The villa appeared as lifeless as ever from the outside, the hallway was barely lit up by the chandeliers hanging on the ceiling. Only the sound of her heels clicking against the marble echoed softly.
Maids were busy with their own work, their faces carrying a serious expression and their hands working like a machine. Amidst this gloomy environment— Maya, the new maid who was hired recently, smiled to herself as she heard the faint sound of her heels tapping against the floor from afar.
"I am sure she would be happy" Maya told herself, unable to hide her excitement.
Maya hurriedly tried to place the roses in the vase but she hissed when a thorn pricked her finger, drawing some blood from the scratch. "Oh god! I told them to remove these thorns!" Maya complained to herself.
But her breath stalled when a low voice interrupted her from behind, "What is happening?"
Maya immediately recognized the speaker,
Laveena Ahuja.
The owner of this mansion, the one she has been waiting for. Maya turned around and gave her a nervous smile but Laveena didn't reciprocate. She maintained a stern expression, the seriousness in her expression made Maya even more nervous and then Maya stepped back, forgetting about the table and the vase.
The moment Maya stepped back, her back barely brushed against the vase but this slight push was enough for the vase to fall on the floor. The silence that lingered in the mansion a moment ago was interrupted by the shattering sound of a vase.
Everyone's attention finally drifted toward the scene... A sense of unease settled in their chest.
Laveena's gaze dropped to the floor beside Maya, the roses were now laying on the floor, covered by the pieces of vase. The water from the vase slowly made its way to her heels.
Maya blinked nervously, she was hired when Laveena was on a vacation and now when she finally faced Laveena for the first time,she wasn't able to grasp the situation at all.
Maya looked around and noticed how the air grew heavy with tension.
Laveena took a step toward Maya, but her eyes weren't on Maya anymore... They were on the roses that were spread across the floor. Maya's breath hitched when Laveena stood just beside her.
Laveena bent down and picked up a rose from the floor, it was the same rose that pricked Maya's finger.
"Rose?" Laveena's voice dropped to a whisper.
Her low voice sent a shiver down Maya's spine and others immediately became stiff at their position. Laveena took a step back, finally facing Maya.
Eventually Maya snapped back to the reality and using all her courage that she had, she finally spoke, "Welcome back Ma'am, I am Maya, I recently got appointed here."
Maya smiled though her lips twitched, unable to maintain that smile due to nervousness.
"No one told you that I don't like roses?" Laveena's eyes wandered around, her voice carrying no emotions at all.
"Oh, I am sorry Ma'am. I didn't know, actually roses represent love and are mostly everyone's favorite so I thought that maybe..."
Maya fidgeted with her fingers nervously, trying to defend herself.
"Love" A beat. "Favorite" Laveena's gaze dropped to the rose in her hand.
Laveena's lips curled into a cold smirk, and a condescending laugh escaped from her lips. A faint crease appeared on the forehead of Maya.
Laveena turned around, her back facing Maya. Laveena's eyes swept around the room and she asked "You all love roses too?"
The head maid, Avni stepped forward "Ma'am, I apologize from her side. She is new, that's why she isn't much aware of the rules."
Maya's heart thudded in her chest. "Did I say something wrong?" Maya wondered.
Laveena completely ignored Avni's words. "Why aren't you all answering? You all love roses too?" Laveena chuckled.
Except Maya everyone shook their head and when Maya noticed it, an unsettling feeling settled in her chest.
Laveena turned around, "You like roses?"
Maya's eyes widened, in panic she shook her head but blurted out "Yes". Laveena's gaze dropped to Maya's hand, a drop of blood dripping from her finger. Laveena's finger brushed against Maya's, it was barely for a moment but it made her flinch.
"Even after it made you bleed?" Laveena asked, showing Maya the blood on her finger.
Maya just blinked rapidly, unable to answer.
Laveena let out another laugh, this time a little louder. It was hard to tell whether it was a mocking one or a simple one.
"Humans are so weird, they bleed and instead of accepting that it hurts, they just romanticize it and call it love" Laveena said in a patronizing tone.
An awkward silence lingered in the atmosphere.
Laveena stared at the flower in her hand and then her finger curled against the stem of the rose, the thorns on the stem pierced through her skin, causing her to bleed.
