Chapter-2

Author's Pov

Amit heard the door slam close, yet he couldn't deviate his eyes away from the wall

A particular photo frame of him and his dear wife

His drunk eyes lingered around Chandni almost too long than they should have, he knew what he did was wrong! He shouldn't have said this to his daughter

picking up the picture, he tenderly grazed his fingers across her face

Her beautiful smile that was formed on her lips and her shining grey eyes...

his daughter was indeed a replica of her...his Chandni yet every time he thought about her he felt a gruesome pain in his heart

a tear left his eyes which dropped on the picture as he said looking deep into her eyes with pain

" Why? Why Chandni? Why did this happen to us? What did my daughter and I ever do to deserve this?"

and he closed his eyes shedding more tears which landed on the happy face of his long-gone wife....

_______________

The Next Day

It was morning

busy fixing her school bow on her ponytail, she carried her bag as she rushed outside

looking at the watch, she made her way downstairs when suddenly

she was met by the figure of her father, seated near the dining table

on seeing her arriving, he quickly folded up the newspaper he was reading and instantly rose from his seat

" B-Beta, I am Sorry for.....last night," Amit said, a hint of nervousness and anxiety in his voice as he apologized

Picking up the toast from the table Shivangi took a bite and looked at him, munching on her toast

when realization hit her! he was waiting for her response! as he stood there looking at her in silence, Shivangi responded

" It's fine Papa, you know I don't take things to heart......and I understand you must be in some stress or else you would have never said that to me....I forgive you"

she wasn't mad at him, she might have been hurt...a little hurt to say the least by what he said but she knew very well her father didn't mean it, and his apology this morning was a testament to her belief

moving towards him, she quickly engulfed him in a hug....a smile came on her face when she felt her father respond back

he was quite taken aback as he expected her to be angry but he was happy seeing her daughter's maturity as he kissed her on the top of her head and continued apologetically

" I am so sorry beta, you don't know how worried I was the whole night.... but I am glad you aren't mad at me"

which made Shivangi laugh as she said

" Why would I be Papa? I love you so much and you also know na I can't stay angry at you for too long.........but Papa, I wanted to ask"

tightening her hands around him, she lifted her head up, straight, looking into her father's eyes as she continued gulping

" D-did you really mean it......what you said yesterday?" she questioned softly, not meeting his eyes for some reason she felt anxious asking him this question, but Amit instantly denied

" No dear! Not at all, Who told you this?

I-It's just.....I-I was drunk.....last night

And so many things were going on inside my head.... that I-I didn't even know what I said before I spoke them out loud"

Grabbing her cheeks, he softly lifted her head up, he made her look at him....

" But trust me dear....You are a beautiful dancer, a-and I am not saying this for the sake of telling you, but because you are a wonderful dancer, my dear! Even better than your mothers!"

And that made Shivangi break into laughter, as she couldn't just hold it in anymore.....seeing his daughter laugh he felt somewhat relieved and lighthearted, a small smile broke onto his face

" Oh, Papa....Please, as if you didn't fall in love with her because of her dancing....." Shivangi said looking at his sweet yet nervous face amidst laughing

Her Papa was just too cute!

" It's true....but your dance, it has a different aura, my dear... a different level of serenity and beauty.... one that can only be looked at from afar and appreciated......and that too admired by the one who truly had the knowledge and respect for art...." Her father said sincerely

" Okay, Okay Papa...I get it but I would have to leave now or else I'll get late! But don't forget this weekend my intercultural folk dance performance! I am leaving Papa, Bye! Love you!!!"

And saying that she rushed outside, riding her pink bicycle with a wide smile on her face,

______________

On the other hand

Loud sounds of a piano playing came through a room as it filled the whole penthouse

A man was seated alone in the room, his back facing the door as he sat in front of a big piano

It was morning time yet the rooms were covered with curtains and utter darkness

the only source of light.... was a single candle lit across the room near the nightstand

With such intensity was the music played..... it was slow and painful..... like a grieving man which reflected through every key he pressed

A grief so miserable.....enough to make a man suffer.... enough to make a man mad to death, yet wouldn't get one

that's how he was and that's what he ever got in his life..... his life was a big black hole of forever loneliness and misery

The misery of an orphan

Striking the last key, Ansh stopped as his fingers rested on the keys ever so softly

His bicep shined in the gloomy light of a candle, his eyes streaked in light as he stayed there for longer

there was something about music that made his fucked up mind so calm, he couldn't imagine a day starting without the music of his piano....it kept him sane

it made him forget about his life in a pit full of loneliness....... his past worse than that of dog's

Getting out of his room, he stretched in the night suit he had worn last night only to be met with utter darkness

that's how his life was.....and even though sad enough that's how it will ever be

Nobody knows and nobody will....ever

Moving towards the kitchen, he picked up his coffee mug from the counter while the maid was busy preparing breakfast for him,

He had only taken a sip when suddenly he heard the sound of a bell rang on his door

" Baby....Please c-come out, I-I miss you please"

Ansh got irritated on hearing the pleads, this was not how he liked his mornings....certainly not with a disturbance like her

"L-Listen i-if you do not open the door then I-"

When suddenly the door was opened, graced by his very presence Maya's eyes widened

His night dress clung to his body like a glove around his buffed body, showing off his hard-worked muscles, his chiseled jaw clenched as his lifeless black eyes looked straight at her

" What will you do?"

"H-Huh?" Maya was taken aback by his question

" I asked, What will you do-?"

" I-I...." Maya tried to retort back, still half dazed in his body

" What? That's all you got? I knew you would be capable of nothing Maya, I had expectations...Even from a slut like you"

he said the latter quite low for her to hear as he looked at her with disgust

" N-No, I really-" But before she could complete ansh cut him off

"What? Love? you don't love me, Maya....

it was a very short time we spent together for you to decipher it as love..... In fact I am incapable of being loved

Because I am a defiled sinner just like you..."

