Nadia’s POV
I sat on the floor,watching Ria go scot-free. My heart banged my ribcage and tears streamed downmy cheeks, washing my fresh blood down to my throat and dropping it onto mylap. She has succeeded in ruining my film project with Veer. How do I act now?Flawless skin is always needed by the female lead. My ankle hurts, my cheekhurts, and my heart split knowing fully well I won’t be able to act again.Sooner or later, the scar will be visible, ruining my look. Just then, Veercame along.“Nadia?” he called outbefore rushing down to me. He cupped my face in his hands. “What happened toyou? Who did this?” he queried, concern filled in his voice. I couldn’t talk, Ijust continued whimpering. “Talk to me. Who did this to you? Is it Sidd?” he added.I shook my head. “It’sRia, Veer,” I sobbed, my heart heavy with the weight of pain. “She pushed medown and cut my face. She doesn’t want me to act with you too. I can’Sidd’s POVHow can Ria be so cruelto do this to her fellow woman? She has crossed the limit this time. Now Nadiathinks I have a hand in this. I feel like strangling that girl, she is justruining my every opportunity to be close to Nadia again. Argh. I grunted and headedout. I need to see that heartless bitch. I sped out of the studio, drivingstraight to Ria’s place. A couple of minutes later, I was already in her house.I hurried upstairs, banged her door open, and saw her seated on the bed,scrolling through her phone. She was startled upon my entry as her eyesswiveled to me.“What is that for, Sidd?”she snapped.“I should be asking youthat,” I groaned, shooting to the bed and grabbing her arm.“Ouch!” she cried out.“What are you doing?”“How dare you hurt Nadia,huh? Who told you to do so?”“Let go of me!” sheexclaimed, trying to free her hand. “You are hurting me, Sidd. Let me go,” shecried
Nadia’s POVVeer was now packing hiscar in front of the nightclub building. I had to agree to follow him based onwhat Hema told me. We alighted from the car and he came to my side, holding myhand.“Don’t be scared, okay?Remember I’m with you,” he assured me once again.“All right, hero,” Iteased and we headed inside. Apart from the colorful strobe light and clubmusic, the place doesn’t look like a club to me. Different sizes of men wereseated on the couches with flirtatious ladies frolicking and chattering aroundthem. I grimaced at the girls who were shamefully selling their bodies to theseold men. On the stage were strippers in panties and bras, dancing around a pole.I looked at Veer, he seemed not to be concerned about his surroundings as hesimply pulled me gently along to another room.“Where are we going?” Iwhispered.“Relax, okay?” he toldme. We reached the room thatseemed like a VIP
Ria’s POVI went to meet my dad inhis room. He just returned from an outing with his friends after flyingback to India yesterday. Yeah, my dad has been away for over two years now. Hejust returned and promised to stay longer with me before going back. As for mymom, she hardly visits home anymore after establishing a beauty shop in the US.I visit her once a year, but I haven’t gone this year yet. I have lots of projects. I clicked the door open and saw himseated on a stool, in front of the desk.“Can I come in, Dad?” Iasked.“You are already in,aren’t you?” he said, looking at me. I chuckled and closed thedoor, walking close to him. “What are you doing?” I asked, standing beside himwith my arm slid around his shoulders.“I have some things tosort out. You know how long I have left, right?” he replied.“Hmm. Does that mean youare resuming work here?” I asked.“For the meantime, yes. Ihave to
Nadia’s POV“I have something to tellyou,” I whispered into his ear.“I am never consideringyou for the shoot, Nadia,” he groaned, loud enough for everyone to hear andthey began murmuring as usual.“I am not asking you toconsider me for the shoot, Mr Madhukar,” I said loudly too. “I have workedhard for this shoot, but if you say I am no longer good enough, it's fine,” Iadded in a low tone. “I also wish to see your reaction when I tell everyonewhat you did to your secretary at Exclusive Nightclub,” I whispered into hisear and he widened his eyes at me. “The choice is yours, Mr Madhukar,” I addedand moved away from him.“Give me a minute,everyone,” as he expected, he announced and walked off the stage. He grabbed myhand and pulled me to a corner.“What happened now, MrMadhukar?” I asked in a low, mockery tone as I pulled my hand away from him.“What do you know aboutExclusive Nightclub?” he groane
