~Forget.~

"At least our paths have crossed."

- j.b.

************

The milieu around Shravya was wrapped in one of a daunting quietude, a stillness that was meant to frighten the observer and to oddly hush that person into numbness.

Deprived away from feeling the woman's condition, some dying flames were gently burning in the fireplace. The fire was barely more than ashes, yet its warmth was affectionately resting on the bare skin of her exposed body, shooing away the coldness.

"I'll escape if I ever get any chance," she murmured, almost without thinking as she pulled the grey coat closer to her naked self.

That coat, it smelled like him. It was his after all.

"I'll escape as long as. . . ." There was an intensity in those words that she didn't even feel herself. "The possibility of my freedom exists."

In response to her words, the room vibrated with a drowsy, dark but amused chuckle that came from Zaid's mouth, who was sitting beside her on the sofa, with a champagne-filled glass in his hand.

Unlike her, he was wearing clothes, but in a disordered state. His hair was ruffled in a mess and his black shirt was buttoned unevenly, giving away the view of some freshly made nail scratches on his chest.

"No worries, I'll erase the very existence of that possibility." He took a sip of his drink and smiled, facing her. "There is no place for you in the outer world anymore, Shravya."

"I hate you." Her lips trembled as her voice became lower and she felt the sting of tears beginning to form in her eyes as she looked at the floor, at her torn dress which was carelessly laying over there.

The sight made her recall the events that happened only an ample of minutes ago; she could still feel a strange sensation crawling through her being.

"You are going to burn in hell." She closed her eyes and pulled her knees to her chest, wanting to hide from his eyes.

She could feel his eyes, lingering on her bare skin, still burning with lust.

"Oh, really?" He chuckled again, putting his champagne glass on the table before him. "Then, I'll make sure to send you to hell first. We'll accompany each other."

"I want you to stay with me." Zaid reached towards her slowly, letting his fingers trail across her slightly warm body.

"What makes you think I want to stay with you?" Her eyes hastily encountered his, glaring into those two shady abysses.

"You see any other choice here?" His lips curved into a languorous smile as within a blink of an eye, he grabbed her waist, tugging her body upon his thighs. "You know that you can't escape from me."

The perishing light of the fire danced in the corners of his eyes as well as in the room, greeting the surroundings as the only source of light.

Shravya shuddered, squeezing the coat tightly against her body when his hand slipped to her thighs, grasping them to hold her unmoving.

"You see, you're not less of a sinner, darling."

She flinched, a weak gasp breaking off from her mouth when he leaned closer, pecking a baby kiss on her chin.

The car smoothly halted before a small but beautiful house, wavering Shravya's attention away from the memories in her mind.

Her slow and hesitant movements had a desperate tale of their own as they accompanied her in getting out of the car and walking forward with a little courage.

Just like water can't hold the weight of a rock, it seemed as if she also couldn't carry the weight of her emotions as she forced herself to move, stepping towards the same house where she was supposed to stay only a night before she was abducted.

So, he has kept Aayush here.

Her vision blurred with tears, tracing the inanimate figure of the familiar place. Under the dark sky of the late evening, in the midst of stunning but extensive greenery, the little building stood tall with its old structure draped in the air-like shawl of grief, as if it was a lone aged person who was just stuck with sorrow.

It felt so unreal yet so real at the same time.

It's all real. Just a few more steps and the door will open.

Just some more steps and she will finally be able to meet Aayush.

Her legs were already trembling as she reached the front of the house. She took another tentative step forward, her hand touching the handle of the door with her breaths turning ragged.

Her fingers tightened around the handle and she opened the door, her gaze caressing the surroundings with despondency.

"Aayush?" She called out, hurrying inside, inclined to break down at any second, even forgetting that she didn't come alone. She came with Aqsa and many considerable guards. So, if she tried something reckless, these men would easily apprehend her.

With distress flowing in her frantic movements, her mouth opened to let out a call again, but she stilled when a maid spoke: "He is in the living room, Madam."

Feebly nodding in response, Shravya moved towards the living room while swallowing past the lump in her throat, trying to soothe the pessimism which was quickening her heartbeats.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shravya has felt helpless a lot of times in her life. She felt helpless when she could do nothing to protect her loved ones. She felt helpless when she couldn't protect herself.

But the kind of vulnerability she was suffering from while peering at Aayush's back was beyond. She couldn't reach a conclusion to word that feeling down.

She forced herself to restrain her pain, not consenting it to leak through her eyes; what happened to his legs?

Zaid did this?

Why?

Why does he act so heartless when it comes to her dear ones?

"I was waiting for you," still looking at the window, Aayush spoke so softly and softly that he would have been able to whisper it into her ear if they had been standing right next to each other.

"He told me that you'll be coming. . . . ." Shravya's heart sank as he turned the wheelchair and came face to face with her. "To see me off for the last time."

"So, what did you sacrifice?" His brown eyes, carrying a fervour and profound remorse, halted against her hazel ones. "What did you trade with him for my freedom?"

"Nothing," she lied, failing to look away from him.

"You're not nothing, love." A doleful smile curved his mouth, slowly softening until it resembled the warmth in his brown eyes. "How could you do that?"

Abruptly, his expression solidified, and Shravya felt her soul plummeting in anguish, even more deeply under the weight of his heavy gaze.

"I guess, I was broke," she let out a wobbly chuckle, slowly walking over to him. "I saw nothing else in my possession to give him."

"I only had myself," she whispered, tentatively kneeling before his settled form before pulling his hand into her warming hold.