Her palm bled and her blood dripped onto the floor, each drop mixing with the water that was spilled earlier.
Maya's hands shivered slightly. Her eyes widened, traveling from Laveena's face to the water on the floor... where Laveena's blood was slowly changing the water color to red.
"You know what is the special thing about love?" Laveena spoke all of a sudden causing everyone to look at her.
"When you get hurt for others, they call it love, the more you bleed, the more in love you are...but once—" Laveena stared at Maya.
"Once you make them bleed for yourself, you become a curse." Something flickered across Laveena's face.
Laveena finally dropped the rose onto the ground, the water mixed with her blood splashing on her heels.
"Love is an illusion, created by humans so that it makes them feel heroic when they are being hurt" Laveena whispered, her voice sending shivers down everyone's spine.
A beat
"For me curses are far better than love" Laveena said before walking away.
The moment Laveena's figure disappeared, Maya's hand reached toward the table to steady herself, a suffocating feeling settled in her chest.
Another maid tried to walk toward Maya, to help her but Avni caught her wrist. "Fire her" Avni's voice carried an authoritative tone and with that Avni also walked away.
The woman who believes curses are far better than love, can she ever fall in love?
Will Laveena Ahuja ever bleed for someone?
"Hey bhagwan! kya gunah kiya tha maine pichle janam mein jo is ladki ke saath mujhe ye survey karne ke liye bheja gaya tha," he muttered under his breath while running.
(Oh god! What sin did I commit in my past life to be sent to conduct this survey with this girl?)
Running for his life actually as the villagers were chasing behind them with all sorts of weapons.
"SAMAR! TUM HUMSE AAGE KIYU BHAG RAHO HO! DHEERE BHAGO NA!" Mishti shouted, clutching the skirt of her lehenga from both sides as she was running.
(SAMAR! WHY ARE YOU RUNNING AHEAD OF ME! SLOW DOWN!)
Samar looked back while running and yelled at her "DIMAG SE PAIDAL WAIDAL KO KYA TUM! AJ HUM DONO MARENGE DEKH LENA TUM! TUMHARI STUPID HARKAAT KI WAJAH SE!"
(ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND? MARK MY WORDS, WE'RE BOTH GOING TO DIE TODAY! ALL BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPID STUNT!)
Mishti's brows furrowed but she looked back and observed how those villagers were running like rabid dogs behind them.
She increased her pace more, her lehenga making it difficult for her to run. Samar looked at her and yelled angrily "TUMHE KISNE KAHA THA YE LEHENGA PEHEN NE KE LIYE?"
(WHO TOLD YOU TO WEAR THIS LEHENGA SKIRT?)
"Arre vibes," Mishti huffed while running.
(Nothing, Just my vibes)
Samar almost cried, almost.
"Aaj tumhari vibes ke chakkar me hum dono bhagwaan ji ke pass pauch jayenge!" Samar whined while looking back, noticing how the distance between them and the villagers was decreasing by every passing second.
(Thanks to your vibes today, the two of us are going to end up meeting God.)
Mishti looked at him with an innocent smile "Arre mere bhaiya kuch nahi hone denge!"
(Don't worry, my brothers won't let anything happen to us!)
"MERI MAA! TUMHARE BHAI LOG HUMSE 600KM DUR HAI! HAMARI ASTHIYA BHI NAHI MILENGI UNHE" Samar stared at her in disbelief.
(MY MOTHER! YOUR BROTHERS ARE 600KM AWAY FROM US! THEY WON'T EVEN FIND OUR ASHES!)
They were running for their life, still this girl was thinking that it's some sort of side quest and everything will be fine soon.
Mishti just shot him a look.
"KUTTA!" Mishti shouted all of a sudden.
(DOG!)
"EXCUSE ME, MUJHE KUTTA KAISE BOL SAKTI HO TUM—" Before Samar could finish his sentence, Mishti was running ahead of him.
(EXCUSE ME, HOW CAN YOU CALL ME A DOG—)
His eyes widened as he noticed a chain of stray dogs running behind them as well.
"KUTTA NAHI KUTTEEEEEEE!" Samar ran even faster, now running a few steps ahead of Mishti.
