"NO" a whimper left my mouth as I watched the blob of nasty black paint spreading across my colorful canvas. The dark ink flowing out of the tipped over bottle sheathed the landscape slowly but entirely, casting a hue of gloom over my shaded foliage. The Scarlett Sun hid itself under the darkness ruining my painting completely.

"Look, she has the audacity to draw again. How many times do I have to tell you that you are not allowed to fill our room with those stupid paintings of yours" Sarah yelled, grabbing a bunch of my hair and pulling them hard enough to generate a sensation in my scalp.

"We should break her paint brushes this time. That would teach her a lesson" AeRi spoke up as she scanned my figure with her honed gaze while I sat there in complete silence. There were times when I used to stand up for myself but it only brought me more pain. So I decided to stay quiet this time.

"You don't deserve to be here. You are just a piece of shit like your family" the words stung in my ears like a knife and I couldn't hold myself back anymore. I sprung up from my bunker bed but just as I was about to say something, a hard slap landed on my cheek making me fall right back.

Ever since I came into this boarding school, I have been exposed to endless bullying and the sole reason for that was my origin. Why? Because I was born in a .

My days mostly began with a series of assaults, both physically and verbally. People I considered friends accused me of treachery and my own room mates loathed my existence. Even my teachers ignored me in class except for one, Miss Yuna. She was my art teacher and she was the only one who believed in me and treated me like a human being.

"Little Y/n, you see the sun up there? It is the brightest star in our Galaxy. You know why?..... Because it embraces the darkness of the universe and it shines alone. This world is a dark place that offers you hurdles and hindrances at every step. And it is so easy to get tempted and fall into that darkness. But if you are strong enough to resist them all, you'll be just as bright as the sun and you'll be able to illuminate others with the light inside of you. So think of it like this, every time someone pushes you away from them, they are actually pushing you away from their darkness and towards your own light.

And when you find that light, grab a paint brush and paint it with your favorite colors. Fill your life with the brightest shades and see what happens. All the pain you have inside your heart will flow out on your canvas creating a masterpiece. The world will see you through your creations while you stand there shining so bright.

Always remember Y/n, as long as you hold onto this brush, you are not alone...."

Miss Yuna made me fall in love with painting so that I can stay distracted but it ended up becoming my passion. Even though they destroyed most of my paintings, I would just turn the page and start a fresh. The fact that I could create my own little world on a piece of blank paper amused me.

However, even after being bullied, I refused to leave. I knew my parents would bring me home if they got even a single clue of what was happening at school and maybe that's why I never told them. I didn't wanna go back. At least the insults here bruised my ears less than the gun shots and death screams back at home......

Both the girls left the dorm room, shutting me inside, letting me drown in my own affliction. Warm tears rolled down my cheeks and fell on my canvas creating an amalgam of my tinted agony. The brush in my hands started shaking and I couldn't hold back my mental breakdown.

"Her father is a murderer..."

"She's evil..."

"No wonder she has no friends..."

I hear them and I hear their words every single day and yet somehow, I can't get used to them. They hurt the same every time.

Being born in a Mafia Family was never a choice and although I used to wake up to the growling of bullets each and every day, I knew I'd never succumb to the life my parents had. No matter how much I loved my family, I knew I could never accept their profession as my own. All I ever wanted was a regular life.

My father enrolled me in a public boarding school hoping that his daughter would get a life of her own, away from the underworld. He never forced his expectations on me but who knew that the superficial society had already predicted my entire future based on my family history.

"Stay away from her or she'll get you killed..."

"She's just a ruthless criminal like her father..."

"She can never be one of us..."

What can I say, the world had it's conclusion about my character even before I could build one and being a part of the very same world, my classmates never even bothered to give me a chance to prove that I was different.

I remember the last time my father came to my parent teacher conference. He was so polite and nice to everybody, he even got imported chocolates for all my classmates. But unfortunately, the abhorrence they had piled up for us was much stronger than the love my father could offer. And that's what made them throw those chocolates away right in front of my face after my father left. Those were the times when I felt like blaming my family for my pathetic life but then I'd wonder, who is truly at fault here, my father who picked up a gun for his survival or the society who forced it into his hands.

Everyday I drew a smile on my face and went to my classes hoping that today would be different. People would finally stop judging me based on who they perceive me to be and would just for once see the real me. But as soon as I would step into the campus, reality would crush my every little faith into fine fragments and thrash my patience hard until I'm forced to cry it all out in the ladies restroom.

"Look, the mafia princess is here..."

"I wonder why she keeps on showing up in our school. Don't criminals have their own schools?..."

"We should totally give her a nickname, like Brutal Y/n or Kim Brute or something..."

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