It is the strange fate of man ~ that even in the greatest of evils ~ the fear of the worst continues to haunt him ~
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Someone was stalking her. A man or was it an animal. She didn't dare turn to watch him coming towards her lest she would find him breathing down her neck. As she heard the pounding of the footsteps coming closer that were following in her wake, she stumbled almost falling over the cobbled street. Pausing to look behind her she saw the menacing silhouette of the man-animal growing through fearful eyes. He was coming straight towards her, his long over coat billowing back to reveal a tall muscular frame and his feet...
He had hoofs, not feet...
Her mouth opened to emit a shrill scream and the man-beast stopped right in his tracks, his face covered by a hood. But where his eyes should be present, she could feel an almost painful cold radiating in waves and freezing her to the spot. Feeling claustrophobic in his stifling presence and her eyes wildly looking around for an escape route, she spotted a dark alley to her right. Without pausing to think she started running for the alley, the cold biting wind almost shearing her skin off her bones.
Heedless of her mind screaming warnings to her, the fear almost consuming her senses and ignorant of the danger lurking around the corner she ran blindly into the dark alley, her feet almost flying through air...
And then to her utter horror she found herself stopping at the end of the dark alley. The wall infront of her was rising like a ravening beast, enclosing her in the alley. It was a dead end...
She had ran into a blind alley and now she could hear the clippety-clop of his hooves coming towards her inside the alley and wanted to scream at him to leave her alone. But she had no strength left to breath lest scream. With the wall at her front and the man-beast at her back she had no escape route left. He had purposely driven her into the blind alley and like the reckless fool she was she had taken his dare...
Her breath harsh in her raspy throat, her heart thudding against her rib cage like a drum and her horror-filled eyes wide open she saw his dark shadow growing into a tall beast. Squeezing her eyes shut like a pigeon and slamming herself against the wall she tried to block him out in vain. He was so close to her now that she could feel his hot breath pouring like hot lava across her face.
"Until we meet again princess", he whispered into her face. Gathering her scattered wits, she opened her eyes slowly to see the man-beast bending over her face. He had thrown back his hood and now his face was revealed clearly in the moonlight shadowing the dark alley. She raised her frightened gaze to look into his eyes and her scream froze in her throat. The man had icy black holes for where his eyes should be...
Khushi woke up on a muffled scream. Her whole body was shaking badly and sweat was pouring out from every single pore of her body. Wildly looking around her surroundings to see if the man-beast was still near her, it finally dawned to her that she was in her own room and there was no man-beast around.
It was only a dream after all, sighing she raised a trembling hand to rub at her clammy forehead trying to control her erratic heartbeat and heavy breathing. The table lamp was already switched on because she had a fear of dark and couldn't sleep without any light source. With shaking fingers, she reached for the bedside clock. The tiny digital clock showed 3.00 a.m in the night...
Her mouth was dry and her throat felt parched like a Sahara desert. Looking for the water jug that she would place every night at her bedside table she lifted it up. But it was totally devoid of even a drop of water.
Placing it again on the table with a frustrated crash she fell among the tangled bed covers with a sigh. "Thank the God that it was just a nightmare", She heaved a sigh of relief. "I must have taken today's incident to heart, nothing to worry about" She mentally consoled herself. But she was still left with a nagging feeling of something unpleasant coming her way in future...
Her sleep gone, she threw back the bed covers from her and went downstairs to find a glass of water...
Arnav's Den
"How did you know that she would do that Arni?", the woman whispered with awe, dragging off her white-haired wig from her head. "I didn't, I just guessed and how many times have I told you Sam to not call me Arni, it makes me feel like a pet dog and it totally spoils my mood", Arnav gave an irritable shake of his head and made to sit on the sofa placed in the corner of his office.
"But you never complained it while we made love every time", she pouted, removing the last traces of her mask makeup, while peering keenly into the small mirror that she was holding in her left hand. Arnav leaned his head tiredly on the back of sofa, closing his eyes to carefully think about the next step in his grand plan, but to his utter vexation found his mind too worked up to think anything at all with the images of his recent public humiliation dancing like kaleidoscope infront of his eyes...
