Lavanya Sanskar Maheshwari  knew her parents were famous lawyers,  but since they were never  speak of their success at home and she had never been to a court to as they believed she was too young to be exposed to violent nature of the crimes ,she at times forgot that her father presence commands a certain admiration from others and sometime the opposite of the admiration in the form of jealousy or envy.

               Her father spark of anger didn't help matters at first, the inspector seem to have held a grudge towards them and he refused to listen to reason. If he did he would know he had no grounds to hold her in the station any longer . But when someone choose to misuse their power  because of their personal emotions then it cause unfairness in the justice system , just like now where the Police inspector seemed to be in no mood to listen to reason and held on firm in his decision made out of envy.

" Are you suggesting Gauri helped my daughter by standing before her and kept her hidden from the CCTV cameras in the shop , then if they both thought and planned that well in advance how did they get caught ,because you just said they walked towards the exit and had to be detained by the security guards when the alarm went on, why didnt they think of the alarm if they had time to plan to locate the CCTV cameras  ?" he asked when the inspector indicated Gauri who in her concern to help her rushed to her side but inadvertently had blocked the view of CCTV camera in that shop. 

Lavanya felt bad for Gauri who was stuck in the police station, unlike her father who rushed in the moment the police called, Gauri father dismissed her and said he had no daughter only one son . The custody battle that ensured between her parents when Gauri was ten left her father disowning her pretty much as his hatred for his Ex wife reached beyond limits. So the inspector had called Gauri mom next and Lavanya hated that Gauri was dragged into it because of her.

" It isnt new for friends to plan and steal together.  They may have forgot about the alarms, you should ask them and you should have thought them not to steal instead of claiming they are innocent when i have evidence that suggest other wise" the inspector spoke up ,arrogant in his conviction that lavanya initial fear turned into anger 

" Is that so. Did i not tell you stealing is wrong" another voice entered the station at the moment and Lavanya turned around to see Adarsh Singhania standing beside Gauri. Who looked upto see her step dad with a weak smile.

The inspector might have misused his power when faced with her father and assumed he had it in control , but he very well couldn't do so when faced with Gauri step dad, who was Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) . The moment he realized Adarsh Singhania was Gauri step dad he turned white as sheet. And realized the error in his judgement.

" If you had enough evidence to indict them,why havent you done so ?" Adarsh Uncle asked and Lavanya saw the inspector stammer because in truth he had no reason to keep them in the station over the simple misunderstanding when even the shop owners realized the error and didnt file any complaint but someone had already called the police hence her predicament  

" Is it because the moment you file the FIR, you knew Sanskar would shred you into pieces in court, not just you the entire police force will look like a fool because of your arrogance.  It was a honest mistake even the shop employees admitted Lavanaya looked distraught when she knocked into the counter. Instead of asking the employees or investigating it further you brought two young girls and kept them in station for over a hour ." Adarsh uncle spoke up and Lavanya knew the battles was over the moment the inspector began apologizing to her father

" I am sorry your brother in law  and his family suffered when Gadodia industries went bankrupt. But taking it out on my daughter who was innocent was wrong. We have given power to be fair and prevent injustice not misuse them and i dont want your apology , Apologize to my daughter and her friend whom you terrorized." her father spoke up while Lavanya wondered how her father already seemed to be aware of the reason behind the police inspector hostility.  But she forgot about it when the inspector apologized to both of them.

" Let go home Beta" her father spoke up after the inspector left them. And she was disheartened to hear him not calling her princess but if today was any indication she realized how to make it right. She was his daughter and she will fight a war if it means she can make amends to the hurt she caused him.

" Thanks Adarsh. Your presence helped a lot , i regret confronting him in anger at first, it made the situation bit tricky till you appeared ?" her father spoke up and she knew her father would have never approached in anger if it not for her, his love for her made him act in the moment .

Little later Gauri left with Adarsh uncle and Lavanya and her father headed back home. On the ride back home Lavanya decided she need to act fast before her father build a wall around his heart and refuses to let her in . 

" Dad let go Camping tonight ?" She asked him, Camping was always held for special days. A birthday, her parents wedding anniversary or the day she first lost her tooth, She cried for a whole day thinking all her tooth will fall that her father took her out camping and they buried the tooth with a proper burial or the time she fell down and fractured her hand at the age of 13 .

Camping had been the place her father would take her whenever she was sad ,upset or happy. And today she felt all three emotions, happy to finally realize she let her emotions play her a fool when she always knew the truth, sad that she realized it late and end up hurting her father , upset that she had little idea on how to make it right.

" I have to go to work early tomorrow beta, some other time " her father spoke up, the past week she took his denial has her answer and believed he needs time but for the first time she realized she cant let the distance prolong for a long time, with the new found confidence in her father love she spoke up again.

" What about tomorrow ? " Lavanya asked as she was intent to have his promise that he will take her camping .

" I have a trial beta, maybe some other time " he answered back but she wasnt going to let him off easily.

" Then day after next" she asked and he turned and looked at her for a moment finally realizing, that she wasnt planning on letting it go.  She remembered how her mom often used to say that her father can never really say No to his princess. She recalled the memory held it little close and waited for her father to speak up.

" We can go on Friday.." he spoke up a moment later. As if resigned to it . And Lavanya heart danced in joy even though Friday means four more days of wait.

" Promise" She asked him little hesitantly as she worried he might change his mind later.

" I promise beta" he answered back, making her heart flutter with happiness at the promise and sadness at the reality he wasn't calling her princess .

" You didnt even ask me if i did it before you launched into my defense" she spoke trying to keep the conversation going as she knew her father would avoid her once they entered the confines of their house.

But he looked at her as if she hurt him by her words that she wondered what she did now. And the silence she was so familiar with over the last week made it reappearance till they reached home.

When they entered home,she was engulfed in her mother embrace who was over whelmed with relief at seeing her, it took Lavanya 30 minutes to finally convince her mom she was fine.

During dinner she tried to keep light conversation with her father but all she got was his one word answers. After the dinner her parents retired to their room and she vowed to herself she wasnt going to let the day end with his silence.

She picked her phone and typed and retyped for awhile before finally deciding to keep it simple . " Good Night Dad .. Love You" - Your Princess ..She hit the sent button on her phone and waited for his response which didnt come but she intended to keep trying  .

When she learnt about the reason behind her adoption,she let it cloud her judgement. She didnt want even for a moment to be unwanted by her dad that she let her fears consume her. She knew her father loved her, it wasnt something she would ever doubt but she didnt want to be the child he had to adopt because of his wife, the first time she met him in the orphanage meant so much to her, that she couldnt bear the thought of herself as an obligation or someone foisted upon him. 

In her fears, she hurt him and it made her feel miserable. And so she cried all over again because the realization she had  hurt her father because of her fears made her feel guilty and yet she wanted to keep trying until her father forgives her . 

She would not have cried herself to sleep that night if she had seen the way her father face broke into a smile when he read her message . She didnt know that night she was one step closer to becoming his princess again. Because that all she wanted . just to be his Princess.

P.S :" That it for now.Let me know your thoughts and feedback. Hit the votes if you liked it "

Love

Juanita Reid