DID I? DID I REALLY DO IT??
I GUESS I DID....
NOT EVEN GONNA APOLOGISE! I'VE DONE AN UNFORGIVABLE CRIME MY LOVES I KNOWWW IM SORRY BUT IM BACKKKK I SWEARR!!!
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Love me or leave me alone
I know I'm not all you know
We woke out our past, God, I hope this lasts
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<< Third Person's P.O.V>>
"A cop? That's what you think you are, huh?" Juhi snickered, her eyes trailing around the hall looking anywhere but at the person in whose arms she was currently dancing.
"Shut the fuck up, Malhotra." Laksh bit back, clearly annoyed at the woman, who by no means left any opportunity whatsoever to make him realise that her IQ was way more than that of his.
"Suck it up, Singhania. You're a lose--"
She stopped the moment her eyes landed on that of her best friend's tiny stature. The best friend who had always been the annoyingly beaming light of her life, the best friend who was one of the biggest reasons why she was never scared of losing anyone, because Raqeeba was the only person who taught her that no matter what, a little bit of will mixed with hope can forever save you from drowning.
The best friend who screamed "fearlessness and courage" is currently simmering away behind her man.
Juhi and Nausheen were the only people in their friend's group who had all these ideas about Raqeeba, starting from her name being Orvana, to her abusive father, the green-eyed man, and the Hussains. In fact, Juhi was the first person the seven-year-old had opened up to. Sure, they weren't sensible enough back then, but their bond of friendship passed the test of time in the blink of an eye until they sowed the seeds of being each other's strongest and oldest confidants.
She didn't miss the way her best friend lowered her gaze, the way she tightened her grip around her husband, or the way she was trying to calm her breathing down.
To others, this might look like just a random scenario, but this was Juhi Malhotra we were talking about, and the person she had her eyes on was none other than the sister she never had. And she knew Raqeeba way better than that. Seventeen years of friendship does that to you.
He didn't miss the way his oh-so-authoritative date stopped in the middle of her sentence, her brows turning into a frown, her eyes fixed on something behind him, and her grip on his shoulders turning hard. Of course, he wanted to ask, but he knew better than that. So instead of opening his mouth, the man just followed the gaze of his woman only to find it stopping on that of his best friend and his wife.
Malhotra at his best.The match breaker.
He thought, but his thoughts were soon thrown out of the window when his eyes skimmed closer to the way Nuraan clenched his jaw, and more than that, when his eyes landed on the back of the man at whom his best friend's deadly look and sinister smirk were zeroed in.
"Fuck," he cursed. "
I know that look. He thought to himself.
Of course, he did. Way better than anyone at all.
His friendship with Nuraan was nothing less than that compared to that of Raqeeba's with Juhi. If not, more. And he definitely knew better.
"J," he called, his eyes not once leaving the sight of the trio. "Huh," Juhi replied, completely mirroring his actions.
"We should take the guests to dinner." He said, his voice firm and his eyes fixed on them like a hawk. He knew his best friend and he knew better than to let Nuraan be alone with his target when he lost his cool.
"That's what I thought." The duo didn't take a heartbeat before walking around trying to empty the damn place so as to stop the people from witnessing something horrifying with their eyes. They figured that emptying the entire place was a much better idea than going ahead and letting them bear the wrath of an extremely heated glare contest.
"Ouch! Watch where you're going! You're stepping on my gown!" Anusha screeched as she glared at the woman dressed in a green and black gown. Juhi just rolled her eyes at her.
"Oh, I'm sorry. That wasn't your face?" She bit back.
Anusha just narrowed her eyes at her.
"I know who you are." She said it like it was the smartest comeback she could think of.
"Oh, congratulations," Juhi replied, her eyes narrowed, discretely turning back every once in a while to check on her best friend. By now, most of the hall was empty except for a very few people.
"You're that bitch's best--" Anusha started but Juhi didn't let her complete.
"Oh control your whoremones, will you? I'm not up for your mother's fuckin' head ache, crancky chicken like screeching voice right now. " She said, in an absolutely monotonous tone, making Anusha gasp.
