by MV Kasi
"Why were you targeting me specifically?" she asked.
He closed his eyes, and then taking a deep breath, he opened them to look at her. "Because you lied about something as a child. You told my mother and everyone that your cousin was abusing you. And my mother fought on your behalf, thinking that it was the truth. But when it was clearly proven as a lie, my mother was fired from her job, and she couldn't find another one. Everyone at the village disrespected her, and abandoned her. She felt she had no choice, but to kill herself in shame and defeat. For several years, I held you solely responsible for making her take that drastic step and leaving me. You made me an orphan by destroying the only person I loved—with your lie."
She watched his face as he narrated the events of his past. And when he was done, she made another soul-destroying discovery.
"You hate me," she stated.
He didn't reply or contradict that statement in anyway.
"You planned and arranged most of our initial meetings, because you were targeting me for revenge."
She couldn't believe she had been so naive when it came to him.
"You pretty much succeeded, because I was a desperate, blind fool, who fell for your act. You demanded my heart and my trust, even while you hated me, and pretended to help me survive and fight my demons. You were playing with me, biding you time until our baby is born," she said.
She watched him icily as he stared at her in silence. The sound of her phone vibrating again was the only noise in the room.
"Answer me!" she demanded. "Did you do this because you hated me?"
Ajay knew he'd crush his wife with the truth. But it was too late now.
He looked into her eyes as he replied to her with the truth. "Yes. I met you because I hated you. I've hated you most of my life. My hate for you was what drove me forward, and made me achieve things that a normal child wouldn't even think of doing. I hated you so much that it became my very reason for living. My only ambition, even as an adolescent was to find you and destroy you."
If Sia weren't sitting, she would have collapsed as she listened to Ajay's impassioned speech.
But slowly, her eyes hardened even more, as she began pulling every reserve of strength she had to the surface.
"I see," she said calmly.
"No Sia, you don't. Because it all changed when I met you again in person. I started to fall for you. I love you and I want—" he began.
She cut him off. "It doesn't matter. I don't care about what you feel or what I felt before. I'm done thinking such shit. All that matters now is the reason I did all of this."
"Do you know why I came back to India in the first place?" she asked.
"Yes. Because you want to get back at your cousin for abusing you when you were a child," he said softly.
She looked at him for a few seconds, betraying nothing on her face. "No. My cousin never abused me as a child," she told him in a quiet monotone.
Ajay was stunned.
"Then why are you so driven about going after him? I had him investigated as well. I have been tracking his every movement from the past one year. And I couldn't find anything suspicious about him so far..." his voice trailed off as dread crept into him at the look on her face.
She smiled. And it wasn't a pleasant or a happy smile.
"That's because it wasn't my cousin I was after. It was his father, my mother's brother. My beloved uncle was the one who stole my innocence, raping me from the age of eight until I turned nine. And your mother was the only person who had believed in the truth when I finally found courage and begged for help."
Ajay stared at her in a horrified shock. But before he could react, she picked up her phone and stormed out from the restroom.
She didn't know where was going and neither did she care. She had to get away from him. To put together the pieces from the shambles of her life.
The party hall was still crowded as she hurried towards the exit.
Her phone began to vibrate in her hands.
Wiping away her silent tears, she answered it.
"Sia!" Varun shouted frantically on the other end.
Before she could respond, he continued shouting even more. "Why the hell weren't you answering your phone? Get out of there! He's right there. That bastard is there at the same place as you are!"
A chill passed though her body and she began to panic. She looked around her, and began to walk quickly through the crowd, going towards another exit which wasn't the main entrance to the party.
She heard a few people calling out her name, but she didn't respond to them.
She had to get away.
When she reached the exit, she bumped into another person.
"I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" a man's voice asked.
Why the hell did people keep asking her that? The man she had loved betrayed her because he hated her.
Her entire world had just split open to come crashing down around her. So no. She wasn't okay.
Wiping her tears from her blurry eyes, she looked up at the person she had bumped into, about to apologize to him, before walking around him. But her entire body froze.
And this time, her world didn't just split or come crashing down, but it also got blasted, getting destroyed to smithereens.
The man in front of her froze along with her in shock. His brown eyes were widened and his slightly wrinkled face paled as though he was seeing a ghost.
"Lavanya..." he whispered.
Sia broke into a sob as she heard the man whisper her dead mother's name and ran towards the stairwell to escape.
"Wait!" the man gasped out and followed behind her.
She ripped the door open and was about to escape down the stairs when the man's arm stopped her by holding her arm.
"Wait. Oh my god. How can this be possible? Dharini...Is that really you...Little Princess?" he asked.
At the use of her childhood endearment, all the terror and hate came crashing into her head, overwhelming her. She bent over and gagged on the stairs. But there was nothing left inside her to come out, except intense fear and panic.
