#2 Arshi FF - Sealed With Your Kiss/Chapter 41&42/(Pg-86&87)/U - Page 29

Chapter 28

Land Of The Demons

I was terrified of the dark;

So the darkness I became.

I was scared of my own demons,

So I learned them all by name.

I was fearful of the monsters,

So I became a monster too.

I was frightened by a ghost haunting me,

Until I found out it was you.

~ We all have our demons. I just choose to feed mine. ~

Samantha had been poleaxed when Arnav asked her to kiss him. "What", she had watched him goggle eyed, astonished at his command. Never once Arnav had asked her to take the initiative during the time she had been his mistress. She had very well known her limits. Her role in his life had been more of a henchwoman then his mistress.

She loved her job and even if it came with the title of being Arnav Singh Raizada's wh**e, she had no qualms...

He had saved her from a life of misery, rescued her from a powerful Mafioso's prison and even if she paid him with her life it wasn't enough. She had been faithful to him and in return he had always trusted her and had never raised a single finger on her judgment...

Samantha was proud of the fact that she was a great observer of character and this ability of hers she had used profoundly in spying on Khushi and passing the details of her daily life to Arnav...

Only she and Arnav knew that behind the plan of Sashi Gupta's ruin, it had not been his revenge only but hers too...

Sashi Gupta had been the one to snatch her from her family and among other girls he had sold her to that Mafioso...

She had always been a gentle and well bred young girl and even the long mental and physical abuse she had suffered at the hands of her Mafioso captor hadn't made her bitter or devoid of humanity...

A part of her heart had been against Arnav's idea of using Khushi Gupta as a pawn in his game of revenge, but she hadn't had the courage to stop him after the way she had seen him burning all these years in the quest to bring Sashi Gupta to the altar of justice . In the five years she had been his mistress she had felt his pain, but had never seen him showing his anger, had known his bitterness but not even once he had lost his cool not even while they had sex.

There was no doubt that the physical part of their relationship had been amazing, but only from her side. She had been the one to feel the love, the passion and the satisfaction. He had never once dropped his mask, while they had sex. Without removing his clothes, like a programmed robot, he had touched her, moved with her. But his eyes had always been blank and his face had looked as if carved from stone, passionless, lifeless...

Five years and she hadn't been able to put a chink in his armor, whereas Sashi Gupta's daughter had started to smash through the defensive walls that he had built strongly around his heart. Samantha had started to notice the changes and it had astonished her as well as made her a little jealous to know that what she hadn't been able to achieve with her pure and gentle ways Khushi had attained with her brash, manipulative and bitchy ways...

Arnav was beginning to show a myriad of emotions ranging from anger to passion and from passion to obsession. He cared about Khushi even if he showed he didn't. He would always unconsciously bring Khushi in their conversations and Samantha had known then that she had lost him forever. With a heavy but dignified heart she had asked him not to have sex with her any more as she wasn't obligated to be his mistress and it would greatly hurt her pride if he came to her after having sex with Khushi. He had respected her decision and their relationship had gone back to being professional only...

So when he had come to her in the middle of night at her apartment that he had rented for her in a posh area of Mumbai, Sam had been really surprised. He had asked to prepare the spare room for him to sleep in. Many questions had been dancing in her mind, but she hadn't had the courage to ask him.

On the other hand he didn't look to be in a good mood, so she bit back her tongue and quietly made his bed in the second bedroom. Next morning his mood had been quite normal and on the breakfast table he had asked her to drop her to his villa in her red Porsche but nothing strange had been there on his face to satisfy her suspicions about his suddenly changed mood...

But soon she came to know the reason behind his asking of her to accompany him to his villa. As she maneuvered her red Porsche on the long driveway, she caught sight of a girl standing at the balcony and at once recognized her to be Khushi. Her bright red frock was fluttering like a warning flag in the breeze, the only sign of movement about her still frame, as she stared at the car over the balcony. At this far Samantha couldn't see Khushi's expression but she could feel a chill passing through her spine at seeing the eerie stillness of Khushi's slight frame.

Sam's sixth sense had always been top notch. Whenever something bad would be about to happen a strange warning shiver would pass through her body. And this time too the dangerous premonition had hit her badly that something bad was going to happen soon. But how soon...her sixth sense wasn't able to judge that far in future...

Arnav must have seen Khushi standing on the balcony as well, hence his request of a kiss. Samantha hesitated but the stubborn expression on his face made her sigh and put her arms around his neck. She knew he wasn't going to budge without kissing her, so she leaned into him and put her lips against his cold ones. His response dampened her spirit a notch more. He moved his lips against her as if he was forcing himself to respond when he didn't want to...

