𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐬|𝟐

R Y S A

“Maa, itni badi party kyun rakhi hai? Itna taam jhaam nahi pasand mujhe, aapko pata hai na. Papa ke aadhe doston ko main nahi jaanti, hamare aadhe rishtedaaro ko nahi jaanti. Almost kisi ko nahi jaanti main. Fir ye sab ka kya fayda.” I question my mother, who sits on my bed calmly, observing me as I pace across my room, panicking.

(Mom, why have you organised such a grand party? You know I don’t enjoy all this, don’t you? I don’t know half of Papa’s friends, I don’t know half of our relatives. I don’t know almost anyone. Then what’s the point of all this.)

It’s my eighteenth birthday today. That’s right. I am finally legal to do all the illegal shits I have always wanted to do. I am finally eligible to go to London, to my dream college, for my bachelor’s degree. Though, I am not gonna go overboard of course. I will keep myself in check.

Or at least that’s what I am convincing myself.

The deep, dark fantasies of my inner beast are barely in my control anymore. Every now and then, the cravings heighten and till now I have done a great job at hiding it and keeping it in control, but I can’t say how long I’ll be able to do it.

Now that I have turned eighteen, it’s like nothing will be able to stop me now. Age, which by the way is just a number- says my friend who fucked her thirty two year old dad’s best friend when she was almost eighteen- can also not stop me now.

“Are you going to calm down?” My mother’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts and I remember why I am freaking out.

Apparently, my parents have decided to organise a grand party for the celebration of their daughter’s eighteen birthday and to introduce her to society. My dad- stepdad- has literally called the entire city of Delhi and every elite businessman from across the country, and our relatives to the party.

You might think it’s normal and nothing big. Maybe that’s the case for you, but I am a big ass introvert. You simply cannot expect me to go out, socialise with people, make friends. I am too awkward for that shit. What makes it worse is my ‘keinchi jaisi zubaan’.

That’s what my mom calls it. I simply don’t have any control over my tongue the moment someone says anything which doesn’t align with my point of view. I especially cannot control myself from slaughtering a man alive with my tongue when he thinks he can talk to or about a woman anyway he wants.

They need to be shown their place.

Men, I mean.

“Itna panic kyun kr rhi ho, ek party hi to hai. Dress up, cut the cake, smile for some family photos, aur fir chali aana room mein wapis. Noone’s going to murder you.” That’s what she has to say to calm me down.

(Why are you panicking so much? Dress up, cut the cake, smile for some family photos, and then come back to your room.)

I can’t deal with my mom at times. Seriously. It’s easy for her to say because she has always been the extrovert type. Queen Bee at school, the Miss Popular in college and everything that falls between popular and the queen for her entire life. But I am not that.

Trust me, I am not complaining.

I never want to be that. I am better off being the pretty, mysterious, nerd, who everyone wants to figure out but simply can’t. That’s a different kind of power in itself. I have seen the looks I get from everyone when I walk through the corridors of my high school. I can see how much they wish to open me and see what I hide inside, how they wish to touch me, have me, but simply cannot. Because that’s who I am.

Untouchable.

Desired by all, touched by none.

I like that.

“Itna aasan nahi hai, maa. Ye saare log— mujhe ghutan hoti hai inke beech.”

(It’s not that easy, mom. All these people— I feel suffocated among them)

“To wapis aa jaana jab ghutne lage. You know Viraaj will never force you, right? Wo to bas chahte hai ki tum khush raho. Ye party bhi isiliye rakhi hai unhone, ri. He thought tumhe pasand aayega.”

“Maa, aisa nahi hai ki mujhe pasand nahi unko khush dekhna, ya party karna. Mujhe bas itne anjaane logon ke beech rehna pasand nahi. But koi ni, agar dad chahte hai and itne pyaar se organise kiya hai to main aa jaungi.”

(Then come back to your room when it starts suffocating. You know Viraaj will never force you, right? He just wants you to always be happy. That’s why he has organised this party. He thought you’d like it, Ri.)

