~Ruin and Triumph.~

"We search

For the feelings

That will

Destroy us

In the end."

- d.j.

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

It seemed as if Shravya couldn't breathe, the air somehow occurred to be stuck in her throat as she buried her face into the soft pillow, biting onto it while her fists crumbled the bedsheet in their hold, in a desperate and tight grasp, wanting an escape from the man behind, who was ravaging her body, thoroughly.

Chilling shivers ran through her frame with some trembling breaths leaving her mouth when she felt his fingers cascading her dark-brown locks aside, exposing her naked back to his hungry eyes.

As his hand traced along her skin, she attempted to crawl away from the touch, but in less than some seconds her body was impatiently pulled back.

"Where do you think you're going? I'm still not done with you." Nearing, he whispered against her jawline, his low voice rumbling within his chest like waves colliding against the shoreline. "Weren't you the one who threw water on my face and told me to cool myself down?"

"Sona, am I doing it right or should I do something more?" She felt his lips tugging up into a smirk before he placed them over the side of her face, planting small pecks with their movements. "Cat got your tongue now? Answer, darling."

He trailed his fingertips down to her breasts, groping one of them. At the same time, a shuddered whimper emit from Shravya's parted lips and he chuckled lowly, nipping at the side of her neck, drawing out soft gasps from her.

The wet ends of his hair touched her skin as if pushing her into more vulnerability; she regretted it. She shouldn't have thrown water at him.

She gritted her teeth, angered; if she knew he would behave this way, then she mightn't have done that.

"Should I just twist this little neck of yours?" He asked, his hand halting against her neck as he wrapped his fingers around that fragile body part.

"Go ahead." She tried to look into his eyes, glaring with acrimony. Her chest heaved and heaved as she struggled in vain, against him. "Kill me."

"Basta-" before she could finish off her words, two fingers were shoved inside her mouth.

"Shh. Quiet. No bad words."

His breath was hot, moist, and sensual, almost acid-like against her membrane, causing her to groan.

"Let me ruin you more."

The canvas was a mess of colours.

The art on it was nothing more than an abstract mess itself. Whatever was painted there, it was unrecognizable. And, it wasn't as if Zaid painted something, all he did was ruin a once beautifully done piece of art.

What a pitiful sight.

His exquisite, dark chasm of eyes stared at the canvas, pleased.

He loves ruining beautiful things.

He loves ruining them, before molding them into something more gorgeous created and owned by him.

And, this was the same case with a woman - her.

Slowly, his paint-smudged fingers ran over the artistic mess. He didn't pay any mind to what disaster occurred or what happened on that canvas, his focus was solely placed on - what he would create next.

He wanted to paint her, but she wasn't there.

Ah, what a damn pity.

Hasn't he always been the one ruining her?

Oh, and he loves doing that.

She was his most loved possession, and he has vowed to keep destroying her, until he could finally pull her up into a beautiful piece ever created.

His work on her has already been completed, if an idiot didn't exist within his body.

Every time, every f*cking time he ruins his work.

Useless piece of trash. He snickered, picking up a paintbrush, to begin with his work while his other hand brushed against the unoccupied side of the canvas.

That side, it was a bit different than the one he was working upon. It looked like it had been dipped into charcoal from the look of it. The dark colours were prevailing while the light ones were nowhere in sight.

After all, the weaker and light shades were meant to be absorbed by the darker and stronger ones.

However, if mixed with a little more in amount, then even a colour like white holds the potential of turning black into gray --- it all just depends on the quantity.

'Knock-knock.'

Suddenly, some tiny noises, sounding unusually dire, ruptured the quiet atmosphere.

"Enter," pursuing his lips together in annoyance, Zaid indolently called out, without even bothering to look away from his work.

With the response, the door cracked open after a few seconds and Rudra stepped inside, stopping a few steps away from Zaid. "Sir, we'll have to leave for Shimla."

Shimla? Zaid halted, a diminutive smirk slinking on his mouth, just at the mention of that place. "Why?"

"We caught a reporter, and it's also found that he's been following you for some weeks. He even went after madam to Shimla."

Wow. The Audacity. Something seemed to descend in his eyes, something dark and vicious, as he put his paintbrush down with an inscrutable glance at the canvas.

Looks like he'll again have to take care of the trouble for him.

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

Immense pain slithered inside Shravya, manifesting in her entire body and tightening her muscles with pure agony as she tried to move.

Through her blurry vision, she could see the burning car and Aqua.

While Aqsa, the cause of her distress eyed the burning car, insouciant. She did nothing to pull out the man, the same man whom she shot. She just stared as his body burned inside the vehicle.

