Page 182 of Twisted Sins

He stood in the middle of the tent, which had been specially set up for the upcoming events he had planned. He stepped to the back of the tent, his eyes on the box covered in cloth. It had been decades since he had seen the all-powerful and magnanimously mesmerizing form of Goddess Shakti.

Moments later, the cloth covering the glass box was removed to reveal the sight he had been waiting to see for so long. His knees buckled and hit the ground, and his hands went up in prayer. He was overcome by emotions and memories of being in the presence of such power.

“Shakti Maa,” his voice shook at the sight of the Goddess sculpture. The pink diamond, shaped like a lotus, glowed even in the dark light.

As he stared at the powerful form of the Goddess, his dreams were coming true.

Goddess Shakti was back in Singoor.

And soon Singoor would soon be his to rule, and his Thakvar tigress would rule alongside him.

CHAPTER 56

Nandini woke up from a deep sleep.

For a moment, she felt disoriented; she didn’t know where she was. Instead of the Kabali mansion bedroom, she saw the walls of a dimly lit tent.

A bolt of shock hit her as she suddenly remembered the grey eyes with a manic look.

With her heart thudding, she slowly sat up and looked around the tent.

Her eyes fell on a dark shadow, and she froze. She waited with bated breath as the shadow shifted and the dimmed lamp slowly brightened.

There was a man seated a few feet from her. Everyone in the Kabali mansion mistook him for Rudra since the man had the same build and grey eyes. And with ash covering his face, it was harder to differentiate.

But she knew the truth.

“Omkar,” she whispered.

The man’s grey eyes turned manic with an obsessed look. “Nandini…”

It was Omkar Kabali, Rudra’s uncle.

Omkar Kabali was alive. And unlike the selfless persona everyone thought he was, he was the opposite. He was the reason for everything that happened in Singoor-the Goddess Shakti statue being stolen, heirs being killed, and hundreds of children disappearing from the Singoor region. Omkar Kabali was also the reason she grew up not knowing her father was alive.

“Nandini,” the man’s breath was strained with anticipation. “I waited so long for you.”

The creepy voice made her shiver, but Nandini knew she had to play along until she could escape or Rudra and her brothers found her.

Subtly, she reached for the hem of her skirt as if she were covering her feet. When her hand brushed over her ankle, her heart sank. The anklet that had been welded around her ankle was gone.

Even as she tried not to panic, she saw the man looking at her with admiration.

“My Nandini,” he whispered.

Ignoring the need to scream angrily, she looked at Omkar's crazed face. She saw how his eyes took joy in just meeting her gaze. “Where have you been all these days, Omkar?” she asked.

His eyes widened like he could not believe his ears. “I have been waiting for you, Nandini. You shouldn’t have died in that accident. But after you left me, I prayed to God that you would return. And now, God has answered my prayers.”

She stayed silent.

“I know you don’t remember much about me. But you will soon after we perform a ceremony to revive your memory. Soon after, we will get married.”

“Okay,” she said softly. It was so hard to figure out what else to say.

A faint smile appeared on his face. “It has always been my dream and that of my people to unite the Thakvar and Kabali clans.”

She didn’t want to say that the dream was already fulfilled by her and Rudra’s marriage. She knew it would agitate the mad man.

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