What happens when betrayal mars innocent hearts in love?
What happens when innocence is destroyed and a monster is created?
What happens when judgement is ruled by the burning feeling of retribution?
This is a Quartet (4 part book) and this one bein...
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The table slipped out of her fingers instantly and Ishani staggered back and crumbled to the floor. Once these words had given her joy and peace but now they lashed her soul with incurable wounds. She cried out in pain as the voice again started to resonate in her mind.
"He didn't come back. He will never come back," she screamed, sobs racking her body, her hand banging on the floor again and again.
Annie rushed to her and pulled her shaking body in her arms, and let her cry.
Hours later when Ishani's sobs had died down, Annie looked at her face. Although her eyes were closed, she knew her friend wasn't sleeping and more than anything else, she needed that. Silently, she nudged at her shoulder and Ishani nodded indicating she was ready to go.
It was already evening when they reached their flat in Saket. Annie led her to the bedroom and watched as she slipped into her bed and pulled the covers over.
*****************
Rudra pushed the covers off as he sat up straight on the bed irritated.
What the hell!
It had been almost two hours that he had taken the pills but still no sleep. His day had gone in a blur after that wretched woman had left. Don't know what it was but somehow for a minute, he had actually given in to her acting. He knew she had recognised him but still; she had acted as if not.
He closed his eyes to control the memories of the morning but couldn't forget the look in her eyes nor did he forget the way she had stared back, her gaze penetrating inside.
Be careful!
His mind warned him.
One wrong step and you will lose.
Completely infuriated, Rudra picked the bottle of pills sitting on the bedside table and took two from it.
*****************
"Ishi!"
His blood-curdling scream resounded through the forest and filtered in.
The grass made a weird sound as Ishani slowly trod ahead. The rustle of the leaves startled her and she looked behind hoping to see him but nothing.
Where is he?
She was definite that the scream had come from here.
But then, why did he scream?
She called out his name faintly twice, but still nothing.
Even though her eyes had already adjusted to the darkness, still she wasn't able to see what was in front not until she collided with it. And, instantly she yelped with a sharp pain in her feet and fell down. She touched her feet and felt something liquid slip between her fingers.
Blood?
Had she stepped on a thorn or something?
But a thorn this sharp?
Slowly her hands pressed close to the object lying near her feet. She picked it up and brought her close to her face. She was about to squeeze her eyes to see what it was when a sudden bright and burning light from behind glowed the thing in full focus.
It was a dagger.
Stained with blood.
Fear rose in her as she dropped it on the forest floor and looked behind.
And then, everything went black.
Ishani woke up screaming and instantly felt arms going around her body hugging her to sanity as Annie soothingly caressed her hair.
"Shhhhhh! It's over. It's okay," she heard her friend say and Ishani clutched her arms for support as tortured sobs escaped her.
A week later
Ishani was still in her bed when she felt the phone buzzing in full glory next to her. At first, she ignored it hoping the caller would hang up but then the relentless vibration drove her nuts.
"WHAT?"
On the other side, Annie flinched and pulled the phone away from her ear.
"Hi, sorry to disturb your beauty sleep but thought you might like to know that your most hated enemy is here in the NGO."
"WHAT?"
Sighing, Annie almost felt like kicking her friend right where it would hurt.
"Rudraveer Sangawat is here."
"I know who you meant, Annie," Ishani said in an irritated tone, now glaringly awake.
"What is he doing there?"
"Well, exactly what I asked him and he said, quote, 'I want to meet Ms Raijdas,' so could you c—"
"Tell him I don't want to meet him," Ishani said cutting her off as she tried scrambling out of bed.
"I have told him that but he is not budging."
Ishani tried hard to find the edge of the bed sheet stuck at her feet and when she did, she pulled it off, ripping half of it in the process. Frustrated, she just dragged the free foot and climbed down the bed, and in a process fell face down on the floor.
Annie heard a loud thud and then nothing.
"Ish, you okay?"
"Yeah! Thanks to your tucking my feet tightly in the bed sheet. I fell from the bed."
Annie suppressed a giggle and then coughed to normalise her voice.
"Well, when you are done with your fight with the sheet, could you please come down here?"
"Get lost!"
Saying this, she disconnected the call and looked at herself sitting on the floor with the sheet still coiled around her feet. She grabbed it with both hands and crumbled it into a ball. Then, with all strength, she threw it towards the opposite wall. It collided with the hard surface and fell on the floor defeated.
Suddenly overjoyed, Ishani raised her arms in triumph.
"Yipeeee!"
Finally, victory!
But instantly her arms slumped in defeat; if only it had been that exasperating man instead of the sheet, thought Ishani.
Dammit!
One hour later, she got down from the cab near the NGO and as she paid the driver, she heard the sound of children laughing and shouting.
Ah, she sighed with relief.
Thank God, he was gone.
Happily, she opened the gates and walked inside. She hadn't even crossed the small shrubbery when she almost leapt out of her skin as she heard a ferocious growling bark behind her.
Gulping down the scared lump in her throat, she slowly started to turn and saw a huge black German Shepherd barking at her in full force. Although there was a man holding it still, the dog was big enough to drag him along, if it charged at her.
Ishani backed off in fright towards the stairs and instantly felt a pair of arms steadying her.
