Betrayed

by Kritika Sharma

  “That’s why I say, we shouldn’t lie ever.” He was damn serious. But I just smiled. I just didn't care in that moment.

  The bastard was dead and well, who cared, the rapist bastard was dead!

  The Hole-Hearted Truth

  Present Day in the Bar

  “He died?” Ravi sat, shell-shocked with his hands on his mouth. Ishana smiled, carelessly.

  “May his soul rest in peace,” Ravi prayed, and she eyed him dangerously.

  Her gaze, her smile and her tone forced Ravi to dwell on one word: ‘sociopath’. He couldn’t help but see a glimpse of it in her eyes.

  “It’s peculiar, isn’t it? He just died!” he remarked. She shrugged.

  “Did the police question you?” he enquired.

  “No,”

  “Why?”

  “Because nobody knew we were there! Our town didn’t have cameras, you see,” she informed with immense satisfaction.

  “What was the name of your town again? Sorry, I forgot!” he asked curiously, and at this, a wide grin appeared on Ishana’s face.

  “You didn’t forget. I never told you!” she grinned, sycophantically.

  “Really? Why?” Shock laced his tone.

  “Because…” At this, Ishana picked up Ravi’s phone and paused the recording. “It was not a natural or accidental death. It was a murder.” And there again, he saw a complete sociopath sitting in front of him.

  A stunned silence greeted Ishana upon her last word. Ravi was too shocked to even react. Murder?

  Ishana waited for Ravi to get over the shock. She looked around, sipping her drink in peace. There was a happy, innocent couple on the swing next to them. The way they were chatting animatedly, showed that they had recently started their relationship. They were still in that love bubble that forced one to see only the good aspect of the other person. She wondered when that bubble would break for them, and they would start seeing reality. There was another couple nearby, and they were smoking and sitting idly. Ishana immediately knew they were only drinking buddies, and the girl was least interested in the boy. The boy was another matter – well, according to Ishana, every boy wanted just one thing. Sex! She was about to look for more couples to analyze, when Ravi found his tongue again.

  “Who murdered him?” he asked, flabbergasted.

  “Who do you think?” Ishana spoke, not peeling her eyes off the lovey-dovey couple. She remembered how she used to come here with her one true love! And sit in the same swing and laugh heartily.

  “You?” he whispered in a state of shock. Ishana nodded. She finally looked at him; he was white as a ghost.

  “You murdered someone?” he continued in a similar shocked whisper.

  “I will have to report it!” He stood up, abruptly. She laughed at his reaction.

  Sociopath! Psychopath! Such words rang in Ravi’s mind.

  “Be my guest,” she spoke lightly and picked up the wine bottle. It was only half-empty. She placed it on her rosy lips and gulped. Ravi was stunned. He just couldn’t believe it. Could someone as beautiful, as serene as her be a murderer?

  “You are not scared? I will report it” he stammered a bit as he sat back.

  “Okay, please go ahead… they burnt Kunal seventeen years ago.” She finished the bottle and threw it aside. Ravi was impressed. She had drunk half a bottle of wine in two massive sips, and still, there was no sign of drunkenness in her action. She was as graceful as ever.

  She pointed at Rumi and decided to order something light. “Long Island Ice Tea.” She smiled at her.

  “Make it two,” Ravi added, and Rumi hurried off to prepare them. LIT was much cheaper in comparison to their usual orders, but Ishana relished its taste.

  “Why are you not even bothered with the thought?” he enquired, hastily.

  “Because there was no shred of evidence that proved any foul play. Our small-town doctors ruled it as a heart attack.” She pulled another cigarette and lit it between her lips.

  “Still, his father, Professor Khanna will sue you, and get justice.”

  “You think Kunal deserved justice? He lied to me. He tried to rape me, tried to have sex with an innocent seventeen-year-old. He blew away his father’s money and only tried to elude his duties. Such rapists are better off dead.” Anger laced her tone. He shirked away from her.

  “Still…” he started, but Ishana cut him off, “Sure, go ahead and report.” A vindictive smile appeared on her face.