Ria’s POVArgh! How can my dad fallinto that wretched lady’s trap? What did she even tell him? I pushed the car dooropen and stepped down, hurrying inside to get my questions answered. I enteredthe living room, but Dad wasn’t there.“Dad!” I snapped,scuttling upstairs. “Where are you, Dad?” I asked. I banged on his door. “Dad!”I groaned again. The door clicked open.“Why are you shouting,Ria?” he asked. I walked past him into the room. He shut the door and faced me.“I deserve an explanationfor what happened in the studio. What is that for? Why did you re-cast her?” Idemanded, raising my voice. He walked past me and sat on the bed.“You have to let thatgirl be, Ria. She hasn’t done anythingwrong to you, has she?” he stated nonchalantly. I scoffed and moved closer tohim.“What does she have onyou, Dad? Tell me!”“You are crossing thelimit, Ria!” he groaned, jerking up. His voice came as a thu
Ria’s POVHearing Dad say that, Iimmediately knew something was off. The last time he said he was staying totake care of the things here and now he is leaving. “It’s urgent, okay? Ihave to be in the US as soon as in two days to take care of things overthere,” he explained.“The last time I checked,Dad, you claimed you were going to stay back to take care of things here. Whythe sudden departure?” I queried.“I have to go, dear.After going through everything here, I discovered there is not much stuff Ineeded to take care of while there are lots in the US. I don’t want us to argueon this,” he declared.“Why then are you tellingme about it? You can as well go without notifying me,” I declared, trying notto sound disrespectful. I went away. Something fishy is going on. Lots notcobwebs in Nadia’s cupboard. What does she have on my dad? I glanced back athim. He was still looking at me. I reached my room,
Nadia’s POVI was seated on a chairin the dressing room, going through a fashion magazine with my legs overlappingeach other. Pari came along, beaming all smiles with a glass of milk. I satright on the chair, closing the magazine.“Hey, Nadia,” she said,moving closer.“Hi, Pari. What’s up withyou?” I asked. She moved closer.“Nothing much. I noticedhow stressed you were earlier after the shoot. So, I decided to bring you aglass of warm milk to calm your nerves,” she said, stretching the milk to me.“Aww! So thoughtful ofyou. Thanks a bunch,” I appreciated, collecting the milk from her.“Nadia?” Siya groaned,storming inside. “Hey, Siya,” I smiled ather. “Don’t take the milk,”she declared, glaring at Pari. I looked at Pari who was fidgeting, scratchingthe crook of her neck and darting her eyes away from us. I furrowed my eyebrowsbefore looking back at Siya.“Why, Siya? Whathappe
Veer’s POVNadia’s silence left apang in my heart. I know she still loves Sidd, even though she is trying to hideit, but I’m also falling deeply for her. I know she is not someone to be tamedeasily, and I can’t let that thickhead called Sidd take her away from me. Iglanced at her, she wore the most beautiful and blushing smile I have everseen. Something is going on, she must be planning on how to get back to Sidd. Itried to compose myself.“All right, Veer. I willsee you tomorrow,” she said, opening the car door after I parked at her usualdropping spot.“Sure, take care ofyourself,” I cautioned and moved off. But not heading home yet. I took anotherdirection where she won’t be able to see me and I stepped down from the car. Iwish to know her home today. I saw her trekking a few distance and I trailedher, hiding behind cars and pretending to be standing next to some people,taking my eyes away from her when s
