FF: The Beautiful and the Condemned (Completed) - Page 9

Varun had received a phone call from Tejawat early one morning. The sun was just beginning to peek above the horizon. He was asked to come to the haveli immediately for some important work. Without question, Varun obeyed and arrived a few minutes after hanging up the phone. There was an unusual silence that surrounded him as he entered the home. It was abnormal for a business morning. Usually, thakur-sa's men were running around the house with papers that needed Tejawat's signatures, or helping up keep the place in its pristine condition. But today, it was desolate. He thought that maybe everyone was busy preparing the next set of shipments. But if they were, why did Tejawat call him to the haveli?

Varun had just entered the hallway when he stopped in his tracks. At the end of the hall he saw Tejawat standing angrily, his arms crossed over his chest. With him were three large men, his henchmen that did his dirty work. They were the three men that kept Tejawat's workers in line while they were selling and purchasing weapons. Varun had seen them beat men up just for looking at them funny. He gulped nervously, wondering why they were with Tejawat now. Varun slowly made his way forward, but stopped a few feet short in front of thakur-sa, unsure of what was about to happen.

He bowed and plastered a small smile on his face, "Thakur-sa, you called for me? How can I be of service?"

The next moment happened so fast. As he was about to stand upright again, Varun was punched in the stomach, causing the wind to be knocked out of him. He bent over and fell to the floor. One by one the three goons began beating Varun senseless. Being the weakling he was, Varun had no choice but to try to stay conscious while they beat him. There wasn't a place where he hadn't been hit. Before the stinging would set in in one spot, another man would pull him by his collar and knock him back down, resulting in a numbing sensation being sent in his body. He could feel the liquid red blood seep out of his cuts as the blows continued.

Finally, Tejawat's voice rang through the hall as the command was given, "That's enough. I need him conscious."

The henchmen stopped and stepped away, making way for their thakur. Varun slowly sat up on his knees and wiped his face with the sleeve of his white kurta. The blood smeared like paint on it. He didn't have the strength to stand up, so he remained on the ground. He looked up at Tejawat, who hovered over him like a bear about to attack. The evil, angered expression on the thakur's face was visible from his angle of sight. Varun opened his mouth to speak, but stopped seeing Tejawat halt him.

"I don't even want to hear your excuses," he said. "Because nothing will save you."

"What have I done?" Varun asked.

"The money you have been stealing from me."

Varun's eyes widened. Thakur-sa knew about the money. How? He had been only taking small amounts for so long, he didn't think anyone would notice. He had been doing it for three months now. He had watched others make mistakes and get caught, but he was careful at covering his tracks. But apparently not good enough. He just needed it, he didn't think it would come back to bite him in the butt. But it did. Tejawat found out about the stealing. Like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Varun's secret was out. The only difference was that his secret may cost him his life. There was no point in asking for forgiveness because Tejawat would never give it to him. He'd rather cut his own legs off than forgive someone who has betrayed him.

In a serious voice, Varun asked, "What must I do?"

Tejawat knelt down to look at him at eye level, "You're going to give it back. Every cent of it."

"But thakur-sa, I don't have it. I spent it on..."

"On? On what?"

Varun was silent.

"Oh...on your wedding? You are getting married right? To the Birpur woman...Parvati correct?"

"How...how did you-."

Tejawat smirked, "There is little I don't know about my men. Varun, you are not a strong man, but you are fairly smart. Let me ask you this. You stole from me for your marriage, but can a wedding happen when there is no bride?"

"...What did you do to Parvati?"

Tejawat pulled out his phone and showed him a picture of Parvati being held captive. Varun was dumbstruck as he gazed at the chained and gagged woman in the photo. He could see the fear in her as the glimmer of the tears in her eyes was visible.

He looked back at Tejawat, "Is...is she...?"

"She's alive for now," thakur-sa replied as he stood back up. "How long she lives will be determined by you."

"I will return all the money I took. Just give me some time. Please don't hurt her."

"Begging won't help your case. You have two weeks to repay me the 80 lakh you have taken. If you do I will release Parvati. If not, I will kill her and you."

"Two weeks?"

"Be grateful. I would've given you twenty-four hours, but I enjoy watching my victims squirm when they're under pressure. You have two weeks. Is that understood?"

Varun bowed his head, "Yes thakur-sa."

"Your love for this woman has made you weaker than you already are. It's a shame you didn't understand what I spent years teaching you," Tejawat turned his back and flicked his hand towards his henchmen. "Take him out of my sight."