A shattering sound from above the balcony startled her. Arnav smiled against her lips and grimacing, Sam broke off the kiss to look at his triumphant face with censor in her eyes. She knew he was doing it purposefully and she strongly condoned his behavior but she hadn't got the right to stop him from doing whatever he was doing to hurt Khushi. "You are both destroying yourself and her...but on your own head be it...who am I to give you any advice, she shook her head exasperatedly, then putting on a cheerful act of saying goodbye she got into her car and waving, drove off in a screech of car tires...

Double standard...hypocrite, Khushi was still seething with fury as she made her way to the dining room. But most of her rage had been controlled behind an icy mask which she had put on after her breakdown in the bathroom. She put a smile on her face which didn't quite match the icy fury in her red rimmed eyes. Her body ached as if someone had beaten her brutally, her throat was sore and felt as if she had eaten sawdust for lunch...

He is not going to know...he won't know...he shouldn't, she chanted it like a mantra in her head as she entered the dining room. The bas***d was sitting at the head of the table, eating his dinner calmly, as if he hadn't got any worry in the world. As she dragged a chair for herself, he lifted his head from his dinner and surveyed her coolly, then as if finding nothing out of the ordinary dropped his gaze back to his bowl of soup, ignoring her altogether...

It pinched, the intentional dismissal. Although she had taken great care in choosing a magenta colored dress which highlighted her hazel eyes, light brown hair and brought a glowing color to her already fair skin...

She knew she looked beautiful, the bathroom mirror had told her that, but here he was even looking at her after the first glance. Wait a little handsome...I have still got the best trick in my reticule...saved for the night...and you won't even know what have hit you, she thought smiling mentally...

The dinner was finished in silence, with her throwing little irritated glances at him over her bowl of soup. During the whole time that she had dinner she had found him to be engrossed with his cell phone or acting to be occupied, she was sure of it. He hadn't looked at her way after the first cursory glance...

Maybe he saw me on the balcony and kissed that girl purposefully and his ignoring now is all an act, that suspicious thought had hit her mind and it was a fact that her suspicions had always been found to be two hundred percent correct...

"Where were you this morning? she asked innocently and as his head snapped upwards to look at her with irritation she knew that this time she had hit the right nail. "As if you don't know, he snorted, rolling his eyes derisively. "Nope, I don't really, she returned, maintaining the innocent look on her face. His eyes narrowed. Don't lie to me, I saw you on the balcony, they seemed to be saying. But she kept her look blank, her face devoid of any expression...

If he was trying to make her jealous then he would fail in his attempt to do so, she would make sure of it. He didn't know that childish she maybe but she wasn't a vulnerable kid whom he could defeat easily...

He had forgotten one thing that she had the ability to see through a man's intentions. She could read men like a book and if she couldn't find the content interesting they would be read and then discarded...

Arnav Singh Raizada had been the only man lucky enough on earth to win her attention...

And that thought made her irritated as hell...

"No...no more...please stop it, he was crying, begging infront of the monsters. But they didn't stop their sick game of tossing his mother and sister in the air, then catching them amid a cacophony of catcalls and wolf whistles. Blood coated their hands, dripped from their mouths as they tear each piece off the women's body with their jagged, sharp metallic teeth. The sound of agonized screams pierced his heart and the heavy breaths and cackling laughter of the monsters echoed in his ears. He felt as if his head would burst with the pain, but he couldn't close his eyes, the tears freezing in his dilated pupils, pinching the tear ducts, instead of rolling down his cheeks.

He opened his mouth and screamed, but the only screams that he could heard were inside his head, his chest strained, lungs bulged with the effort, but not a single word could be uttered from his mouth, his tongue seemed to stuck itself to the roof of his mouth and his hands were tied with a long silken rope that refused to loosen however much he tried to unbind himself...

"Please...stop it...leave them alone...kill me instead, he moaned, the sobs wrecking his tiny frame, his hands clasped together infront of them...

But the monsters didn't pay any heed to his begging and continued with their vile acts...

The scene faded as he fell down a black hole...

"Come on boy, where are you running to, a monster was chasing him through a dark alley. His lungs were on fire, a stitch was stinging beneath his right rib, but still he ran, the adrenaline pumping through his tiny legs...

"Come on...come on boy...I'll give you a lot of money...you just have to make me happy...just a little happy and the money is yours, the monster said cajolingly.

The boy found a an overflowing dumpster nearby and ducked behind it, his heart beating erratically, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed fearfully. The smell of rotten dump made him sick, but the thought of being caught by the monster who was chasing him made him cower and he slithered closer to the dumpster...

