More Than Meets the Eye (An Ishqbaaz FF) ||✔||

6.

Shivaay's blood ran cold. His hands and feet felt numb after listening to Svetlana. Never in a million years he could imagine that the woman sitting in front of him has been through something so horrible.

"I...I a... I... I had no idea..." Shivaay muttered.

"You couldn't have had. Maine unka kabhi zikra tak nahi kiya." Svetlana said in a subdued tone, eyes fixed on the table.

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't apologize, it's not your fault. Likin main tumhari maangi keemat nahi de sakti. Mujhse nahi hoga." Svetlana said rubbing her arms.

"I...I understand." Shivaay got up and moved towards the door. "But main Kalyani Mills se judi har family ko har haal mein justice dilwaaoonga, including yours. And I... I should go now."

"Shivaay." Svetlana called out, finally looking up from the table.
Svetlana was feeling... she didn't know what she was feeling. After her father died, she did not have the time to mourn. Her mother wanted revenge and her sisters needed security. She stepped up as the provider for her family, balancing multiple jobs, her education and searching for clues that could tell what exactly happened to her father. Those times were brutal and exhausting where she went days without sleeping. Sometimes she wanted nothing more than to hide in corner and cry but she would remind herself of her family and pick herself up to do it all over again. However, feeling all those things reminded her that she was still living, she was alive. When Kartik came along, she found the piece of herself that she didn't know she was missing. She felt hopeful and happy. He was her soulmate. They were perfect. Anaisha was perfect. It was meant to be.
But then they were snatched away. Svetlana died that very day but her responsibilities chained her back to her body. She shut down. She didn't feel anything. Working relentlessly didn't tire her out. Seducing her boss didn't make her feel guilty or ashamed or even derive some sort of sadistic pleasure. It was just a series of mechanical actions she performed. Her muscles and mind were programmed to take revenge and destroy the Oberois. She became an invincible machine of destruction who wouldn't stop before completing her mission.
Yet today, after talking to Shivaay, she felt something. As if cogs in her heart turned and the organ was doing something to her other than pumping blood. It had been too long for her to remember the feeling but it made her say, "I want to help you. Roop ko expose karne mein I want to help you."

Shivaay's widened with disbelief. Svetlana pointed at chair opposite to her with her eyes, signalling him to sit back down, which he did.

"But why?" He asked.

She laced her fingers together while resting hands on the table. "Like you said, agar tumhare parents ya father-in-law guilty saabit ho gaye, toh KM haatse se judi kisi family ko justice nahi milega. Humare parents poori tarah se innocent nahi hain likin unka gunha jo bhi ho, papa didn't deserve to die. Likewise tumhare parents ko us gunha ka saza nahi milni chahiye jo unhone nahi kiya. And Anika's father was innocent. Dekha jaaye toh humari families ki wajah se Anika ko suffer pada hain. Aur KM se judi baaki families ko bhi. Unhe justice dilana bahot zaroori hain. Is liye main tumhari help karna chahti hoon."

"Svetlana, you don't have to do this. Main manage kar loonga." Shivaay tried to assure.

"I know I don't have to... but I have to. Tumhare liye nahi, apne liye." She confessed.

"Likin hum kar hi kya sakte hain?" He asked.

"Roop knows ki tum kuch nahi kar paoge and jab tak woh tumhe blackmail kar sakti hain, tab tak baaki Oberois bhi uska kuch nahi bigaad sakte. She has you cornered in a lose-lose situation." She told him.

"Basically, I'm Abhimanyu now." Shivaay sniggered at himself.

"Lucky for you Mr Abhimanyu, is chakravyuh ko todna possible hain." She added.