Inside a deserted cottage in a secluded hilly area, a girl was kept tied up by some people. Her name is Riyanshi, the lead of our story. Ocean-blue eyes, deep as the sea, with a constant innocence on her face that could charm anyone with just a smile. But today, those same deep eyes were filled with tears, a sadness expressing the pain of her heart. Despair had taken the place of innocence on her face. Despite having such a large family, she was alone; she had no one. It had been five days since she was kidnapped. But her family members didn't care about her, or perhaps they didn't even know where she was at this moment.

There was a time when she was the princess of her family; her every wish was fulfilled before she even spoke. Her life was just like a fairytale. But with the arrival of one person, everything changed. Her father's love, mother's affection, and brothers' pampering all turned into anger and indifference. That person was Meira.

Meira was the daughter of Riyanshi’s father’s friend. Her father died in a car accident when she was only three years old. Her father and Riyanshi's father were childhood friends. He had married of his own will, because of which Meira's mother and Meira had no one else besides him. When Meira came to Riyanshi's house, her mother had already passed away in the same accident. Luckily, Meira was saved. Before dying, Meira’s father took a promise from Riyanshi’s father that he would take care of Meira like his own child.

Riyanshi snapped out of her memories when ice-cold water was splashed on her. For five days, she was tortured—first with freezing water, then with scalding hot water. She didn't know who kidnapped her, but today, the kidnapper was finally appearing. The clicking sound of heels echoed in the room.

Riyanshi was getting lost in her memories again when the sound of heels began to reach her ears. Her eyes were cast down when a familiar voice echoed in her ears. It belonged to none other than her adopted sister Meira, who was saying:

Meira: Kaisi ho meri pyari behna?

Riyanshi was shocked to see Meira in front of her. Only one word came out of her mouth due to shock:

Riyanshi: Kyun?

Hearing this word, a cunning smile appeared on Meira's face. Meira repeated the same word

Meira: Kyun? Kyunki mujhe Rai Singhania parivaar ki iklauti princess banna tha. Isliye maine tumhe kidnap kiya, tumhe tumhare parivaar ki nazron mein giraya... itna giraya ki koi tumhara chehra tak dekhna nahi chahta. Jis din mujhe pata chala main Rai Singhania parivaar ki adopted beti hoon aur tum real princess, usi pal maine soch liya tha tumse sab kuch chheen lungi. Aur maine kiya bhi... dekho koi tumhe pasand nahi karta, sirf tumhare un boodhe Dada-Dadi aur tumhare bhai ke alawa.

Hearing Meira’s words, Riyanshi got very angry; she used all her strength to untie the ropes on her hands and, picking up a gun lying nearby, aimed it at Meira and tried to take a shot. Just then, someone jerked Riyanshi’s hands upward; the bullet fired into the air, and a resounding slap landed on Riyanshi’s cheek, sending her crashing to the floor. When Riyanshi looked up, it was none other than her mother.

That mother who had never even raised a finger at her. Then a powerful voice echoed in Riyanshi’s ears:

Rudra: Aakhir tum aisa kaise kar sakti ho? Jis ladki ne tumhe hamesha support kiya, jisne tumhare kidnap hone ki news sunte hi bhaagi-bhaagi chali aayi, tum usi ki jaan lena chahti ho? Tumse ye umeed nahi thi, Riyanshi!

This voice belonged to Riyanshi’s elder brother, Rudra Rai Singhania, who had always loved her like a father; hearing him say this was nothing less than a nightmare for Riyanshi.

Then her father’s voice came to her ears

Dad: Tumne pehle bhi Meira ko jaan se maarne ki koshish ki thi, phir bhi Meira ne tumhe maaf kar diya. Kitna bada dil hai iska! Aaj phir tumne Meira ko maarne ki koshish ki... ab paani sir se upar chala gaya hai. Is baar tumhe tumhare kiye ki saza milegi!

Meira, clinging to the chest of the second brother and pretending to be a victim, was watching only Riyanshi with side-glances. As soon as she saw that her elder brother Rudra Rai Singhania was about to go near Riyanshi, Meira—who was standing against Swayam Rai Singhania's chest—immediately went to her and, pretending to be good, acted like she was helping her up.

Riyanshi was feeling pure hatred for Meira. As soon as Meira touched Riyanshi, Riyanshi jerked her away. Before Meira could fall, the second brother Swayam Rai Singhania caught her. He said to Riyanshi:

Swayam: Ye kya harkat hai, Riyanshi? Tumne aisa kyun kiya? Woh toh bas tumhari madad karna chahti thi. Kya tum itni badtameez ho gayi ho?

Just then, the sound of Riyanshi’s laughter reached everyone’s ears as she stood up while laughing. Riyanshi looked at everyone once and said

Riyanshi: Mom, Dad, Bhai... kya aap logon ne mujh par kabhi bharosa nahi kiya? Kya kabhi mujhse pyar nahi kiya? Kya aapko lagta hai ki main sach mein jhoot bol rahi hoon? Kya aap logon ko kabhi meri aankhon mein sacchai nahi dikhi?

Then Riyanshi began to laugh loudly. There was a pain in her laughter—the pain of shattered trust and faith, which the whole family felt. For the first time, they felt a sense of guilt for the words they had said. The corners of her eyes had turned red, showing how she was holding back her tears.

Riyanshi picked up the gun in her hands again and aimed it at Meira:

Riyanshi: Sabki nazron mein buri ban hi chuki hoon, kyun na ek achhai wala kaam kar diya jaye? Tumhe is duniya se rukhsat kar diya jaye

Seeing the gun in Riyanshi’s hands once more, everyone became terrified for Meira; the guilt in their eyes was replaced by disappointment and anger. Before anyone could think or say anything, Riyanshi fired. The bullet grazed Meira’s arm because Swayam Rai Singhania had pulled her aside.

A slap landed on Riyanshi’s cheek, and with that, she fell to the ground. Her head collided with a side table, blood began to ooze from her head, and her clothes caught fire because of the candle kept on the table falling over.

Once again, everyone rushed toward Meira; no one’s eyes were on Riyanshi. Seeing this, Riyanshi smiled even in pain.

This was a pain-filled smile. In front of her eyes, her family was worried not for her, but for their adopted daughter who was taking her life.

Rudra picked Meira up in his arms and walked out of the cottage with her, and the entire family followed.

No one cared about Riyanshi or noticed that she was injured; not a single person looked at her. This fact was eating Riyanshi up from the inside. With this, only one emotion remained inside Riyanshi for her family—hatred, only hatred. Riyanshi’s heart was screaming—what was she being punished for? What was her crime that her family didn't even look at her once? She had only tried to get the love of everyone, which was her right.

She had put all her effort into regaining her family's love; she never did anything for herself, always trying to please her brothers and parents so they would appreciate her a little. She did it for her parents' happiness.

Riyanshi: Agar Bhagwan ne mujhe ek mauka diya... toh main sirf apne liye aur unke liye jiyungi jo mujhse saccha pyar karte hain.

With this, a single tear flowed from her eye. And Riyanshi’s eyes closed completely. Riyanshi’s body was burning in the flames, but not a single scream left her mouth. Perhaps the pain of the heart was much greater than the pain of the body.

To be continued,