"Wh-what did you just say!? H-how dare you, you whor---"
"Remind me again, were you the psychotic sausage killer my girl was talking about?" Juhi asked, her eyes slightly narrowed at the tall 5'6 model, but unlike Raqeeba, Juhi wasn't the one who potentially could be intimidated by the woman's height because she was a good 5'8 herself. Which only ended up keeping her on the beneficial factor as she slowly stepped forward, towering over the girl who was trying to be a threat to her best friend's marital life.
Ya right, bhahah.
"She still remembers her sausages?" Anusha said, confusion and comedy lagging in her voice. Juhi just looked at her with a blank expression.
"We don't forget or forgive food killers."
"You guys are insa-"
Listen here Anushka or whatever your name is, I'm not in the mood to have a chit chat right now, so how about you shut your gutter up and walk out of the hall like every other civilised person, or I make sure that you never, and I mean it, you never walk the wrap again. "
Juhi belonged to this industry, known to be the top fashion designer of the time and of course, everyone knew about the fact that designers hold the power all in their thread and strings, a string which could make a star or break one and for a model, you wouldn't want to miss with that meat.
Anusha visibly gulped at her words before giving her the nastiest glare she could muster as she turned around, clearly pissed, and stormed out of the hall.
Juhi sighed, her gaze momentarily turning back to their direction only to have her eyes bulge out of their sockets at the scene in front of her.
"Get out," she heard Lakshya say as he gently placed his hand behind her back, slightly pushing him towards the door, only to have him shove it back.
"I'm not going anywhere,"
Lakshya could already see a part of him finally getting a little panic attack as he thought of who the man could be, and he was in no mood to go ahead and have another session of argument with the woman who clearly always had a way of bringing out the worst in him.
"I think you didn't really hear me out right, Malhotra. It's not an option." He bit back the words as he clenched his jaw, slightly tightening his hold on her waist this time as he dragged the woman towards the exit.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Singhania!? She's my best friend too!" Juhi whispered, desperately trying to get out of his stone-hard grip.
"Goddammit I know, Juhi! But can you please just once, for the sake of your friend, listen to me! "
Lakshya and Juhi weren't really the best of friends, but the fact was that if they called each other by their first names, they knew shits got real then.
A part of her didn't want to leave her best friend alone, but another part of her, for the first time, felt the need to actually listen to the man in front of her.
"Call me asap, okay." She said unwillingly. Laksh nodded before saying.
"Keep a look at the first gate, make sure no one enters." He said, prompting Juhi to nod.
"What about the second? And who the heck is that man?" Even a deaf person could sense the desperation in her voice as she spoke about the mysterious man.
Lakshya clenched her jaw as he led her out.
"I've got my doubts, and if I'm right?" He took a deep breath.
"Things are gonna get real dirty."
Before Juhi could even make sense of what he meant by those words, she was already pushed out of the hall, almost immediately losing her balance only to have two arms safely hold her on either side of her waist, from behind, steadying her.
"You alright?" Zunaim asked, making her stand on her toes.
"Yeah, I'm---" Her words stopped the moment they landed on the extremely angry contoured face of Tabish. She had never seen him like that. His jaw was clenched as he paid zero heed to the surroundings before he hurriedly, yet in a composed manner, stepped into the hall she was basically thrown out of. His eyes show only one emotion.
Rage, pure rage.
"Good," she heard Zunaim say before he too quickly walked in, this time the door shutting behind him.
"I'm fine, thank you." she mindlessly whispered to herself.
(------)
"Now that you've already come, being the unwanted guest you are; why?'
He said His stormy blue eyes bore into those forest green ones, with rage and disgust floating in them, but a smirk playing on his lips.
"Now now, do I really need permission to meet my own little brother dearie?"
There are some times in life where no other person, no matter how close or far from you, can ever fit into your shoes. Ever. This is one of those times for Nuraan.
The rage, the hatred, the disgust, none of those emotions could anyone in the hall ever feel at the intensity at which Nuraan was feeling each mini second of this moment.
It was the universe that knew about the battle that had been going wild inside him. The battle he was facing was uptight.
