Adwait

Yadav. That motherfucker. He is the one financing Akriti, and I hated Vansh all these years, whereas the real person who deserved the pain was Yadav. But I made Vansh suffer. 

"You go now," I say to my PA, who instantly leaves. 

That Akriti did play a big game, but I will have to show her that if she is cruel, then I am also her son. The blood in my body is as contaminated as hers. 

But right now, this is not what I need to worry about. My main focus should be apologizing to Devisha and Vansh before doing anything else. 

---

Back to the present

After completing my bath, I make my way toward my study. 

I found out that even Vansh regained consciousness the day after I left. It makes me think. I’m the one who caused all the pain in everyone’s life. Be it the Ahujas, my mom and dad... maybe that's why Akriti and Aayush hate me so much. Because they knew I would bring misfortune to everyone close to me. That’s why they hated me so much. 

And I feel that they were right. I deserve their hatred. I don’t deserve anyone's love—not Devisha’s, not my parents’. I don’t deserve them at all. 

A sudden doorbell breaks my thoughts. 

I make my way to open the door, but I don’t think this is the time anyone would visit my house. As Mom and dad are out of town and would return tommorow.

As soon as I open the door, I see the face I despise the most—Akriti. 

The flashbacks slam into me, sudden and suffocating.

"Please, don’t hit me!" My own voice echoes in my mind, frantic and desperate.

I clutch my chest as the air grows heavy, like I’m drowning, every breath a struggle. My legs start to tremble, weak and unsteady, as if the ground beneath me is slipping away.

The memories blur with reality. I can feel the phantom pain, sharp and relentless, as if it’s happening all over again. My heart races, pounding so violently I can hear it in my ears.

"Leave me! Please leave me!" I whisper to no one, my voice breaking as the panic tightens its grip.

The world tilts. My vision narrows, the edges darkening, closing in. My knees buckle, and I sink to the floor, curling into myself. The room spins, my thoughts spiraling out of control.

Then, blackness. A void—a suffocating silence that traps me in the terror of my own mind.

---

After a few hours

I try to open my eyes, but they feel impossibly heavy, like they’re sealed shut. My entire body aches, a deep, pulsing pain that makes every tiny movement unbearable. Where am I?

The air feels wrong—stale, heavy, like it’s pressing down on me. My head pounds fiercely, and I wince at the sharp, stabbing ache that surges with every beat of my heart. I struggle to remember, to grasp even a shred of clarity. The last thing I recall is opening the door, and then… nothing. Just an empty void.

Suddenly, I hear footsteps. They’re not rushed, but firm, deliberate. Someone is coming. My heart races, panic rising as the sound grows louder. The door swings open with a sharp creak, and I tense instinctively.

“Ahh, he’s not yet conscious,” a deep, commanding voice booms, cutting through the silence like a blade. It’s not soft or reassuring—it’s sharp, almost impatient. The tone sends a shiver down my spine. I know that voice, don’t I? It feels familiar, like it belongs to someone I should remember, but the fog in my mind is too thick to cut through.

I try to shift, to force my eyes open, but my body doesn’t cooperate. The weight of exhaustion and pain pins me down. I’m trapped, helpless, as the footsteps move closer.

Suddenly, I feel a grip on my hair. 

"Uth!" (Get up!) the voice says, pulling my hair, but I can’t open my eyes no matter how much I try. 

The person slaps me hard across the face. 

My eyes flutter open, and I see her face—it’s Akriti. She kidnapped me. 

"Hello, beta. Kaise ho? Tumhe apni maa ki yaad nahi aati hai na?" (Hello, son. How are you? You don’t miss your mother, do you?) Akriti says, a psychopathic smile on her lips. 

"Akriti, what do you want?" I ask, though even I can barely hear my own voice. 

"Oh my God, kya tumhari chachi ne tumhe manners nahi sikhaye? Apni maa se aise baat karte hain kya?" (Oh my God, didn’t your aunt teach you manners? Is this how you talk to your mother?) she says, the smirk on her face widening. 

I so badly want to punch her, to kill her with my bare hands. But I can’t—not with these ropes blocking me from doing what I want to do. 

"Kya chahiye tumhe? Abhi jo tum chahti thi, woh toh ho gaya na. Barbad ho gayi meri zindagi. Akela pad gaya main iss duniya mein. Ab aur kya chahiye tumhe?" (What do you want? You already got what you wanted. My life is destroyed, I’m alone in this world. What more do you want?) I ask, my voice rising, but the weakness in my body makes it sound shallow. 

"Oh my God, isn’t it the same Adwait jisne mujhe letter bheja tha ki agar agli baar kuch kiya toh main tumhe chhodunga nahi? Arre Adwait, dekho, maine kiya. Maine tumhe kidnap kiya. Ab kuch karo." (Oh my God, isn’t this the same Adwait who sent me a letter saying if I did something again, he wouldn’t spare me? Well, look, Adwait—I did it. I kidnapped you. Now do something.) She provokes me, but I stay silent. 

"Kuch nahi bacha ab tumhare paas. Sab loot liya maine. Tumhara pyaar chala gaya, tumse aise kaam karwaye jo tumhe zindagi bhar yaad rahenge." (You have nothing left now. I’ve taken everything from you. Your love is gone, and I made you do things you’ll remember your whole life.) She continues. 

"Tum puch rahe ho na mujhe kya chahiye? Mujhe power aur paisa chahiye, jo tumse mujhe mil sakta hai. Aur waise bhi, tumne meri zindagi kitni bigadi hai, toh ab theek bhi tum hi karoge, na?" Akriti says, smiling creepily.
(You're asking me what I want, right? I want power and money, which I can get from you. And anyway, you've ruined my life so much, so now you'll fix it too, won't you?)

But I know this isn’t the truth. 

"Meri wajah se? Huh? Main nahi tha jiske affairs chal rahe the. Main nahi tha jo kisi ko dhoka de raha tha. Tum dono pehle se hi ek doosre ko dhoka de rahe the. Jab mere baare mein pata chala, toh tum dono ne woh poora blame mujh par daal diya. Meri kya galti thi? Tum galat thi, tum!" (Because of me? Huh? I wasn’t the one having affairs. I wasn’t the one betraying anyone. You both were betraying each other long before I was born. And when you found out about me, you put all the blame on me. What was my fault? It was you who were wrong. You!) I shout, my voice echoing. 

But then, she slaps me again. 

"Zyada mat bolo tum, samjhe?" (Don’t say too much, understood?) she says and slaps me again, and again. She punches me. Slaps me. 

I feel helpless—just like how I used to feel years back. 

"Plz kill me. I can’t take it anymore. It’s paining… it’s paining. And the pain is not because she’s hitting me, but because I am weak. Plz kill me. End this thing here and let my soul free. I can’t live anymore." 

I feel my breathing slow, and then again, everything turns black. 

"Plz, God, save me from this darkness. I can’t live here anymore. And as if anyone would even care if I die. Plz, God. I can’t take the pain."