Page 54 of Mrs. Rathore

I rose slightly from my chair, my knees weak beneath me. “You won’t… you can’t do anything to them. Please...”

“Unfortunately,” he interrupted, “I am going to destroy them.”

“No, no, no...please!”

I lunged toward him, dragging my injured legs, but he slipped past me easily, striding out of the room.

“Wait! Aryan, please don’t do this!” I screamed after him, voice raw and panicked.

Seconds later, he returned.

He held a bottle of petrol in one hand and a lighter in the other. My breath caught. My pulse skyrocketed.

“Don’t… don’t you dare...”

He threw the ghungroos on the cold marble floor and doused them with petrol. The sharp stench filled the air, tightening my chest with nausea.

I rushed forward again, but he snapped.

“Stay the fuck where you are if you don’t want me to really hurt you.”

“You’re already hurting me!” I shrieked, voice breaking as tears flooded my face. He gripped my arm and shoved me back into the wheelchair, his touch like fire. I struggled but he held firm.

He struck the lighter.

I watched in horror as the flames caught instantly, the fire hungrily devouring the fabric and threads. My ghungroos. My dreams. My memories.

Gone.

I screamed, falling to the floor and crawling desperately toward the burning pile. “No! No, no!” I cried, voice hoarse, lungs heaving. The pain of dragging my broken leg didn’t even register anymore. All I could see were the flames.

The warmth of the fire kissed my palms as I tried to pat it out with my hands. I grabbed my dupatta and swatted frantically. Then I grabbed the jug of water from the nightstand and threw it over the flames.

It sizzled.

Smoke rose into the air like a funeral pyre.

The flames died slowly, leaving behind charred fragments of metal and cloth blackened, broken, and melted.

I collapsed beside them, cradling the remains in my shaking hands. The warmth seeped into my skin, but I didn’t flinch.

I welcomed it.

Because nothing hurt more than watching the one thing that gave you hope, identity, and purpose turn to ash right in front of your eyes.

Aryan stood in the corner, breathing heavily, watching me like I was nothing more than the dust he wanted to sweep from his life.

And maybe I was.

Because at that moment, I didn’t just lose my ankle bells.

I lost myself.

_______

Chapter 20

AVNI