CHAPTER ELEVEN
K.G.F
✧ ⋆ ☽ ✯ ☾ ⋆ ✧
Like Colleen Hoover said: Fifteen seconds. That's all it takes to completely change everything about a person.
She thought she knew him, that she knew the darkness within him. But it still managed to shake her to stone. Because, somehow, he felt different, a little darker than she anticipated. Or maybe it was because she just saw him killing a person so nonchalantly. She should've comprehended that knowing someone is a killer and witnessing them kill someone with your own two eyes were two very different things.
"Where was I again?" Rocky asks himself, his head tilting in puzzlement. But as if he remembered it, he makes a noise at the back of his throat, the words echoing once more in the room more loudly than ever, "Entertainment!" Standing up to his feet, he tucks his gun into the back of his waistband. "You are my entertainment, darling." Stepping down from his place, he continues, "Come on, darling, let's go."
"Hey, don't you dare touch my daughter," Rajendra Desai shouted in outrage as Rocky strode towards Aadhya. But as soon as the guars hidden in the shadows stepped forward with their guns pointed at him, he jerked back in wariness.
"Hey, hey," Rocky opposed his guards calmly, "These are my partners, guys. Whom am I going to do my business with if all of them keep dying?" He inquires, motioning his hands in the stupified associate's direction. The warning was clear. As long as they follow his orders to the dot, he will not kill them.
Understanding her assignment, Aadhhya turns to her father in this world. "Tell Reena not to worry about me," Aadhya states to him before she stalks out of the meeting room with her palms in a fist.
"I got a Rocky to kill Garuda. Don't you think we can't get another Rocky to kill you," were the last words she heard of her father as she left. Aadhya didn't know what Rocky replied, nor did the dark-haired girl care at this point. She is just so blisteringly angry that if she were to hear one more word out of Rocky's mouth, she would commit murder.
She was ushered into a chopper waiting for them on the helipad. Rocky followed her minutes later. Fortunately for him, he didn't open his mouth to start any conversation.
Soon they were in the air, and Aadhya could see the many changes in the KGF site that she had never witnessed in the movie. For one, the land was stretched for miles on end, much bigger than she thought it was. People weren't slaving away until their bones weren't straight; instead, they looked like they were having a hearty meal after a long time. Nor were they walking in order like mindless robots and hopeless souls; instead, there were shouts of joy from the kids as the Helicopter passed by above them.
Aadhya knew it was all because of him, and though she was both surprised and happy at the changes, that didn't placate her rage. If anything, it increased by tenfold as soon as she stepped into her assigned room. The ambiguous atmosphere, the giant bed, the candles, and rose petals, everything in the room irritated her. "He will come soon. Please do get yourself ready." The maid's words were the breaking point. A few people wheeled a rack filled with Grand traditional Indian clothes. "He said he wished to see you in these clothes. And someone will soon bring you juice. Do you want anything else?"
As soon as the words slip past her lips, Aadhya lets out a pure, unadulterated scream of frustration making everyone jump in their places. Before they could reorient themselves, she grabbed the nearest thing, which was the shotgun in one of the guard's hands and started shooting at the ceilings and the bed, everything missing by a mile. Everyone scrambled in different like roaches in the sunlight, afraid to be on the wrong side of the weapon.
Not long after, she saw the person she was itching to get her hands on his throat walking toward her. And for a second, she wanted to shoot. Not enough to kill but at least to hurt him. But she couldn't, for the life of her, pull the damned trigger. "I will KILL you," she says through gritted teeth at the casual way he walked forward. Like he didn't believe she had the guts to do so. Or maybe he knows she can't even if she tried, not with the way her arms pathetically hurt even though it has only been a few minutes she had held the gun.
"You know I am already deathed, darling," He retorts. His voice was low and rough.
"That doesn't give you the right to be a prick to me," She countered, barely holding the weight of the shotgun in her arms. And as if the Rocky had just taken in their surroundings, he nodded his head in understanding.
