Veer

5 years ago.

There was something oddly attractive about the taste of blood, especially if it's from someone close who destroyed your life and I’d just gotten to know it as I sat on the floor leaning my back against the couch, legs pulled closer, hands crossed on my knees. A glass of wine in my hand as I twirled it before taking a slow sip.

My father lay motionless on the floor beside me, blood pulling around his body, his blood as his wife and daughter sat in the corner terrified and trying to suppress their sniffles.

These are the same people who wanted to hand over my inheritance to their daughter—my so-called sister.

“Where do you both plan to go now?”

“J-Just let us live here, we will be your servants, we don't have anywhere else to go.” I looked at her, my cold eyes locking her in place and she flinched.

Satisfactory.

“Fine.” I said a psychotic grin pulling at my lips.

“But…”

“B-but?” She stammered.

“You guys have to contribute.” I finished making their breath hitch.

“How?” My sister asked, her voice shaking.

“You'll go to Aayushman’s room tonight.” I pointed my index finger towards my sister watching as her eyes widened in terror.

“Bhai he's a beast.” She shouted her voice laced with pure disbelief. She sounded like she thought I'm not capable of such cruelty.

“You should be grateful that I am not handing you over to Silas.” I said dismissing her fear as I took another sip from my glass.

“How could you do this to me? I'm your sister, I'm your family.” She said her tone was accusatory.

“Ciara was family too.” I said my eyes snapping to hers.

“She deserved what I did to her because she snatched my Silas from me.” She exclaimed looking too pleased with her answer.

My grip tightened around my glass and it almost cracked.

“Silas wasn't yours from the beginning.” I hissed, gritting my teeth.

“No, Silas used to be so good to me I was the only one in his eyes before she barged into his life and snatched him away from me.” She sobbed before continuing, “And now look it's been two years since she's gone and Silas still hadn't moved on.”

“You destroyed him.”

“I didn't, I just shut Ciara out of his life so he could be mine again.” She shouted, sounding desperate.

“What else did you do to her?” I asked, my voice, tired.

“I bullied her every chance I got, I got her gang raped and killed.” My jaw clenched at her admission and the glass in my hand finally cracked, blood rushed out falling onto the floor mixing with my father's blood which was already splattered across the floor.

Glass pierced through my palm as I curled it into a fist pushing the shattered pieces further in as a single drop of tears slid down my eye.

And before I could get up and punch her in the face, I heard her gag violently and a slow smirk curled at my lips as I looked up slowly to see Silas’s fingers curled around Aditi’s neck. Her feet were not on the ground anymore.

“S-Silas please.” She whimpered, clawing at his wrist but he had long stopped carrying about pain.

“Silas, today is Ciara’s death anniversary.” I said calmly and watched his grip around Aditi's neck loosened as he threw against the nearer wall and her pathetic helpless sobs and coughs filled the room.

Silas walked up to me and sat on the couch opposite to me as he poured himself a drink.

“What did you plan on doing to her?” He asked, taking a sip of his drink. His voice was calm, almost soft, no hint of grief in it.

I looked up into his amber eyes. They were hollow. It has been like this ever since he buried Ciara that day two years ago was the last time I saw emotion on his face after that he's been nothing more than a living corpse.

“I'm sending her to Aayushman.” I answered.

“Tell him not to kill her, I’d like to do the honour.” He murmured as his gaze dropped from me to the dead body of my father lying beside me.

“He was being too loud.” I said, already getting the question on his mind.

My gaze flickered to his neck and just above his collar there was blood—a lot of it.

“Who did you kill?” Confusion took over me because as far as I know him he never kills or even beats anyone on Ciara's death anniversary; it has been a silent rule of his life for the past two years.

“It's mine.” He replied, grazing the wound.

“How did you get it?”

“I was at a club. A girl kissed my neck so I stabbed the place she kissed and took the flesh out.” I replied like it's the most normal thing in the world and for him it is.

“Ciara would've wanted you to move on.”