Veer’s POVI sat face to face withSiya in the living room. She came to visit me. We have been silent for a whilenow. I don’t know how to begin. I still love Nadia, no doubt. But I have to becommitted to Siya because she is carrying my child. She decided to make thefirst move as she came to sit beside me on the loveseat.“I… I’m sorry,” shemumbled, holding my hand. “It was all my fault. I shouldn’t have been stupidenough to reject your love in the first place. And I shouldn’t have takenadvantage of you when you were intoxicated,” she expressed. I couldn’t help butlaugh. “Veer?”“Sorry, my bad,” Ichuckled. “But it’s funny. Saying you took advantage of me sounds hilarious,” Isaid and burst out laughing again.She cuffed me on theshoulder. “Stop joking around.”“Fine, I would be seriousnow,” I chuckled and composed myself. “You know what, Siya. Truth be told, Idon’t feel anything for you anymore. When y
Nadia’s POVI ambled hand in handwith Veer down the street. He was keeping me company with a song. He sings sowell and I found myself melting at his voice. I was lost after some minutes,thinking of Sidd again. After that small gesture the last time, he has remainedthe same. I wonder how deep the bullet had penetrated his heart. Veer squeezed my hand,drawing my attention back to him. “Are you fine?” he asked, looking at me.I smiled and nodded.“Yeah, you sing so beautiful. Thank you,” I said.“Why are you thanking me?I am just doing my duty,” he said. I raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know being afiancé comes with lots of duties?”I laughed, leaningagainst his shoulder. “What duties?”“The duty of making youhappy and laugh like you are doing now,” he said.“You are just funny,” Ichuckled. “So, dutiful fiancé, I am hungry,” I faked a cry.“What? Then I am sostupid of a fiancé not to notice,” he
Nadia’s POVThe thought of Sidd outof danger and waking us soon filled my stomach with joy. I constantly foundmyself smiling, but still, I was sad deep down. If he wakes up, we will beback to how we used to be, hating and avoiding. It makes me sad.I was seated on the couchin the living room. Zeehan had his head on my lap while I ran my hands throughit.“Mummy?” Zeehan suddenlycalled, but didn’t raise his head. He seemed to be enjoying my fingers in hishair. “Yes, baby,” I replied.“Can’t I see my realDaddy?” he asked.My stomach flipped and myheart leaped to my throat. “W-what d-do you mean?” I fumbled.“I mean, if my dad isdead, can’t I see his picture? I just want to know him,” he said.Should I tell him?Doesn’t he deserve to know the truth now? If I didn’t tell him, sooner or later,he would still find out and get mad at me again. “Baby?” I called softly. “YourDaddy is… your daddy is
Nadia’s POVI woke up and didn’t seeHema. Where could she have gone this early? I yawned, stretching my handsabove my head while heading to the kitchen. Reaching the living room, the doorclicked open and I turned my eyes to it. Hema walked in and I smiled. The smileimmediately faded when I saw Veer trail behind her. He closed the door gently.“Good morning, Nadia,”Hema greeted me with a warm smile.I smiled back at her,ignoring Veer. “Good morning, Hema. You didn’t tell me you would be out early,”I said as she moved closer to me.“You were fast asleep, Ididn’t want to disturb you,” she replied. She leaned into my ear. “It was amistake, please forgive him,” she added with a reassuring smile and left thetwo of us. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.“Nadia?” Veer calledlowly, closing the distance between us. “I am sorry. I wouldn’t do anythingto…”“I know. You don’t haveto apologize, I know why
Nadia’s POVThere was an excruciatingpain waving across my heart as I dragged my feet on the cold street. I held myhigh heels in my hand like a mad woman. My hair cascaded over my shoulders withsome strands framing my forehead but damp from my sweat and tears. The windsurged into my body, making goosebumps grow on my skin. The sky was starry butno moon. The sounds of people chattering from a shop couldn’t pull my eyes toit. The smell of junk food filled my nose, but it never made my mouth waterylike before. I was overwhelmed.How could Veer cheat onme? Did he pay me back for sleeping with Sidd while engaged to him? I wouldtake it as a payback, but my heart was still pained. Yeah, I overheard hisconversation with Siya.FlashbackI was bored at home. Veerdidn’t come to visit as usual but he called me to tell me he was busy. Idecided to pay him a surprise visit. Vaani opened the door for me and told meVeer