"Tada found you chicken, suddenly a light fell on the boy's face, a hand fell on his back, an arm like steel went around his neck and dragged him out from his hiding place. A hard hand was clapped across his mouth, halting his screams before they could escape in the quiet of the night...

Out came the ugly face, scarred, monstrous, it's hot stinking breath stinging his face. The boy stared at him, the fear and panic evident from his teary-eyed gaze. "Please don't hurt me, he sobbed. The monster opened his mouth to laugh, rows and rows of his teeth were rotten and the gore was running out of his mouth, dripping from his lips...

As it hit the boy's face, he opened his mouth and screamed...

Khushi hesitated infront of Arnav's bedroom door. She had donned a black negligee to seduce Arnav as she had planned this morning. The challenge of making him surrender then marry her as quickly as possible had been accepted by her in a reckless fit of rage. She had thought it would be easy to break his iron control as he had accepted it himself that he was addicted to her...

But it was proving to be quite difficult and this morning, the kiss had only made her harden her resolve to defeat him at any cost...

And now she was at his door, wearing the stupid negligee and makeup, the great seducer of men Khushi Kumari Gupta had no idea what to do. As she stood there shuffling her toes and chewing her lips nervously, she heard a faint noise from inside Arnav's bedroon, except it was more of a painful moan then a noise. Just like a child crying...

Hesitating, she lifted a hand to knock on the door then withdrew it. The noise came again, stronger this time. Alarmed Khushi shoved at the door. Surprisingly it wasn't closed and the force of the push carried her inside. She stumbled cursing and almost falling on her face. Just then the moan came again, breaking into a sob and her head snapped towards the direction of the noise. What she saw made her heart leap into her throat...

"Arnav, she shouted, leaping towards the bed. The bed clothes had been twisted all around him, perspiration was glinting on his bare back and face. His eyes were scrunched closed, as if he was in deep agony, his fingers fisting around the bed sheet, the knuckles gleaming white in the lamp light. "Please no...stop it...leave me...I beg you, he was crying, the broken sobbing of a child and something shattered inside Khushi. It was the first time she was seeing him like this, vulnerable, weak, showing the real him, the wounded child, that he was always carrying inside him...

"Wake up Arnav...please wake up, she shook him, having no idea how to control his thrashing. "Get away from me...you monster. "Arnav, she sobbed in panic, shaking him firmly as he started to kick and beat a nameless faceless demon from his nightmare...

"Arnav, she shouted, delivering a little slap to his face. He woke at once, his eyes stared blankly at her then he scrambled backwards, cowering against the headboard. "Don't hit me, he moaned still in the grip of his nightmare, his eyes feverish, sweat and tears running like rivulets on his pale face. "Please, he clasped his hands infront of her, begging, looking like the child he must have been once, defenseless, hurt, alone...

It was her father's doing, he was like this because of him...

Khushi choked staggering backwards, a hand clamped tightly across her mouth to hold back her sobs...

Wide-eyed she stood staring at his trembling body and bowed head for a long time, at a loss on how to comfort him, her brain too numb to think properly. "Seen enough?, his hoarse query brought her out of her stupefied state. His body wasn't trembling anymore, his head was no longer bowed and his eyes were staring coldly at her. Such was the cold censor in them that she was surprised that she hadn't frozen to death on the spot...

He had recovered, but the pallor of his face said otherwise. He looked exhausted, weary and she knew he hated her at that particular moment, because she had accidently seen him in his vulnerable and he would hate to look weak infront of her...

"I...I...just came...t...to...take my nail polish, she answered, feeling foolish at once. "Lying again...Khushi Kumari Gupta...but that's what you always do, he sneered, getting up from the bed. "Arnav, she surged towards him, as he staggered before holding himself upright by putting a hand against the wall...

"Don't, he said in a harsh tone, putting out his other hand to warn her off from coming closer...

Her face paled at his rejection then anger came surging to the front at his unfairness. "You lie to me all the time...hiding yourself...not telling me anything, her tone was accusatory.

Arnav stared at her coldly for a moment, then his face went wiped clean off every expression save menace. The dilated eyes that had turned from hazel to a coal black, the unholy grin that broke over his face caused Khushi to back off fearfully, cursing her provoking tongue. He had been angry in the past, but never had she ever seen him to be this menacing as if he would cut her into little pieces and feed them to the dogs. The child was gone and in its place was the monster made by her father's own hands. "You want me to tell you my secrets, he took a threatening step towards her. Khushi stumbled falling painfully on her back.

