Page 76 of Twisted Deceit
Epilogue
One month later…
“Where are we?” Aadhya asked as they stepped out of the plane early in the morning. It was the day after her graduation and after a great day of celebration with her friends, her husband whisked her away for a surprise trip.
“You’ll know soon.” He chuckled, helping her off the last step.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “What is up with these surprises?” She held up the bracelet he bought her as a graduation present. “And now we are in some place where I cannot read any of the—” Her voice was lost in a sequel when she recognized the location. “This is the same place. I can’t believe it.”
“I owe my wife a real honeymoon.” He pulled her closer, his lips running over her temple. “And I can’t have her all for myself.”
A sizzle passed through her just at the simple gesture. As their intimacy grew, the smallest things that he did made her heart leap with joy. The passionate nights were one level but the small romantic gestures made her heart thud faster. The sweet kisses, the warm hugs and his scorching hot gaze that made her blush, no matter where she was.
“What are we doing today? Can we explore the city more this time?” she asked as he helped her into the back of the awaiting SUV. Despite their situation months ago, she found everything about the place romantic.
He slid into the seat beside her, pulling her close. “Whatever you want to do and however long you want to be here.” He brushed his lips over hers, his fingers tipping her chin up for a passionate kiss. He pulled back slowly, just an inch. “I want to make it up to you on this trip. And I know it’s been rough lately, but I’m right here for you.”
She hugged him, fighting her tears. “My aunt would have been so proud of me. Why did she have to—” She had not cried when her parents passed away because her aunt had told her it would make them sad. And that’s all it took, and now, thinking about how her aunt was the reason for all the trauma, she was torn.
For days, she could not fall asleep, and if it weren’t for the love and support from her husband and her new family, she would have been in a dark place. She was happy her uncle was united with the woman who loved him back. She slowly pulled back to look at Nakul.
“Who were those people who were with her in the tent?” The question that had been burning in her head finally surfaced. “Why did she lie to me about the ceremony?” Her eyes seethed with anger.
He tightened the hold on her. “I was the target, and your aunt was told you would be safe.”
She shook her head. “And who was targeting you? If you were the target, why was Rajji attacked on her way back from visiting herGurujiin the city?”
He hesitated a moment. “Do you really want to know?”
She nodded. It was high time she found out the absolute truth. “I want to know why my aunt was attacked. Later killed brutally by slitting her throat.”
He planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. “We traced one of the attackers who was spotted when your aunt’s convoy was ambushed. He was a hired goon to stage the attack.” She let out a gasp, and like he read the question in her eyes, he added, “We’ll never know the real reason for the staged attack, but if I had to guess, it was bait to get me to go to where your aunt was and attack me.”
“I’m sorry.” She batted away tears. “You don’t deserve all this.”
He smiled. “For you, anything, love.”
“Love—” she paused, lost in thought for a moment. “Apart from the fact that his name is Om, I don’t know who the man my aunt loved, but I hope he rots in hell for breaking her heart and tricking her to get the details of the ritual.”
It was a couple of weeks after her aunt’s death, she went into her aunt’s study to look for anything that would answer the endless question that reeled in her mind. It was then that she found numerous diaries of her aunt, all of them referring to a man by the name Om.
Nakul hesitated for a moment, and she could tell he was contemplating. “She was indeed tricked into going against the people she really cared about. And whoever it was, their plan was not just to stop the peace ritual from happening.”
Aadhya was finding it hard to follow. “What else would they want?”
Nakul held her close to him. “This is going to be hard to process, but your parents’ death was no accident. Just like the other clan heirs had passed away, that includes my uncle and aunt as well.”
“What are you talking about?” Her stomach twisted painfully.
Nakul pushed aside the strand of hair away from her face. “It’s hard for you to hear this, but the investigation team that had checked out the location of your parents’ fire accident. They ruled out the possibility of things happening as the priest narrated them.”
“So—so someone wanted my parents—” she could not finish her sentence, and Nakul nodded.
Nakul nodded. “Whoever it was wanted to control the Kanwar clan, most likely through your aunt, and the only way was to—” His voice trailed off like he didn’t want to say it out loud. “It has to be the man who she loved for her to trust so blindly.”
“Why did Rajji say she betrayed your aunt, Nandini? Was it because of the man she loved?” Aadhya could not accept her aunt for any wrong although she confessed to everything. “I thought they were best friends, and I could tell she had genuine affection towards your aunt when she spoke about her.”
Aadhya could not muster up the courage to read all the diaries but the one she had looked through; one statement caught her eyes.
