Chapter 29

"Aryan? Who's that?". Roli was perplexed at his strange behaviour.

"I said I'm Aryan" Aryan said, enunciating each word. His cold gaze and stern tone made her shiver. 

"Get inside the house" he ordered, authoritatively as he turned to close the trunk.  

"Where are you going in this heavy rain?". Roli couldn't feel like she was talking to Sid anymore. The person before her didn't seem like Sid at all, except for his physical features. 

"I said get inside the house!" Aryan yelled as he shut the trunk door down, making its noise reverberate for a few moments. 

Roli jerked at his sudden shout. "Why are you shouting, Sid?". Perhaps she was hurt by his harshness that her eyes started welling up.    

By now, Aryan's patience had long crossed its threshold. He couldn't stand any objections in his way anymore. Hence, he held her arm and literally dragged her into the house. 

Entering the hall, Aryan let go of her in such a way that she would have fallen onto the ground had she not held the sofa for support. 

"What's wrong with you, Sid?" Standing up, Roli stared at Sid in disbelief. She couldn't believe he was the same person she knew of. At the moment he felt like a stranger to her. 

"I said I'm not Sid. And you better not mess with me" Aryan tossed the words and turned around to leave. 

"Where are you going?" Roli tried to follow him but he locked the door from outside. 

"Sid, open the door" Roli continued to hit the door but there was no response from the other side. It seemed like he was gone.  

Roli was in a daze as she fell onto the sofa. The way Sid had just talked to her wasn't how he usually would do. He was so gentle with her no matter what the situation he's in. However, his behaviour just now left her in a dilemma. 

A couple of hours passed by but Sid hadn't returned yet. Roli was still waiting for him in the hall. She didn't even bother to go to dry herself up. Her dress was somewhat dried up but it was still giving her shivering. Though not more than how she felt when she saw Sid back in the parking lot. 

A little while later, the entrance door got opened, making her get on her feet. She was mentally preparing herself to talk to Sid clearly. But, she was surprised to find Jatin entering the hall. 

"Roli, what are you doing here at this time?". Jatin frowned. He just returned from his duty at the hospital. As he knew he'd get home late at night, he carried a spare key with him. So, he could enter the home without disturbing anyone. 

"It's because of Sid. He just lost his mind" Roli seemed to be mad at Sid. His strange behaviour and the endless waiting for him made her lose her cool. 

"What happened?" Jatin was anxious. He remembered that Sid was still Aryan when he left for the hospital. So, he was worried if she met Aryan. 

"I don't know. But, he's definitely lost his mind. Don't know what all nonsense he's talking about. He even said he's not Sid but someone else. Wait... what name did he say?". Roli tried to recall the name Sid had told her. 

"Aryan?" Jatin asked slowly. Whilst hoping that it's not. 

"Oh, yeah. He said he's Aryan" Roli responded promptly, leaving Jatin in utter shock. 

"Wait.. How did you know the name exactly? Did he say that to you too?" Roli queried, curiously. 

"Where is he now?" Jatin asked, anxiously. 

"He went out. I tried to stop him but he locked the door" Roli muttered, recalling how he dragged and locked her in the house. 

"You tried to stop him? Do you know how dangerous that is?". Jatin grew worried as he knew Aryan never liked any disturbances in what he does. If someone tried to object to him then they're clearly looking for their death.  

"Dangerous? What's wrong with you guys? Why are you both talking so strangely?". Roli was even more confused now. 

"Tell me what exactly happened and what did he do?". Jatin inquired. 

Though Roli was still in a daze, she narrated what happened and what Sid said. 

"Did you see what's in the bag?" Jatin queried while Roli shook her head. She didn't get the chance to see. Or rather Aryan wouldn't let her see. 

"Was that the dead body?" Jatin mumbled as he thought about it. 

"Dead body?". Roli was so stunned that even her tone was high. Only then Jatin realized that he said those words out loud. 

"I will tell you everything later. But, before that let me check something" Jatin realized that it's time for Roli to know about Aryan. Since she already met him, it wouldn't a good idea to still hide it from her.  

"You just stay here. I'll be right back" before Roli could speak, Jatin said those words and rushed to somewhere. 

Jatin hurriedly opened the cellar door. As expected, there was only one person in there. He was tied to a chair and still unconscious. 

The other person, whom Aryan claimed to have killed was missing. That meant Aryan had gone to bury his body. Jatin concluded. 

"Who is he?" Jatin heard Roli's voice and turned around in shock. 

"I told you to wait in the hall" Jatin stared at her. But, nothing was heard by Roli as she stood like a statue and watched the unconscious person. 

"Who's he? What is happening here?". Roli's eyes travelled across the room in shock. 

The room was dimly lit. There were different kinds of swords and daggers kept on a desk. There were a few more things that Roli couldn't understand what they were. And apart from the chair that the person was tied up to, there was another chair that had blood at some spots.  