(Mom, it’s not that I don’t want dad to be happy, or that I don’t enjoy parties. I just don’t like staying between so many strangers. But it’s okay, if dad wants this and he has organised it with so much love, I’d be there.)

“That’s the spirit. I knew you were gonna love it, sweetheart.” A man’s voice grabs our attention and we turn around to find Viraaj- my stepdad- entering the room with a big grin on his face.

A smile makes its way automatically on my lips as he engulfs me in a small hug. I hug him back before he pulls away. I am actually very happy that mom found him after staying lonely for so long.

Viraaj and mom got married when I was twelve, eight months after their first meet, well not exactly. They have been a part of this high society since as long as they remember but they never officially met each other. When they did, they hit it off almost immediately and decided to get married.

Viraaj’s first wife died young and after that, he stayed single, not rushing to find another person to fill the void. As for mom, my father cheated on her multiple times with multiple women until she found out one night and left him. There is no explanation for cheating, she says.

I have been taught that since a very young age and I abide by it. Consensually, I can excuse everything but when you are deceiving someone, that’s straight up bullshit. I hate it with everything in me.

But I don’t really hate my father. He might be the worst husband alive, and trust me, I’m glad my mom left him. But he has been a great dad to me. Since I was a kid, he has fulfilled every wish of mine. He is always the first one to wish me Happy Birthday and gets me the best presents. He makes sure I get to do and choose whatever I want in my life. He never stops me from anything.

“Happy birthday, beta. I cannot wait for you to meet all the guests. They need to be aware of my beautiful wife and sweet daughter. I am sure everyone’s gonna be jealous. Like so jealous.” He dramatically expresses, making my mom’s smile turn into a full fledged grin, followed by a hearty laugh.

I smile at the two of them and feel so glad that they found each other. They deserve it.

“Okay, okay, enough of all this. We need to get ready for the party. We don’t have much time.” Mom gets up and straightens the fabric of her dress. “Let’s go, hun.”

I shake my head and turn towards the mirror to fix my kurti as they make their way towards the door. The brown sleeveless kurti clings to my body, hugging my curves in all the right places. I love how pretty these desi outfits make me feel. The kajal makes my eyes look mystical and the light red lipstick makes my lips appear freshly kissed.

“Ri, aap maid ki help kr doge aapke bagal wala room ready karne mein?” I hear Viraaj’s voice and turn again to face them.

(Ri, can you help the maid prepare the room next to yours?)

A frown makes its way on my forehead almost immediately, hearing his demand. Not because I wouldn’t like helping the maid but because the room next to mine has never once been opened since I have moved here. Noone goes inside of that room and I have been asked to always stay away from it.

“Kar dungi par aaj kyun? I mean, it has been locked for so long, to aise achanak”

“Haan, wo actually Veer aa raha hai to usne kaha hai uska room ready rakhne ke liye.”

***********

To say I have been nervous the entire day would be an understatement, because I have been shivering and palpitating. My body has practically stopped functioning and my brain seems to be stuck in a jam and has no plan to come out of it.

Veer Sehgal, Viraaj Sehgal’s eldest and only son, happens to be my stepbrother, who I have never met once in my entire life but heard a great deal. He was born from Viraaj’s first wife and his mother died while giving birth to him. At the age of ten, he was sent to a boarding school in Russia and ever since then, he has been there.

He is eight years elder to me and has finished his master’s degree in business recently. Now he is working at the Russian branch of the company owned by Viraaj. From what I’ve heard from mom, he’s handling that branch now.

Quite frankly, I don’t give two flying fucks about his existence. The only problem is, why is he coming back? Why now of all times?

His reputation precedes him and mom has always told me to keep a distance from him. He is bad news. Her words not mine. And no, my mother isn’t the typical evil stepmom. She is sweet. It’s just that she is very protective of me and doesn’t want me to dangle my feet in any danger.

And as long as I am here, there’s no way in hell am I going to create any problem for my mother. She isn’t going to worry because of me and I’ll make sure of it. If staying away from Veer makes it happen, then so be it. I don’t need to make myself comfortable around my stepbrother anyway.