"Don't you dare threaten me Arnav Singh Raizada, she tried to put a brave front but she knew it showed on her face that she was panicking. As she scrambled backwards he chuckled circling her like a vulture. "I am not threatening...am I. She had no idea that he was maneuvering her in a corner until her back hit against the wall. She tried to move sideways, but his hands moved like lightning, landing on her shoulders.

Whoof, air whooshed through her lungs as he slammed her painfully against the wall. "You are not moving until you listen to everything that you think I am hiding from you, he threatened. She knew whatever he was going to say would mark her for life. She had thought of it as a game every time she had provoked him in the past but right now she knew she had committed the biggest mistake of her life. This was not a game anymore.

"I don't want to listen to anything...please let me go Arnav, she begged trying to push him away. He locked a hand in her hair, tugging it backwards so he could sneer into her face.

"You bitch...you are going to listen to every word that I am going to say today...I've had enough of your games, he gave a ruthless tug at her hair and she gasped, clenching her teeth at the pain that hit her straining neck. "If you are dying to know my secrets...then why I should be the one to burn alone by my nightmares?. Why I shouldn't share the hell with you?, he bared his teeth. Khushi could feel the pain in his voice, the hurt that he was trying to hide. "No...don't, she raised a hand, placing her palm against his cheek. He stiffened, then knocked her hand aside. "Nothing is going to stop me today, he grasped her cheeks in a brutal grip, while one hand still remained locked in her hair, arching her backwards.

"You want to know what I see in my nightmares, he began ruthlessly. "No...I don't, she tried to move her head aside but in vain. "Your father, his men and all the other people who destroyed my life...like this...just like this I was unable to move, he gave a painful tug at her hair to indicate.

"Please stop, she stared wide-eyed, tears were beginning to form in her eyes. "I asked the same thing...I begged them to stop but whenever I closed my eyes they forced me to open them and watch..., his voice broke as he punched the wall above her head. Khushi jumped, her heart beating like a nervous bird in a cage...

"Forced me to watch my mother and sister being gang raped, he punched the wall again and again, rending his fury against Sashi Gupta whose daughter stood trembling, trapped between the wall and his anger. Her chest heaving with fear, her sobs choking in her throat, her eyes refusing to close, staring fixedly into his agonized face...

"Forced a child to watch the most heinous crime on earth, he shouted, punching the wall again, the loose plaster fell, smeared with the blood that had started to run down his split knuckles.

"Please stop it...you are hurting yourself, Khushi sobbed cradling his injured hand between her palms. "Stop showing your fake concern. He roared pulling at her hair once before pushing her away from him...

As she tried to move towards him again, he seemed to gather himself. Taking a deep breath he surged towards her again and she plastered herself against the wall. "You want to know the next part of my nightmare, his lips were pulled into a sneer, but his eyes were glassy with pain. A sense of desolation hit her and she pushed at his chest, but he was like the rock of Gibraltar, refusing to budge. Putting his palms flat above her head he caged her between his arms...

"I was trying to put my life together after your daddy dearest destroyed it when I met this man who offered me some money in exchange for some favors...little did I know that he was a child molester...he molested me then left me to bleed to death in the dumpster. "I don't want to listen to this anymore...please don't make me I am begging you, she clamped her hands against her ears, shaking her head in distress.

"There is still the best part of the secret left and you are already chickening out, he jeered forcing her hands away from her ears. "How could you say that, she stared at him aghast. "Easily...my suffering would remain in the nightmares...but won't move in the waking life but you...you won't be able to sleep now...that's my gift for you...the consequences of knowing my secret...now you share the same hell as me, he whispered in her ear...

Khushi belched, feeling nauseous all of a sudden. As she shoved at his chest...this time he let her go easily. His demonic laughter followed her as she stumbled her way to the bathroom, then almost falling on the pot she vomited, until tears ran down her eyes, water poured out from her nose and her stomach felt as if it would come out of her throat...

As she came out of the bathroom wiping her mouth, she saw him standing in the same place as she had left him, but now a handkerchief was wrapped around his injured hand...

He didn't say anything as he stared mercilessly at her pale demeanor but when she began to walk towards the door he blocked her path by moving to stand infront of her. "Where are you going princess...didn't you come here to seduce me?, his voice was taunting. "Get away...I am not in the mood, she answered wearily, trying to shove him aside. "Nah...it's not fair princess...you came here...wearing this sexy negligee..with the sole purpose of seducing me...and now you are going without doing anything...tut..tut...already accepting defeat, he cocked his head aside, one arrogant brow raised in query...