(IT'S NOT JUST DOG, SAY DOGSSSSSSSS!)
"ARRE MAINE KAHA NA HUMSEE AAGE MAAT BHAGO!" Mishti grabbed the collar of his shirt from behind and pulled him back.
(I TOLD YOU NOT TO RUN AHEAD OF ME!)
This time Smar cried, "Hey bhagwan, un logo se khatarnak to ye ladki hai!" He tried to free his collar from her.
(Oh god! This girl is even more dangerous than those people!)
"CHORRO" Samar shouted.
(LEAVE)
"BHAGO" Mishti yelled back.
(RUN)
Mishti was about to turn a corner and run in the wrong direction but Samar caught her wrist and pulled her toward the correct direction.
"Awww, thank you." Mishti smiled at him softly while running.
"TUM ITNI CHILL KAISE HO?" Samar asked her while running.
(HOW ARE YOU SO CHILL?)
"Hehe, ye pheli baar thodi hai ki mein aisi cheezo mein fasi hu! It's like an adventure! Tum tension mat loo! kuch nahi hoga" Mishti answered him while smiling as if it would calm him.
(It’s not the first time I’ve found myself in a situation like this! It’s an adventure! Don’t worry! nothing bad is going to happen.)
His eyes widened in horror.
"AHHHHHH TUM PSYCHO HO KYA! HEY BHAGWAAN! KHA FAS GAYA MEIN" Samar cried out loud.
(AHHHHH! ARE YOU PSYCHO! OH GOD! WHAT KIND OF MESS I HAVE GOTTEN MYSELF INTO)
Finally, his sight drifted in the direction where their other friends were waiting for them in the car, shouting at them to run faster.
Samar and Mishti looked back, and finally took a deep breath, increasing their pace even more.
The car was moving at medium speed, the windows were open, Anmay's hand shot outside of the car, gesturing to them to run faster.
Finally Samar managed to catch his hand, And with all his strength Anmay pulled Samar inside the car.
"MISHTI RUN FASTER" The other screamed from inside the car.
Finally Mishti reached toward the car, Anmay shot his hand toward her immediately, she was about to grab his hand but before that she stopped for a second.
Everyone's heart dropped in their stomachs in the car.
"MISHTI GRAB MY HAND! WHAT ARE YOU DOING" Anmay shouted.
Mishti looked back and then she stuck out her tongue and teased all the villagers. Their curses grew louder and Mishti just giggled.
Finally Mishti grabbed Anmay's hand and with all his strength he pulled her inside the car.The car's speed finally increased, a machete broke the back side glass of the car.
The moment they all reached outside the village. "MISHTI!" Everyone in the car shouted at once.
"Are you insane?" Samar asked, still panting and his face turning red due to intense running. Mishti was gasping for air as well but still she tittered. "Maza aya na lekin..."
(Are you insane?).... (But that was fun, wasn't it?)
"Mishti, they were running behind you both with weapons!" Anmay stared at her in disbelief.
"Tum bachpan se sanki-wanki ho kya?" Samar asked, opening the cap of the water bottle.
(Have you been a bit of a weirdo since childhood?)
"No,I am the sunshine of my house. Mahir bhaiya says that." Mishti proclaimed proudly, snatching the water bottle from his hand and drinking it by herself.
(Bhaiya means brother)
"Wo mera tha!" Samar muttered in disbelief.
(It was mine!)
Mishti just kept on drinking and ignored his complaints. "Sunshine nahi, Aag ka gola ho! Aag ka gola" Samar whined like a child.
(You're not sunshine! You're a ball of fire! A ball of fire.)
"Aaj hum dono zamin ke 10 feet neeche hote! Apki meherbani ke karan" Samar snatched the water bottle from her.
(The two of us would have been ten feet underground today! Thanks to you.)
Mishti just pouted innocently but then she just eye rolled playfully, trying to suppress her smile.
Meet Miss Mishti Raghuvanshi, where her name follows, the chaos is bound to happen.
But is she aware of that? Absolutely not.
"START" The announcement immediately led to a cloud of dust rising into the air as the two cars finally roared to life.
