Beguiled

Two

       "Where should I go?" Asha decided to break the silence. 

     "The Hotel." 

  As she drove according to the GPS she thought of what led her down this road.

      Unlike what her mom thought, she wasn't unhappy with Nikhil papa and his wife. They even adopted another daughter, Jia.They moved to the states due to her father's transfer,Asha had changed her number. But things went bad  soon after her 18th birthday, Nikhil died in a car crash. His wife, Beth, hadn't even hesitated to throw them out of the house.  

    They lived in the streets for years. She had worked multiple jobs night and day so that they could rent a small place. She wanted to reach out to her mother but by then she had already forgotten her number. The only option she had was to make passports and go to India and beg for her help. 

   That made her work harder. She had saved enough money and made them passports. That was when she got the blow of her life. The guy who made their passports had kidnapped Jia. She had complained to the police but instead was thrown in jail for forgery. 

    When she got out, she searched for that guy and he told her that he had sold Jia. She flew into rage and threatened to shoot him up. But then he revealed that he would buy her back, if she wanted, he just needed 500 thousand dollars. And he refused to tell her of Jia's location in case she killed him. 

    This time the man had made her a genuine passport. She got a phone and got on social media, there she found her mother's business page,  that was when Usha had picked up the phone. 

    How foolish she had been to trust her sister again. Maybe Usha would've given her the money. Maybe. 

      She stopped as they reached the hotel entrance. Krish was the first to get out. And suddenly they were swarmed with cameras. 

        She hid her face and froze in fear. His arm pulled her to his side, he put his glasses on her face. 

      "Smile,my dear wife. You're famous." She trembled as his lips brushed the ridges of her ear. 

          He bodily pulled her through the crowd. The paps didn't get in the lobby. He dropped his arm and walked ahead to the special penthouse elevator. 

       Once they reached the penthouse, she walked behind him timidly. She stopped as he stood close enough for their noses to touch.

      "Was it fun, taking advantage of a blind man? Did you find it funny?" His voice was dripping with fury. 

       "Krish...no." 

       He stepped away from her and looked at her with disdain. "Why did you do it then?!" 

       She weighed whether she could tell him or not. She remembered calling the man and telling him of the diamond necklace. 

     "What will I do with the necklace? Wire me the cash or the deal is off and no hanky panky lady. If you tell anyone, I'll make sure your sister is dead." 

      Asha is not willing to risk it. "I just....hated Usha..I wanted to take revenge for the bullying." 

        She shut her eyes, not being able to take his disappointment.  

       "You're lying to me!" He snapped at her. "Why did you leave then? Hmm? Try to sell that necklace?" He held her forearm and his eyes shifted to hers as if he could  see her if he tried hard enough.