Continuation to Flashback...
One evening, Yashvardhan summoned us to his opulent office, the air thick with the unspoken threat of his displeasure. "Alright, Boys," his voice, a smooth caress laced with an undercurrent of steel, "consider this a test. We have a delicate transaction with a certain Luca Delacroix in France – a man with a penchant for both luxury and a certain white powder. Failure..." he trailed off, letting the silence hang heavy, thick with the weight of the consequences.
My gut clenched. This was a solo mission, a test, I knew. No backup, just me and Rajveer facing a ruthless drug lord in his own den.Fear gnawed at me, but the image of Flower's hopeful smile chased it away.
"We can handle it," I muttered, my voice laced with a steely resolve.
France turned into a nightmare. The deal went south, a betrayal as predictable as it was brutal. We were outnumbered, out gunned, and on the verge of being swallowed whole by the Parisian underworld.
Then, a vision in black leather emerged from the smoke-filled room. Claire, Luca's daughter, a woman with eyes that held more secrets than the Seine itself. She offered help, a lifeline out of the chaos.
But I was a mess of rage and fear. Flower's face, etched with worry, flashed before my eyes. The thought of her waiting for me, of the danger I'd brought to her doorstep, was unbearable.
We limped back to India, Rajveer and I, both battered and bruised. Flower, my little firefly, Sixteen, bright-eyed, and bursting with nervous excitement about her college entrance exams. It was the day results were released, a day I yearned to be by her side, to celebrate her accomplishments, shield her from the harsh realities of the world. But the world I inhabited was far removed from hers, a world of shadows and violence. A world I'd desperately tried to keep her from.
Little did she know, the life I led was a lie, a carefully constructed facade masking the truth – my involvement in Yashvardhan's criminal empire. The weight of that secret gnawed at me, a constant fear that one day it would spill over, engulfing Flower in its darkness.
Meanwhile, Ayana paced the orphanage floor, her heart a frantic drum solo against her ribs. Today was the day, the day they'd announce the college entrance exam results. A milestone she'd dreamt of celebrating with me and Rajveer. We'd promised to be there, a beacon of support amidst the sea of unfamiliar faces. Yet, hours bled into dusk, and still, no sign of us.
Worry gnawed at her. I wouldn't break a promise, not to her. A knot of unease tightened in her stomach. "Work got hectic," she tried to reason, clinging to a thread of hope. But the memory of my secretive glances and hushed phone calls in recent weeks sent shivers down her spine. Work, I had claimed, but a shadow of something darker lurked in my eyes whenever the topic arose.
Unable to bear the uncertainty any longer, Flower decided to take matters into her own hands. We had a spare key hidden under a flowerpot by the back door – a silly habit we both shared. With a racing heart, she unlocked the door and stepped inside. The house was eerily silent, the air thick with a metallic tang that made her throat constrict.
A muffled groan echoed from my room. Fear morphed into a cold dread as she crept towards the sound. Pushing open the door,Flower's breath hitched. I lay sprawled on the floor, my face a canvas of fresh bruises and grime. Beside me, Rajveer, usually stoic and strong, sat slumped against the wall, his eyes glazed with pain.
"Bhai!" Ayana's scream tore through the house, a primal cry of fear and anguish. My eyes fluttered open to reveal a flicker of horror before recognition dawned.
"Flower! What are you doing here?" My voice was a hoarse rasp, barely audible. "I told you, never come here."
Tears streamed down Flower's face as she rushed to our side, her touch a stark contrast to the rough hands that had inflicted this damage. "What happened? Bhai and Veer," she demanded, her voice trembling.
I winced, a grimace twisting my features. "It's nothing," I lied, a weak attempt to shield her. But Ayana wasn't a child anymore. The truth, ugly and raw, shone in my bloodshot eyes.
Guilt gnawed at me. I couldn't shield her forever, but the thought of her being dragged into this world... It was a future I wouldn't allow. The burden of my lies felt heavier than all my injuries combined. So, I confessed everything – the truth about Yashvardhan, the darkness that stained my hands. The fear in her eyes was mirrored in Rajveer's and mine.