She trembled in fear as her abuser and she, stared at each other in shock. And then, slowly his eyes looked down at her. He saw her large rounded belly.
When his eyes met hers again, she could see the comprehension dawn slowly in his eyes along with all the other possible implications.
"No," she whispered as she felt the menace and threat.
During most of her life, she had been training and preparing for this very moment. But all the hours of kick boxing or other self-defense trainings couldn't help her at that moment.
She was transported to being the same helpless nine year old girl who was pitted against a strong adult who wanted to violate her innocence.
"You didn't drown that day in the water. You are still alive. Why are you here?" he asked.
She moved back a step, whimpering, and holding her stomach protectively. "Ajay," she whispered.
"You are pregnant." The man's voice changed, and the tone became frantic. "How old are you now?" he demanded.
"Ajay..." She called out again. But her voice was unable to come out more than a whisper.
She moved away from the man, trying to escape him. But he held both her arms, and continued shaking her. "Tell me how old you are!" he demanded.
"Don't touch me. Please, I don't want it, Uncle. Please don't make me," she begged and sobbed, her voice sounding like that of a little girl.
She jerked away from him, and felt her feet slip on a stair.
Unable to find balance, she began to fall. She desperately tried to grab onto something to break the fall, but she couldn't. The only thing left to do next was to keep her stomach safe. And she succeeded.
There was loud thunk, a blinding pain at the back of her head, and then...blessed oblivion.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Thank you, dear reader for hanging on with this story. I hope you enjoyed it so far. Sia's story is not yet over. There is a lot more comin
g up soon. I didn't want to rush her story. For me, writing about Sia has been one of the most emotional journeys I've ever made. Her actions, her reactions, her internal battles, and her bravery—I am in awe of her character. I only hope that I do some form of justice to her story.
To give you more insight regarding Sia's character, let me share my experience with you. Before starting this book and while writing it, I had done some research on long-term effects of the childhood sexual abuse. Repressed Memories (especially in incest survivors), PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), Addictions, Anxiety, Depression, Lack of self-esteem, Need for Control—are some of the effects. I had touched upon those and incorporated them in the story.
Please Rate and Review:
Amazon Link: smarturl.it/soulless
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34878647-soulless
DISCLAIMER: Please be aware that as a fiction writer, I have taken some liberties with the narration of this story. In a real world situation, an individual who had suffered through the abuse might not act in the manner depicted in the book.
If you or someone you know needs assistance/information regarding help for Adult Victims of Child Abuse, please visit: https://www.havoca.org/
Thank You!
MV Kasi
When the woman he both loves and hates, needs him.
Will Ajay fight her demons—to love and protect her?
Or will he succumb to the hate and turn
RUTHLESS
SOULLESS Series
BOOK TWO
Coming June 2017
Turn the page for a teaser...
COMING JUNE 2017
Ruthless (Revenge or Love?) (The Revenge Games#2)
Amazon Link: smarturl.it/ruthlessrevengegames
EXCERPT
"All the while I thought I was using you, an innocent man, to achieve my goals. But you were actually using me, and playing with my emotions," Sia said in anguish.
"Using you?" Ajay scoffed in disbelief. "I wish I could," he retorted.
And then, he looked at her angrily. "You have no bloody idea, how it is to fall in love with someone you have hated most of your life. I did want to punish you, make you suffer, and hurt you. But I couldn't. Because I was falling in love with you."
She looked at him in disbelief. "How could you fall for me? How can anyone fall for me? I am cold, weak and—"
“Human,” he finished for her. “You’re human, Sia. We all are. We all have our own monsters that we fight in the dark. And you were mine. You were the demon that lived inside me for far too long and I couldn't purge you. And it only got worse when I met you."
He stared outside the window of the hospital room.
"When I met you and saw how you lived your life in fear, I realized that my life's ambition was driven by what I thought was a frightened little girl's lie. I felt stupid and wanted to leave you alone. But I wasn't able to get rid of you from my thoughts. I tried. I even wanted to get married to someone else, thinking it would get rid of my obsession towards you.”
He looked back at her with an accusing look. "But I couldn't forget you. Even when I was almost engaged to Jo, you consumed my thoughts. You always will."
Sia shook her head, refusing to let his words affect her. "I can't trust you or your motives anymore. Once I officially inherit the Naidu Estate, we will be done. I don't ever want to be with you again," she said.
Ajay's eyes flared possessively. "That will never happen. Because I'm never letting you go," he said ruthlessly.
ABOUT MV KASI
By day, MV Kasi works for a software company. By night, she gives in to her fascination to explore the human psychology and the various facets of life in her writing. She has particular fascination with successful people who are not considered 'normal' by society's standards.
Her love for reading has led her to start writing on her own. She likes to add depth to her characters and explore their psychological motivations. Due to the nature of topics and plots, she does not shy away from writing about sexuality or violence. Despite covering some heavy topics, she likes to infuse humor into her writing.
