Chapter - 60
I found Aarushi with swollen, red eyes and a bruise on her left arm. "Are you alright? Aarushi, what happened?"
She instantly covered her arms with a shawl and shoved me away. "You can never have my place. Mr. Darsh Menon will marry me and only me."
"But both of us lost yesterday's competition, and it's not like I've done something wrong." I am seriously confused about her wounds. "What about the marks on your arm?"
She held my wrist in her hand and I winced with pain. "I love Mr. Menon and I will love him even if I die." She stomped her feet and walked away from me.
She is behaving differently these days. I am getting worried about her. I could not even eat my LukFast because of Aarushi. I walked mindlessly around the mansion without eating anything from the morning. I decided to walk in the garden to get some cool air and to think about everything.
Unknowingly, I walked into a dark alley that I hadn't seen before. Where am I? The path was lit by lanterns in contrast to modern the Menon Mansion. It was stone walls and floor. The more I walked inside the more I got shivers down my spine. Slowly, I started hearing someone crying, or begging for their life.
"Boss... I am begging you!" A weak male voice echoed throughout the area.
At the end of the alley was a huge room filled with men along with Kartik and Gautam. A man was tied to a chair while blood oozed from his mouth as he begged Kartik to leave him. I saw this man somewhere but I could not remember. Who is he?
"Honesty is much appreciated in Menon territory. You have breached it!" Gautam yelled.
This is the first time I saw Gautam being this angry. Goosebumps appeared on my skin, my mind screaming to run, while my entire body froze to the spot.
"I swear on my children's life, Boss. I did not steal the map from your locker!" The man cried.
Shit! He was the cleaner who looked after Kartik's laundry. I stole the map with his help but this man was innocent.
My heart clenched looking at the state of the innocent man begging for his life. The blood on his face and injuries on his body explain how much he has been tortured till now.
"You have three seconds to live." Kartik after a long time finally spoke.
No! Kartik please don't kill him.
"3" Kartik counted as the man begged to spare his life.
"2"
"1"
On the final count, Kartik pulled the trigger and shot the man between his foreheads. In a flash of seconds, the man who was crying fell dead. There was nothing I could do to bring him back to life. That innocent man who had children at home is dead. There was no guilt or pain in anyone's eyes present here. They were dealing with this situation without any humanity.
All of a sudden someone closed my mouth and picked me off the ground and ran in the opposite direction. I was freed as soon as I reached the garage. "Please don't kill me." I cried.
"Shh! Aadhya, it's me. Darsh." Hearing my angel's voice I felt relaxed.
"Darsh! That man was dead because of me. I stole the map but he died.... instead of me." I cried as much as I can. That scene was still running in front of my eyes.
Darsh shook me to bring me to my sense and made me face him. "Aadhya it's not your fault. That man isn't dead. He was killed. He was killed by that monster Kartik Menon. He would not hesitate to kill you if he saw you there."
"No!" Kartik seemed so sweet these days and I can't believe him to turn out to be a monster again. What am I seeing?
"Kartik is good at manipulating everyone. He had manipulated me all these years and thanks to you I realized how cold-hearted my brother lives." Darsh sniffled. "I can't believe my brother who was my hero turned out to be a monster. I am so sorry about your parents, Aadhya."
My parents were innocent too and Kartik killed them as well. How much can a person become brutal?
"So many innocent families are disappearing because of this demon and thankfully we have a solution in you, Aadhya. Only you can save everyone. Please kill Kartik and bring an end to everyone's misery." Darsh pleaded while holding my palms.
The room around is spinning from the moment I saw Kartik killing an innocent man. I freed myself from Darsh not able to give any answer at that moment. My legs wobbled as I walked in the garden outside the garage and my eyes were blurred. I could not differentiate reality and imagination.
Finally, I gave in to the outside energy and fell to the ground with a thud. I fell weak. I have no energy left in me to even move. I just lay on the floor and stared into the empty space. Please end my pain.
"Kartik! Kartik!" Gautam yelled his name spotting me on the floor. He would usually address Kartik as Boss in public but in a situation like this, he didn't care.
Within a few minutes, I saw the guards around me trying to vacate the area as their Boss ran towards my lifeless form on the ground. All the men bowed to their knees as Kartik bent to the ground to pick me in his arms.
There was worry in his eyes and blood on his shirt which reminded me of his cruel act toward an innocent man. "I do not feel safe with you, Kartik." Saying that I fell unconscious in his arms.