Tears streamed down her face, a mixture of fear and betrayal. "You both lied to me, Bhai and Veer. How could you both? Why didn't you tell me? We could have left this city together." she whispered, her voice barely a tremor.
"I... I had to protect you. I can't let you both leave on streets." I stammered, reaching out a bruised hand towards Flower. But she flinched, a deep chasm opening between us. The lie I'd built to shield her had become a prison, trapping us all.
Shame burned in my gut and I announced my decision which can save us from this consuming darkness, "We need to leave," I said, my voice hoarse. "Now."
That night, we packed a single bag, the weight of our shattered lives heavier than any suitcase. As dawn painted the sky, a fragile hope flickered within me. We would leave this city, this life, and start anew.
But fate, it seemed, had other plans. A thunderous crash shattered the silence, the front door splintering under the assault. Yashvardhan and his sadistic son, Rudraansh, flanked by a dozen thugs, filled the doorway.
"Going somewhere, Son" Yashvardhan mocked.
The air crackled with a sickening tension as Yashvardhan and his men flooded the house. I, ever the protector, lunged at the nearest thug, my own injuries forgotten in the face of this new threat. But the years of violence had honed Yashvardhan's men into brutal machines. They outmatched me with practiced ease, raining blows upon me until my movements became sluggish, my defiance crumbling.
Rajveer, fueled by a primal urge to defend his loved ones, mirrored Rudra's actions. He fought with a ferocity born of desperation, but the odds were stacked against them. A sickening crack echoed through the room as a thug connected with Rajveer's jaw, sending him sprawling to the floor. Through the haze of pain, he saw Ayana, her face a mask of terror, back away towards the kitchen.
"Ayana! Run!" Rajveer roared, a primal scream tearing from his throat. But his voice was lost in the chaos.
Rudraansh, a cruel smirk twisting his lips, detached himself from the fray and stalked towards Ayana. Her eyes widened in abject horror. "No! Please!" she screamed, her voice breaking.
I, momentarily regaining a sliver of consciousness, saw the horror unfolding. A primal scream, a sound born of helpless rage, ripped from my throat. I surged forward, fueled by a desperate strength I didn't know what possessed me. But strong arms, foreseeing my move, clamped around my injured body, pinning me to the ground.
"Let me go! You bastards!" I screamed, my voice thick with venom and a despair that threatened to consume me. I thrashed against my restraints, but it was futile. I was forced to watch, a helpless prisoner, as Rudraansh, with a chilling efficiency, shattered my Flower. He raped her just in front of me.
Her scream erupted in the air, a raw, primal terror that ripped through me. My own scream tore from my throat, a desperate plea echoing hers. I shouted until my voice was hoarse, demanding they let her go. This was nothing to do with her.
But our screams seemed to vanish into the thick air, absorbed by the hulking forms that surrounded us, unmoved by our pleas. One after another, Yashvardhan's men shattered her soul before my eyes. I felt utterly useless, unable to do anything but beg and shout to them to let her go.
Flower fought back with the ferocity of a cornered tigress, her nails digging into the flesh of Yashvardhan's men, her kicks landing with desperate force. But their strength and numbers overwhelmed her, turning her struggle into a futile defiance amidst the chaos. The room echoed with the sounds of her screams, the sickening thuds of blows, and Ayana's desperate pleas for mercy that fell on deaf ears.
Finally, with their dark deeds complete, the goons released their hold on me. I crumpled to the floor, my body a broken shell, my spirit shattered. Yashvardhan surveyed the scene with a cold satisfaction. Crawling towards Flower, I reached out to her, seeing her once vibrant petals now torn and lifeless on the ground.
Gently covering her with whatever clothing I could find, I lifted her lifeless body onto my lap, whispering brokenly, "Please don't leave me, Flower. You promised to be my family. You must fulfill your promise."
Ayana, her voice hoarse from pleading and screaming, struggled to speak. "B..B..." Taking a deep, ragged breath, she tried to convey her final words to me. "Bhai, Don't cry. I am not leaving. I will always be here. Your Flower will always be here," she said, weakly pointing towards my heart, a faint smile flickering on her lips as tears streamed down both our faces.