At that moment, her gentle movements, the way she carried her emotions --- all appeared similar to a certain someone. The similarity was uncanny.

Just like Zaid, she portrayed a weakness before her love, showing the fleeting cues of losing control over her soul.

"You see, we don't have much time left. I can't stay longer."

She struggled desperately hard not to look around his body, but to keep her eyes on him.

"Okay, enough of us. Let's talk about you."

To focus only on his face, so much so that she could feel every detail of his features and imprint them as memories on the wall of her mind.

She wanted to keep them --- some cherished memories that could last lifelong.

"I...I..." she tried to be nonchalant but her quivering voice cheated her lie and she veered her eyes at the floor in delinquency.

"I wish you'll-no--" Her voice rose an octave to a high pitch and her hands trembled, her grip weakening around his hand. "Promise me, you'll start over."

"After leaving, you'll move on. You'll forget that I ever existed in your life." A tender smile formed on her lips when she lifted her head, again peering into his grieving brown eyes. "You'll forget me, promise that."

"I know I'm being unfair here, but please. . . ." Her breath hitched in her throat as her mourning gaze weakly fell on their intertwined fingers. "Please, promise that." She squeezed his hand lightly.

A mixture of astonishment and woe clouded his eyes as his free hand reached out toward her face and cupped her cheek, gently rubbing the pad of his thumb against her delicate skin.

"Don't be so cruel. We still have a lot to talk about," his words came out weak, broken. The sadness was flowing in his eyes, somehow curtailing the pace of his tears. "I can't forget you."

How could he forget her, the love they had shared, the bond they had made --- everything was adorned in his heart. Then how possibly can he forget that everything?

"You can't stay here, otherwise you'll end up dying," she uttered, finally pulling her hands away from his and going back to her feet. "And, I can't leave with you."

I'll never be able to leave.

Before she could get further away from him, his hand reached out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her and confiscating her world in his vicinage, not wanting her to leave.

"Muje...mujhe chod kar mat jao." This time the words left a trail of tears on his cheekbones.

(Please, don't leave me.)

"Don't make it hard for me," her voice choked with emotion when she glanced at him. Involuntarily, her lips began to tremble. It was a futile endeavor to keep the tears caged in her eyes as she begged him to forget, to move on and leave her memories behind.

"Please, forget me." Before he could say anything more to stop her, she unwillingly pulled her wrist out of his grasp and almost ran to the door with tears leaving her eyes as their owner could no longer control them.

The tears, they moved freely on her cheekbones, trailing down from her chin before vanishing within the woollen scarf around her neck, whose keeper was the sole creator of the melancholic circumstances she was going through.

As she walked out of the room, she couldn't help but recall all the memories they had shared together - the joy, the tears, the love. It all seemed ephemeral, yet she knew it was going to stay with her forever.

She would carry it with her, always.

Even with the separation, their love would never really die.

It would live on, being imprinted in their hearts and eternally inscribed in the chronicles of time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Empty.

Shravya felt empty inside after leaving everything behind - every thing that use to make her feel complete.

Her heart felt like a hollow chasm. She could no longer feel like connecting to anything.

At last, she left him.

A broken sob escaped from her mouth and she wrapped her arms around herself in a weak hug, feeling the tears running down her cheeks, with no signs of ceasing anytime soon.

"I'm getting sick of you now," Aqsa, who was sitting beside her in the car, grumbled through clenched teeth, finally losing her patience, but Shravya was too lost to notice the girl's changing demeanour.

Just a little more and I'll be able to get rid of her. Aqsa's eyes held malice and deep hunger for vengeance, looking out of the car's window as it ran on the silent road, taking Shravya, her next victim to the destination she wanted.

In a flash, a callous smile twisted her lips when in a fleeting motion, their car passed by a certain signboard; it was time!

"Madam-no! Let's drop the formalities now. Shall we?" She whispered in a cold tone, her hand slowly reaching inside the bag in her arms and holding onto a gun.

"I'm really grateful to Maria, Shravya," she continued uttering in a low voice, wanting Shravya to move her attention upon her - her doom.

"Poor woman. She is too naive. She didn't know what I was up to, yet, she still helped me a lot." Still hidden inside the bag, her hand held the gun tightly, even feeling the weapon digging into the skin of her palm. "It's all because of her that I'm sitting here now, beside you."

The sudden change she bought in the atmosphere was enough to alert Shravya and she shifted uncomfortably, looking at Aqsa with her distress-filled eyes.

"I've been craving this moment like mad." Her words seemed to drip venom as she leaned closer to Shravya, her smile widening. "You don't know how many lives have been ruined because of you, b*tch."

"Now, it's your turn to pay," chuckling, Aqsa spoke in a hushed whisper, leaning close to Shravya's ear. "You are going to die today, and I'll watch you do so."

Unknowingly, Shravya shivered under Aqsa's gaze and the sound of her voice, her entire body began to tremble - as if her body came off to know that something bad was about to happen.

Something really bad.

"Wha---" before Shravya could speak, her breath hitched, soon turning into a scream when Aqsa pulled the gun out, shooting the back of the man's head, who was driving the car.

"Surprise! I stole something from your husband's collection." A devilish grin curled Aqsa's mouth when her amused eyes encountered terror in Shravya's hazel eyes which were fearfully staring at the gun in her power.

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Q - So, how was the chapter people?

Woah ~ it feels like forever since I last updated 😂🙌

Anyway, my apologies - not for the cliff hanger, but for the late update 🌚

Btw, the emotional rollercoaster ride starts now!

Bye ❤️