"W..what are all these?" Roli's voice stammered as she witnessed all those things. 

"I will tell you, but first let's leave this room" Jatin knew Aryan wouldn't like someone entering his personal space. So, he convinced Roli and they both walked back to the hall.  

Although Roli reached the hall, her mind was still wandering in the cellar. 

"Would you please tell me at least now?" Roli literally lost her patience. "Who's the person? Why he is in the cellar?".  

"Aryan held him hostage" Jatin didn't know how to answer her questions. 

"Again Aryan? Who is Aryan now? Please don't tell me what Sid said that he is Aryan" Roli felt like her head is rolling with the mention of Aryan. 

"But, that's the truth, Roli. Sid is Aryan" Jatin stated. 

"What does that mean..."

"Sid is suffering from dissociative identity disorder" Jatin interrupted Roli. 

"W..what?!" Roli stammered. She had a vague knowledge about this disorder but knew nothing much about it. 

"It's a multiple personality disorder. Aryan is Sid's split personality" Jatin informed without getting into the details. But, by the looks of Roli, he realized that she understood what it meant.

"No.. It can't be true" Roli refused to believe as she shook her head. "Sid is fine. He never had any health issues". 

"He never lets others know his pain. But, this is the truth. He's been suffering since he was a kid" Jatin informed. 

Since he was a kid? How could she never know about it? Roli couldn't seem to believe it. 

"Even I got to know about it only when he was staying with me abroad. Due to an incident, Aryan was switched. He was too violent, a total contrast to Sid's calm personality. When I talked to Sid later, he didn't remember what he did. I was as shocked as you are right now. I searched on the internet to know what exactly was wrong with Sid. Then I got the doubt of him having a split personality. I tried to know more about it and that's how I ended up studying psychology and became a psychologist now".

By the words of Jatin, Roli realized that it might be true. Though, she still struggled to wrap her head around such revelation.  

Roli was speechless. She didn't know how to react at the moment. However, her mind quickly caught up on something. 

"You were saying something about a dead body a while ago. Then was that done..." 

"Aryan" Jatin answered even before she completed her query. 

"He.. killed a.. person?" Roli's heart sunk at his answer. Now, this was too hard to digest for her. 

"As I just said, Aryan is violent. Or to be more precise, he is a sociopath. He does everything as per his wish, regardless of the consequences. He would go to any extents to get what he wants" Jatin said. 

A sociopath? Roli shut her eyes tight as she tried hard to grasp the information. But, no matter how much she tried, she just couldn't understand how Sid would be having such a disorder. 

As far as she knew, he had everything to lead a happy and peaceful life. Then why the suffering? She couldn't comprehend.  

Finding her in a daze, Jatin explained, "I'm not trying to scare you, Roli. This is the truth which you should have known long ago. But, Sid wasn't ready to let you know. Perhaps he was scared of how you would react to the information. So, he never dared to say". 

Just then, the door to the entrance opened, leading Aryan into the hallway. He was still wearing the hoodie but there was no mask on his face. 

Jatin fell silent at his entry. While Roli watched him intently as he walked towards her. 

Stopping just a step away from her, Aryan looked at her and said, "by the look on your face, I assume that you got to know about me". 

Roli was taken aback at his words. The cold face he had back when she saw him in the parking lot was not there anymore. Instead, it was replaced with a quirky smirk that still gave her chills. 

"Do I still need to introduce myself?" Aryan spoke as casually as he could. 

Perhaps, because of what Jatin had told Roli about Aryan, his words still sounded terrifying to her. 

Roli watched him carefully as though she was trying to decipher a difficult code. Only then she was able to notice a mild difference between Sid and Aryan. 

Sid's eyes would have warmth in them. She could see an undying love and passion for her in his eyes when he looked into her eyes. 

At the moment, his eyes showed anything but warmth. There was a demonic look in those piercing eyes that could give chills to anyone. 

Even Roli could feel a shiver run down her spine as she looked into his eyes. Saying that she was in shock would be an understatement. She was beyond shocked. She was still in disbelief. 

If she had not experienced the harshness of Aryan and hadn't witnessed what was happening in the cellar, she wouldn't have even thought of believing what Jatin told her. 

If Aryan wasn't standing before her with an evil smirk on his lips and the devilish look in his eyes, she would have simply shoved off Jatin's words.  

However, there are no if's in life. And whatever she was witnessing was the truth. The unbelievable truth. 

Gathering all the courage she had, she slowly asked, "Did you... kill the person?". 

"Yes, I did" Aryan answered, instantly. There was no remorse in his words. As if killing a person was a casual thing to do. 

Roli shuddered at his response. And the way he admitted it with a straight face had left her speechless. 

"I'm going to have some rest now" Aryan said as he walked away, leaving Roli behind in a trance.