The moment the race began, everyone started to shout and hoot for their respective team members. Finally after some time the race ended and Evan won it.
Rhea slammed her fist against the steering wheel before finally stepping out of the car. Evan took a moment and then he also stepped out of the car.
Their respective team members surrounded them, some cracking jokes and some passing unnecessary remarks.
"Wait guys" Evan pushed the people surrounding him slightly, and made his way to Rhea. The unnecessary hootings immediately followed.
Evan gave Rhea a wicked smile and then finally spoke "So sad Rhea," he stepped closer to her, "Weren't you supposed to show me my place?"
Before Rhea could say something, a voice interrupted them "Your breath must be stinking Evan, step back"
The loud noises finally stopped and everyone's eyes drifted toward her,
Revika Rawat.
Evan immediately let out an irritated groan. "Who the fuck called her here man!" Evan yelled, looking around.
"Yaa, do you think I have time for your bullshit?" Evan sneered, looking at Revika up to down. He tilted his head side to side, cracking his neck.
He finally made his way to Revika, "She needs to go on a date with me, we made a bet and she lost it"
"Don't you dare to step in my way unnecessarily, you wouldn't like the consequences" Evan gave her a sly smile.
Revika completely ignored his threats, and walked past him. "Did you really lose Rhea?" She asked Rhea, with a raised eyebrow.
Rhea fingers curled into a fist, her gaze dropping to the ground.
Revika got her answer, she let out a chuckle. She looked back at Evan "So losing a simple race is equal to going on a date with an arsehole?"
Evan immediately ran a hand through his hair in frustration, his patience wearing thin. "Don't you think you talk a lot, Revika?"
Everyone's eyes were constantly drifting back and forth from Revika to Evan.
Revika nodded her head in fake understanding, "You are right Evan, I also think that I talk a lot..."
Her words confused everyone there. Revika completely ignored their confused glances and walked toward the car and settled inside it. She turned the key, and the engine started to make some faint sound.
Revika stared outside the car, at Evan. "Let's have one more bet Evan"
"If I lose, I will walk away without causing any problems" A beat. "But if you lose..."Her gaze hardened.
Her lips curled upward, "You will kneel and apologize to Rhea, in front of everyone."
Evan bit the inside of cheek. A friend of Evan spoke on his behalf. "Why the fuck Evan need to apologize?"
A mocking chuckle escaped her lips, "So you already know that he is gonna lose? Right?"
Her words bruised Evan's ego immediately, Evan sneered. He didn't say anything else, he just settled inside his car and turned the key.
Evan looked out of car, "I accept your challenge—" his gaze hardened. "Miss Revika Rawat"
Rhea looked at Revika with concern in her eyes, but Revika just gave her a reassuring smile.
The moment the "START" word echoed, both cars sprang to life. Revika grip tightened on the steering wheel, her knuckles turning white.
Evan was ahead of her right now, blocking her every attempt to move past his car. A moment came, and Revika finally got a chance to overtake his car.
"THIS BITCH" Evan yelled in irritation as he was unable to catch up with her. Evan tried to overtake her from the right side but Revika's car immediately blocked his way.
Finally after what felt like an eternity, Evan's car was moving parallel to Revika's car. Evan looked at her "YOU BITCH! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING! DO YOU WANT TO KILL ME?"
Revika looked to her right side, she didn't say anything and then...
Her car's side scratched against his car, trying to push his car outside of the track.
"ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE" Evan's grip tightened on the steering wheel.
Evan hardly managed to keep his car in the lane, and this distraction was enough for Revika to move past him. Revika's heel pressed against the accelerator.
Others were waiting for their cars to arrive and their eyes widened as they noticed Revika's car arriving.
"What the hell?" Everyone from Evan's team said in unison.
Revika finally reached the finishing line and behind her Evan's car also approached. Everyone's jaw dropped in shock when they noticed the condition of both the cars.
Revika's car finally stopped, so did Evan's. He didn't take a second, he immediately stepped out of the car slamming the door of the car. Revika didn't step outside, she just tapped her finger against the steering wheel.
Before anyone could say anything Evan stormed toward Revika's car, he opened the car's door and harshly caught her wrist. He pulled her outside of the car, grabbed the collars of her jacket and slammed her against the car.
"ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE!" Evan screeched at her. "WE BOTH COULD HAVE FUCKING DIED RIGHT THERE" His grip on her collars tightened even more.
Everyone gathered around them, Rhea stepped forward grabbing Evan shoulders to pull him away from Revika.
"What the hell are you doing Evan, leave her!" Rhea yelped.
But Evan just pushed Rhea away, grabbing the collars of Revika's jacket once again and this time he slammed Revika against the car even harder. Rhea palms scrapped against the rough surface.
Revika's gaze landed on Rhea, the tears were streaming down Rhea's face. Revika's gaze hardened and she finally made eye contact with Evan.
Everyone could feel the murderous intent in their eyes. Revika glared at Evan but then she smiled. "Did you get scared so easily, Evan?"
Revika's face came closer to his, "That's the reason I prefer to talk Evan, cause whenever I stop to talk" A pause "death feels more closer..."
Evan's grip loosened on her collars on its own.
The girl who challenges death...
Will death ever scare her?
The clapping sound of hundreds of students as well as teachers rang through the school after the dance performance ended.
"Woah! The performance was perfect!" The hosting student added her comment, almost immediately the intensity of claps increased even more.
All the five girls bowed down and joined their hands before stepping down from the stage.
All five reached backstage, the smile that was on their faces disappeared quickly the moment they were out of audience sight.
Sixteen years old Ahana nervously bit her lower lip when she noticed her senior, Rashmi glaring at her. The group of all four girls looked at her with a disdainful expression.
Rashmi crossed her arms over her chest and then she let out a scornful chuckle, her chuckle immediately made Ahana anxious.
Earlier during the dance performance, Ahana had accidentally nudged her. Rashmi momentarily lost her balance, but it was barely noticeable.
"You! what was that?" Rashmi's voice dropped to a whisper.
Ahana immediately made a gentle sad expression and moved her fist in circular motion against her chest saying "Sorry" in sign language.
Rashmi just grabbed Ahana's wrist harshly and pulled it away from her chest. "What do you mean by this shit? Do you think I can understand it?"
Ahana hissed in pain, her eyes wandering to the other three, silently pleading for help.
Rashmi released Ahana's wrist and tilted her chin up instead. "Why are you looking at them? I am asking you something!" Rashmi's voice became a bit louder this time.
Aditi stepped forward, "Leave her Rashmi, warna iske papa aake hungama kardenge"
(Leave her Rashmi, or else her father will create a scene.)
Rashmi didn't loosen her grip, instead her fingertips dug deeper into Ahana's skin. "Jealousy isn't good Ahana, especially for a girl like you. Do you think your father will come and save you everytime?"
Ahana immediately shook her head trying to tell Rashmi that whatever they were thinking was wrong.
Rashmi just laughed, "You are quite pathetic Ahana. Aren't you? You can't even speak for yourself and yet you tried to mess with me?"
A tear rolled down Ahana's cheek.
An ugly thought came in Rashmi's mind, making her laugh even louder this time, "Guys, bring me a rope!"
Aditi immediately frowned, "Rashmi, aren't you going too far?"
"Arree, I am just helping my junior yaar! Let's see if she can scream, I want to bring back her voice so that she can easily speak up for herself and explain her point." Rashmi said with fake concerned expressions.
Ahana immediately started to push Rashmi, to free herself from Rashmi's grip. "Arre! Kya hua Ahana! You don't want me to help you?" Rashmi mocked her.
(What happened Ahana! You don't want me to help you?)
Ahana finally managed to free herself from Rashmi's grip and started to run away, but she could still hear Rashmi mocking her from behind.
Ahana ran as far as possible and the moment she reached the washroom, she went inside and locked the door from inside. Her body shook in fear, her back rubbed against the door as she slid down and sat on the floor. She drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, sobbing softly.
She immediately flinched when she heard the knock on the washroom door. "Open the door Ahana, why won't you let me help you? Huh?" Rashmi mocked her again from the outside.
Ahana pressed her palm on her ear so that she couldn't hear whatever Rashmi was saying but every knock on the door and the faint sound of Rashmi's taunts made it difficult for her to breathe.