"And dear you too call me Sam don't you, not once have you called me Samara", she purred getting up from the edge of sofa with a catlike grace, her bony and tall frame swaying with her each step. "Correction dear Sam, I don't make love, I f***k", he mocked, his eyes still closed. "I am not complaining sweetheart", she gave a tinkle of a laugh, settling herself near him on the sofa. "And you shouldn't too", opening up his eyes he threw a warning glance her way that was meant to shut her up.
But it didn't deter her from asking yet another question that was nagging at her mind from quite a long time."You haven't told me yet how did you know that girl would create a fiasco in the restaurant?", batting her eyelashes at him she asked innocently. A sardonic smile lifted the corner of his mouth and his hand flashed out to drag her towards him. Sam gave a surprised squeal and toppled right into his lap. "And why do you want to know it dear Sam?", he asked in a dangerously mocking voice.
"Wel...I...I", her mouth had suddenly gone dry at seeing the sudden coldness lurking behind his eyes. He was in his frozen mode again, she thought mentally sighing at her predicament. On mind level he was always unreachable to her, never sharing anything about his past but whenever he got into one of his hellish moods, he used to become unpredictable too. Like he was right now and in this state she would never know what he would do next. Maybe throw her out on her ass, she thought mentally chiding herself for daring to ask him about today's incident.
She had been curious from the time when he had texted her the name of a restaurant and asked her to come over there in the guise of an old woman. Although she had been never involved directly in his business and was content on her status as the boss's woman. She had also never been asked by him to do something weird like she had done today. She was good at acting, had even participated in small plays in her past but she had never once done real acting in her life too.
So when she had arrived in the restaurant, she had been shaking badly with the fear that someone would detect her guise or somehow her mask makeup will slip down. But no one had noticed her arrival as she had slipped through the crowd gathered around a crying girl of about 20 and a tall man standing with his back towards the crowd, his arms enfolded across his chest in a calm and composed manner.
Although Arnav had given her a hint about the would-be-happening fiasco, even before she had arrived at the scene still it had shocked her to the core seeing him at the mercy of a mere girl's manipulative tricks. A good actor herself, she could always guess when the other person was acting or being their real selves. And she could have sworn on her life that the other girl was acting...
So sitting on a nearby chair she had waited for the right moment and then had intervened. Acting in the guise of an old woman, she had showed the true colors of the girl to everyone gathered around and then had watched with satisfaction the girl being trapped in her own web of lies. Her work done she had left. But now this thought had suddenly came into her mind that how had he known it all along that the girl was going to publicly humiliate him and the most important thing was how the hell did he know the girl?
With her curiosity getting out of control she had committed the mistake of nagging Arnav and was now made to bear the brunt of his cold wrath. "Yes tell me, why do you want to know", he was asking in a silken voice. "Well...umm...that's because you never involved me in anything you ever do that's why", she blurted out then held her tongue in cheek, waiting with bated breath for his reaction.
"Ah yes, that's why you wanted to know nothing else the matter with you right", he relaxed back with her in his lap and his arms wrapped around her. "No, nothing else just out of curiosity I asked", she shook her head in negation. "You know na Sam that this is temporary right", he said, wrapping a long curl around his finger, that had fallen over her breast.
"Yes", she said sadly. She had always known right from the start that she would never be able to win even his trust, whereas love was entirely something else which his frozen heart was incapable of feeling ever. But still whenever he had reminded her of her hopeless situation and their temporary affair, she had always felt as if her heart was being squeezed painfully.
And just like now it was hurting too as he yet reminded her again that she was good for a temporary f***k but wasn't good to share some of the burden that he had always carried on his shoulder God knows from how long. As if he could see right through her to know what she was thinking at the moment, he tugged at her locks bringing her face closer to his own. "You wouldn't be able to carry it dear", he taunted. "Try me", putting a hand over his cheek, she asked in a tender voice...
"Forget it", he callously knocked her hand away. She masked her face quickly afraid that he would see her expressions betraying her inner hurt. "Are you going to leave that girl alone after she made such a spectacle of yourself", she changed the topic. For a moment she saw a shadow of extreme hatred crossing his face, such was the feeling of cold inhuman rage that flitted across his eyes that even knowing that his hate wasn't directed towards her but at the girl, she shivered with fear.
