Siara's pov-
Past
I had never believed the world could truly break you in a single moment, not until that night. It started with a whisperâa quiet, damning confession that pierced through the walls of Rey bhai's room.
âItâs not his⦠The baby isnât Reyanshâs.â
My steps faltered. I froze outside the door, my breath catching in my throat. Anyaâs voice. My bhabhi, the woman who had shared our home, our family, our love. Her words didnât make sense. They couldnât. I felt the blood drain from my face, and without realizing it, I stepped back but she saw me.
My voice shakes, raw with disbelief "How could you do this bhabhi, my Bhaiâ he loves you more than anything else in this world , Ma papa they calls you their daughter and you...aahhh WHY WHYYY my Bhai....bhabhi SPEAK"
She didn't even flinch. Instead, she scoffed, her expression unreadable. âLoves me the most?â She lets out a dry, bitter laugh. âNo, Siara. His priority isnât me. Itâs youâIt has always been you and his so-called empire.â
"Iâll tell him everything. Hell, heâll break downâbut weâll be there for him," I said, my voice unwavering.
"Wait, Siara. Listenâjust wait, girlâ" her voice was urgent, but I donât stop.
I almost reached the stairs when she came behind me and gripped my wrist harshly, "you will not tell anyone anything siara" she said
"I can and i will"- I firmly told her
I turn to leave, but she lunges again, desperate to stop me. And thenâshe slipped. Her body collides with the stairs, rolling down in a blur of tangled limbs and panicked gasps.
"Bhai! Mumma!..... Bhaiii!" My scream pierces the air. "Sheâshe slipped! Suddenlyâ"
"Anya, wake up!" They came running over and Reyansh Bhai screamed, frantic. "Bloody get the car over!"
He picked her up and we all went to the hospital, doctors said she is critical, How do I tell them now? How do I break them even more when theyâre already shattered? No. No. No. I canât. I can't tell it now , they are stressed...please god unko aur unke baby ko thik kardo. (Please God, save her and her baby)
âIt was an accident,â I mumbled when papa came to hospital and asked what happened.
-------
The hospital walls feel like theyâre closing in on me. The sterile scent, the beeping machines, the hushed voicesâI hate it.
I sit curled in a corner, my heart pounding, my breath uneven. Hospitals terrify me. Always have. And now, with Anya Bhabhi still unconscious, the fear feels suffocating. Aryan Bhai and Ekansh Bhai tried to distract me, cracking jokes, nudging me with reassurances, but itâs been two days. Two days, and she hasnât woken up.
When a friend invited me to her birthday party, I accepted after lot of persuasion from my brothers. I thought being around laughter, around people, would help.
The party was lively, filled with music and chatter. For a moment, I thought I could breathe again. Just then, Someone handed me a drink, and I took it without a question. That was my first mistake.
It didnât take long for the world around me to shift. My limbs grew heavy, my vision blurred, and a wave of panic swept over me. I tried to call out, but my voice wouldnât come. My body refused to respond, no matter how desperately I willed it to move.
I felt hands on meârough, unkind. My heart pounded in my chest, but I couldnât fight back. My heart slams against my ribs. I try to struggle, but my muscles donât respond. I couldn'tât move. I couldnât fight. I couldnât even scream. Four figures surrounded me, their faces hidden behind masks. All except one.
My heart shattered when I saw himâsomeone I thought was a friend. He turned away from my pleading eyes as if I were nothing.
I was nothing to them.
They laughed as they moved me like a lifeless doll, snapping pictures that told a story I couldnât contradict. The way they positioned me, the way they forced smiles onto my faceâit all painted a grotesque lie. To the world, it would look consensual. But I knew the truth.
Each moment burned into my memory. The pain, the humiliation, the helplessness. I couldnât move, couldnât cry, couldnât even close my eyes to block it out. I could only feel every violation, every piece of myself being torn apart.
------
When I woke up two days later, the room was empty. My body ached in ways I couldnât comprehend. I was bleeding down there, but the worst pain was in my heart. I looked at myself in the mirror, at the bruises they left behind. I wanted to scream, but the sound died in my throat.
BLODDY BASTARDS, MY BROTHERS WILL TAKE REVENGE OF EVERY SINGLE TEAR I SHRED HERE, I PROMISE YOU THAT.
I cried until there were no tears left. Then I went home, needing the comfort of my family, their arms around me, their love to keep me from falling apart.
But when I stepped into the house, I knew something was wrong. They were all thereâPapa, Mumma, my brothers, and⦠those photos.
I couldnât speak, couldnât explain. My body trembled as Papa stared at me, his eyes filled with rage. Before I could utter a word, Mumma slapped me, the sound ringing through the room like a gunshot.
âYouâve shamed us,â she said, her voice trembling with fury. âHow could you do this?â
Reyansh threw the photos on the table. âIs this what youâve been doing, Siara? This?â
I tried to speak, to tell them what happened, but my voice wouldnât come.
