Unedited.

Everything had happened so abruptly. Grandpa asked my mom and me to tag along with him to my hometown once he recovered as my wedding date was soon approaching.

So everyone including my girls put the halt to their routine and joined me. The whole house was filled with life.

The wholesome chaos, my girls' banters, mom and my Radha aunt's tirades about the wedding preparations, and the glee on my grandpa's face, everything was so surreal.

There was a time where I had mustered some courage to approach my grandpa and wanted to confess everything to him but looking at the happiness on his face, I couldn't bring myself to utter a word.

I was dying every second because of my helplessness and for the first time, even surrounded by all the loved ones, I felt so alone, so alone that sometimes I felt like ending this pathetic life but was it worth it? Was it worth dying like a coward?

No, no. I am not a coward but still, I couldn't bear this wrenching pain of my heart. Because every time my mind would remind me of the cruel words that he uttered at the hospital ward. Still, it was pathetic that my heart was craving for his presence.

I didn't even know when the tears started trickling down aimlessly from my eyes but I only realized when I felt the wetness on my cheeks.

Sitting in front of the mirror, I stared at my lifeless reflection and dabbed my tears immediately in fear that someone would barge into my room. As I was doing this, my eyes had subconsciously darted to my left ear lobe.

Immediately a wave of nostalgia hit me as I slowly stretched my hand to run it softly on the letter engraved there. I smiled through my tears thinking of my craziness for him!

I had his letter 'I' engraved on my earlobe. So I could feel his presence whenever I look at my reflection but no one knows about this tattoo since I had been carefully managing everything till today.

Now thinking of all the things I had done in my past, I felt like an idiot because it hurts so much when we realize that we were nothing to the person who was meant the world to us.

Will he ever get to know about this little fool who is in so love with him? No. He will never. Even if he gets to know about my unyielding love for him, maybe he would just laugh at my idiocy and think of me as a worthless creature.

As I was so immersed in my thoughts, I suddenly heard the whistling of someone from my room's balcony. Hearing the familiar tune, a chill ran down my spine and I stiffened in my place when I heard the approaching footsteps.

As the whole room started screaming his presence, my heart started thudding in fear. It would be a lie if say that I wasn't afraid of him anymore.

"Hi, sweetheart!"

He mumbled dangerously near my eyes by placing his chin on my shoulder while looking at my reflection in the mirror with a smirk playing on his face.

He slowly started tracing my neck with his nose as I closed my eyes in disgust while controlling myself to not let out a whimper because I know the consequences of shedding the tears in front of him.

Suddenly I shrieked in pain when I felt him biting my earlobe where I had the tattoo, which must have definitely left a bloody teeth mark and I immediately opened my teary eyes to meet his' which were swirling with anger.

"What's the use of engraving his name on your body when you can't engrave your name in his heart?" He taunted while readjusting his suit with a scowl.

"Remember, sweetheart.  You are tainted. Tainted by me. So no one would ever want a tarnished soul like you. You better stop weaving those fairy tales in your mind for your own good."

I just stood numbly as he was uttering those cruel words while glaring at him angrily.

"My my. Is that the anger that I am seeing in those beautiful orbs?" He exclaimed dramatically and suddenly gripped my chin tightly in his hold as all the playfulness vanished from his eyes.

"YUKTHA, You are a coward. So you better don't think of doing any silly things, or else I will see your end." He warned me as he left his hold on me.

"If I am a coward, what are you?" I questioned him when he was about to leave the room.

He turned around swiftly and approached me dangerously but I didn't back away instead met his eyes daringly.

"I am a coward, Ikshith. So are you. I became a coward because of the people I care about a lot but aren't you too? Aren't you living every second in a fear of the day where your good boy image might be suddenly ripped away brutally?"

He narrowed his eyes at me but didn't say anything as I continued.

"We both are the same yet so different! We both live in the fear but I am not so cruel enough as you to hurt my own family. I don't know what has changed you into this person but you should know where to stop.

"I guess, you will only stop after driving me to death..right? If that day really comes, I will make sure to die only after killing the monster in you." I said by turning my back to him as my eyes filled with the pain when I started to reminisce about those happy moments of our childhood.

Those days were so precious but nothing was the same now. He turned into a monster. The one who could never see the tears in my eyes became the very reason behind my tears. The one who used to be my best friend turned into my nightmare. The one who used to be my strength became my biggest fear.

I hate him. I hate him a lot for everything he had made me go through but still, I would do anything to bring back his old self because he was not a monster, to begin with, but was turned into one.

After not hearing any response from him even after some time, I breathed out after realizing that he left the room silently.

I immediately glanced at the teeth marks on my earlobe which I was sure would definitely leave the scars.

'Even if I vow to change him, do I really have to spend my life with this monster by killing my heart?'

As soon as Ikshith stepped out of yuktha's room, he was greeted with a loud smack as his head snapped to the other direction due to the impact of the slap.

He immediately raised his head to look at his mom whose eyes were brimming with fiery.