Important Note: If you have purchased a copy of ANY one of my books and do not have access to Kindle Unlimited, please provide an honest review to WIN a FREE copy of any ONE of my other titles available on Amazon. All you have to do is write a review and send me the link of the review to my email at [email protected].
Thank you!
MV Kasi
Email: [email protected]
Author Page URL: www.amazon.com/author/mvkasi
Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/mvkasi
Goodreads profile: https://www.goodreads.com/mvkasi
Twitter: author_mvkasi
MV KASI BOOKS LINKS
That Same Old Love (Match Made In Hell Series #1)
Amazon Link: smarturl.it/thatsameoldlove
Those Same Old Desires (Match Made In Hell Series #2)
Amazon Link: smarturl.it/thosesameolddesires
The Holiday Affair (Match Made In Hell Series Book#3) (STANDALONE)
Amazon Link: smarturl.it/theholidayaffair
Soulless (Revenge or Love?) (The Revenge Games#1)
Amazon Link: smarturl.it/soulless
Ruthless (Revenge or Love?) (The Revenge Games#2)
Amazon Link: smarturl.it/ruthlessrevengegames
That Same Old Love – Sample
DESCRIPTION
Mahi is back to India. All she wants to do is to start over and distance herself from her past. But her path to the new beginning is challenged by her rude and grumpy neighbor, who refuses to believe in anything nice about her.
Samrat, a former class nerd—and one of Mahi's victims—is now an extremely successful entrepreneur (No thanks to her). He would rather spend his days and nights, inventing things and running his company than be bothered by the annoyingly cheerful and maddening woman. And Mahi could swear up and down that she no longer means any harm to him or his family, but he knew she would be up to no good soon. Adding to his troubles was also the fact that Mahi was now working for his company at the same office.
Will these former enemies stay away from each other without getting caught in a fierce, but unwanted attraction? Or will they fall victim to—That Same Old Love.
WARNING: Contains sexual content and some adult themes that are intended for mature reading audiences.
CHAPTER 1
"Oh god! No! No. No. No. No!"
Mahi was still staring into her messy purse. She had rummaged through it plenty of times to know that the house key was definitely missing. And also enough to know that she would have to go to the neighbor's house and ask them for the emergency spare key.
She was bone tired and hungry after a long journey from San Francisco to Hyderabad, which was made even longer due to a missed flight connection.
She was really looking forward to crashing in her childhood home the moment she entered inside. And now, she had to find a way to get inside the damn house first.
"Great. Just great. And it's not even six in the morning," she muttered, looking towards the neighboring houses.
Almost all of the homes had been renovated in some way or the other over the past fourteen years. Although not as much as the opposite house.
The opposite house was currently occupied since the lights were turned on the top floor. And she thought she even saw someone's shadow move.
But wow! It wasn't anything like the modest two-leveled structure from before.
Someone had renovated or most likely razed and built from ground up. Whoever designed it, must like building over-the-top energy efficient ultra-modern houses. The house was a stark white structure with lots of shiny brown wooden edges and plenty of glass windows. The sloped roofs around the curvy balconies had plenty of solar panels on top of them that were reflecting light.
It definitely looked odd within the homey looking houses around.
"You need to focus!" she muttered to herself a
s she peeled her eyes away from the house. She had plenty of time to gawk at the odd looking house from her balcony if she could get inside first.
"Okay then..." she said tiredly and walked across the street.
She rang the neighbor's doorbell a few times and waited impatiently. "Oh come on. Hurry up and open already," she muttered.
On the fourth or maybe the fifth ring, she heard footsteps inside, and then the door was finally opened by a really tall and broad man, who stood staring or rather glaring down at her with a grim expression.
"Hello, Maha Lakshmi Challuri," he said ominously.
For a second, she was really surprised and was wondering how he knew her name. Smiling politely, she was just about to ask him to excuse her for the odd hour, and then request him for the spare key. But when she looked at his face properly, especially at the thin eyebrow scar, she was shell shocked.
"Tarzan?" she blurted out his nickname from their college days, remembering it too late that he hated that name with a passion.
His face grew even grimmer, which she didn't think could be possible. And he also stood up straighter, appearing even more dangerous with his rugged features and his steely narrow eyed stare.
"No. It's Samrat Reddy," he growled.
She was still gaping at him in shock.
It has been close to fourteen years since she last saw him, and in those years he managed to fill out his tall, broad, but painfully bony body. His face had never been cute or boyish even during their college days, but now he looked even more raw and masculine, like one of those famous actors in the cowboy movies, who looked dangerous, and ready to shoot and protect their property from the trespassers. The thin T-shirt wasn't doing a great job of concealing his impressive body either. And his hair was styled in a short, but deliberately messy way. Fourteen years ago, it had been simply falling messily over his eyes and ears.
