Treacherous Souls

XXIV. "Open the Black Sea."

Third Person

Trust; such an intimate and abstract feeling. If love has the power to destroy our heart, then trust has the power to break it. Love can be found again, but trust? Once it's broken, it remains that way for the rest of our lives, gnawing at us until we feel claustrophobic.

Trust is like a thread; once it's broken, it cannot be joined back, no matter how hard we try. If we try to tie the two broken ends, there will always be a knot of hesitation and suspicion, breaking the shards of the fragile relationship.

That is why they say trust is the foundation of any relationship.

And, Mishka? Her trust in her husband was already broken, and she had no idea how she would be able to hold the remnants of their shattered relationship together without losing her own self.

How could she trust him to always protect her, cherish her, and not throw her in the harm's way like he had done in the past? This was a question no-one had an answer to.

Everyone kept saying to try to give him a chance, but was it that easy? For once, she wanted to be stubborn and selfish. She didn't want to understand anything, because why should she? After everything she had been through, why do people still expect her to understand?

There was nothing to understand, for Dhruv was an immature man, standing on a whim to make her life as miserable as possible. For what reason? Just because she married him, without rebuting.

To be honest, she was tired and she wanted nothing more than to cry in her father's embrace like a little girl, expressing her grief and sorrows and waiting for him to give her the appropriate solution. But she couldn't do that, for bringing her father in between her marital life was a sign was immaturity, and she was anything but.

The piercing sound of her ringtone blared from her phone, cutting through the silence like a sharp blade. Mishka, being disturbed while working, picked up the phone in frustration, ready to yell at the other person, but stopped when she heard the trembling words being uttered out by the other person, sending chills down her spine.

"Bhabhi, Aastha bhabhi got shot."

***

There was a lot of hustle and bustle on the streets of London, with young men and women rushing around to get started with their day in their winter coats and hats, stuffing their hands inside the pockets of their coats for some warmth.

Young couples wandered around the streets with love-filled eyes and newly found excitement to explore the world with their other halves, unaware of the dark times their relationship would face in the future.

Watching all this, Aashika felt a pinch of jealousy invading her being. How happy these young women look, exploring the world without being tied down to an immature man.

However, she couldn't deny the pros that followed with being married to Arjun Rajput, so that was a plus point.

"Are you done?" Arjun's harsh tone brought her back to her senses. He usually wasn't this snappy, but being in a close proximity with his brother and wife had closed in on him, creating a havoc in his mind.

"Oh, yes." She hurriedly tried to match their pace, following them to the hotel they had rented out for their short stay.

"I will check us in." Kabir stated, moving to stand before the reception desk.