And just like that, Varun was dragged out of the haveli by his arms and thrown outside the gate like a piece of trash. It took all his strength to stand up and make his way home. But the pain in on his body was nothing compared to what he was going through mentally. Tejawat had Parvati, and if he didn't return the money, she would be killed...and so would he. Two weeks. That's all he had. How was he going to come up with such a large amount in such short time?

Meanwhile, in Rudra's house, the rays of sunlight, which made their way through the clouds that were rolling in, were reflecting in through the window. Rudra was already awake and freshly dressed in jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black hooded sweater. In his hand was a small plate with food, not for him, but for the prisoner trapped beneath his residence. Almost robotically, he removed the rug and made his way down to the cellar, where he found Parvati asleep on the ground in fetal position. He turned the lights on. He stopped in front of her and knelt down. Rudra placed the food on the ground next to him as he turned his attention to Parvati.

It seemed that she only found solace in sleep. The peacefulness etched on Parvati's face as she slept had the ability to calm the atmosphere around her. For some reason he wanted to move the strands of hair that were obstructing his examination of her face. This calmness was something never experienced by Rudra, especially not in the room that was specially reserved for his tortures and killings. But here it was before him...calmness and serenity...and it was just because Parvati was sleeping? Rudra's hardened expression hadn't changed, but something foreign to him had entered in his veins. He could feel it, and he didn't like it. To prevent it from invading it any further, he decided to wake Parvati up, knowing that this unknown feeling would disappear the minute he saw her fear.

Rudra pushed her by her shoulder, "Wake up."

She shifted back in place and continued sleeping.

Rudra shoved her a little harder and ordered, "Parvati, wake up. Now."

Parvati scrunched her face and slowly opened her eyes. The blurry vision before her cleared to reveal, what she thought, had been a horrible nightmare. She saw him kneeling down in front of her, his intense glare meeting her surprised gaze. She sat up and looked around as she remembered where she was. It was a nightmare, it was real. Parvati's eyes grew wide as they looked back at her captor. She recalled how he had roughly grabbed her yesterday, practically yanking half of her hair out. The coldness in his voice, the emptiness in his eyes, she remembered it all. She was this man's prisoner, and until she was free she was at his mercy. Her gaze went to the plate of food between them.

"Eat," he commanded.

Her eyes locked with his. Rudra watched the fear take a backseat as a new emotion took center stage. In all his years of being an executioner, he had never seen the emotion Parvati was displaying in any of his prisoners. Her hazel eyes became clouded with defiance. She was ready to fight him. Fool, he thought. If she was ready to fight the jallad then so be it, but she better be prepared for the consequences of such an act.

"Eat," he repeated.

"Why?" she retorted. "Have you poisoned it? Are you planning to kill me?"

"My orders are to keep you alive."

"Orders? From who?"

He held the plate in front of her, "Stop talking and eat."

Parvati smacked it from his hands, causing the contents to go flying, "No. I won't eat."

"Then starve," he answered loudly. "I don't care! You're only hurting yourself! Don't expect me to feed you. You're just adding to the suffering you going to have while you're here."

"Who are you? Why am I here?"

Parvati was unaware of how much she was provoking his anger. The more questions she asked, the more his temper grew. She continued to repeat the questions for a good two minutes straight, when Rudra finally had enough. He grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her back against the concrete wall. The thud resounded the hollow chamber. Parvati stared into the man's black as night eyes. Within them, there was a spark, which ignited the fire of rage in him. His nostrils flared as he huffed and puffed loudly.

Then he spoke in a dark voice that sent chills down her spine, "If you don't want to eat, then fine. Don't. If you want to starve to death than you are welcome to do so. But as long as you are here, you will remain silent. Speak only when you are spoken to or else I will make sure that you will never be able to speak again."

Rudra released her. Parvati's hands dropped down to her sides as she scooted as far back from him as possible. As he got up, he heard her faintly whisper the word jallad'. Rudra knew she was addressing him. Regardless, he ignored her and he stood up and went to pick up the plate Parvati had pushed out of his hand along with the scraps of food. If she didn't want to eat, he was going to make sure there wasn't a single crumb around her. While he did so, Rudra decided to answer the question that was gnawing at her.

"The reason you are in here," he began. "Is because of your fiance, Varun Kumar."

She stared at him astonished. She felt somewhat vulnerable and exposed. Parvati barely knew who this man was, yet he seemed to know a great deal about her. This jallad was holding her captive...because of Varun?

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