"Do I look like a person who can easily forgive?", he asked coldly, his hand unconsciously tightening over her locks. "No", she shuddered, feeling dread and pity for the nameless girl. Seeing the flames of retribution burning in his eyes, she could guess that he was thinking along the lines of revenge. Although she couldn't guess his thoughts she had a premonition that something ominous was going to happen to the girl...
"I am not going to forgive her that's for sure", he muttered vehemently under his breath, staring into space, his mind still rerunning today's incident. "Hey", Sam whispered turning his face towards her. "Let's forget today's incident, shall we", she husked into his ear, kissing the corner of his earlobe. "Yes, forget her for now", he whispered closing his eyes and leaned his head against the back of sofa, while Sam started to kiss the side of his neck, trailing her lips across his collar bone to reach his chest, opening the shirt buttons with her teeth along the way...
But the only thing that filled up his mind instead of pleasure was Khushi's face. Feeling that familiar hatred yet again coursing through his veins, unconsciously his fingers dug deeply into Sam's flesh, making her wince and rear up in fearful shock. "Maybe it's not a good idea right now, someday else will be good", feeling frustrated at his lack of usual self-control over his emotions he started to redo his shirt buttons again. "What Arnav, what happened?", worry was beginning to crease her face as setting her aside he made to get up from the sofa.
"Nothing to worry Sam, I am feeling too tired, just want to rest, you too should take a rest, today's incident was really tiring", patting a consoling hand over her cheek, he turned on his heels and headed towards his desk. Selfish b*****d, she seethed. Taking it as a sign of her dismissal she got up from the sofa and headed towards the exit door...
For the first time in his mafia life he was out of ideas. A slip of a girl had almost gotten away by making a mockery of him in public. But he was never known to leave his enemies alone, especially those he hated from every fiber of his being. And yes she had been a hated enemy to him from the first time ever he saw her as a child of five offering her ice-cream to a seventeen year old him. If anyone would know about his hatred they would be quite astonished that how could a seventeen year old boy hate an innocent child of five years...
But that's because not everyone would have lived his life and survived to tell the tale...
Survived to breathe, to feel even if it had come with the price of a frozen heart. That would never melt for anyone...
Save for an enemy...
If he hadn't been able to notice that she had seen him stalking her than he wouldn't have been able to get out of the fix in which the girl had put him so effectively. When he had noticed her watching him watch her through the corner of his eyes he had known then that her recklessness and on spur of the moment attitude would make her approach him and create a ruckus as she looked like a girl who would take no for an answer.
So as a premonition he had texted to Sam, to come here in the guise of an old woman, as people don't take much notice of an old woman while a young and beautiful woman can be spotted easily as she stands out in the crowd...
And just as he had guessed Khushi had done just that, had approached him, flirted with him but he hadn't guessed on her making a public spectacle of him. Thank the God he had the brains to call Sam on time and so she had gotten him out of the fix, by her spectacular acting...
His hand stopped over the notepad, as he came out of his memories to notice that his pen had been scratching only one six letter word over the page's surface...
Khushi...Khushi...Khushi...
Sighing with frustration he put the pen back in the bloater, then picking up the notepad in his hand he leaned casually against the back of his swing chair, swaying side to side and tracing the tip of his index finger over the scratched words, with a frown marring his brow...
Then suddenly his frown vanished, causing him to sprang up in his chair and lean across the desk to pick up the receiver of his phone. It took him only a minute to gave a curt order to the person who must be on the other side, then feeling as if a great burden had been lifted up from his shoulder he put back the receiver on the cradle with a fluid grace...
"Finally..., yes...finally I've got you", feeling energetic and twin devils glinting in his eyes, he tore the paper off the notepad, where he had scratched Khushi's name then taking out his cigarette lighter from his pocket he set it's end to fire and watched it burn with a wicked satisfaction coursing through his veins...
Giving a sinister laugh that would have raised hackles of any other individual present in the room as it did to the black monster sitting nearby on the couch, he threw the crumbling page in the dust bin. The black monster hissed, stretching on her hind lings. "Hey black rose, finally I got an idea", he addressed to the black monster, who purred at once, as if appreciating her master's idea, her yellow eyes reflecting the flames emitting from the dustbin...
