Love Letters

{~}

"Karthik..." The small whisper brought Ayaan back from his rays of thought. He stared at the soul with an undying fear overpowering his heart. Why was he so nervous? Her beautiful set of brown orbs was staring at him with child-like curiosity.

Her hands attempted to move towards his hand placed on the bed beside her palms. "I thought..." her voice choked, "I thought... that they killed you..." her orbs were brimming with tears. Her palms tightened around him. As if she feared that he might disappear if she blinked her eyes.

Ayaan stared at her feature for a minute longer. He was determined to speak the truth, though Suhana had voiced against it. Suhana wanted Ayaan to play the role of Karthik until Shona recovered, but Ayaan wasn't planning to betray her. But those orbs staring at him with innocence were doing something to his heart. He could glimpse the pure admiration for his brother in those orbs, towards his twin brother who was identical to him.

His heart was turning selfish. His heart had gotten attached to the girl in those letters. He had got attracted towards her innocence, her kind spirit and he wasn't planning to lose it but she deserved to know the truth. He was aware that many had betrayed her in the past and had taken advantaged of her naïve nature but he wasn't going to be one of them.

"I am not Karthik," he voiced. Their orbs were staring at each other. Brown orbs seemed confused at his words.

"You... You..." she was finding it hard to bring those words out.

"I look like him because I am his brother, his identical twins." He closed his eyes anticipating that her grip on his hand would loosen but it never happened.

"What happened to Karthik?" The fear in those words was quite visible. He tightened his hold on her wrist as he could sense her heart beating rapidly.

"He died on that night while attempting to save you." A tear escaped from the corner of Ayaan's orbs. Ayaan had Karthik as his family, though they were never close enough but Karthik was someone he could name as his family. The day Ayaan lost Karthik, Ayaan had lost a part of himself. And the biggest battle was he couldn't moan. Ayaan always told himself that Karthik deserved it, he was on the verge of destroying an innocent girl's life so Ayaan never allowed himself to grieve his loss.

"It's fine..." the same melodious voice played in his eardrum. The same voice that had attracted his attention for the first time. The voice that he had fallen for when he had heard Karthik speaking to her on the call. He had never got so mad at his brother not until he had discovered that Karthik was playing with her feeling. There was something within him that urged him to protect the stranger from his brother's trap but he had restrained the urge. He couldn't allow himself to care for a stranger, he wasn't someone sane, he was as cruel as his brother.

He felt the squeeze as Ayaan was unable to bring himself back from the flashes of his past. "I understand..." she was voicing the words of concern. Ayaan opened his orbs to find the soul staring at him with a soft smile playing on her lip.

"Aren't you mad at him?" Ayaan sounded stunned, "he knew about your family's planning against you."

A hint of pain splashed in her beautiful orbs before she shook her head. "What would I expect from a stranger when the people I thought were my family entire my life was my guidance and were looking after me because they were greedy for the fortune I had to offer them." That smile hadn't disappeared for a second.

Ayaan kept staring at her with curiosity. "Aren't you angry with them? They might be enjoying thinking that you're dead."

"So be it, let them think I am dead." Her smile broadened on seeing Ayaan's frown face. "I don't need the money that's after my life."

Ayaan's amused orbs were staring at her in adoration. "You're one of a kind..." he shook his head.