The world around us is burning into ashes of desires but we still pretend to be so cold;

There's so much hatred around, but how about we try concentrating on the love that goes untold?

N A N D I N I

The mansion that he calls his home stood ahead of me, tall and glorious, shining by the moonlight falling on its dark windows, it's mere existence screaming intimidation. With the little black dress still hugging my body and the monster's leather jacket covering its torn portions, I entered inside in haste, but cautiously. "Aryamman?" I called out slowly and my voice resonated back to me by the walls of the dark mansion.

It was 1 AM and the old servant who opened the door politely smiled at me, not trying to embarrass me. Deep sighing, I turned to leave. He must be sleeping, today was a bad day. Just when I was walking away, I heard a meek voice behind me. "Yes?"

Turning behind, I didn't see the man I was here to see. It was a rather older lady, with a polite smile on her face, scanning my state, suddenly making me conscious of my dried tears and mascara, messed hair, and flabby outfit. I stared back at her with eyes unsure of why I was even here when I should have been at home. "I am Aryamman's mother," she tried to make me comfortable.

"I'm Nandini," I smiled back awkwardly. "His friend, and I need to see him urgently but I guess I'm here at the wrong time! I should leave," I breathed and turned to leave, without waiting for an answer, shutting my eyes tightly. Why is it so important for me to keep getting into trouble?

"No! He's in his study, you can see him!", she stopped me again and when I turned behind this time, she wasn't there. Gazing at her disappearing figure, I looked at the old man in relief and he smiled at me, probably thinking what kind of a confused soul I am as he guided me into Aryamman's study.

Standing outside the closed large and brown wooden doors, I gave a sharp knock. "Come in!," a husky voice shouted from inside. I didn't know why was I here. I didn't know what would I tell him. But all I know is I've had enough. I need answers to the past which is just unknown to me. Everyone except me know everything- Zubin, Aryamman, Manik and Mukti too knew everything.

Why was I the innocent one? They all kept talking about darkness as if it were their home but the fact remains, it was me who was left alone in the darkness while all of them were  in light of the truth, playing mind games with me. But not anymore.

His confused eyes met my anxious ones, scanning me from head to toe and I shifted uncomfortably from one foot to another. "Umm hi?", I whispered uncomfortably as the cold air of the room touched me and I pulled Manik's overcoat closer to my body. I was sitting in front of Aryamman, but hugging Manik's coat. Ironically weird, isn't it?

"Come sit!," he smiled warmly, trying to make me comfortable. He didn't ask me why was I here, he rather put his efforts in making me feel warm and home, once again displaying what a gentleman he was. Any girl could fall for him so easily, and if a man can just attract girls by being sweet, why to become a monster like Manik and create a mystery that webs girls to his second face?

"Aryamman...," I started but took a deep breath, stopping myself. What was I going to say to him?

"Are you okay Nandini?," he himself asked and I looked down, staring at the fire lit in the corner. "And this....," He squeezed his eyebrows, pointing at the coat, "...belongs to Manik, isn't it?".

"How do you know?," I snapped back immediately and he shrugged, "I just guessed it,". Oh no, he didn't. His yes were sure that this belongs to Manik, but how? There was something so much more deeper that they were all hiding from me.

"I know... I know what you said to me at the party last Sunday was no illusion, and I know what you said was the truth. But I need to know everything Aryamman, I want to know why he killed your sister. I know Manik is wrong, I want to know it from you!," I was whisper screaming by the end, trying my best not to cry but one traitor slipped off and I wiped it before he could catch me crying.

He slowly got up from the opposite couch and poured himself a drink from the corner bar, his back facing me. "Manik is not wrong Nandini, he's just not right as well. His definition of right isn't what is ours, but that doesn't make him wrong. Isn't it?", he spoke in his croaky voice and i kept mum.

I kept staring at the glass bottles for a long time, not speaking anything. What was even Aryamman saying? The guy who held so much anger and hatred in his eyes for Manik, trying to bring him down at any moment he could, was suddenly swapping sides?

His behaviour confused me so much, that without even speaking a word, I got up to leave. I might go mad between the three if I stay with them any longer and keep letting my mind be twisted by their changing thoughts and views about each other, when I saw a shadow standing outside the study room door, peeping at us.

I was just going to tell Aryamman about it when he raised his finger, shaking his head in a no. He knew there was someone outside all this while, and that is the reason he immediately changed his words about Manik. Keeping my hands to cover my mouth, I fell back into the couch again, a smile playing over my face. It was difficult, but I was understanding how to play these games too, I finally felt I was fitting in.

When we saw the shadow fading away, he returned back to his couch near me. "I'm sorry," he whispered smiling and I smiled back, or actually- I giggled. This was all just an attentive game always, wasn't it?