"She killed anya bhabhi , she pushed her through the stairs, HOW COULD YOU???? SHE WAS FUCKING PREGNANT, we loved you so much and you killed someone..wait waittt oh god bhai..Maa, she did this because she was not getting enough attention from Rey bhai , isn't it ..right siara speak, Ooo God siara FUCKING SPEAK" said aryan bhai
"Whatt noo no bhai why would I kill her, bhai mumma no...I didn't do that plz beleive me. Papa tell them i didn't do it" I tried to tell them.
Tears were continuously falling from my eyes, I was dying from inside, I wanted to tell them how those people touched me, destroyed me, killed my innocence but before I could say anything avyaan bhai came and slapped me accross the face
For the first time in life, someone from my family raised their hands on me.
'Bhai, rey bhai liste-' "shut up doll..no shut up siara, we always gave you everything. We made you the center of our world, your bhabhi was pregnant siaraaaa, aaahhhhhh whyy did you do that, whyyyyyyyyy......get out, don't speak a word or else..... Mera bhi haath uth jayega" (My hand will also be raised)
"We were always there for you, always supporting you," Aryan Bhaiâs voice trembled with rage, his eyes burning with betrayal. "When you needed signatures on your report cards, we were the ones who saved you from Mummy. We never stopped you from wearing those short clothes, even when we didnât approve. We never scolded you for not focusing on your studies, never forced you to become something you didnât want to be. we never stopped you from dancing....and WHAT DID YOU DO HA? kya kiya tune!"Â ( What have you done)
His breath ragged, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles turn white. And thenâhis voice drops, laced with something far worse than anger. Disgust.
"Thisâ" he spits, gesturing wildly. "This is what you learned from all that dancing? The fucking art of seduction? Haan?!"
That's when my world stopped, dreams Shattered and heart broke.
"Leave" just this one word from papa shattered my existence.
And just like that, the world I knew ended. Ended with nothing for me left behind.
They told me to leave. No explanation, no second chances. I was their doll, their princessâand now I was nothing to them even though they themselves had tears in their eyes but along with that there was hate for me. They promised to send me money, but that was it. They never wanted to see me again. In short ekansh bhai said " I'll transfer money to your account which will last lifetime, papers of your share in properties would be provided to you by the lawyers, no need to ever contact anyone of us"...... "Not even if you die" added avyaan bhai
I looked at maa, begged papa to let me speak but he was no longer that person whose entire world was me. His face was blank, devoid of any emotion, and he turned away from me.
He left.
Mumma left.
The only words that kept echoing in my mind were: "Not even if you die."
I stumbled out of their house, my body moving in a daze, my mind too numb to comprehend anything. Their voices followed me, a haunting echo that clung to my every step. I donât remember how I ended up on the highway. I just stood there, staring at the headlights of an oncoming truck.
For the first time in days, I felt calm. If this was how my story ended, then so be it. I never thought death would feel like a relief, but in this moment, it did. I no longer wanted to live, my promise to my rapists will no longer be fulfilled.
1 year later
But fate had other plans. When I opened my eyes again, it wasnât death that greeted me. It was an unfamiliar ceiling, a hospital room..A year had passed, they told me. Slowly I remember everything, tears started falling from my eyes. I stared at the door waiting for papa, mummy, bhai. I know even after what happened, they were definitely waiting and counting days for me to wake up. A year since I tried to end it all. I know they would have broken down when they got to know about my suicide.
How will I face them, mummy kitna roi hongi aur papa wo khudko blame kr rhe honge.
(Mom must have cried so much, and Dad must be blaming himself)
"Nurse can you plz call my family, but first tell them I'm fine or else my mumma will start crying" I asked, my voice was quiet, tentative.
"What family, maâam?" She paused, her gaze softening. "No one has visited you since you were admitted. We even had to temporarily take your diamond rings to pay for your medical billsâthere were no personal belongings with you when you were brought in. No purse, no phone, no ID..." She hesitated. "But let me tell you, youâre very strong."
"Any person from the Malhotra family never visited me? Reyansh malhotra, Aarav malhotra?? Tell me" I asked, the words tasting bitter in my mouth.
The nurse blinked in confusion. "Malhotra family? The multi-billionaires?" She leaned forward, her eyes widening. "The Reyansh Malhotra, oh my God?"
I nodded slowly.
She shook her head. "No, maâam. No one from the Malhotra family ever came. But..." She paused, her eyes lighting up with recognition. "Today, the second and third eldest sons of the Malhotra family are getting married. Itâs worldwide news." She looked at me curiously. "But why are you asking about them? Are you related?"
No one knows malhotras have a daughter because of safety reasons and for giving me a normal life, Pa--Mr. Malhotra never introduced me to the world. He said I was their soft spot, their only weakness and they have enemies who will try to harm me. Although nothing about malhotras goes out to media as they do not like such attention.
"No" I said
"Umm if you say so" the nurse said
Then and there Siara Malhotra died and I became the person I never was , that was the last time I cried and I realized then, that even death wouldnât set me free. I was trappedâin my pain, in my silence, in the memories that would haunt me forever.