While his master's face looked like a cat that had gotten the cream...
Angie's Birthday Bash
"Khushi come on, what's the matter with you? You have been behaving like that from the time we got into this restaurant", seeing her best friend sitting silently from a long time Angie had spoken up atlast in exasperation.
All of the five girls were gathered in the city's famous restaurant at the eve of Angie's birthday party. But they had all noticed that Khushi had remained quiet throughout the celebration. They all knew what a chatter box she was, but now it looked like she was taking a fast of silence...
"No Angie, I am just feeling a little sick, just under the weather nothing to worry about...you know...how I am ...I fall sick on the account of even a little cold air", she was starting to blabber. After a moment's hesitation in which she shifted uncomfortably in her chair avoiding her best friend's eyes, Angie asked her again, "Are you thinking about that stranger?". Jerking to look up into Angie's assessing gaze, she blurted out a no. "So are you unhappy with my birthday arrangements", she asked, her brows creased together in a frown.
"No", she said shocking Angie with the vehemence of her voice then seeing her friend looking quite taken aback by her rudeness she quickly said no again in a small voice. "Are you sure?",Angie's frown had deepened. "Nothing like that", she pasted a forced smile then seeing Angie's disbelieving face she hesitated. "But...there is something", she hesitated, chewing her lips nervously.
How should she tell her friend that this time she was really worried about their encounter with that Mafioso stranger two days before? And then her nightmare the following night had literally frightened the socks off her and she was feeling afraid sitting right there even in a totally different restaurant. But it seemed that the girl's had already wiped the misbegotten incident from their minds as they were busy discussing where would they go next to have fun, on the eve of Angie's birthday...
"What is it Khushi, you can tell me?", Angie was asking in a consoling tone. But for the first time in her life she had an uneasy feeling that Angie was showing her fake concern. Her query to her was made in a voice devoid of any curiosity as if she already knew what Khushi was about to tell her...
The lack of curiosity in Angie's voice, was it for real or just a figment of her overly active imagination, she had thought suspiciously...
The restaurant's lights were dimmed to soft glow, candles were glittering on the tables and the whole environment was reflecting a mystic and dreamy state to the diners sitting at their respective tables. Their group was sitting in a corner near the restaurant's entrance from where they could have a full view of all the people arriving and exiting from the restaurant...
Khushi was having dubious thoughts on whether to tell Angie or not about her worries when a tall shadow suddenly loomed out from the gloomy entrance reminding her of her nightmare and alarming her to the same sensation of prickling that she was used to having whenever that Mafioso stranger was near her...
As the shadow brushed past their table her voice got stuck in her throat. Perturbed, she got up from her seat to see if he was that Mafioso stranger or someone else. A waiter chose that moment to arrive at their table with Angie's cake, hiding the shadow from their view. Irritated, she craned her neck to see behind the waiter's head and saw the tall shadow of a man stopping at the table next to theirs. Anxiously she waited as he dragged a chair and sat on it facing her...
A breath of relief whooshed out from her lungs at finding the man to be someone else, a 40, 50 something middle-aged man, wearing a pair of black-framed spectacles. But it seemed her relief was short-lived as it happened when Angie started to blow all 21 candles on the cake her friends, including Khushi.
"Happy Birthday to Dear Angie!" they were all singing in chorus when the same tall man whom she had mistaken for the Mafioso stranger got up from his chair and headed towards their table. He looked quite harmless but you never know when a harmless looking person could be revealed as a serial killer...
As he again brushed past their table, his right hand flashed out and he dropped something that looked suspiciously like a note in Khushi's lap startling her out of her chair. With trembling hands she opened the folded paper to read what was written in the note, then on a horrified breath crumpled the paper in a tight ball and let it fall to the floor...
But she was unable to eliminate the image of the message written in bold black letters from her mind...
"Red Looks Good On You Khushi", the etched message screamed up at her from the crumpled note lying on the floor...
Recap: The click of the door closing behind her and echoing in the silence of the room had her turning on her heels to gape fearfully at the man whose hood was hiding his face from her view. She had an ominous feeling that she knew who he would be...
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