"Mom." He exclaimed in disbelief as this was the first time his mom had ever raised her hand at him.

"Stop calling me that. Whenever you call me 'mom', I would be reminded of the fact of what a failure as a mother I was."

"Why are you talking like this, mom?" Radha, his mom just scoffed at him.

"Don't pretend. I know what a kind of monster you are and I know every deed of yours. Why, Ikshith? Why? Why did you become like this? You promised me that you would never become like your dad but looking at how you are now, I am afraid to say this but you are worse than him."

He looked down when he saw the disappointed look on his mom's face while clenching his fists.

"Tell me, your dad never plans to let you marry her in the first place..right? He wants her to face the same humiliation which he had faced in the past. He wants you to leave her on the wedding aisle itself to make her go through the same pain."

"Listen, Ikshith. Pardhu, her father was the one who helped my Sudha in eloping, not her. She is innocent in all of this. If you won't stop playing to your dad's tune, you will have to lose so much in your life."

Hearing his mom's words, he lifted his head and said calmly before started walking ahead.

"I don't know what you are talking about."

His mom just scoffed at him and warned him.

"Your dad has already made my life a living hell and I won't let her have the same fate as mine. You both may have so many tricks up your sleeves but I will never let you both spoil her life even if it costs my life."

"Also tell your dad to come here, after all, it's his niece's wedding."

Saying this, she left from there, leaving him to wonder about what she was up to.

As the three hours of the journey ended, my mom excitedly got off the car as she was engulfed in a hug by her sister. I slowly stepped out of the car and started looking at the place which hadn't changed a little bit of whatever memory I had of it.

Immediately all those events started flashing in front of my eyes but I fisted my hands to not turn back and go away from this damn place because of the word I had given to my mom.

So controlling myself, I went back to bring out the luggage from the bag but a hand beat me to it and carried the luggage out. I lifted my head to look at the kind face of a middle-aged man.

"Wait, babu. I will do it. You just go inside. Peddhayya( sir) is waiting for you so eagerly." He said with a smile that reached his eyes but I still held one of the luggage bags from his hand and waited for him to follow him.

As soon as I stepped in, I was greeted with a glorious sight. It was a huge bungalow with the touch of traditional and ancient look but the whole view was just so splendid.

Not having a mood to appreciate its beauty, I looked around for my mom only to see that she was surrounded by so many people who were talking to her with a smile on their faces. Later I got to know they were all the house helpers of this house whose families had been working here for generations.

"Peddhayya! Here is your grandson."

The one who accompanied me suddenly shouted in glee as I turned my head to look at the old man who was approaching me with a warm smile and if I wasn't mistaken, I could see the tears in his eyes.

He suddenly hugged me so tightly as I stood there stiffly, not knowing what to say at all as my whole feelings had started confusing me.

Everyone seemed so genuine here, contrary to what I had imagined. The love and warmth in his eyes seemed so real and if I had witnessed that incident in the past with my own eyes, I would have mistaken it to be true.

"Can you please show me the room where I have to stay? So that, I can rest for a while as I am so tired." Without saying anything to him, I asked the man who accompanied me in, after retracting myself from his embrace.

Because the awkwardness was seriously too much to bear. Soon I was guided upstairs.

"Babu, you can call me 'Raju'. I have been working in this house for more than 30 years. Everyone here is so good. So don't hesitate to order us around. Now take some rest. I will call you for the dinner once it is ready." Saying this, he left the room as I started looking around the whole room.

Stretching my tired muscles, I walked into the balcony to get its view but halted in my tracks when I turned my head to take a look at the other side.

There she was, looking as ethereal as always. Sitting on the swing there, she was donned in a simple half saree as her thick mane was cascaded down and they were fluttering along with the tunes of the breeze.

Since it was a joint balcony with just a little wall to act as a partition between either side, I got the full view of her every action.

She was simply staring at the dark sky blankly by placing her head on her knees. Her one hand was playing with her left earlobe and it was her habit, I guess as I witnessed her doing the same thing so many times.

She seemed to have noticed someone's gaze on her as she swiftly turned her head in my direction and looked at me in surprise.

Though I was caught off guard at her sudden action, I composed myself and looked at her continuously, trying to imprint her face in my mind for the last time.

She was looking at me with so many emotions and the one thing that was clearly evident in her orbs was hurt and pain. Maybe she was thinking of the accusations I had made in the hospital.

Though I was guilty and wanted to apologize for what I had said that day, I stopped myself after thinking that it was best this way.

Suddenly we both got startled and came out of our own worlds when we heard Aaru's booming voice.

"Yuki baby, My Indra anna is here. So I am going to meet him. I have so many things to ask him and tell him. Don't miss me. I will be back in a jiffy..okays?"

Yuktha immediately turned her head to look into her room while rolling her eyes as I immediately dashed into the washroom after grabbing a towel, afraid that the stupid would come and eat my head with her nonsense.

Hope there was no confusion with the chapter having so many POV's.

Thanks for reading.

Please do vote and comment.