This sure never felt the same.

The Garza mansion was covered in Christmas decorations. The gleaming yellow string lights, which used to bring warmth and solace in her eyes, shone admirably.

Regrettably, these lights were not as dazzling as before, even though they continuously sustained their purpose.

The color itself brought nostalgia, but its meaning was no longer there.

She refused to watch this year’s theme within the air of melancholy that surrounded this cursed palace. She gritted her teeth when the familiar thorn of irritation suddenly grew wild inside of her.

Daphne had gone missing, and it had been more than a month since then.

Yet, their good-for-nothing father sure was taking his time to take action.

He was certainly something else.

For someone who had lost his daughter, Old Man Stefano looked relaxed and unbothered.

She did not know what he was thinking right now. Perhaps, he was up to something bad again. There was this little voice inside of her head which had been frequently telling her that her younger sister got kidnapped because of their own father.

He was a bad man anyway.

There was no way that Daphne would sneak off like that on her. Her younger sister was too conscience-driven.

Daphne would probably think that Dahlia would get blamed if she made her disappearance using her elder sister as a cover. The idea would be far-fetched—something that would not cross her mind even for a fraction of a second.

Daphne was better than that, and the fact that she was not seeing fervent movements from their father was rather troubling. She saw it with her own eyes. Old Man Stefano looked upset as if he had already anticipated that to happen.

He did not looked too affected.

That was the first impression she discovered.

On the following day, he finally made a move. Although it was not that big and something to be praised for, she knew it required to shed his pride a bit.

Her father came to ask her if Daphne had told her anything. It was the first time in years that he did not appear arrogant in front of her other daughter.

The amused chuckle that escaped past her lips could not be helped. Old Man Stefano looked uncomfortable either. She was pretty positive that he never wished to approach her in the first place.

The sight was amusing.

“Why are you asking me that?” Dahlia felt worried, too, but today, their father was acting sketchy. She would not let that slide. She wanted to find her younger sister as much as possible. Being of legal age did not change anything. Daphne was still young and naïve.

Her younger sister had not realized the true dangers of the real world, yet. Being out on her own would probably be too much for her. Dahlia did not even want to imagine what she was doing at the moment.

She might not be able to handle it.

“We are looking for my daughter, Dahlia. Any information would be of high significance.” Their father was trying to not raise his voice at her, and she knew the reason behind that.

He probably thought that she was holding some valuable information that would help his search, and being an asshole could put him at a disadvantage. He needed something from her, so he was trying to act cool and being careful.

Sure, his expression was bland, but that made things easier for Dahlia.

Men were so simple.

All you had to was dangle a simple expression as trade bait, and they were quick to lose their shit.

You are no different from them, Old Man Stefano.

Perhaps, it was her biggest mistake that she did not bother to ask Daphne what was wrong, or if there was something going on. She already found it weird enough that her little sister told her she wanted to tag along.

Dahlia had an idea that Daphne might be starting to grow curious of what could be transpiring beyond this household prison.

She just could not believe herself that she just tossed out the possibility of their father having something to do with this.

Unfortunately, it slipped her mind that they all went out on a lunch date.

So, it all must be connected.

Her options were limited right now as well. She and her father had stopped communicating with each other several years ago. Dahlia never treated it as her loss to say the least. She might not often show him it, but she was still thankful.

She guessed he was simply trying to be the best parent he could be, but hell, he should not be sweating it anyway because he sucked.

She hated being put on short leashes.

Their father could not be treating them like animals. Dahlia would not also let him call it ‘doting’.

She smirked.

Tough love, huh?

“What do you know, Dahlia?” Old Man Stefano asked, his annoyed eyes narrowing in suspicion.

She rolled her eyes. “What could I possibly know?”

“Being stubborn will not bring your sister back.” He shook his head, his face crinkling into one of dismay—or disappointment? Whatever. “There is no point in knocking some sense into that thick skull of yours.”

“Thanks,” she sassed.

He had never changed.

He was still argumentative as fuck.

“Do not turn your back on me. We are not yet done.”

Her steps halted.

Is it killing you, father?

Did my silence get on your last nerve?

Then, suffer.

You deserve it.

Dahlia would let him think that Daphne had told her something because the look of determination on their father’s ignorant face was comical. There was no point in dwelling on the likelihood that she shared the blame.

Her younger sister might have been with her that night, but Dahlia was not really at fault. Why would she forbid Daphne to come with her? Would that make her any different from Old Man Stefano’s style?

Besides, she was not interested in taking part on her little sister’s decision-making skills. Daphne was smart enough to have realized that.

Dahlia sighed. “What did you do this time, Father?” Damn. That word tasted bitter. “You have lost me long ago. Are you trying to lose another one?” This time, she faced him. She watched him closely—carefully.

Any hint that would give him away.

Read through his expression, Dahlia.

Do you recognize that demeanor?

Is the look he is throwing at you familiar?

Decode the story behind his concern, Dahlia.

Provide a question that would throw him off, then think.

Analyze.

“I can see that you are worried, father. After all, she is your favorite girl—subservient and kind. If anything, she would certainly be a huge loss. However, I despise the way you think. We have different philosophies, and this memory…” she trailed off, pointing her index finger at the side of her head, “has always been sharp. You hated it, right? That no matter how hard I tried to, I could never seem to forget. You thought that I would run away if you treated me poorly.”

“How ungrateful,” he muttered under his breath. “What are you talking about?”

“You cannot officially disown me because Daphne will question you. You were forcing me to walk out on my own accord, so it would spare you the inconvenience. This mind never forgets, Sir. I will not bail out as long as she is here.”

Old Man Stefano let out a sarcastic laugh. “What an ingrate.”

“I will be watching you. Since I found out that you cannot dispose of me, you have endowed me that power. There is no way I am letting it go to waste,” Dahlia retorted, a smug smile playing on her lips. “I will be watching you.”

She must.

The look of concern that shadowed their father’s expression was all but a façade. It was not attributed to Daphne’s kidnapping.

It had her on edge.