She continued, her voice barely above a whisper, "But.. promise me ......B..Bha.ii" taking broken and deep breaths "tha.... yo..u will leav.... from........ here. And f...ff.in..d yo....u..r h...hh...app.." Before she could finish, her hand fell limply to the ground, her eyes closing as she left me. My Flower, my light, had died in my arms.
Primal scream tore through my throat "AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" My tears flowing continuosly. My whole body started shaking vigourously and started loosing whole strength. I am barely conscious about my whole surrounding.
Yashvardhan's mocking voice pierced the air, "You see what happens if someone goes against me."
"Take them away," he ordered, his voice devoid of any emotion. Two burly goons grabbed the barely conscious Rajveer and me, dragging us towards the exit, leaving behind a scene of devastation and heartbreak.
Ayana, her eyes wide with a horrifying emptiness, lay crumpled on the floor. With a final cruel laugh, Yashvardhan gestured towards a goon.
"Make sure there are no proofs left"
The goon grinned, pulling out a lighter and a can of gasoline. The acrid smell of fuel filled the air, a sickening prelude to the inferno to come.
As the flames consumed the house, casting an eerie glow on their faces, Rudra and Rajveer lay helpless, their bodies broken, their spirits shattered. The house, once a heaven, became an inferno, consuming everything within its grasp. The screams, the pleas, the desperate struggle – all silenced by the relentless roar of the flames. The night sky, painted an angry red, became the silent witness to a tragedy born out of vengeance and despair.
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Flashback Ends.
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The last flicker of the inferno Rudra described seemed to echo in his eyes, a chilling ember that refused to die. Tears, like shattered diamonds, traced paths through the dust clinging to his face, each glistening drop a testament to the horrors he'd witnessed.
Across the sterile white expanse of the hospital bed, Pihu mirrored his reflection. Her form, a fragile silhouette against the stark sheets, couldn't fully shield her from the weight of his story. Her own tears, silent and heavy, dampened the starched linen beneath her. Though her voice remained captive, choked by the lump constricting her throat, her wide, terrified eyes spoke volumes.
Rudra, lost in the echo of his own trauma, continued, his voice barely a whisper. "That day," he rasped, his words tearing through the sterile silence, "I lost everything. My soul felt like scorched earth, my morals reduced to ashes. My humanity, Pearl... it was ripped from me, leaving only a hollow shell."
He reached out, his hand trembling slightly as it hovered over hers, a silent plea for connection. A single tear escaped its fiery prison, tracing a path down his cheek before landing on the back of her hand.
"Yashvardhan," he choked, the name a bitter curse on his lips. "He took everything Pearl, everything they could. For a month, it was a nightmare. Mental torture, drugs... they twisted me, tried to break me, mold me into their weapon."
A flicker of defiance sparked in his eyes, momentarily erasing the haunted look. "But they underestimated me, Pearl. Yashvardhan thought he'd created a monster, a loyal attack dog. He offered me a deal – become his second-in-command, not some petty drug dealer or thug. He wanted more. He wanted me by his side, the muscle behind his dream of becoming a world mafia king."
Rudra's voice hardened with a touch of dark humor. "He thought the torture had broken me, but it only fueled the fire within. For a year, I played their game, let them train me, let them humiliate me. But all the while, I was learning, building myself up."
A cold smile, devoid of light, played on his lips. "The embers of vengeance burned bright, Pearl. I devoured their pathetic empire, sending that father-son duo scurrying into the shadows like frightened rats. They molded me into a monster, it's true, but a monster with a singular purpose: to make them pay.
"His gaze, intense and burning, locked with hers. "Yashvardhan," he rasped, the name a venomous hiss, "already drowns in his own misery. Witnessing my rise to power, a power he craved for himself, is a torture far exceeding any physical pain. He cowers before me, a broken shell of the man who took everything from us."
A steely glint hardened his eyes. "Revenge demands more than misery, Pearl. It demands an ending. And that ending, for Yashvardhan and his wretched son, will come by my hand."
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To be continued....
Tell me all of you, about your thoughts if Pihu should give chance to Rudra or not.
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