Shattered

1| Shattered soul

Shiva gazes at himself in the mirror and sees a man with swollen, red eyes, trembling lips, and shaking hands. But all he can see is a monstrous figure, responsible for destroying an innocent and once-happy soul. Unable to bear his reflection, he shatters the mirror with a punch, much like how he shattered her. As he looks at his bloody fist and tears stream down his face, he realizes the pain he caused her was unforgivable.

He wraps a cloth around his injured hand and leaves the room. His eyes fall upon her sitting on the sofa, applying ointment to her wounds with trembling hands. It was him who caused those wounds and the self-loathing within him grows stronger. He contemplates ending his life for what he did to her. His footsteps come to a halt as he is overcome with pain in his heart, knowing that he deserves it and even more.

"Ra... Raavi?" he struggled to say the name, feeling a surge of self-loathing as he noticed her wounds on her delicate, fair skin. Hearing his voice, she hastily rose from the ground, dropping the ointment in her hand. She hung her head low, afraid to meet his gaze. This was how he had conditioned her. He shut his eyes, consumed with remorse for what he had done to her. She was blameless. She was pure. And yet, he had treated her worse than a criminal deserved. He wanted her to punish him in the same way he had punished her, or even more severely.
"Yes... yes master," she replied, her voice trembling.
His heart ached at the sound of that word coming from her lips. But it was he who had forced her to call him master...

"Raavi...I...I cannot find the words to speak," he struggled to say as he approached her. He noticed her trembling as he drew nearer. "Please don't call me that, Raavi," he pleaded softly. Reluctantly, she obeyed and looked at him, but avoided making eye contact, causing his heart to ache. He gently grasped her shoulders, causing her to flinch in fear of being harmed again. His heart broke at the sight. Unable to bear seeing her like this, he pulled her into a warm embrace, being careful not to hurt the wounds he had inflicted on her before. She was taken aback by his unexpected gesture and did not reciprocate the hug. Instead, she feared that he would hurt her once more and began shaking with tears streaming down her face at the thought of her impending punishment.

Shiva notices that his shirt is becoming damp and realizes that she is crying. He gently breaks the hug and gazes at her with concern. Although her face appears emotionless, tears continue to stream down her cheeks as she sees how much her shiva's heart is hurting. As he reaches out to wipe her tears with a trembling hand, she covers her face, expecting him to hit her. Shiva clenches his fist in frustration at how he has hurt her so deeply.

In an attempt to make things better, Shiva reaches into his pocket and pulls out a new mobile phone, offering it to her. He suggests that she call her family, giving her a soft smile before leaving the house and leaving Raavi in a state of confusion.

Raavi looks at the phone and a small smile forms on her lips as she considers talking to the only family member she has left - her older brother, Akashay.

She unlocked her phone, but a sense of dread washed over her as she feared it could be another one of his cruel schemes to inflict unnecessary pain upon her. Despite this, she was willing to endure any suffering if it meant being able to talk to her brother. Her hand trembled as she dialed his number, her body consumed by a mix of excitement and fear. As the phone began to ring, her heart thumped loudly in her chest and tears streamed down her face. When he answered and said "hello," it felt as though her heart had come back to life. She struggled to control her sobs, pressing a hand against her mouth as the tears continued to fall. "Hello... Who is this?" he asked. "Bh... Bhai..." she managed to say through cracked voice. "You... HOW DARE YOU CALL ME... you disgusting *************... I am ashamed that you are my sister... Don't you ever call me again, or I will kill you," he spat before abruptly ending the call, unaware of the damage he had caused an innocent soul. The phone slipped from her grasp as she collapsed onto her knees in despair.

Her sibling has strong negative feelings towards her...

Her spouse harbors a deep dislike for her...

She is disliked by everyone...

So why is she still alive? She doesn't deserve to be... She has not earned happiness... Instead, she deserves pain, animosity, and tears... Perhaps she was a curse who was born as a human on this planet...

Her expressionless face reflects the question posed by every cell in her body... Why is she even alive? To endure agony... To endure suffering... Maybe she deserves to suffer.

___

Raavi strolled without purpose along the road, carrying a bag of vegetables she had gone out to purchase. However, her mind was elsewhere, consumed by a sense of emptiness and despair. Her life had taken a turn for the worse and she longed for a way out. As she daydreamed, a horn suddenly jolted her back to reality. She turned to see a truck headed towards her.

"Please move, madam, our brakes have failed!" shouted the truck driver, but Raavi remained expressionless.

As she considered moving, she closed her eyes, hoping that it would finally end all of her pain. A faint smile appeared on her lips. Suddenly, she heard someone shouting at her.

"Raavi, MOVE.. RAAVIII"

The person was yelling with such intensity. She recognized the voice and fear of him filled her heart, knowing that he would hurt her again if she obeyed his command.

In the next moment, she felt a sharp ache throughout her body and could sense liquid all around her, but could only see darkness. Then, a bright light caught her attention at the end of the darkness and she felt a strong urge to move towards it.

As someone picked her up and shook her, she felt tears fall on her cheeks.

"Raavi, please get up! Someone call an ambulance! Raavi!"

She lost consciousness in their arms.

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