Detest. I was not wrong. It was him. Uzair was the one coming inside. My nerves tensed suddenly as I stared at him with cautionary eyes and uncollected thoughts. Eyes enlarged. He stepped royally inside with quiet and steady steps. His eyes seemed to have a depth of sea of secrets. His arrival had me feeling uncertain about things that were going through my mind after his last visit. His gait was nothing but powerful as he stood to his full height. I was compelled to look at him by the aura he carried himself with. A small diamond stud in his left lobe shone brighter in the dark light. What else is there to talk about now? I thought inwardly. Meanwhile, I compelled myself to look away. The intensity of his eyes was unnerving me, probing my soul into submission. I turned my head away from his light chuckle at my direct ignorance of his presence. "I thought to bring some food to both of you this time." By clicking the door closed, he decreased the distance between us. Upon si
20— Conversation.The miseries of life never end. Or does it? Because as far as I have felt, we just get used to living with them in it. —Saumya TripathiHaving taken the sips, I gulped, and when my fits of cough subsided, silence followed.In the silence of the room, the sound of my heart's mellifluous beating in my chest was deafening. I felt a shiver run down my spine as his deep-voiced sentence intruded into my mind again. A mystique breeze whispered past me as I shivered lightly at the intensity of my own fear. As my cough ceased, I drew back slightly. “So does that mean you were in love with me the moment you saw me?”The hair on the back of my neck stood up to the attention while having an unsettling, familiar feeling of being watched. I breathed shakily. "Good girl. Now, it wasn't that hard, was it?"My hold on the glass tightened. A droplet of sweat strolled down my neck somewhere as I gulped. “Hm?”I dismissed him completely. From then on, we sat silently with my food, w
Astonishment. No answer was the answer in itself. Wasn't it? I speculated in my brain with my head down.The palpitation of my heart was frantic; the sound was almost giving me a heart attack. “As a matter of fact, it does.”His answer baffled me.What? Was it really? Then why was I finding it so difficult to believe? “If it's true, you wouldn't have been keeping me here without my will.” My octave was barely audible. “Caged like a bird in a prison.”“Maybe because I am unveiled to the perils that hang in our world that would never slink back from taking you in its captivity if given a chance. Unlike someone I know,” coldness seeped inside my veins as I couldn't feel my fingers, which appeared to have gone numb. “To protect you from the danger lurking around in the darkness to devour you,” he said, taking a breath of fresh air before adding. “I had to do it my way, seeing as you wouldn't have ever agreed to the other way. Or would you have?”Silence fell upon us. He was right. I w
Protection. “Your papa is not here anymore. Is he?” His eyes were cruel and cold. “Nor do I see your uncle here to protect you. Or is he?” His stance remained as stoic as a cool iceberg. “If you were so protected like you claimed, how come you're here with me then?” Eyes were so cold that I couldn't see any warmth in them or the emotions such as empathy that should be present in human beings for other people: compassion. He lacked compassion. I was suddenly struck by the realisation. And his unreadable emotions had me awash with disbelief. I felt small at the intensity of his stare. Even when in a sitting pose, he seemed huge, bulky, and taller. I chewed my lower lip after downcasting my eyes onto the open buttons of his white shirt. He had accomplished his motive by making a point there. Didn't he? Because his words weren't untrue. I had no answer to those questions. Filled with angry tears, I clenched my hands into fists. He hummed before taking a firm grip on my small-fisted han
Terror. “You won't be in any danger as long as you're by my side.”The words when they reached me did nothing to calm my heart. It did the just opposite; I ended up crying out and stumbling into his chest. He took a moment to capture me in his intense grip of embrace. “I'd rather have you breaking down here to me than letting you go where it couldn't be heard.”It took just a single sentence to break my resolve into nothingness. It crumbled into a heap. “Calm yourself, little bird.” His calm voice surprised me. ×~•~×The soft sound of the wind chime clicking together through the wind filled the air while the breeze continued to dance around the curtains. It must have been the first time where the silence didn't instil terror but brought a soothing calmness and tranquillity with it. Regardless of the fact that even though there was a certain feeling of desolation that was present in the atmosphere, I let myself breathe the calmness that the breeze didn't fail to provide. Unknowingl
Big brother, is he?“This isn't fair.” Anger gnawed inside my chest."And don't even for a moment think I am not your friend. I am!” Holding my hands in hers forcibly, she argued with conviction as she cut in. “Are you?” My eyes met hers.“You only have to feel it to see it." Squeezing my hand gently, she nodded with a certain sadness on her face. “No matter what, you'll always find me by your side.”My eyes veered downcast at her response. No one was going to tell me. Was there? “You are just placating me, Sabba.”“I- I am not.”Sighing in defeat, I withdrew my hand from hers again, which she had taken hold of. “If you really were, you would have told me the truthful reason for us being here.” I gulped. “Do you really think it's fair to me?”I was tired of the half-truths I had been told to believe. I wanted the answers. I needed the answers. The real ones. Not the ones that were perhaps made to placate me. "You are kept here for safety purposes, Radhika. You both are," she said b
Shock.“I might be coming off as nothing but rather stupid; however, I don't know what you mean.”Those terms were completely unknown, yet I felt scared by listening to her talk about them. My heart pounded suddenly. I didn't know why. Was it a premonition I was feeling? Or was it something else that gave me chills? I breathed shakily and gulped audibly, looking at her, waiting for her reply. “No, knowing something doesn't make you stupid. You were just not aware of the terms because you were always shielded away from such dark impulses of people existing in the world by your family. I understand that.”I nodded, thanking her silently. "Have you ever come across names like gangsters, hitmen, snipers, and mafias, assassins, by any chance, or have you read about them in the newspaper or perhaps watched television about them?"I shook my head slowly. They were the names I was hearing for the first time in my life. “No, I haven't. It's the first time.”“That's okay. You don't need to ov
21— Bonding memories.“A human mind is the strongest invincible weapon above all which could only be destroyed by itself.”— Saumya TripathiThe Khan clan is one of the few powerfully strongest hierarchically structured families in the entire cosmos, standing proud, determined, and invincible with every cell in their body. Having accustomed to not bending their knees for anyone in any circumstance, given in any situation, they gain influential respect over the years from the people of cities, nations, and countries. They were more often called the “man of honor.”Speaking of which, not only just countries that appeared to have been under their thumb, they were the ones known to be running the continents as well. Led by just one merciless, ruthless, and most feared person: Shreyaaz Ahmed Khan, the godfather; businessman and strategist. The only man across the entire root of the Mafia world who held the position of control of power and respect within the palm of the same hand. Holding t