Advika's POV
The gun slipped from my trembling hands, crashing onto the cold floor. My heart pounded in my chest, my breath ragged. Before I could process what had just happened, a voice thundered through the air-loud, sharp, and filled with betrayal.
"How can you do that?!"
"How dare you?!" someone screams
My body stiffened. That voice...
I turned around, my vision blurring for a second. My world spun as I saw the one person I never expected to see here.
Aditya.
My lips parted, but no words came out. What is he doing here? My gaze darted around, searching for answers, until my eyes landed on Vidyut.
I didn't need to ask. The moment our gazes met, I knew.
"Why?" My voice cracked. I took a step toward him, but my legs felt weak. "Why did you bring him here, Vidyut?"
He exhaled, his expression unreadable. "You will get to know soon." He turned his attention toward Aditya, his tone dropping to a warning. "And Aditya... keep your tone in check when you are talking to my wif-" He stopped mid-sentence, swallowing hard. His voice softened, the next word almost a whisper. "Advika."
A lump formed in my throat. The heaviness in his tone made something inside me ache, but I pushed it away.
Aditya, however, was shaking with fury. His eyes burned into mine as he stepped forward. "How could you do this?" he spat, his voice laced with disbelief. "You were about to shoot them! The people who raised us! Or should I say-my parents?"
My breath hitched.
Silence stretched in the room. A suffocating, deafening silence.
He turned away from me, his fists clenching. "Tell me I'm wrong," he whispered, his voice almost desperate. "Tell me you didn't just use me to get your revenge."
Pain clawed at my chest. "Aditya, it's not like that-"
"Then what is it like, Di?" His voice cracked. "What do you call this? What do you call the moment where I have to stand between my sister and the only parents I've ever known?"
Tears welled in my eyes. "I-"
He turned sharply toward the people sitting on the floor-our so-called parents. His voice shook.
"Mom... Dad... Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me you didn't do all this for wealth. Tell me you didn't kill my real parents."
The room fell silent again.
The woman who raised us-our so-called mother-bowed her head, silent tears slipping down her face.
Aditya's voice grew more frantic. "Speak, Mom! Dad!"
When she finally spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper.
"We... and your parents, Kirti Shetty and Arnav Shetty, were best friends. Your mother was a powerful businesswoman, but when you were just six months old, she was diagnosed with cancer..."
She took a deep breath, as if gathering courage, before continuing.
"We tried everything. Every treatment. But she knew her time was limited. Before she passed, she made sure all her wealth legally belonged to you."
My stomach twisted.
"Arnav was devastated. He tried to stay strong for you. But then... we ran out of money. And we were desperate. So we-"
She choked on her words, but I already knew what was coming.
"We sided with their rivals."
A sharp gasp left my lips. My entire body went cold.
Aditya stumbled back. "What...?" His voice barely came out.
Her voice quivered. "They promised us money. Any amount we wanted. And in return... my husband sabotaged Arnav's car. The accident was only supposed to injure him, just enough to make him weak. But... the operation failed. And both your parents died that night."
My hands clenched into fists.
Aditya's breathing grew erratic. His face contorted with disbelief, with betrayal.
"So..." His voice came out in a whisper. "You killed them."
She shook her head desperately. "No! We never meant for them to die!"
"But they did." Aditya's voice was hollow now, empty. His fists trembled. "And you took me in... not out of love, but because I was your key to wealth."
His aunt-his fake mother-reached for him, but he stepped back as if her touch burned him.
"No, Aditya! We loved you like our own!" she cried.
He let out a bitter laugh. "Like your own?" His voice broke. "You made me live under the same roof as my parents' killers. You made me love you like my real mother. And you let me believe my sister was a liar."
My heart squeezed painfully.
He turned toward me then, his expression unreadable. Slowly, he bent down, picked up the gun, and... held it out to me.
"Let's end this."
A loud cry echoed in the room.
"No! Please, no!"
His fake mother collapsed to the ground, sobbing. "Please, baby, please! I know we did wrong, but we love you. We do! I swear!"
Aditya's grip on the gun tightened. "I love you too," he murmured. "But I love my parents more. And they deserved justice."
He turned around and walked away.
I wanted to call out to him. Stop him. But I couldn't.
Vidyut gave a silent nod to one of his men, who followed Aditya out, ensuring his safety.
I stood frozen, unable to breathe. The weight of everything-the lies, the betrayals, the pain-crushed me all at once.
I stumbled. My vision blurred. My body swayed-
And then-
Darkness.
-
When I opened my eyes, I was in our bedroom.
Our home.
My chest tightened. I could still hear the echoes of the past in this room. The love, the warmth, the pain... the lies.
I sat up slowly. My throat was dry. My body felt heavy.
The door creaked open.
Vidyut stepped inside. His face was unreadable, but there was something in his eyes-something deep, something heavy.
He walked toward me, extended his hand, and passed me a glass of water.
I took it, my fingers brushing against his. And then, without thinking, I threw it against the wall.
The glass shattered.
Within seconds, the door flew open, and everyone rushed inside.
They all stared at me-shock, concern, sympathy.
Sympathy.
I laughed bitterly. "That's what this is?" My voice wavered. "Sympathy?"
Vidyut's mother stepped forward. "No, beta. It's not sympathy. It's love."
Love.
A sharp pain stabbed through my chest. "Love?" My voice cracked. "Where was this love when everything happened to me? Where was this love when Vidyut destroyed me?"
I turned to her-my Maa. The woman who once held me like a daughter.
"You said I was your daughter, didn't you?" My voice trembled. "You loved me like your own, right?"
Tears streamed down her face.
"Then why didn't you believe me, Maa? Why?" My voice broke. "Why did you choose to close your eyes when I needed you the most?"
Vaishnavi Ma stepped forward, reaching out to touch me. And for the first time in months... I didn't push her away.
Her arms wrapped around me, holding me as I shattered.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I am so sorry. I was blind. I failed you, baccha."
Her voice trembled.
VIDYUT'S POV
I stood at the door, watching Advika fall apart.
And for the first time in my life, I didn't know what to do.
She was breaking, shattering in front of me. And I... I was the reason for most of it. Her words rang in my ears.
"Do you even know how many times I wanted to die?"
I clenched my fists.
"I always wanted love in my life. And I always got hurt. Betrayed. Left alone."
I loved her, but I hurt her enough to force her to unlove me.
Every word she spoke was a dagger straight into my heart.
She looked at me, tears streaming down her face.
"Why, Vidyut?" Her voice cracked. "Why did you do all this to me?"
I had no answer.
Because no answer would ever be enough.
Advika's POV
"But there's one more truth you don't know." Ma said suddenly.
I froze.
"What...?"
She cupped my face, her eyes filled with something unreadable.
"It's about your twin brother, Advik."
The room spun.
I felt like the ground beneath me had collapsed.
________________________________________
"Zindagi ke har mod par, sirf ek sawaal hota hai,
Dhokha dene wale apne the, ya paraye the?"
_________________________________________
[I will publish part 2 soon]
And I think I have offer for you all if you want part 2 today and spam comments and make it till 100 while vote till 280 fast!!!ðâï¸