“You want to die?” He took a deep breath before continuing, “Doesn't matter that she's dead I'll always belong to her and I would never touch any woman who's not my Ciara.”

“Guards take Aditi and send her to Aayushman’s house and tell him he's not allowed to kill her.” I ordered after Silas left and my guards followed.

Her and her mother's screams echoed as my guards dragged Aditi away.

━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━

Today

Routine was simple like everyday I woke up went for a run came back took a shower put on my uniform got ready and went downstairs and sat on the dining table at the head of the house’s chair as Isha, my so-called mother who's now nothing more than a servant served me food while I scrolled through my schedule on my Ipad.

“Today is Aditi's birthday. Can you please let her out?” She shuttered my gaze snapping to her and her tone changed instantly, “Even for half an hour.”

“Your daughter doesn't deserve any happiness.” I said standing up and walked out of the door heading towards my car without taking a single bite of the food.

It's not new for me. I always—mostly skip breakfast.

I drove off to the base.

Upon reaching I parked my car and went straight to my office. The soldiers on the way greeted me, some with respect, some with fear. I replied to all of them with a curt nod.

Sir this file contains the information of the four interns “Who'll be joining the medical department this week.” My subordinate informed me, handing a file.

“Zainab Ansaari, age 26.” The first page of the file said.

“Aayush Singh, age 25, Abhimaan Tiwari, age 27.”

I flipped onto the last page and as soon as I looked at the picture I froze before a slow smile curled on my lips, not fake, not practiced, a real one probably for the first time in years, “Never thought I'll find you like this, heaven.” I muttered as her innocent hazel eyes greeted me through the picture.

But I better than anyone knew to believe that those eyes are really innocent.

“Now you'll know how my hatred looks.” I gritted my teeth.

“Aadhya Sinha, welcome to hell.” I closed the file and went to attend a briefing.

I was already annoyed by the time the meeting ended. I walked out with an unbearable headache and to make things worse some idiot bumped into me and spilled their coffee on my uniform—the uniform which I love more than my life.

My eyes dipped down to the stain slowly forming across the olive green of my uniform before looking up ready to snap whoever had decided to bump into me.

Ohh heavens, my heaven looks as beautiful as ever.

I froze at my place when my eyes met those innocent hazel ones staring back at me. The innocence in them almost fooled me again.

Four years—Four years and my eyes still didn’t figure out how to resist hers.

“Can’t you see while walking?” She huffed her eyes traveled from the cup in her hand to my eyes.

Furious, beautiful.

I saw recognition flicker in her eyes but it was gone just as quickly. The whole halfway was frozen eyes fixed on us when the realisation hit me. I schooled my expression back in place forcing my eyes to look away from her, “Don’t you all have work to finish?”

They stammered useless apologies and then scattered away from the halfway after giving a look of pity to Aadhya.

I can understand them, to anyone looking at us for the first time it seemed like I am the predator, cold, cruel, heartless and she—she is the prey, soft, innocent, full of light.

The absurdity of it all almost pulled out a humourless laugh from me.

Because they didn’t know I'd already been hunted by her four years ago.

I still get nightmares of that night.

“Nice to meet you again.” I slow smile curled at the corner of my lips, not quite a smirk.

I offered my hand for a handshake.

She chuckled, and shook my hand winking at me, “Missed me, Colonel?” She smiled.

“Very much heaven.” I returned the smile before walking past her.

A silly smile curved at my lips at the thought of tormenting her, just like she had done to me all those years ago.

━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━

I was going through the files of all the failed assignments the army had conducted in the past six years and one of those assignments really intrigued me but before I could dive deeper into the file, my phone lit up.

It was my mother, “Hello?” My voice was cold and the tone was decisive.

“Hello V-Veer? Aayushman was here and he took Aditi with him.” I was greeted by her trembling voice.

“You should contact Silas for that matter.” My tone was laced with annoyance.

“B-But she’s your sister.” She pleaded.

“Not my problem.” I mut

tered before hanging up, and dragged my focus back to the file in front of me.

Fifteen failed assignments.

One place.

ROSS ISLAND.