones. And sometimes...you make decisions you aren’t proud of. You never think you’re the villain...until you become one.”

  “Dad, whatever you did, we can find a way out of it. But you have to involve more people. We can get you to safety. This doesn’t have to end like this, in some triumphant stand. I’m not speaking on behalf of Nanamin. This is me. Jack and I—“

  “Jack?” He paused. His brow raised.

  “Well,” I blushed, “he’s kind of my boyfriend...and,” my voice lowered, “he’s been protecting me this whole time.”

  “Is...that his job?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, but things got personal.”

  “I see..." A slight smile crept across his face. "Do you love this...Jack?”

  “Dad!” I yelped.

  “Enough said,” joy shone on his face for the first time in a while. “Does he treat you well?”

  “Better than well...” I beamed, “the best.”

  “That’s all I can ask for then.” Suddenly, he stood up from the table. “It seems that there is no more to discuss. Unfortunately, the matter is settled.”

  “Wait,” I rose as well. “What do you mean?”

  “Perhaps to truly take care of this nasty business, I must continue on and bring such injustices to the public light. Just like I know you always would.”

  “Why do you have to complicate things? We can fight them from the shadows.”

  “People like this,” he embraced me again, as if for the last time, before he turned to leave, “need to be dragged into the light.”