Page 11 of Twisted Sins

Am I going to meet with the same fate?

If they intended to kill her, they wouldn’t have given her water.

Unless the water is poisoned or drugged.

Sucking in a deep breath, she controlled her panic and nausea.

“Khayer!” one of the women said harshly, pointing at the low table next to the bedding inside the tent. A tray was placed on top.

The other woman opened the lid on the tray, and as soon as Nandini saw the food, she ran out of the tent and threw up violently again. The water she had drank earlier shot up through her throat, leaving her weak and exhausted.

She was barely able to walk back to the bedding. Turning away from the sight of food, she curled up and slipped back to an exhausted sleep.

***

She was shaken awake twice. And each time, the process seemed to repeat. She was given water, and then right after, a tray with food was put in front of her, which made her throw up.

Her throat ached from the violent throwing up.

The woman looked angry and kept telling her to eat in their language. But Nandini was too exhausted to respond. One of the women who brought her the meals also accompanied her to an outside wash area, and during that time, there were more hostile stares directed towards her, followed by loud whispers.

Nandini didn’t care.

The woman also indicated she change clothes. A folded black blouse and skirt were placed next to the bedding. But Nandini ignored them. She remained in the same clothes she had worn when she got into the private jet in New York.

She was too exhausted and knew she was losing energy and feeling weak since she wasn’t eating, but she couldn’t do anything.

Curling her body, she simply rested until she could find the energy to do anything.

Meanwhile, dark thoughts filled her mind.

Her family must think she was dead. Her heart ached for the pain she must be causing them, especially for her mother, who must be beyond herself by now.

Please, God, let Ma be fine.

Her heart ached for her father as well. She recalled how the proud, handsome man had broken down crying when he hugged her for the first time when he came to meet her at the university. She had felt his unconditional love, even though he hadn’t known of her existence until he was told by her mother.

Her brothers loved her as well. They would be angry and grieving when they should have been enjoying their happily married lives with their beautiful wives.

She also imagined Rahul desperately waiting for help while being tortured somewhere. She desperately prayed that Rahul was safe too. Tears started to form as guilt and anguish gripped her. Rahul was in danger because of her. She was supposed to travel by herself to be with her family for the Singoor temple ceremony. If only she had told Rahul not to join her.

Her brothers had warned her several times about the danger, but she thought since they wanted her to attend the ceremony, it must be safe.

Never, even in her biggest nightmares, had she imagined danger would come in the form of a savage demon attacking and taking her away.

Did the demon know who she was?

He must have recognized the Thakvar clan colors that the security men had worn. And yet, he had brutally killed them all.

She began to shiver as the visuals haunted her once again.

It was still warm inside the tent, but her teeth chattered. Wrapping her arms around her body, she closed her eyes as she tried to control her fear.

Maybe she was being held for ransom. The Thakvar clan was supposed to be one of the richest and most powerful clans in Singoor. Compared to what she had seen, the Kabali clan didn’t seem to have developed at all.

But if it was the ransom that they wanted, there was no need to kill the security head and hang him the way they did.

She let out a shuddering breath.

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