For some life is like sand, whenever it feels like we have found everything! A wave coming from afar spreads it, destroys it, wounds it and throws it away from its home. Sometimes it seems as if the person sitting above is angry with us, that is why he is playing with our emotions. Pain is not felt by those who have only pain left in their life, but it is felt the most by those who have been pushed into the dark, after giving hope. To suffer, to die a little more every day.
Zoya was happy in her new home, she finally felt a sense of home with them. She felt safe with them, she felt happy with them. After a lot of darkness, a light knocked on Zoya's door. The blind waves of the sharp sun took away her insecurities and she mistook that sound, that peace as her home.
With Aditya, Zoya got the life that a prostitute could not even dream of. Every day spent with Aditya kept adding to her memories, slowly, the distance between Aditya and Shaun starts to fade away too. Aditya never said, but Zoya knew, Aditya loved Shaun as a younger brother. There was no secret between Zoya and Shaun, Zoya knew every trouble, every wound of Shawn. Shaun too did not keep any secret from Zoya, he kept all his wounds in front of Zoya, those that were visible and also those which were deep beneath the skin.
Ours is such a society, who did not accept the girl who was not at fault for what happened to her, no one chooses with their own happiness to become the paradise of someone's bed every night, nor is it in anyone's limits to control how they are born. So what wrong did the two do to society? Why are they forced to live completely alone in this 100 crore population world? Why?
Had Aditya not been there, maybe even today Zoya's respect would have been robbed, maybe even today she would have died like every other day in that darkness. Maybe.
Zoya stirred the spoon in the huge vessel, today is eid, and unlike all the previous years, this Eid actually gave her many reasons to celebrate and thank Allah. She was finally happy to live. A small tear escaped her eyes and she yeeted it away. "no Zoya don't cry today." She smiled looking at her fingers which had a ring placed by him. She blushed when she remembered the day when Aditya returned home all serious and worried. His body language was tensed and she knew he had bad news.
"Aditya, has anything happened?" she asked running to his side to help him get free of his jacket.
Aditya remained silent and continued removing his shoes.
"Are you upset?" She tried again, walking behind him like his shadow. Aditya still didn't utter a word. She noticed how he was avoiding any contact with her. Zoya could guess the reason but she was partially begging Allah for it not being the truth.
Aditya walked straight to their room and laid on the bed, she stood at her spot for a while before running to the kitchen to get him a glass of water.
"Please Say Something?" She begged with her eyes as she sat next to him and gave him the glass to drink water. Aditya glanced at the glass and sat up. He began drinking from it.
she took the glass away and cupped his face with one hand, making him look at her. She scanned his face for a brief second before her scrunched brow settled down and a small smile appeared on her lips.
"Aditya? So has the time come to complete our deals?"
Aditya looked in her eyes after so long for brief seconds. "Don't you worry, we always knew that this was going to happen one day? But it would happen so soon, I had no idea. " Tears threatened to leave her eyes and she pushed it several times behind, for not flashing them before Aditya. If this was where they had to attend, she wanted him to remember her smiling face. Living with guilt is many times worse than dying once. A few months ago, she lived in that spot, she refused to forgive her mother but when she died, Zoya could not forgive herself. Zoya didn't ever wish to see Aditya on that spot. So she refused to let him see, her pain and she smiled.
"Never mind" She threw her hands behind and leaned back. "Aditya?" she tilted her head.
Aditya quietly raised his head to meet her eyes. " Can I ask you a question?"
He didn't reply, she took his silence as yes and she continued talking. "Is today our last day... together?" At that moment she felt as if millions of thorns were making her heart bleed a hundred times. He tears pooled up in her eyes, she was losing her control over emotions and was about to spill them when suddenly, she began laughing.
"Look at your face Aditya, your eyes. Have I ever told you that you look like a crying monkey?"
She quickly turned around and swiped a finger below her eyes.
"now stop making that long face and answer me.. Do we have today? or Have I already lost my right over you?" she wriggled her eyebrow trying to look funny but her glass eyes, told him a different story. She was hurt and she was trying too hard to hide them.
He still didn't speak anything. She wanted to hold his hand but she was unsure if she was allowed to do so. She raised her hand and looked at him. He locked his eyes on her and slipped his hands in hers. She quickly pecked on it and rubbed his skin against her cheeks, savouring the moment in her memory.