  “I will…” he started to leave, but then stopped. “What is the name of the city you lived in?” he demanded. She laughed, mocking him.

  “I never told you, nobody knows my history. It’s a blotch for me and I have changed everything.” Her flat tone made him gawk at her. He sat back again.

  “Somebody must know.” He thought, deeply.

  “Feel free to poke,” she challenged.

  “I have the names of your friends.” He was shivering now.

  “Who is to say whether I took the right names, the names could be made up!” He could see the devil in her, and he was scared now.

  “But… in today’s world it’s not too hard to find out,” he threatened.

  “And in today’s world, it’s even easier to fake a murder as an accident.” She winked at him and her words hit home; he practically jumped to his feet. His phone fell from his hands.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t kill you.” She offered him his phone with the most flattering smile. She could sense his indecision. Ravi knew Kunal was wrong, but he also knew murdering someone was just catastrophic. He was torn between his choices.

  “You are the first person to know the truth about Kunal’s death; you should feel special.” She winked as she stood up to look for Rumi. She was still waiting for her LIT. But instead of finding Rumi, she found someone else! Swara, her assistant, was pacing up and down at a distance. The moment Ishana’s eyes fell on her, she came running.

  “I saw you chatting so I didn’t think wise to disturb!” Swara chimed, bouncing on her heels. She was one of those people who was always excited, but today Ishana saw a wrecked nervousness in her eyes and voice.

  “Relax and tell me what’s wrong?” Ishana demanded placing a hand on Swara’s shoulder. She wanted her to calm down.

  “I… it is so bad, Ishana,” she whispered, and Ishana forced her to sit…

  “Adil is going frantic, he is looking everywhere for you,” Swara started, and Ishana relaxed. Of course, Adil, her PR head, was going mad. Her phone had been off for hours now! “He forced me to find you. I guessed you must be here,” she continued.

  “You didn’t tell Adil about this place, right?” Ishana demanded. Nobody except for Swara and some of Ishana’s closest friends knew she liked to hang out here.

  “No, of course not. But you should come with me; something awful has happened,” she replied, hastily. Ravi was staring at them, interestedly. He could see a weird, friendly yet boss-employee bond between the two girls. The way Ishana was treating her assistant, with kindness and care, made him respect her more. Could this be the same person who punished Dev and murdered Kunal? He wondered in surprise.

  “Mind telling me what happened?” Ishana stressed with a roll of her eyes. Her hazelnut eyes were the most captivating feature of her face.

  “That man from yesterday,” Swara started, but Ishana spoke first, “He must have sued me!” Swara nodded, slowly.

  “I knew it!” Ishana was least bothered with the news. People like her got sued left and right for many things; why was Swara so worried!

  “This doesn’t bother you?” Ravi asked, suspiciously. “Someone is suing you!”

  “I have very good and very expensive lawyers. I am not at all bothered.” Her careless smile made Ravi wonder about the depths this girl had.

  “You, Swara! Why are you so panicked? What else happened?” she demanded now with agitation. Swara was fidgeting with her phone, and she only did this when she had to give awfully bad news to Ishana.

  “Remember ‘
Love Dios’?” Swara answered in a hushed tone. Ishana nodded, surreptitiously. “Well, they revoked the offer!” Now this news was a shock for Ishana. She wanted to be the brand ambassador of ‘Love Dios’. “Why?” she demanded, standing up and waving her hand in Rumi’s direction for the check.

  “They just said that they don’t want any kind of negative publicity, and apparently you come with a lot of baggage!” Swara cowered as she uttered those words. Ishana was fuming now.

  “Baggage my ass, I will show them…” she started to leave when she paused, “Swara darling,” her honey-laced yet threatening tone made Swara take a step back “Please pay the bill. It must be in the thousands now!” She finished, placing her credit card in Swara’s tiny hand. Swara left immediately for the counter.

  “And it was nice chatting with you, Ravi.” She extended her hand to shake his. He just gawked at her for a moment, speechless!

  “Please, no!” He exclaimed, exasperated.