I lift my eyes to stare at my reflection in the mirror and a smile touches my lips. My eyes take in the sight of me in the mirror and fuck it’s so satisfying. The red net saree is draped around my body perfectly, hugging me curves in every right place and showing enough for the hungry eyes to desire but not have. It has dark red roses on the border and goes perfectly with the sleeveless blouse.

Parts of the saree barely hide my deep cleavage. I lower it and fox it a little until I am satisfied with how it looks. My eyes stop on the mole right above my left breast and I smile to myself. It’s one of my hottest features and I love showing it off everytime I can.

A simple diamond necklace hangs around my neck, with matching diamond earrings to complete the look. I have let my naturally straight hair loose and push some strands behind my left ear.

I have decided to keep the makeup light because my outfit is already loud enough to have the attention of the entire room. Reapplying my mascara and nude brown lipstick with a hint of red, I fix every little detail of my outfit and hair before exiting the room.

It’s gonna be fun.

That’s what I chant to myself even though I am not sure how fun it’s actually gonna be. I don’t really think I believe that crap anyway.

The party is going on in full swing and I doubt if anyone is even interested in meeting the birthday girl or not. I make my way to the top of the stairs and stand there, waiting for mom to come escort me. I left her a text five minutes ago. Where the hell is she?

My senses heighten as the fight or flight hormones activate inside of me. I am already so bad at handling a crowd and with mom gone, there is no way I am gonna be able to handle the nervousness.

Just when I think I am going to give up, my mother finally arrives, fixing the plates of her own saree. It’s golden, but not the tacky kind. On her the colour looks regal and the diamond necklace only enhances the look more. She smiles at me apologetically and I purposely roll my eyes at her, feigning anger.

“I am so sorry, sweetheart. Come on, let’s go, Viraaj must be waiting.” She takes the lead and I follow right behind her, pulling the free strands of my hair behind my ear.

In no time, I find all the eyes on me and my heartbeats start racing on their own. You can do this, Rysa. I chant the mantra to myself but I am not really sure it helps.

“Smile, Rysa, everyone’s looking at us.” I hear mom’s voice as she smiles at the crowd in the hall.

I put on my fakest smile and give it to every face which comes in my view. What’s the point of all this bullshit anyway? But I have got to do this for them.

I feel something in my arm and find my mom nudging at it subtly and she motions for me to see something, “Look, that’s Veer.” Her gaze is pointed straight and I follow it.

My eyes stop on a man standing beside dad, staring right at me with an unreadable expression. The moment our gazes meet, I feel the world stopping around us. Everything blurs around and the only one on whom my orbs focus is the man with dark brown eyes, jet black hair, sharp jaw and perfect features that can easily fail any male model.

He is tall, not too bulky, not too lean, with striking features that are enough to steal your breath away. I have seen guys, but he definitely stands out in any crowd he is a part of.

He tilts his head slightly and scans me from head to toe, taking in every last bit of me as if he is trying to save the image in his head. I find his gaze stopping at places for longer than a bit before they come back to stare at mine. For some reason, I feel compelled to look in his beautiful orbs, as if I simply can’t look away even if I want to, and he doesn’t show any interest in breaking eye contact either.

“There she is, ladies and gentlemen. The birthday girl, my sweet angel, Rysa.” Dad’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts and I break the burning eye contact.

In no time the closest people to dad and his business associates gather around me, wishing me happy birthday, telling me how pretty I look and how I have grown up and blah fucking blah.

“God, she looks so pretty. Viraaj, you need to get her married to my son. What a fine pair they’ll make.” An aunty, probably dad’s associate’s wife, comments with dreamy eyes. Trust me, if eyes could get things done, I’d most probably be transferred to a wedding mandap with her son.

As much as I wanna scream at her that her son is a pig and my standards are not underground, I keep my mouth shut and smile at her.

“Happy birthday, beta. You look stunning.” Someone else compliments me and it goes on and on.