"Are you scared?" Rashmi asked from outside, barely controlling her laugh. "Okay okay, Listen Ahana! Mein sachi chali jaungi just tell me to go once" Rashmi mocked Ahana, yet again.
(Are you scared?)... (Okay okay, Listen Ahana! I will actually leave; just tell me to go once)
Ahana sobbed even more, her breathing becoming more uneven.
Finally after some time the knocking stopped. "Remember your place Ahana, next time I won't show any mercy" Rashmi said in a disdainful tone and with that she finally walked away.
Ahana's backhead finally rested against the door.
This real world always felt like hell to her, some would sympathize with her condition, some would make unnecessary remarks and then come people like Rashmi... which would make her feel helpless.
"Can't they see me as a human?" Ahana sobbed.
A girl who learned how ugly humans can be...
A girl who is fighting everyday just to survive...
What's her destiny?
"Oh gosh! Really! He really said that?" She chirped, slapping Tanya's arm continuously.
"Broooo he is so fine!" Manvi exclaimed, scrolling through his posts.
"Stop it Ratrini!" Tanya giggled, grabbing Ratrini's wrists to stop her from hitting.
Tanya recently started dating a famous social media star, and right now all three were in a club, where Tanya just told them about her first date.
"Bhaiiii! aise bande hume kiyu nahi milte?" Ratrini fake cried, side hugging Manvi who was still busy scrolling his posts.
(Brooooo! Why can't we have boyfriends like that?)
Tanya snatched her phone from Manvi's. "Kyuki aap banana nahi chahti" Tanya added with a tight lipped smile.
(Because you don't want to make one)
"To isme phone chhinne wali kya baat thi?" Manvi remarked with an eye roll.
(So what was the need to snatch the phone over that?)
"Umm, I need permission to take my own phone?" Tanya raised an eyebrow. "I am sorry, I wasn't aware of it" Tanya said in a sarcastic tone.
Ratrini immediately stepped in between, "Leave it guys! Let's not spoil our mood unnecessarily"
"Yes, let's leave it guys" Manvi faked a smile. "Accha mujhe kaam hai, baad mein milti hoon" Manvi grabbed her purse and then she walked away. The jealousy on her face was evident, no matter how hard she tried to conceal it with her smile.
(Yes, let's leave it guys).... (Alright, I have some work to do, I'll see you later.)
"Seriously?" Tanya huffed in frustration. Ratrini placed her palm on Tanya's shoulder but Tanya just removed it.
"I also need to go." with that Tanya took her purse and she also walked away, leaving Ratrini behind.
Ratrini stared at their disappearing figure, she waved both of them goodbye with a sad expression but the moment they disappeared from her sight...
The sadness quickly faded, and she grabbed her mocktail from the counter. She looked in the direction where they went once again and this time a humorless chuckle escaped from her lips.
"How can they all be so fake?" Ratrini muttered under her breath.
One thing that Ratrini learned in her life after so many friendships is how fake people can be. Their smiles, their warmth, their care disappears the moment you become replaceable or better than them.
Some try to hide behind their smiles while having a wicked mind and some... They just try to screw you over in front of your face.
They will cheer for you, act like your saviour but once you really get saved? They will be the first one to destroy you.
They act as if they are praying for your happiness while planning to destroy it all along.
"But how can I blame them?" A beat. "When I am not much different from them?" Ratrini sighed and finally, she picked up her purse and walked out of the club.
"Some people aren't bad or fake... but they aren't real either." Ratrini pondered while heading toward her car.
She unlocked the car's door with a click sound "Unfortunately I am one among them"
Ratrini wouldn't destroy you, but will she come up and save you?
No
If it's not her battle to fight, then why should she stain her hands in someone's blood?
People would call her selfish, but why? She isn't using them... she just won't let them use her.
Her smile helped her survive through storms that swallowed others, so does it matter even if it's fake?
Welcome to the world of Ratrini...
Where smiles are a tool...
and attachments?
A delusion
SPECIAL NOTE:Nemesis called loved is also available on wattpad, and for spoiler of this book you can follow my Instagram — @maahixdiaries or @mahixdiaries_
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