  “What?” She was confused.

  “You can’t keep me hanging. Please finish your story. You just told me that you murdered Kunal!” he begged in a soft whisper. She considered him for a moment.

  “Ravi, my story is very long, why don’t we continue it the next time?” she offered, politely.

  “At least, please finish this! How did Kunal die? You wanted me to feel special because only I would know the truth. Please, it won’t take long,” he pleaded with folded hands.

  Sighing, she sat down again.

  “I guess I do owe this much to you. Love Dios’s ass can wait for another half an hour,” she spoke, as she slumped back in her chair. She looked at Swara. She was still at the counter, paying the bill.

  “You remember, right, you cannot tell this to anyone. Only you will know!” She dictated in a threatening tone.

  “But why me?” he asked, nodding. He knew he would be so much better without knowing the truth, but his curiosity got better of his judgment.

  “I don’t know. Today I just felt like confessing. It’s been seventeen years, and I have buried this truth in my chest. I want to relinquish it. I want someone to know what I did and why I did it.” Her sincerity left him in awe. What was she? He wondered as he gazed at her, mesmerized.

  “I know you did it for revenge,” he offered, but she shook her head in denial.

  “No, I took revenge on Dev. With Kunal, I just did what he asked me to do. I was being a good, obedient girl.” Her LIT finally arrived and she rolled her tongue in it, with satisfaction.

  “What?” Ravi gaped at her. Unlike Ishana, he had not touched his drink; he was too alarmed to touch anything. “When did Kunal ask you to murder him?”

  “That day he said to me, ‘I would rather die if I cannot be with you. If you can’t be with me, then give me a hole in my heart and kill me,’ or something in those lines,” she spoke with careless gestures.

  “So you killed him?” Ravi was stunned.

  “No, I gave him what he asked for. I was being a nice and dutiful girlfriend!” she simpered, deviously.

  “How?” he started, but she cut him off.

  “Oh!” she jumped, excitedly. Her changed tone took a few moments to register with him. “I so wanted to show this to someone,” and hastily she fired up her phone and pulled another document from a virtual drive. “This is the best letter I ever wrote.” She handed her phone to him with a massive grin.

  However, before he could read, she spoke again, “I wrote this letter to Kunal after his death. You know, as a confession.”

  “How would he read it?” Ravi spoke as if he was talking to a crazy person.

  “Well, you will find out when you read it.” She was shaking with laughter now.

  “Read now and be amazed with the brilliance.” And with the spark in her eyes, she finally allowed him to read her epic letter.

  My dear Kunal,

  Wherever you are, I hope you are rotting, and I want you to know that I still hate you! I am writing this letter to you so you know the truth. You see, I sincerely believe in the existence of God, so once I am done with this letter, I am going to burn it to ashes as homage to the Almighty. I am sure he will pass on my message to you – with my regards.

  You must be wondering what happened. Well, you betrayed me and I punished you. Remember after my revenge with Dev you had asked me to remind you to never betray me – well you shouldn’t have betrayed me… See what happened to you…!

  One minute we were about to have sex and the next you died. How? Now let me tell you your death story from the start.

  The moment I realized that you lied to sleep with me, I had decided I would put you to sleep properly. I was wondering how to meet you without suspicion and you gave me the perfect opportunity. You called me after hours to the institute, when there was no one to witness your last moments. Not a clever idea, Kunal…

  Before meeting you or Shiva, I detoured and went to the hospital my father works in. I picked up a few supplies that I needed for my plan. I came home and changed. I tied my hair in a tight bun and made sure not a loose hair stuck to my clothes. You see, it might get transferred onto you in close proximity.

  I met you and you seemed so miserable. I decided to let you live for the sake of your tears and your father. But then you uttered those gory words The Slut Chronicles! I couldn’t believe that damn folder was still toying with my life. You tried to rape me, Kunal, because of that wretched folder. I forgave you for attempted rape, but I couldn’t forgive your lies. You ruined me and emotionally tortured me for two months. I was worried for your life, and you were enjoying gym and what not. You had to pay, Kunal.