"Great. One less body to dispose of," she murmured to herself as the flames grew bigger and more intense. A fiendish grin upturned her lips when she glanced at Shravya. "This day just keeps getting better and better.''

"Are you wondering about what I have in plan for you?" Taking in the sight of fear and pain covering Shravya's features, her lips curved even more, the smile turning malicious as she peeked a look at the gun in her hold. "Don't worry. I'm not going to burn you."

"Although, it would be a shame since this car is looking really pretty on fire." A laugh escaped her lips and her feet moved, approaching Shravya, who was helplessly laying on the ground, writhing in misery.

Shravya wanted to run away, crawl away. She just wanted herself far away from Aqsa. But it seemed impossible with her wounded leg. When their car crashed into a light pole, Aqsa dragged her out of that vehicle and shot her in the leg, to keep her in place.

"Please, I beg you," Shravya cried in agony, her limbs felt weak, her head was spinning and her vision was turning blurry with each second.

She felt no control over her own body. At that moment, her body was just like a puppet being controlled by pain and dread.

Aqsa will kill her child - the mere thought brought a fresh bout of terror and anguish upon her.

Stopping nearing her body, Aqsa's gaze stilled on the white rose that was thrown a few feet away. "I hate roses," she groaned, stepping upon the flower, crushing it underneath her foot before finally crouching before Shravya.

Her hand gently brushed against the woolen scarf around Shravya's neck. "I saw him wearing it this morning. This is your husband's, right?" Her lips curled in a sneer again as she pulled the scarf off her neck and tossed it away. "Ew. I hate that man."

In a move faster than Shravya's eye could follow, Aqsa grabbed her by the hair, her fingers curling around her soft locks in an excruciating grip, pulling her up by the scalp.

"Here." Her cold eyes bore into Shravya's petrified ones as she aimed the gun's mouth at her forehead. "He shot my sister here," Aqsa's voice cracked a little and she trailed the gun down, under Shravya's chin. "And, my Aaris here. He was just four years old." The rage swept her pain aside. "Your husband killed my family, and left behind two cold dead bodies for me."

Her face became a mixture of sorrow, wrath, and rancour. "You know, you're really a pathetic woman, Shravya." She glared at Shravya with ferocity, pointing the gun at her stomach. "How can you bear his child?"

"Disgusting." Aqsa's expression twisted into disgust as she hurled Shravya's body back on the road.

"What did I even do to you?" Shravya sobbed. Tears again gathered in her eyes and spilled onto her cheeks, but the pain was so overwhelming that she didn't even feel it anymore. Everything else faded away, leaving her with one single objective - to prevent Aqsa from harming her and her baby.

She tried to creep, her tears falling freely. Her body was trembling fiercely and she couldn't even form coherent words. "Please...I didn't kill anyone. Why are you doing this with me?"

However, Aqsa was unfazed by everything, the ambiance around her screamed vengeance. She wanted a life for a life.

All she cared about was revenge.

Ponderous, she put the gun on the road while her arms reached towards Shravya, holding her firmly by the neck.

Her eyes glinted evilly, a shiver, some satisfaction, running through her frame when Shravya's skin made contact with her palms. She was cold from dread.

Leisurely, she tightly swathed her fingers around her neck and a crazed laugh broke out of her mouth as she held her - his life, his weakness, within her grasp.

Finally! At last, finally.

"It took me a lot of hard work to get rid of the security around you," she whispered, leaning close to Shravya's ear before pulling back and looking straight into her terrified hazel eyes.

"I'm going to savor every second of this moment," her voice turned low, her dark eyes glinting with a sinister glow while hope or whatever was left, appeared to vanish from Shravya's heart.

"The one who is pathetic here is you." Shravya's eyes narrowed slightly in loathe as she protectively clutched the fabric of her dress, right above the abdomen - her womb, where her baby was resting.

"If you have the guts then go after him," her voice came off raspy, weak, as tears smoothly ran out of her eyes in reticence. "Is he not the one who killed your family?"

"Yes, you're right. He killed my family, but you know what?" A cruel chuckle departed from Aqsa's mouth, a sardonic smile gracing her features. "You're the motive behind his doings."

A sharp intake of breath came from Shravya's mouth. Her body quaved violently while Aqsa tightened her grip, bringing her face closer to Shravya. "And, if I'll pull his roots out, cut them off, do you think he'll be able to survive?"

"Even if he lived, his life will be nothing but a living hell," Aqsa hissed, digging her nails into Shravya's neck, hurting her already wounded body. "That's why I got to finish you off."