"W-What?" Maya's eyes widened as she couldn't understand a single thing he said

A smirk came on Ansh's face, crossing his arm in front of her as he asked

"Are you a virgin?"

"H-Huh?" Maya moved her face towards him, they literally had a one-night stand a few days ago and it wasn't like she was a virgin before him, what was he trying to do she didn't understand

"I asked, if you are a virgin-" His voice brimmed again bringing her back from her thoughts as she said

"Of course not! I am not a virgi-"

"That means you are defiled, just like me and you have no right to live....." He said calmly at this point Maya became very angry and amused as she screamed

"What??"

When suddenly she saw him chuckle, slowly his chuckles increased to waves of laughter as she stood there looking at him perplexed

"So Naive, so naive of you Maya.....Come, let me show you"

He said bringing her inside, as she stood near the door of his room..... he brought a piece of paper, a fresh neat paper from his drawer as he stood close to her

"You see this paper.....this was how you were when you were young," He said

Maya looked at him with deep interest as he continued

"But slowly-slowly, you got to know this world.....you learned how to do makeup, you learned how to lie to your parents, you learned how to flirt with random guys..."

He kept tearing a piece of paper, piece by piece as he continued

"Finally when you became an adult... you wished to earn money but with your grades and IQ being too low you chose another path......a path of self-destruction

You slept with a director to get a role in a movie.....that's how you chose to climb up your ladder" He tore a big piece of paper

"When you became fed up of directors and became a star you changed your path to selfishness, sleeping around with politicians and CEOs it was fine till there as well.....but then

You passed across me, your next target...."

And with that he tore up the last piece of paper and threw it, making the pieces fly as they filled the room

Maya stood there numb as she couldn't believe her mind,

How did he know?

He started to take slow steps toward her. She took a step back, trembling as she looked at him

He looked nothing like the man she met a few days ago, nothing his handsome face now looked like that off a devil and for some reason she couldn't help but feel more scared of him

"What makes you think a dignified man would even think of looking at you, a woman so defiled, a woman with a rotten character..... you still think you have a chance"

Her eyes widened listening to him....fearing she skipped a step behind making her slip and fall on her ass

but still, she couldn't find herself deviating her eyes from him, his black eyes as if having captivated her.... they were hollow from inside and she couldn't help but wonder if he was even alive. How could he have nothing in his eyes....not a single emotion

he bent down to her level, grabbing her cheeks roughly as her wobbly lips puckered while her whole body trembled like a leaf

he shifted her face from him to the maid outside working in the kitchen, as her back faced them

"Look at her, you know she has been my maid for 6 years now, yet I had never for seen her look up at me, look into my eyes and you know why?

Because her everything revolves around her husband and kids? Because she knows how the world is and she fears her man would leave her if she dared look at a stranger.....women like you are her nightmares

Always ready to steal someone's man, women like you have no souls inside then how can you call yourself a human?"

"S-Stop it! Y-You psycho.... if I had known you would be like this, I would have never approached y-" Maya tried to fight as tears came in her eyes hearing his words

When suddenly he leaned towards her ear, as his breaths collide with the skin of her ear bringing goosebumps and she became numb

He whispered

" It's too late Maya, but Remember one thing-

In this world, there are two types of men, one like me and the other like my maid's husband

and for all you know, none of them would want you because you.....are a mistake"

"S-Stop it! I-I'll slit my wrist and kill myself if it's true!..... y-you are lying! People respect me! they love me! T-They love my movies an-" Maya argued half hiccuping half crying

she had never felt so uncomfortable and worthless ever in her life, as this man tried to make her feel today

She never felt ashamed, heck even when she had graduated and had no work to do!

Everybody loved her, respected her , or at least that's what she thought and her eyes widened at her self-doubt

She was never like this, this man was making her believe what he sai- when again her thoughts were brought to a halt by his voice

"They don't love you, Maya....that's where you are deceived!..... they just like the idea of you....but once your secret's out, you will be as good as those pieces of paper...."

And he laughed losing his grip, and she quickly ran away, as far away as she could just to escape him

Ansh rose up as he looked her run, a smirk came on his face

'Run, run as far away from me....so far that next time you wouldn't even wish to cross my shadow'

And he chuckled, that's what he craved to see!

Fear! In his victims' eyes as he entrapped them in his manipulation,

and this wasn't even a little of the manipulation he did

He was simply being honest, an honest man in this world filled with liers like her, and so many like her

The only difference between a lier and a rich lier was very little, just that the latter had power and money to keep his lies safely tucked underneath his pillow

Everyone's a liar in this world...even his bhaiya and as much as he loved him and his children

there were two things he absolutely loathed

One, Liars and second, thinking about his own Family

He hated the idea of family, it sounded so foreign and almost too revolting to him that it always felt like a punch in his face

and in return, he always felt like killing someone

Killing made him sane but what could not pleasure him more was manipulation, seeing his victims' world completely rip apart as realization dawn them, thanks to his mere words was his favorite part-time job

it pleasured him to an extent unknown to him too, he knew he manipulated her with his words, not enough to kill her

Yet enough to bug her every day in her life, bring nightmares, his words would stay like a parasite in her mind and nothing made him feel more contented than think about her restlessness!

That's how he was! That is how his world worked....

He was the sole inhabitant of his world and would ever be...

He felt all of a sudden energized! and he was about to make his way to the bathroom when suddenly his phone rang,

He swiped on his phone, to see it was Yuvraj,

his bhaiya calling and he quickly picked up the call to answer