  As per my plan I needed proof and a reason to be there. My salary was a good proof – by the way, thanks for paying with interest. Once I had my money, I forced Shiva to step out. She saw you healthy and that was enough proof. Then, once alone, I tied your hands to your back because of two reasons, Kunal. Firstly, like I had said, I don’t like you touching me and secondly, you could have stopped me from murdering you. I blindfolded you because I didn’t want you to see me attack you. You could have fought back and lived! You are strong, and I had seen it firsthand when you tried to rape me.

  Once you were blindfolded, I wore the disposable gloves I stole from the hospital. I felt your heart, Kunal. It was beating so rapidly; it helped my cause. I touched all over you, not because I enjoyed it; I loathed it and I had washed my hands multiple times and bathed in holy water. But I had to keep you distracted.

  I once told you I am excellent in Biology and all the extra classes for practicals paid off. I looked for your heart and found a weak spot. Then what hit you, you too didn’t know…

  Let me tell you – I had stolen another thing from the hospital. A very big syringe…I don’t remember the size of it as I have burnt it with the gloves, but believe me, it was enormous. I pumped it with air – I remember you had curious expressions at the sound of air pumping, you just didn’t know that it was the sound of your death. I don’t think you know what happens if an air bubble enters the bloodstream and reaches the heart or brain. Or maybe now you do… because you must have felt it!

  Well, I pierced the syringe in your heart, pumped all that air in it directly, and within seconds, you went under cardiac arrest! Doctors said you had a heart attack, but you see what they missed – ‘you had a HOLE in your HEART’! Ironic, isn’t it. You asked for it and feared it might kill you! And see, it did.

  Are you wondering if I am feeling guilty? If my conscience is bothering me? Well, no! You didn’t deserve to live, Kunal Khanna, so I took the liberty of releasing you from the earth. My only pity is for your poor father; you anyway were a useless son, so he is not losing much. He has your brother, and I hope he turns out to be a better man.

  I still loathe you, and I will do so forever.

  With much hatred,

  Ishana

  Epilogue

  Treachery, betrayal, heartbreak and even attempted rape were a few things that school life offered Ishana.
>
  But she endured all.

  She was a survivor and became even stronger with every incidence.

  However, her school life and everything in it was just the tip of the iceberg.

  What happened next made her what she is today: A fierce woman, a fighter and a savior of hundreds of abused women.

  So, what transformed her? What happened next?

  Is this the end of Dev’s and Kunal’s chapter?

  Why she was officially labeled as ‘Slut?’

  Know so much more in ‘The Slut Chronicles – Enslaved!’

  Releasing Soon…

  Acknowledgment

  Writing and finishing up a story is not an easy task and thanks to the almighty for enabling me so that I was able to finish this book. It took me approximately six months to start and finish my book, and the credit goes to everybody involved in my life.

  To start with, I would like to thank my darling husband, Rajat Sharma. You are the soul of my life, who, no matter what, is always with me. Thank you for being there for me and letting my laptop keep us company 24 hours a day X 7 days a week. Without you, none of this was possible.

  I also want to thank my parents, Dr. R. N. Gupta & Dr. Rekha Gupta, for supporting me always and making me what I am today.

  My thanks to my parents in law, Justice Anil Sharma & Manju Sharma, for believing in my dreams and motivating me.

  My loving thanks to my brother & sister, Anmol Gupta & Juhi Gupta Narang, for being there for me at any time of the day.

  My brothers-in-law, Shalabh Sharma & Deepak Narang, and sister-in-law Kavita Sharma, thanks for supporting me in your jovial ways.

  To my cousins, Navendra Gupta, Vipul Gupta, Arushi Gupta & Arsh Gupta, thanks for loving & caring support at each turn.

  To my best friend Arpita Arya, thanks for being there for me and reading my books and giving fruitful suggestions.

  My special thanks to Anuj Kumar, I don’t see you as the publisher of my book, instead, I see you as my buddy and my friend. I don’t think this book could be possible without you.