Chapter 8
My eyes flutter open as the sweet sound of birds chirping fills my ears. As my eyes come into focus, I realize I'm in an unknown place. I think about how I arrived here and flashes from last night play before my eyes. Armaan his wife the murder I immediately sit up on the bed, my brain working overtime. Where am I? I look around the room, trying to see where Armaan brought me, when my eyes fall on a picture hanging on the wall in front of me. I stand up and walk to it, running my fingers across it.
A girl is staring at me, her features soft and perfect. Her eyes are almond-shaped and blue, just like the morning sky. Her hair is beautifully curly. Who is she? I look around and am shocked. The room is filled with pictures of her, but that's not what has me stunned Armaan is in those pictures too. He's holding her in one of them, a serene smile on their faces. In another one, he has her back against his chest, his nose buried in her neck, while she's smiling with her eyes closed. There are some portraits of her too. I spin around in one spot, absorbing everything I see. I know who she is. Anna
"Riddhima," I jump and turn hearing his deep voice, "you're awake." I didn't realize I had tears flowing down my cheeks until a drop fell on my hand. He's leaning against the door, looking at me with anger evident in his eyes. Flashes of him murdering that man come before my eyes and I move back from him.
"You killed him," I whisper as I move back from him. "You killed that innocent man." He remains silent and continues to stare at me. "You're a murderer!" I scream at him, tears flowing from my eyes. I fall quiet and wait for him to say something. If there's anything that can be heard, then it's my sobs.
"Yes, I did. I killed him," he says calmly, but his eyes are blazing.
"Why?"
"He f**king deserved it," he says with finality and moves to the window.
"That doesn't answer my question," I slowly shake my head. "Why did you kill him?" I ask slowly.
"Because he killed Anna." A gasp escaped my lips and my eyes widened. His wife is dead?
"W-what?"
"I killed Don because he killed my wife." I stare at his back with conflicting emotions. On one hand, I feel horrible for him. It's evident from the way he behaved last night that he's still madly in love with her and her absence is killing him. On the other hand, all those questions are killing me. What happened? Why did that guy kill Anna? Who is here? Why is he here? We stay silent for God knows how long before I find my voice.
"Why are you here?" My voice comes out as a whisper. We both stand in silence, tension thick in the air.
"Your dad killed Anna." I feel like I've been punched in the gut. His words swim around in my mind. Dad killed his wife? The f**k is he talking about! Dad has nothing to do with him or his wife! He has no reason to kill his wife!
"Have you lost your f**king mind, Armaan? You're talking about Shashank Gupta, the business tycoon! He has no reason to kill anyone!" I say incredulously. Like hell, I may hate my dad, but why would he kill Armaan's wife?
"Then why did he kill your mom?" I fall silent. What? He turns around and looks at me. "Your dad did kill your mom." I feel like someone has pulled the floor underneath my feet. So I was right. Shashank Gupta did kill my mom! I wasn't living in a delusion all these years! I knew what had happened! That man had brutally killed my mother! But the main question is still there.
"Why did he kill mom?" My voice is no more than a whisper.
He takes a deep breath and starts talking. "Shashank Gupta lives two lives. To the outside world, he seems like a professional a well-reputed man. But in reality, he's a dangerous man. He's a criminal a white-collared criminal. He's a mafia leader. He smuggles drugs and weapons all across the globe and does a really good job at hiding it. When he met your mom, he fell in love with her. They soon got married, but he kept his little secret away from her. She kept thinking he was an amazing person, but you can't keep certain things hidden, can you?
"She eventually found out his reality. When you went to that picnic, she caught him executing a drug deal. That's when things got bad. Your mom was pissed and she felt betrayed. As much as she loved him, she had a mind of her own. Your mom gave Shashank two options surrender or she'll hand him over. Your dad tried to manipulate her, but she didn't fall for any of his tricks. She was one adamant woman. That's when your dad decided to kill her. He took her to that house and killed her, though he wasn't expecting you to see it.
"When you told everyone Shashank had murdered your mom, he skillfully proved he hadn't done anything and that you were making up a story because you were mad at him for something he had done in the past."