Veer’s POVTwo days later. I wasbusy in my room, settling one and two deals on my laptop. These past weeks havebeen hectic with Zeehan missing and Sidd comatose. If I decide to do all thework at hand, I would be comatose too, honestly. “Hmph!” I sighed, thinkingabout Nadia. When she said she couldn’t wait for us to get married, I wasbaffled. I thought she was going to leave me for Sidd since she had been drawnto him in the past few days. Could it be because he took a bullet for Zeehan?Well, Nadia doesn’t know yet but I had planned with Sidd.FlashbackI stepped out of thehouse, about to enter the car to go to Nadia’s place when Sidd drove in. I wasboth angry and surprised that he visited me. If he was here to confront me, Iwould have fought him till one of us got knocked out.“What are you doing here?”I growled, shutting my car door and casting a glare dagger at him.“Calm down, okay? I’m nothere to figh
Siya’s POVI lay on the couch in theliving room with my hair cascading over the couch, and my hands entwined on mychest. I was sullen, my heart kept pit-a-patting as I anticipated the resultsof the pregnancy test I underwent. I just hope I am not pregnant for real thistime. A dull pain waved across my forehead and I winced, massaging my temple. “Miss Siya?” myhousekeeper, Ruchi called, walking around the couch to stand beside me. She washolding a cup. I glanced at her. “I brought you a cup of herbal tea, it willhelp you relax,” she said, stretching the cup to me. I tried forcing myself tosit up. “Be careful,” she said, hurriedly putting the tea on the coffee tableand returning to support me. She helped me sit up and I leaned my back againstthe headrest.“Thank you,” I mumbled.She got the tea from thetable and stretched it back to me. I collected it and took a sip. “Are you sureyou are okay? You don’t seem
Jaiden’s POVToday is Pari’s birthday.As usual, I am sure she won’t celebrate outside her home. I planned with hermother to surprise her with a birthday party. I hope she accepts it and doesn’tend up throwing the cake and pushing us out of her house.The living room wasdecorated with colorful streamers, ribbons, balloons, and flowers. Her adorablethree-step cake sat atop a table in the middle of the room. The aroma ofsweets could be smelled. The over ten guests, including myself, weredressed in white and gold respectively.Pari had gone out basedon our plans with her mother. She sent her out to go buy something for herbirthday, even though she was reluctant to celebrate this time. The moment wesaw her entering the gate, we turned off the lights, leaving the whole livingroom dark, plus the kitchen. She entered, and we kept mute.“Mother? Why is theparlor dark?” Pari whined. She turned on the bulbs and behold,
Nadia’s POVI stood immobile. I wasshocked beyond word expression when Ria stretched a handgun to me to shooteither Zeehan or Sidd.“Take it from me, Nadia,”Ria groaned. I couldn’t even blink as I stared between Zeehan and Sidd. Siddwoke up earlier. “It’s either you shoot any of them or I would be forced toshoot both of them, starting from your little boy here,” she added andpressed a gun at Zeehan.“No!” I suddenly found myvoice.“Mummy!” Zeehan begancrying, tears trickling down his cheeks. Every drop shredded my heart. Icollected the gun from her.“You don’t have tochoose, Nadia. Go one, shoot me, and save your child,” Sidd said.More tears ran down mycheeks. I have indeed been trying to force myself out of loving Sidd, butkilling him was out of it. And my poor baby. He hasn’t even seen half of theworld yet. He hasn’t even attended school yet. No experience in life, how can Ishoot him? Bu