Deadly Games

|15|: Dark Paradise

Hrithik woke up to a head splitting sound ringing in his ears, his leg wounded by a bullet shot and sharp shooting pain wringing in his limbs, seething his weak nerves, a bandage wrapped around his leg. He blinked, the sunlight filtered through the drape, fell on his eyes. He blocked the sunlight with his hand and tried to get up, the swelling of wound made it more troublesome.

He scanned his surroundings, it was a dingy furnished room. He recalled how he escaped the blast, sustaining few injuries, and he came rolling in front of Tiara's car, and how Tiara denied her love, shot him right in the leg, but the wound was tearing his heart more.

Tiara dressed in a seamless white one piece wear, came inside the room. She leaned her back towards the door and stared at Hrithik who was trying to get out of the bed.

"Why bother me to save at all, when you just wanted to kill me" He gritted furiously, as he stood with one hand gripping the night stand. He groaned in pain, as he held the pillar of the bed.

"I wanted to kill you, I still do. But there's a side of me who would never take that step, you know why, because I love you, and I hate the fact that I am in love with you, what kind of sick, delusional twisted fantasy I've bred." She released her fist from the dress, she's been holding and took few steps forward towards him, emerald eyes staring right back at her, blankness coated his facial features.

She took his palm with hers, and replied, "I've told my truth, now I want to know yours. Do you love me... Hrithik?"

He gulped, she called his name; his real name. Giddiness pooled his stomach, heart pacing erratically.

"Because if you don't, I'll leave right at this moment and--"

He cut her off, when he cupped her chin and pulled her in for a kiss, tender and soft one. She gasped and looked at his eyes.

"I love you" He grazed his finger over her face, sending tingles over her skin, "Do you want to know how much I love you? So much, that I would burn the world for you. You didn't let me get consumed by darkness. I know you hate me for everything I did, I didn't kill your brother, it's the truth and you must believe me, he slipped from the ledge. I would never kill him, he was one of my close friend"

Tears escaped her eyes, sobs engulfed her throat, she shuddered and sat down on the bed. "He was my brother" A faltering sob escaped.

"I know" He ran his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to his chest. "Rohit helped me at my bad times, he was a sweet soul. I just wanted to know why..why he betrayed me."

Tiara looked at him, teary eyed, mascara dabbed around her eyes, with amazement on her facial features.

"He communicated with Deshmukh, that's how you got wind of me" An ache of guilt settled in his chest, he refrained from making any move. He jerked away his palm from hers. "I would love you till the end of the earth, our paths are not aligned to meet at destination. My actions can't transcend any deed of forgiveness. I...I could never give you, what you want"

"But, I want you" She replied earnestly. "I know you did some terribly drastic things. But I need you to trust me. I need you to tell me the entire truth. WHY!? What made you to walk down this path"

He peered at her orbs, a connection of trust was to be made and a faith of love to be never wavered, sweat dotted his forehead, memories rolled down inside his mind. To remember the pain and grief was like slashing a knife through his gut. He narrated the entire story of how Scarlet Python was built as a separate organisation, the death of Merchants, the support of terrorism and riot activities, Neeraj Mathur leaving the organisation and how his family was blown before him, the murder of his uncle and cousin and the win of his murderers, and how he had been falling down the revenge path, to kill each one of them.