"Aditya? Can I ask for something?" zoya leaned her forehead on the back of his hand.
She looked up brushing her fingers on his face. Her movements made him shut his eyes.
"Can you please not forget me?" She whispered making his eyes shot open.
"I know what you must be thinking, but I can't live in peace with the thought of you erasing me from your life completely. I want to be a part of you, at least in your happy memories. please will you not delete me from you completely. Let me stay here." she touched his heart over his chest.
"Here.." she kissed his forehead .." A small place somewhere in you.."
She leaned on him and snaked her arms around his body while she rested her forehead on his neck.
Silence! No one utters a word for a very long time. they remained in the same position for a little longer than normal. Thousands of thoughts clung to her, sucking the life off her. She struggled within herself to push them away and be in the moment, until his voice boomed through her silence and penetrated through her control walls, cracking them and shattering them at once.
"Stop it Zoya."
She pulled herself away and looked into his eyes. "How much more will you love me?"
He paused running the tip of his finger below her eyes, "You are not 'time' for me, that I live and then bury it deep in my memories. You are me Zoya and I am you. How could you even think I will leave you? Can anyone leave themselves own self and survive? I didn't know I mean so much to you."
Zoya patiently waited for him to finish, she was trying to understand him. "I am sorry Zoya." he looked at her guiltily.
"I didn't expect for this to turn so serious."
"What do you mean?" she looked at him and his eyes began to spill tears.
"You love me so much Zoya. So much that it's making me proud of my choice. It's making me feel lucky to have you in my life. As a man, I am feeling like I got everything that I ever wished for today. " He pulled her hand and she landed on his chest.
"I am so sorry Zoya, thankyou ..thankyou so much." he brushed his hand in her hair while he happily swung his body.
"What are you saying?" she asked weakly, her face was pressed on his chest, making her voice come out as a muffle.
Aditya parted away a little and dug his fingers in his pocket, dragging a small ring out of it.
"I wanted to surprise you with this, but here, you gave me surprise with your love." he kissed her forehead and tears of happiness began to sprinkle on his cheeks.
Aditya slipped the ring on her finger and hugged her again, "I won't ever leave you."
It took her some time to adjust to the new feeling after the intense pain she felt. She was glad deep down that her fear did not come true. She wanted to protest and scold him for playing such an ugly prank on her but at that moment in his arms, she just wanted to allow herself to get soaked in his genuine happiness, she didn't mind getting wet by his tears, she didn't mind hearing his promises on the loop. Everything that was happening at that moment with her made her heart pump with happiness, a happiness that was beyond the limit of body and deep down the soul. She hugged him back and rested her head on his chest again, listening to the pumping of his heart that called only one name "Zoya.."
Zoya zoomed out of her memory and touched the edge of her ring lovingly. She always felt him close whenever she touched it. This piece of metal suddenly worthed her more than her own life. She brought it close to her lips and kissed it, imagining kissing him on his lips. She smiled at her imagination and continued to cooked delicacies. Today was the day, she planned a surprise for him. Just like the ring marked his presence in her life, she was ready to mark him with her existence for life. Zoya laughed, recalling all the efforts she took to buy the right gift for him. He is special to her, so she wanted to gift him something as special as him which would remind him of her every time he sees it.
Zoya checked the watch. She gasped as it was almost time for him to return home. She quickly lighted up the candles, spread the rose petals from the doorway to their room. She checked for the lightning once again and then finally she ran to her room to change into a new outfit, the one which he gave her a few weeks ago. Today she was ready to announce her love for him, without holding herself back. Zoya realized, although they loved each other, they never said it verbally. She knew it didn't bother him at all, but being his, she wanted to express it with words.
The clock struck 7 and she knew he would be home any moment from now. She sat on the sofa, playing with her bangles and earrings. She blushed as she replayed their memories. Her eyes began kept on running to the door back and forth every once in a while. The minutes slowly began to turn into hours and the candle around her slowly began to melt away, eventually, they died. Her eyes ran to the watch and back at the door. Her heart clenched with unknown fear. She picked her phone and dialled Aditya's number with uncertainty. Zoya avoided calling Aditya mostly because she respected his life beyond this house. He had a family and a reputation to keep and she didn't wish to disrupt it by any means.