Shocked is an understatement. I am appalled, stunned, and disgusted by the man who I call my 'father'. He is not my father he's a murderer! I always wanted to know why my 'father' had killed my mom, but I never expected something like this. A mafia leader? A criminal? I feel sick to my stomach as I think about him. If that man can kill his wife without any kind of hesitation, I don't even want to think about what he would do to others.
"And you? How do you come in all this?" I manage to ask. Once again, the room is filled with unnerving silence. I continue staring at his back while he contemplates what he wants to say. After a long moment of silence, he finally speaks.
"I'm just like him." My heart stops. Like him? What does he mean by like him?
"What?"
"Shashank Gupta was my dad's rival. He wanted to kill my dad so that he could rule the underworld and become the best, but Dad always kept him down. Eventually your dad killed mine and thought he was going to rule since Dad didn't have an heir, but he didn't know he had a child me. He had sent me off to the other side of the world just to protect me. I was called back immediately after his death to take over. This infuriated him. Shashank tried everything he could to kill me, but he obviously couldn't." Okay, quite honestly, I'm not that shocked right now. I mean, I actually expected this, to be honest.
I find my voice and ask the question he still hasn't answered. "And Anna?"
"I met Anna when I was living in London. I was studying medicine in the same college she was in. I fell in love with her. She was beautiful, mesmerizing, innocent, and perfect. I told her how I felt about her and she accepted me, though she knew nothing about my world. I proposed her a year after our relationship and she said yes. I was on the top of this world. I promised her I would always keep her safe and happy. That's when my past came back.
"Dad called me and said he'll need me to come back. He had realized death was very close to me and he wanted me to come back. I had to leave London, but I couldn't leave without Anna. I told her everything about me. She was shocked. She accepted me, but also made me promise I'll leave everything. I promised her. I told her I won't pick up after Dad and live a simple normal life with her. We decided to get married at a church and keep it private just me and her. And we did. We were finally married. She was mine and I was hers to cherish for eternity or at least I thought so.
"We were walking out of the church and going to our car when we found ourselves surrounded by men. The man I killed last night was the leader of them. They were pointing guns toward me. And you know who sent them? Your dad, Shashank Gupta," he utters his name bitterly as tears continue to flow from my eyes. "Anna realized it was time for either of us to die and she knew it was going to be me. But she loved me more than she loved her own life. When he pulled the trigger, she stood before me. The bullet that was supposed to kill me killed her instead. She fell in my arms. She was dying, but she was still smiling. She promised me she'll never leave my side and said she was happy to be leaving as my wife. My dad had already sent people to save me, but I had lost everything. Everything was ruined in moments. I lost my love, my life moments after I made her mine. All because of your dad Shashank Gupta!" he shouts his name in anger and punches the wall. He turns around and looks at me with anguish.
"Your dad killed my dad and my wife, didn't he? Now I will kill him! I will destroy him! His death will be slow and painful! He'll regret everything he's done and I'll make sure of that!" he says with finality and leaves.
My mind replays everything he said as I walk backwards fall on the ground. I bring my knees close to my chest and hug them as I cry bitterly. I can't believe my father could be such a cruel person. How could he do that to anyone? He killed my mom because she wanted him to become a better person? He killed Armaan's dad because he wanted power? He killed Anna because he wanted to rule others? I never liked him because of what I had seen, but after knowing why he did that to my mom, I can't help but abhor him. But what's bothering me the most is Armaan's reality. I don't even know how to feel about him. I feel awful for him because he lost his life even before it started. He lost his dad and, even worse, he lost his wife. But at the same time, I feel used like he had used me to get here. What have I gotten myself into?
Hey everyone! Sorry, I'm a bit late, but here's the first installment of Chapter 8. Like I had promised, here's the truth. Yes, Armaan is an underworld don. He was married to Anna for few moments before he lost her because of Shashank and that's exactly why he's here. There are a few more things that need to be included in this chapter, but they'll come later. 😊 Since this is an installment, I won't send PM's out till the chapter's complete. Comments please? 😳
Love,
Medha.
Taara
Avatar and Signatures Shop
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
111