The battle between his fears and his anger.
While his fear bought back all those painful memories he had been trying to bury for years, his anger did its best to overpower all those nightmares and subdue them down.
After all, his anger was a part of him that loved him.
A part of me knew that his mistreatment and abuse were unacceptable. A part that knew that he didn't deserve it. A part that knew that his mother didn't deserve to be the victim of a mentally unstable man's crime. A part of him knew he deserved to be treated kindly and have a normal childhood.
His anger was a part of him that loved him and wanted to fight for himself.
Little did he know. He wasn't the only one fighting that battle within himself.
Little did he know that the person whose touch was providing him with the greatest comfort and support was also falling weak on their knees.
Raqeeba didn't really know what to think, feel, or say as she looked at the scene unfolding in front of her eyes.
'Brother?'
Is he your brother?
Is that really what her husband referred to the man in front of them as?
A brother?
That's what he called the man behind all her sleepless traumatic nights?
A bundle of thoughts clouded her head as she looked at the tiny specks of resemblance the two men in front of her shared. Sure, they were nowhere near as compatible when it came to their doings, but they did share the same genes.
Those striking features, the same black hair,
How could she never notice this before?
The only difference between their eyes is the size. eyes. It's all in the eyes.
We don't control the fate that the universe decides for us. And if we're honest, none of the things that we suffer from are unnecessary.
Good or bad, they all have a reason behind them, a reason beyond our understanding.
She couldn't hide it. The horror, the hurt and the betrayal she felt clinging to her heart the moment she heard those two words escape her husband's mouth.
That's exactly what fear does to a person. It snatches away the sanity of a person, fucks up with their brains until all you're left with, in the end, is just the ashes of the things you destroyed when you let your past take control over your present and subsequently your future.
She felt the taste of betrayal, even after knowing that after all this time, he was equally as hurt and tormented as she was.
Fresh tears formed into her eyes as she slowly started retreating from the hand she once promised to never let go.
She couldn't. She just couldn't think of herself to be related to anyone who belonged to the same blood as that of her rapist.
The man who snatched away her innocence, the man who tormented and stained her. The man who destroyed her childhood. The man who coloured her red and the man who at one point made her believe that the world has no place for dreams but just nightmares.
Her insides shattered as she realised fate had once again played a game with her and she was going to lose...
Just like she does every time she wakes up with her nightmares, every time she screams when it's dark and every time she is afraid to be left alone.
How could she look at Nuraan after everything that had just happened? How could she look into his eyes after knowing that the love of her life is the brother of her rapist? How could she tell him everything his brother did to her? How could she talk to him about her past without being disgusted by it?
There were thousands of thoughts that crossed her mind all at once, thousands of regrets and disgust gushing through her veins as she met her eyes with those green ones, but all of it came to a crashing end the moment a warm grip around her tiny palms tightened.
"The touch."
His touch.
Her eyes followed the way Nuraan gently yet cautiously pushed her behind his back in an attempt to shield her from the man in front of them, making a heavy feeling settle in her heart.
"Pl-please don't leave me"
"I was scared, Raqeeba."
"the closest thing I have to me as my own right now is you. You are my family. "
"I love you."
Those words. His words. That sincerity flashed in front of her eyes.
How could she even think of labelling the man who poured his heart out to her as nothing but the brother of her rapist?
A sudden wave of confidence rushed to her veins as this time, she refused to let her tears escape her eyes, staring straight into those green orbs as she equally tightened her grip on the man holding her hand in a soothing manner, leaning closer to him.
Rudra didn't miss the man his little brother had grown up to be, and if being honest was a thing in his dictionary, he would've admitted to the fact that those dark, stormy blue eyes had managed to intimidate him for the first time, but he knew better than to let it show on his face.
Growing up and seeing the pathetic, weak woman his mother had been was always one of the biggest reasons why he loathed her. His mother was a whore, wanting the warm beds of strange men and then nagging and crying about it. His father, on the other hand, was different, strong to be exact. Sure he had a few addictions like drugs and drinks, but hey... 'He was a good man.'