She heard the ring for some time before it died. She looked at the screen and consoled herself, "He must be with his family." After some debate, she thought to drop a small text to him.
"You are coming?", she sent the message and kept the phone aside.
Once again the room only echoed with the sound of minute hands on the wall clock. She checked her phone and then the door once in a while expecting a reply from him. When there was no sign of him, she stood up with a broken heart to get change, just then she heard a sound from her phone. she almost flew to her device and checked the screen. Her widened smile faded away with the name on the screen.
"Why is Shawn messaging me?" she wondered, moving her thumb to check the message.
"check the news." that's it was written on it.
Zoya thought it was another prank of Shawn and thought to slide it, but then a part of her wanted to check what was it? it was okay if they fool her again, it won't hurt her but what if it was something serious.
She scanned around for the remote and switched on the TV, her hand became sweaty as she scrolled channels for news. The news reporter was taking his own sweet time beating around the bush for the topic. Just then she heard the doorbell, Zoya ignored the news coverage and setting her clothes neatly she opened the door with a huge smile.
It was not someone she was expecting it to be. It was not someone she would ever want to see again. It was an ugly page of her life that stood before her. She looked at him and tears of fear and horror began to spill on her cheeks. Her heart clenched with thousands of painful memory. Her lips quivered with the shock of seeing him. She forgot to blink and began to take steps behind. She suddenly became deaf to everything around her. Her breath became shallow and she hugged herself involuntarily to protect herself from his eyes.
The man stepped inside the house with a smirk. He looked at Zoya from top to bottom and licked his lips. She looked absolutely delicious to him. Oh! he suddenly missed those soft moulds of her. How much he enjoyed crushing them between his hands all those nights, how much he enjoyed to see them growing up from a flat chest to a fully grown-up breast under his palm. He looked at her lips, she looked more attractive than before and the fact that she still fears him fuelled his Manhood. He licked his lips more and stopped in the centre of the house. Each step that he took ruined the flowers that Zoya has decorated for Aditya. They were crushed mercilessly beneath his feet, just the way how he had crushed her life in his lust.
Her eyes became a pool of mixed emotions while His eyes were filled to the brim with lust. He felt a boner on the fact that he has turned her into this heavenly exotic beauty with his .... he rubbed between his pants to ease the stiffness that began to occur while seeing her in before him.
"Why are you here?" she dared to ask making him raise an eyebrow at her.
"Are you not happy to see me Zoya?"
She didn't reply and cautiously kept watching his every move.
"Leave me right now." she tried to sound firm but her voice became heavier with her past trauma.
"I am not here with an intention to live either," he replied amused. "I am here to take you back with me."
What!! colours flew off her face and her ears became sensitive even for the slightest tweak.
"Your Ammi is dead Zoya and I am a lot alone. I need you to lessen my loneliness like old days." she began to shiver as he spoke further, "I missed you Zoya, Didn't you missed your Abu? I am here to take you back to the world where you rightfully belong to .." He grinned showing his yellow teeth, his hands stretched open for her to hug him. Zoya darted her eyes from his hands his face, all the while she inside started to shatter pieces by pieces.
Her head tried to hold on to consciousness while she roamed her eyes around for help. She felt weak before this man. Tears dripped her eyes and disappeared between her chest. Her trauma and fear, made his boner became even worst. Zoya's eyes turned to the arched clothing and her eyes widened, she quickly reached out to her phone and tapped few buttons on it while placing it over her ear
"Please Aditya " she cried in between her words.
The man relaxed and cooly walked to the sofa, taking a place next to her. She quickly moved aside focussing on her phone, while he picked up the remote and increased the volume.
"It is celebration time for the Hooda family. Finally, the most wanted Bachelor of the town is taken away. With the upcoming merger of two powerful families, Aditya Hooda the elder son of Hooda exchanged rings with Pooja Sharma, the daughter of the rival political family...."
The information detached the last string she held to her conscience. Her body didn't even wait until the reporter could finish talking, the phone slipped from her hand and the screen turned off. She saw the name on the screen fading away into the dark, mirroring her inside.
She gasped, forgetting to breathe. A name that threatened to leave her lips finally fell out of her mouth, "Aditya." Andthe world turned a pure image of black before her.
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MILLI❤