You Are My Unique Gift

The Web Of Deceit

KOMAL’S POV:

“DIVIRATH!” My voice was raw, a desperate cry tearing through the Miami night. Tears, a tangled web of panic and rage, stained my cheeks as I fiercely grabbed Rajeev's collar, shaking him. "What has he done to him?" I shrieked, my desperate screams met with silence, broken only by humiliating hiccups and sobs. "Where is he? What did he do to him?"

Rajeev's hand hesitated before withdrawing. "Komal," he murmured, his voice holding a warmth that stirred the raging storm. Pity.

I sank to my knees as the cool breeze carried away my ragged sobs. “Where is he?” I choked out, a plea lost in the wind.

“Your Highness is safe,” Rajeev breathed with a sigh, kneeling beside me. His eyes mirrored the turmoil in mine. “You need to stop,” he whispered, frustration and something else thick in his voice.

"Stop what?" I spat, my voice raw. “Crying? Begging? Your boss sees me as a toy, Rajeev! A puppet to play with whenever he wants. A mistress!” I hiccupped, grinding my teeth. “He wants me as his mistress. Marry Divirath but sleep with him every night! Am I a w***e to him?” For once, I wished the venom in my voice could kill that demon.

“You're taking it wrong again. He is angry,” Rajeev said, running a hand over his face. “He…” His gaze flickered away. “He loves you,” he finally forced out in a whisper.

My head snapped back. My eyes shone defiantly, hurt. “Does he?” I laughed. “What kind of love wants the other to be humiliated, destroyed, and irretrievably ruined?”

“He is hurt. I know once he’d calm down and see through things, he’ll—”

My chuckle cut him off.

“Vihaan Malhotra is the embodiment of serenity, Rajeev. Every breath he takes is deliberate and calculated. Don't try to convince me that he acts on impulse. It's not love, Rajeev, it's an obsession. He wants me to suffer because I made him suffer. He is taking a bloody revenge.”

“Can you blame him?” Rajeev shot back, defensive. “You left him in utter misery. I've witnessed him endure days locked in his room, refusing to step out. His world fell apart. You shattered it. Do you know at one point, he contemplated giving up on life? If it weren’t for Viraj…”

I gasped astounded. “You are lying!”

“Am I? Aren’t you the lover? Shouldn’t you know more about him than I do? Or perhaps you were too focused on yourself to notice the impact your calls were having on others? What does it make you? I hope whatever it is, it’s worse than being just a w***e!” My eyes widened at Rajeev’s retort but he was far from done yet.

“You were his source of happiness. The Malhotras were already grappling with Viraj's trial. He was facing countless challenges—overcame almost all of them, but you let him down, Ms. Journalist. I had never seen him cry like that. He was into pieces and you did it to him,” Rajeev spoke, his voice tinged with emotion. His gaze seemed distant as if he were traversing the pages of time. “He turned into a child whose dreams were shattered by a cruel reality. He wasn’t lying when he said he scoured the entire city. He became a beggar. You reduced him to a beggar.”

The words rushed out, a river of remorse crashing against the dam of my lips. "I messed up, okay?" I confessed, my voice thick with regret. Tears blurred my vision, but I could still see Rajeev's face twisted with anger.

"He wasn't the only one hurting," I choked out, my throat tight with emotion. "I've been drowning in guilt, nights suffocated by the weight of my choices. I wanted to shield him, to spare him pain, but I ended up being the wrecking ball in his life."

A sob escaped me, raw and unchecked. "Vihaan was my everything," I admitted, my voice trembling. "I would've endured anything to keep him safe. Even if it meant drowning in my own loneliness, suffocated by the silence of sleepless nights, as long as he was okay."

Rajeev's anger seemed to boil over, his jaw locked tight. "Then why, damn it? Why throw it all away? You two could've had it all, forever. Why let that... that arrogant moron for a prince ruin everything?" His voice thundered, a dangerous edge cutting through the air. "If only Vihaan had allowed me to have my way..." he trailed off, eyes flashing with a fierce intensity.

My heart raced. He must know where Divirath was. Panic seized me. The desperation drove me forward as I clutched his arm.

"You know where he is, don't you?" I pleaded, barely above a whisper. "Rajeev, please, I'll do anything. Just help me."

He studied me, a storm of emotions swirling in his eyes—anger, disgust, and something else... disappointment.

“Women! The most disgusting creature to ever ascend on the plant,” Rajeev spat, his voice laced with venom. “Women, Komal, are the problem. You treat men like disposable playthings, tossed aside when you're bored. You're the meanest, most self-centered creature I've ever met!”

His words stung like a viper's bite. Shame coiled around my throat, choking back any retort. Tears welled in my eyes, blurring his angry face.

"Ever think about the consequences of your actions?" he roared, his voice cracking with restrained fury. "Do you even give a damn about that precious Prince Charming of yours? You're just using him, just like you used Vihaan. God, I wouldn't mind giving you a piece of my mind right now!"