"I haven't accepted defeat...I am just not in the mood to seduce your socks off you, she replied nastily, anger coming to her rescue. "Ah...and here comes our Khushi back with a bang, he gave a short barking laugh.

"Get out of my way, she shoved at his chest angrily but he held her hands, trapping them against his bare chest then as she stared wildly at him he used them as a leverage to pull her towards him. In one instant she was trying to struggle free of his grip and in the next instant she was pulling him into her body, her hands clasping his bare back. Their mouths suffused together, lips moving in a violence of need...

It was a stark and brutal kiss, a dark duel, devoid of any passion where each one of them exerted to show their mastery over one another...

As Khushi shoved her tongue in Arnav's mouth he stiffened in her arms. The next second had him pushing her away so forcefully that she fell down on the bed. "Your job is done...now you can leave, he ordered chillingly...

"No it's not...you can't ignore me after this, she spread a hand despairingly...

"No...I don't need you...I don't need anyone...leave Khushi...just get out, he slashed a hand in the air to emphasize his point. The color still hadn't been restored to his face. It was still pale and now tiny drops of perspiration were beginning to appear on his forehead. "I said get out Khushi, his tone was weary and wasn't filled with the earlier threat...

Moving off the bed with a sigh she headed towards the door. "Khushi, Arnav's choking voice came from behind and a weird sensation hit her ribs as if something had plunged a knife in her heart...

"Arnav, with a cry of distress she turned around to find him swaying on his feet then even before she could move forward he staggered backwards, almost sliding down the wall to land with a thud on the floor, a hand clutched to his chest. "No...Arnav, Khushi leapt towards him, the sense of panic almost causing her a heart attack...

"My...my...shirt...pocket, he choked on the words, a trembling hand pointing towards his shirt which was lying nearby on the chair. Sobbing with fright, falling, skidding on the floor as her knees gave way beneath her, she crawled towards the shirt and snatching it off brought it back to him. "God...Arnav...please don't scare me, she cried as he started to pant, his eyes closed, perspiration running like rivulets down his temples and neck...

"The...the...in...ha...ler, he whispered in a stifled voice. "Okay...okay...I am finding...it...but don't you dare faint on me...I swear I'll beat your ass black and blue if you did that, she shook him, sobbing, feeling faint herself. Tugging at the shirt with desperate fingers, madly foraging inside the front pocket, she took out the intended object, then putting it in his shaking hands helped him spray it inside his mouth...

Only a few bursts of inhaler, and she could already feel the ruddy hue returning to his face...

"Shhh...it's okay...it's okay, she smoothed his perspiration slicked hair away from his forehead as he leaned heavily over her shoulder, soothing him as if someone would to a sick child...

His eyes were closed, the long lashes quivering, casting long shadows over his cheekbones, the pale skin showing signs of exhaustion. "You gave me a fright...don't you dare do that ever again, she put her arms around him, enclosing him in an embrace. He didn't resist, to put in simply he hadn't had the strength to protest...

The time stood still. Khushi had no idea how long they both remained seated with Arnav's face buried in her shoulder and she didn't give a damn in the world if they were to sit like this forever...

It was wrong of her to take advantage of his weakness but she had no choice, she consoled herself. Infact he hadn't left her with any choice. If she could get to him like this, it won't be long when the walls that he had built around his heart would crumble...

In a way she wasn't lying to him or pretending to care for him, even if she had her nefarious reasons for doing so. She had no need to act or pretend. Whatever she felt for him was true, only the circumstances were wrong...

If she didn't want to lose her sanity, sooner or later she had to get out of the mess that her life had become. She was too headstrong, too stubborn and too independent to sell her self-respect for a relationship that had no future...

Love, care those feelings were out of the equation. The nave side of her had yearned for them once but the men of this world had soon taught her a harsh lesson and now she knew that those feelings didn't exist and even if they did exist they wouldn't be able to buy her the independence that she had always dreamt of about.

Financial security was everything and she had to have it in every way she could get. Even if that would make her selfish and cruel, then so be it. She had nobody to prove herself to. She was Khushi, the one who was answerable to no one. Who did what she thought was right for her...

And she had no qualms in squeezing the money out of Arnav Singh Raizada. The sense of doing something wrong, the little pangs of guilt that she had started to feel every other day had to be crushed...

Guilt had no place in her plans for her future...

She had never been the righteous one and she wouldn't begin to turn into one after she had come to care for him...

His asthma attack had come on the right time. It had given her the idea and she had finally come to the realization that she just had to care for him to succeed in her plan...

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