So what if he came home all drunk and devastated every day, loaded with alcohol? So what if he didn't think twice before raising his hands on his wife and children? So what if he raped her? So what? He was still the man of the house and the husband of his mother, and, therefore, he was born to be the dominant.
At least that's what Rudra's morals made him believe.
Not to mention, he had always had the wrong morals.
With time and all the years spent together, Rudra came to the conclusion that if he ever wanted to be on the other side of fear, he'd got to make peace with the demons, and that's exactly what he did. The more time he spent away from his mother, the closer he got to his father's influence and the demons. The more fearless, strong-headed and daring he got, at least that's what he labelled his traits as, when in reality all he was ending up being was cold, harsh, ruthless, and a threat to society.
Kabir, on the other hand, was completely the opposite of him. Not only was he unlucky, but he was also as frail as his mother.A fact that irritated Rudra even more.However, even after all of that shit, even after being the pathetic and weak little kid that he was, he got to have everything Rudra could only dream of.
When the police broke into their house, he purposely fled away with his father, leaving the little 10 year old on his own with the dead body of his mother, thinking, at most, he might just be sent to the juvenile detention centre and they would just start a fresh life. However, his world crashed down the moment that one bullet hit the only man he ever loved. His father.
The man who saved his life by taking all the blame on himself and handing him over a fresh start. But old habits die hard. Soon, Rudra found himself between all too many drug peddlers as well as druggies, and to put salt upon his wound, his brother, his weak brother, was indeed living the life of a prince with the wealth Rudra could only dream of.
Between the chaos of his unhappy and depressing family, the only thing that actually managed to be his happy place was the little girl who he once found running into the woods only to be held by hair and be dragged into an abandoned house and in just that one moment he realised that his seventeen years of life wasn't really a waste because he could finally find a home in those big grey orbs. Why?
Because he found harmony in her shrieking voice, he found peace in her cries, he found relief in seeing her get so close to death, and he found happiness in her destruction.
At least he wasn't the only one whose life was so fucked up.
Drugs were probably the best thing his dad ever gifted him with, because they really helped him get a lot of stuff he could only dream of at that time. One of his best deals was the one he made with Orvana's father.
2 pills in place of a day with his daughter was definitely a good deal for the old man anyway.
But that summer and that particular day spoilt it all and turned his life upside down. He lost his house, killed his mother, got separated from his father, and then the six-year-old he loved was also snatched away from him.
Only then did he come to realise that everything he had ever lost was now all served up on a platter to someone else, none other than his own brother. The person because of whose existence he lost everything.
Kabir had it all: the wealth, the family, the shelter, and now definitely the girl he had always dreamt of. He had everything Rudra wanted. And even though Rudra was now a widower with a 3-year-old son, He still had eyes for everything he thought he deserved.
The corner of Nuraan's lips turned into a sour smirk before he took in a deep breath and stepped forward staring straight into those green orbs which looked back fearlessly at him in a challenging way.
"For someone who can't stand a foot in front of the vast empire that I've built over the years, you sure fall too far from yourself, David."
Nuraan didn't miss the way he could visibly see his brother shrink in front of him, but it wasn't too long a word left his mouth.
"Well, it doesn't really matter because the most important thing that you call yours is still my discard, y'know.'
A small gasp escaped Raqeeba's lips the moment those words registered in her ears. A frown settled on Nuraan's face as he looked at the man in front of him as he said.
"Nothing that I have ever belonged to you." His voice gets slightly rough towards the end.
Rudra snickered wickedly, his eyes shifting hard and quick before landing on an all too familiar pair of grey orbs. "Are we still a secret then, little doll?"
Her jaw clenched as she glared at the man standing in front of them, almost wanting to ball his eyes out and turn the smirk upside down. It was high time as Nuraan could feel the thread of his patience being tested to no limits.
He didn't want to create a scene at his baby sister's wedding, but considering the fact that he was already here, left him with absolutely no choice.
Rudra stepped forward, his hand slightly raising as he looked at the beautiful woman his doll had now become.