"I want him to feel the same pain I've gone through."

She tilted her head, her gaze traveling and stilling over Shravya's stomach, making her flinch while constricting her grip around her dress.

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

Motionless, Zaid sat inside his expensive car with legs crossed upon each other as he stared at Raghav through the opened window. Although Zaid appeared calm yet his insides were in disarray, a chaotic mess.

This shouldn't be happening.

He has never been this enraged in a long time. He didn't come to Shimla to find Shravya missing.

"You had only one task, Raghav." Eerily, his eyes flicked to Raghav as in the slowest of motions, the corner of his mouth ticked up into a dull, lifeless smile. "How could you let it happen?"

A reason. An explanation. Some words. Anything. Raghav tried to speak but like stones rolling down a cliff, his words fell into silence.

He didn't feel his body move but his mind, it was racing with the thoughts of all that had happened. A shiver ran down his spine at the mere thought of what he had done. How could Shravya just disappear? He remembers seeing her leaving. What exactly happened on her way back?

A muscle in his jaw tightened; he felt disappointed in himself. He should have been more cautious about the situation. More observant. Maybe then things wouldn't have turned out this way and Shravya would have reached home, safely.

This incident was like a taint on his loyalty. It was like he let the same hand get wounded that fed him. How dare he?

His stomach twisted painfully with an emotion he couldn't apprehend. Anger? Shame? Fear? Whatever it was, it stung worse. He had to make things right again.

"I'll find Madam," his voice came out hoarse but determined as he bowed deeply, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground.

"You better do," hearing Zaid's voice, Raghav straightened once more, looking at him. The look in his dark eyes was piercing. There was no sign of amusement or anger. It all was blank.

"I want her back before sunrise," Zaid spoke again, dismissing him.

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

The winds were cold, almost skin piercing, as with a soft pace they blew through the surroundings, freezing the atmosphere.

But, it didn't matter to Aqsa. At that moment, nothing seemed to faze her or fascinate her more than the sight before her.

Triumph - this word had only one definition, but currently, Aqsa wanted to give it a new definition, specifically a reformed one.

For her, triumph felt like fulfillment, immense satisfaction.

It was a truce, a much deserving tranquility.

And at last, it was her success.

Overjoyed, she let out a trail of some oddly ecstatic laughs, staring up at the dark sky, which was bare with no stars.

"That's it!" She screamed, tasting the triumph from the tip of her tongue. It tasted just like an expensive wine - a melting but light sweetness. It was exactly what she had been craving.

"I did it!" Letting out a shrill of joy again, she let her lips turn into a smile, a content-filled smile, while her eyes grazed her surroundings before settling on a freshly made grave, right before her.

She was in a graveyard where she just buried Shravya, alive.

A warm sensation settled in her chest and she chuckled, picking up her backpack and taking out her phone. She was going to do a voice recording.

"I had a hard time getting your number, Mr. Grover," bemused, she began after putting the recording on. "Actually, I have a present for you." Her smile widened, gaze again lingering on the grave where Shravya was buried. "I heard you have always wanted your wife's heart, well, I have her heart."

"I've kept it beside her body, if you want, then by all means you can take it," she stated proudly, there was no hesitation in her tone, no guilt. "After all, she's your wife. Not only her heart, she is all yours to keep."

"I can even smell her blood on my hands. It smells just like my sister's," she paused and then let out a laugh once again, her fervor intensifying when she stared at her blood-stained hand. It was Shravya's blood, his weakness' blood. "Even you might not find any difference except that this time the blood belongs to your wife, not to my sister."

"Honestly, I wanted to kill you." Her voice grew colder, darker, and prouder. "Lekin, fir muje pta chala ki Raja ki jaan toh ek nazuk se Tote mein basti hai."

(But then, I came to know your beautiful secret.)

Then, without further ado, she continued again. "So, I changed my plan."

"We both lived in completely different worlds, but you're the one who crossed paths with me. You're the one who forcefully broke into my small world, being all high and mighty, crushing down my family under your feet like some mere insects."

Her eyes glinted dangerously, but somewhere within there was sorrow, raw pain.

"How dare you think that even after destroying my peace you'll walk away unscathed!" Her voice rose in pitch as her eyes became wider, sharper. She could feel the tears welling in them, yet, her smile stayed pristine. "I'm sending you the location, her body is somewhere here."

"Dhund sakte ho, toh dhund lo."

(Find her, if you can.)

And with that, the recording was sent.

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Q - So, how was the chapter people?

Well, I can imagine your reaction 😂

Hmm. Suspense, suspense, and suspense ~ I'm seriously enjoying it 🌚