"Who was it?," I asked smiling. Probably a spy or something, just like they show in movies? "My mother!" He said and my smile disappeared completely, breath getting stuck in my throat, as I started coughing and he almost laughed at my reaction.

"Why'd your mother spy on us?" I asked out of curiosity and he shook his head. "She's not spying on us," he tilted his face. "Yes, she's just listening to our talks," I mocked back, almost forgetting that we were talking about his mother.

He fake showed me his eyes and I bit my lower lip, and then we both started laughing. "She wasn't spying Nandini, she was just assuring a few things," he cleared his throat and I continued staring at him. "Assuring what things?".

"Shes assuring that you remain safe?," he rubbed his hand to his hair but it rather seemed as a question to me. As of guessing my expression, he cared explaining. "She doesn't want you to become another Mukti. She does know that you are the only person left that connects me, Zubin and Manik together, whether it is love, or hatred; just like Mukti. And what happened at the end? We lost Mukti! Maybe she doesn't want you to be a part of this fatal game called relations, feelings, love, hatred and revenge,".

I would be lying if I said I understood what he said. I had come here for a few answers, and I ended up becoming even more confused, as always.

"Nandini, everything you see around you is related to the past. I, Manik, Zubin, and Mukti have a past that's better closed like an old book in the library of our memories. With no Mukti, none of us will ever tell you anything. Mukti was like a portal, and since I-... we lost her, the past is closed.," he mentioned and an unknown fear passed down my spine, warm blood flowing through despite the coldness of the room.

"Who are y'all? Some mafia? Alphas? Dons? Werewolves? Because I don't understand anything! I'm a normal twenty year old girl who was living a normal life with her best friends; and suddenly, you three spin my entire world, and then tell me to not know anything? Expect me to keep quiet and let y'all play me?", I shouted holding my head and messy hair together as a few tears left me.

"Your past! Your darkness! Your revenge! Your hatred! This is all what I'm hearing ever since dad went away. Why am I even a part of your things? Y'all either tell me the truth, or you keep me away from it!," I removed every piece of anger building inside me and he heard patiently.

"The stories are too long for me to tell you anything, Murthy; you'd learn everything gradually. If there's anything you need to know is that there's only hatred, no love," He smiled to himself making we scrunch my nose.

"Why?," I was so tired. They either choose to keep secrets, or me. Because I'm not bearing anymore of the shit they keep dragging me through.

"I'd tell you one thing at a time, okay?," He raised his eye brows and I rolled my eyes. Was this some chocolate that he'd give me one at a time? Nevertheless, I greedily nodded. "No questions in return!," he conditioned and I promised.

"My mother, isn't my mother.," he said causally and I wanted to break his face. Is this some kind of joke going on? I want to know about the three of them, not about his personal family. "She is Manik's mother," the moment these words left his mouth, my heart skipped a beat.

"My mother is dead.," his words echoed in my ears.

"And my step mother," he specified and my mouth hung open. "You- you... and Manik are brothers?", I stammered. One was Malhotra and other was Khurrana, this had to be some kind of a pathetic joke.

"Mukti was my real sister, two years younger to me. When I was eight, my father got married to Manik's mother, and I, Manik, and Mukti- unfortunately became siblings," his voice was sad as if someone had died, showing the hatred of being his brother. "But I And Manik we're always from neck to neck. I hated him as a child because I had to share my sister with him... but Manik? He hated everyone. He hated the entire world-... except Mukti,".

"But Manik's love is poisonous. Look, he himself killed Mukti, our sister whom he pretended to love until he killed her mercilessly and termed it as an accident down the valley. And that's the only reason why I And Zubin wanted to keep you away," he sighed and my head spinned.

I needed to know some details. Why did he hate the world? Why did he kill Mukti? We're Zubin and Manik friends too? And why was he behind me? Why was I being dragged into all of it so soon?

"Murthy, I know there are a lot of questions in your head. I know you're wondering why Manik's mother is here with me and not with him and why he claims his family to be dead, but patience it is. The deeper you go, the darker it gets and it's too much to tell you at one time, okay? You will get to know everything, gradually..," he explained but I was just going blank.

"I think you should wait here for the night, it's too late to go alone...," he called but I had already walked away. I wasn't understanding anything that happened, nothing.

There were so many questions, and no answers at all. As I moved out of his dark mansion with lost eyes, my phone rang.

3AM. Unknown number.

Nervously, I picked up the phone. "Hello, princess?", his voice was slow but fast and croaky but husky and all at the same time. He sounded vulnerable but angry, hot but tired... and before I could break my thoughts to reply to him, he himself spoke.

"Princess, I need you....," he whispered and I instantly knew, something was definitely not right.

~Look like a princess but fight like a warrior~

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