"What a beautiful woman you've grown up to be, Orvana." He continued, his eyes twinkling with amusement and delight."Makes me want to wrap my arms around yo--"
The world was loaded with people who were often sent in order to test our patience and ability to cope with their unacceptable behavior. What these people often failed to realise was the fact that every person has their limits. A limit which was better not tested because once the deed is done, there's absolutely no going back.
Words couldn't completely leave Rudra's mouth before a hard fist landed right on his left cheek, turning it a dark mix of blue, purple, and yellow, even before his figure could touch the ground.
To say the least, that impact was... unpredictable.
Especially for someone who has always been a predator.
However, people often fail to understand that the universe has it's own wheel of life and that fate can change. What you have today could be gone tomorrow, and who was prey yesterday could be your predator right now.
She didn't flinch. Nor did she step back the moment she could see the actions of her husband. Another part of her was relieved, another part felt content, while the greatest part of all was proud of the man on whose side she was. Why wouldn't she be? After all, he too was fighting his greatest fear in 4k.
Yes, violence is bad, but not when some monsters deserve it.
Rudra was hardly able to cope with the first pack of punches on his face when the other one came up, this time aiming right for his eyes. A shriek escaped his mouth at the pain, while Nuraan could feel the nerves in his neck and forehead pop at the clench of his jaw as he spoke, gritting his teeth. Each word comes with a free punch.
"NOT. HER."
"NOT. FUCKING. HER. "
"Nuraan!" His best friend, who by now had his so-called brother pinned on the floor, with his figure towering over that of Rudra's, his left hand gripping hard on his 'brother's' collar, while with his right he kept landing countless punches until he could see him cough blood.
"Nuran, for god's sake, stop!" Zunaim wrapped his arms around Nuraan's torso from behind, pulling him away while Lakshya moved Rudra from his grip.
"Leave me, Zunaim!" Nuraan said, clearly shaking with wrath, while Laksh just clenched his jaw, looking at Rudra, who was coughing blood and yet had a smirk clearly visible on his cold face.
"I said leave me!" The boys weren't dumb enough to not know what and who this man could be. After all, they were all the closest to Nuraan, but even then they did not wish to take a chance and let their brother take the laws into his own hands. At least that's what Zunaim and Lakshya thought. Tabish? Not so much. Considering he was there too, but unlike the other two, he was... watching.
"Shut the fuck up, man, and get a grip!"Zunaim screamed, pushing Nuraan away, making his back hit the wall. "Don't you fuckin' see he's trying to instigate you, Nuraan? You have a fucking name and this is a fuckin' function! This is all fuckin planned! " He said His hands were placed on his chest as he tried to keep them ahold against the wall.
"I don't fucking care, Zunaim!" He howled again, this time staring straight into his eyes. "I DON'T CARE!"
A chuckle escaped Rudra's mouth as he wiped the blood from his mouth and nose, stumbling and standing on his feet as a booming laughter escaped his lips before he said. "That's right, little brother. Listen to your dear friend. After all, you've always needed people to protect you."
An animalistic growl escaped Nuraan's lips, but before he could take a step forward, a loud, hard sting rushed through Rudra's face, his ears stinging with the beep sound for straight 10 seconds, loud and clear, until his eyes bulged out at the realisation of what had just happened. He didn't look up. His palms turned into a fist as he took in a deep breath until his eyes finally met those large doe-like grey orbs and a shaky breath escaped his mouth.
She didn't pull back, she didn't blink her eyes, she didn't break apart. Instead, she walked closer to his face, close enough to a point where they could hear the words that now finally escaped her mouth.
"He's not the 10 year old boy you could torture and I'm not the six fuckin year old you raped." Her voice was slow yet as firm as the silence before the storm.
"Remember when I was a kid, and you?A coward, but things have changed, Rudra. You think you're going to destroy us by returning?Trust me, I'll make sure you regret every second of your life right from this fucking moment." He smirked at those words. His doll had grown up way more than he thought.
"Did you forget the rules, Ora? "No talking back" He said he was trying to play it cool, but stooped the moment he could see her smile.
"You either leave us at peace, and save the shreds of your life, Rudra, or come to my family and I swear to God, the sun will rise...
but you won't be witnessing it. "