Shimmering lifeless dull eyes gazed back at me as I looked at the mirror. My face was pale, and trail of tears ran down my cheek. But the makeup artist was trying her best to bring a rosy blush on my cheeks.

"Come on girl, hurry up. Pradhan ji will be here within half an hour. We need to make her wear the legenga too," Sakhshi, my neighbor chimed in.

"It's almost done didi." The makeup artist he sent was dolling me up for him.

I stood up like a robot as Laxmi came with the lehenga. It was green, and from the weight of it, I was sure it costed a lot of money. But that was not even my concern now. They discarded my clothes and helped me to sink in the lehenga.

Why was this happening with me? I tried to control my tears but they were not ready to stop.

Daud...

"Didi? Why are you crying?" Adi's voice reach my ears and I quickly looked down. He was standing there dressed in a small sherwani and was looking so cute. My throat clogged with emotions when he asked me the question. How was I going explain to this little one, that his sister was stepping in hell?

My trail of thought broke when the door of the room banged opened and the girls gasped out. I turned my head in the direction, but as soon as my eye met the brutal and cold face of him, my blood ran cold. The monster was here.

Oh no, why was he here now?

"Out, everyone," he ordered harshly and glared at me.

'No, don't leave me alone with this monster,' I wanted to shout, but my throat tightened and I preferred to keep quiet.

Laxmi and Sakhshi gave me an apologetic look and walked out of the room. But my Adi was still standing in front of me with his hand on his hip, glaring at Shamrat ji. At any other time I would have been amused at his protective tactics. But the situation was anything but normal.

"Child, get out," Shamrat harshly scolded him and Adi flinched back. He was just a little boy. How could he treat my Adi like this?

When Adi refused to step out of the room, a big man dressed in black kurta stalked into the room and carried away a wailing Adi out of the room. My eyes followed him, until he was out and the door was banged shut.

I swallowed down in fear. This was not good. Shamrat ji was a beast and being alone with him in a room, was nothing but dangerous.

He stalked upto me with a predatory gleam in his eyes, and backed me up on he wall. I was shaking from head to toe, because there was hardly any space left between us. My face was lowered but it was just coming up to the middle of his chest. His harsh hot breaths were gazing my forehead.

"Look at me!" He growled out and suddenly banged the wall beside my face and I shrieked out covering my face with my palm. If earlier I was afraid, then that would be an understatement. I was terrified now.

"Ahh," I winced out when he roughly grabbed my jaw and puckered my lips.

"I said, look at me," he gritted in a dangerously low voice and his eyes were cold as he glared back at me. His frame pushed me back more, and the low hiss of tearing of cloth reached my ear. I had stepped on the skirt, and it was stucked in a nail on the wall.

My eyes widened as I realised my lehenga got torn. It was considered a bad omen in our village to marry in a torn lehenga, which could lead to an arduous and troublesome married life.

I didn't use to believe in all these silly superstitions, but when my maasi (maternal aunt) died due to the same reason, it got ingrained into my mind.

I was trembling in dread. Shamrat ji was a cruel monster, and it didn't take a genius to declare that my life would shatter in his hands.

"Today, we are going to get married. And I want you to forget anyone named Daud. Do you get it?" He asked the last four words every time poking my forehead with his index finger.

How much cruel could he be? He had already snatched away Daud from me. How could he just expect me to forgot the person I love, just like that?

I sniffed and replied him back, "I can't."

His eyes darkened more at my statement and he clenched his jaw. He fisted my hair in his hand, giving it a hard tug.

It pained more than anything, but I bit on my lip, trying not to give him the satisfaction of seeing me in pain.

"If you don't, I will obliterate your parent's body just like I did with the lover boy," he whispered near my ear darkly, and I shivered at his statement. My heart seemed to stop beating and I sucked in a shallow breath.

"No, no. Ple...please don't," I shuttered, sobbing out and fell down on my knees. Whatever energy I had left, vanished in thin air. I was tired of running and fighting now. If he snatched away my parents too now, I would be shattered.

I was sobbing on my knees, when he knelled down infront of me. His face was brutally harsh but his eyes were telling another story. As if seeing me in pain, was hurting him too.

He grasped my shoulders and I gazed back at him, my eyes brimming with tears.

"If only you didn't run, none of us would have been in this situation right now. You are responsible for this."

He stood up and the brown leather shoes came in my view. The same shoes which crushed Duad's throat.

"Get ready for your married life now." And he walked away.

<<~~~~~~~~~~~~∆~~~~~~~~~~~~>>

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Babye 🙋‍♀️😉