The only thing that comes out of my mouth every now and then is a small ‘Thank You’ and some fake smiles, chuckles and everything in between.

My eyes reflexively move to the man standing behind everyone, staring at me as if I am his new favourite subject to study. He doesn’t do anything more than standing at some distance with his hands in the pockets of his pants and eyes on me, taking in every inch of me.

So, I decide to do the same. I look at him, try to read his face for any thoughts which might be swirling in his head, but I get nothing. His beautiful brown orbs look so welcoming that it’s actually scary, because I don’t feel that towards any strangers. His straight nose, beautiful lips.

How good will it feel to suck on them, or have them on my-

What the fuck!

I shake my head and tear my face away from him almost instantly. What’s wrong with me? What am I even thinking? I need to get those thoughts out of my head.

As if developing a brain of their own, my eyes steal another glance at him and I am not kidding when I feel something tingling inside me the moment I spot the sinister smirk on his face.

No no no.

He didn’t.

Right?

He can’t know what I was thinking, right?

“Ri, did you meet Veer?” Dad says and I look at the guy who is still smirking at me, though it’s barely visible, but it’s still there. There is something in his eyes which I cannot put a finger at.

Not that I care.

Yet, the look does something to me.

Veer makes his way through the crowd and stops right in front of me, keeping little to no distance between us. It’s the amount where one can’t suspect anything but you know it’s in your inner circle. And that makes me nervous.

“Veer, meet Rysa. Rysa, meet Veer.” Dad has this proud smile on his face as he introduces us.

Veer forwards his hand in my direction, “hello, baby sister. Happy birthday to you.” I hesitate for a moment before forwarding my own hand to shake his. “Thank you,” I somehow mumble.

Why am I acting like this all of a sudden? Something is seriously wrong with me.

“Okay, let’s cut the cake now. You can get to know each other later.” That’s my mom. She is my all time saviour. Love you, mom.

Everyone gathers around as two people bring a four tier chocolate cake with vanilla icing and some white iced lilies on the sides. It’s pretty if you ask me. Looks all white and vanilla from the outside but when you cut it, the dark chocolate meets you.

I pick up the knife as they settle the cake in front of me when suddenly I feel a presence right beside myself and turn abruptly. Veer stands casually, staring at me in admiration and something else, looking ever so calm while his mere presence brings every cell of my body on fire.

“What are you doing here?” I ask him, making sure to keep my voice as low as I can so no one hears me. “What? I’m just standing. Got a problem with that?” He takes a moment before something changes in his eyes, “or are you feeling nervous, princess?”

“I’m not nervous. Stop making things up.”

“The way your body is shaking, I fear it exposes your lie.”

“I am not nervous. It’s just cold around here.”

Yeah, that’s the excuse I came up with. Can you fucking imagine? My sense of humour and comebacks are degrading in his presence. He needs to be out of here.

“Come on, baby, let’s cut the cake. You’ll have all the time in the world to chat with your brother.” Dad pipes in and I turn towards him almost immediately.

I don’t want to chat with this stupid asshole any longer. This is already torture for me. Ignoring his existence- atleast, I try my best- I blow the candles and make a wish.

‘God, save me from all the fuck ups I am gonna do this year.’

That’s all I wish for before cutting the cake. Everyone claps and sings ‘happy birthday’ for me as I cut a piece and turn towards my mother. I feed her the cake and she gives me a bite too. I repeat the same with dad and he also feeds a little bit of the cake to me before taking some on his finger and rubbing it on my nose.

He is such a kid.

I scowl at him and feign anger to which he sheepishly smiles, bringing a smile on my own lips. “Am I not getting anything?” Veer chimes in, his voice making me turn in his direction.

Not wanting to create a scene, I cut a slice of the cake and forward my hand to his mouth. He grabs a hold of my wrist, goosebumps spreading all over my skin from his touch, and stares directly in my eyes before opening his mouth to eat the cake. He purposely brings his tongue out and licks my fingers clean, all while keeping eye contact.

“Happy birthday, baby sister.”