"Ah! I believe when I asked them to make room for you to sleep, they thought I was asking for a room for both of us to sleep," Rocky divulged. "It's all a miscommunication, darling." He then whirled on his heels and waved all the guards out of the room with a single hand motion. Once they were the only people present, Rocky turned around to take the gun into his arms like it weighed nothing and tried replacing it with a glass of yellow liquid. "Have a glass of juice and maintain your strength."
But Aadhya wasn't having any of it. Not until they have settled this, whatever macho bullshit Rocky was currently projecting. "No," Shaking her head, Aadhya stepped back, not accepting the glass. "No. I am not drinking the stupid juice, and you aren't going to take a step out of here until I'm finished talking with you."
"Look, the meeting—"
"You had no right," Aadhya raises her voice, pointing her finger at him to cut him off. Fury danced in those warm brown eyes. And her heart is pounding like it wants out all the anger in it. "You had no fucking right to call me like that and expect me to roll with it."
"Darling—"
"No! I'm not finished, Rocky," She yells, the anger rolling over her in a wave. "You are different from every other person in that meeting. You are supposed to be different. And that is what makes you — YOU. So, I do not care what your reason might be. You are not supposed to make decisions for me without my consent. You don't own me. Not even if you are my father, boyfriend, or husband. I am my own person. And you had any right to demean me like that in front of all those strangers. Period."
When she was over, she blew air out of her cheeks. After a long pause, she opens her mouth. "Now your turn," She says, all the harshness and anger burning away with the deep exhale.
His lips parted, but he said nothing; Aadhya didn't think she had spoken to him or anyone this harshly. "I'm sorry," Rocky said finally. "I know, with the way I've acted, you have got no reason to listen to me and have every right to be mad at me. But I didn't have time to discuss it with you. Everything happened too fast. And I know I should've at least given you a hint, but I still don't know who to trust here. Still, I will gladly take whatever punishment you have for me."
"But you know, whatever I did, I did it to protect you, right?" With a hesitant step, Rocky moved forward, and she let him. His voice softens considerably before her very eyes. "I can't let them know what you mean to me. Not when I know just how far they could go to bring me down. In order to keep you by my side without any complications, I have to play the role of taking you hostage. There was no other way."
His skin was darker than it was before, she observed. She could see the thin white scars covering his collarbone, like cracks on his brown skin. Some were new than others. "I forgive you," Aadhya cleared her throat. And to be entirely honest, the younger girl had felt like she was about to cry for pretty much the last ten minutes. "I just — I am sorry. I felt like, for a second, I saw a Rocky I didn't know, and I guess I got scared and angry."
She looked down at her knotted hands, unable to stare at him. He was the only constant to her in this world next to Reena, and when she felt like he was disappearing — Aadhya distantly felt pathetic for letting her world revolve around a man. A man she swore she could never love. "And I know you mean well. But just inform me next time, alright. No matter how stupid or little it may be. Just tell me, and I will try to understand."
She heard him sighing above her, and soon he was reaching out, taking her into his arms. "I'm sorry," he says into her hair, and she snakes her arms around him. "I'm sorry too," Aadhya muffled into his shoulder blades. "I scared your people."
Rocky chuckles and his breathy laugh blows a strand of her hair as he moves away. "They are your people too," he says, tucking the piece of her hair behind her ear. So, don't be afraid to ask them for whatever you wish, alright?" He then points to the room that was in disarray. "This is the most lavish room in the Palace. I thought it would suit you. But if you feel afraid at night, please refrain from entering my room. I'd rather we wait until our marriage."
Just like that, the sombre atmosphere dissipates. "Shut up," Aadhya rolls her eyes, her lips threatening to break into a smile as she shoves him back. "Who wants to marry you?"
Rocky moves a hand near his chest, feigning hurt. "Darling, don't say that." He strides backwards as he says it, walking in the direction he came. "Its hurts. Its hurts." Finally, just as he was out of the room, he hollers over his shoulders, "Let's have dinner tonight — You and I."