The raw anger in his voice sent shivers down my spine. "It's not that simple, Rajeev," I croaked, my voice barely audible over the storm raging within him. "I can't bear the thought of anyone else being hurt because of me. You accuse me of selfishness, but you have no idea what I've been through. This is between Vihaan and me, and I refuse to drag innocent people into this mess. I made one mistake, for God's sake, and I can't afford another."

"You are the mistake, Komal!" he bellowed, his face contorting in disgust. "A walking, breathing curse. Can't you, for once, see beyond your self-centered world and understand the pain you inflict? You're a monster disguised in beauty."

The injustice of his words stung. I opened my mouth to defend myself, but he cut me off with a snarl.

"Don't even think about playing the victim!" he spat. "After all these years, when you finally saw Vihaan, did you even offer a semblance of an apology? Did you try to heal the wounds you ripped open? No. You ran away like a coward, treating him like a disease. For all your supposed intelligence and beauty, you're devoid of empathy, completely blind to the emotional fallout of your actions."

His tirade left me breathless, a cocktail of shame and anger churning in my stomach. "And who are you to judge me?" I finally managed, my voice trembling with suppressed rage. "You hold an innocent man hostage, stealing his potential wife. What does that make Vihaan? A saint?"

A flicker of pain crossed his face, a fleeting glimpse of the man beneath the rage. "He's an honest man," he rasped, his voice thick with emotion. "He loves you with every fiber of his being, enough to destroy himself... or you, if necessary. At least he's true to his heart. What about you, Komal? Have you ever shown even a shred of honesty towards Divirath?"

His question hung heavy in the air, a silent accusation that echoed the emptiness in my own heart. Shame burned hot on my cheeks, and I could only stare at the floor, the weight of his words pinning me down.

"Thought so," he muttered, his voice laced with a bitter disappointment. "If you'd told him the truth, maybe, just maybe, none of this would have happened. Maybe Vihaan and the prince could have had a civilized conversation, found a way to resolve this mess like men. But you, Komal, you chose the path of deceit. You brought this chaos upon yourself, so stop playing the victim. Your tears are pathetic excuses for your actions."

His harsh words echoed in the silence, a stark reminder of the web of my own making. Tears streamed down my face, fueled not just by his anger, but also by the crushing weight of my own guilt and the terrifying reality of the situation I had created.

My voice broke, the dam of my emotions finally bursting. “Maybe I was wrong to leave him,” I confessed, my voice cracking with vulnerability. "But I can't… I can't let Divirath pay for my mistakes!"

“Then deal with it yourself! Go ahead, f*****g marry the guy and let Your Highness off the hook. Vihaan's fixated on you. Maybe, after the storm of his rage passes, your magical glow of love will save your sorry world. And if you still doubt it, lemme tell you,” Rajeev breathed.

“If my girl had pulled this stunt, I'd have had her on the street selling herself, not making her the queen of my kingdom. Vihaan's bending over backward to give you his name. f*****g appreciate his kindness! Spread your damn legs for him, and let him f**k the wrongs outta him. It’s the least you could do!”

With that, he turned, his back a rigid line of defiance. Before taking a step, he paused, his voice a cold whisper that sliced through the tense air.

“Just so you know, Komal, your time is running out. Tonight is your last chance to make a decision. You see, Divirath had an unfortunate... encounter. A Bloomslang, a small snake, took a liking to him. We hadn't planned on this, of course, just a little show of force. But your prince, well, he's not the brightest when it comes to self-preservation.” Rajeev's lip curled into a sneer.

"Vihaan tried to reason with him," he continued a hint of dark amusement in his tone.

"He offered Divirath a way out of this whole mess if he'd simply dissolve the engagement. But your prince is a stubborn fool, isn't he? He escalated the situation, and well, Vihaan lost his patience. Now, the only antidote is in his hands, and he won't give it up unless you take your place beside him as his bride."

He paused, letting the full weight of those words sink in. "Of course, to the rest of the world, it will just be a tragic accident. An exotic snakebite, a man far from home – a shame, really. But you and I, we'll know the truth."

With that final, chilling statement, he turned and strode away, leaving me frozen to the spot. The enormity of the situation crashed down on me. Bloomslang venom... it worked slowly, excruciatingly. Divirath could be suffering right now, his life hanging in the balance, all because of me.

I had to act, and fast. There was no time for self-pity or questioning Rajeev's motives. Divirath's life depended on it. My mind raced a desperate search for a solution, any way out of this nightmare that I had created.

With trembling fingers, I reached for my phone, the screen blurring with unshed tears as I dialed the familiar number. Each ring felt like an eternity, the silence stretching taut with anticipation until finally, a voice answered on the other end.

“Abhay,” I breathed, my voice barely a whisper, “I need you.”

*****

Vote. Comment. Recommed.

Please share your thoughts, it helps a lot.

LOVE XO

Komal