Page 70 of She will Always be Mine

“Okay, baby.” Rubbing my tears away, she wraps both her arms around me after denying it to me for two long months, and it feels like coming home. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry to be the cause of your broken heart, Nyra. I can only hope one day you forgive me and believe I was only trying to protect and do what’s best for you.”

We hold each other quietly for a few more minutes while I think about all that she’s been through and even though she doesn’t realize it, her experience has given me the strength I felt missing all this time. Despite the tragic circumstances she dealt with, she never once gave up.

She fought against her monster, healed the scars he left, and came out powerful. She crumbled but she got right back up. I decide I must do the same.

That flare of fight I felt earlier is now a full-blown fire burning in my veins. And it will only be doused by Zain’s blood.

I am my mother’s daughter, after all.

I won’t rest until I’ve slayed my monster too.

Part I I I

Chapter Twenty-Four

NYRA

(A week later)

Some see the world as full of colors.

Some only see it as black and white.

Well… I only ever saw it as different shades of fucked up. Morally twisted and a cacophony of condemnation.

You hate someone, you’re condemned.

Youlovesomeone, you’re still damned.

For fuck’s sake, I’m the living, breathing proof of this poetic yet sick tragedy. I’ve been crushed, shamed, and broken, yet I’m still standing despite the cracks in my armor.

Because while the world is full of cruelty and duplicity, the people in my life make it all worth it. They are the only ones that matter.

The universe will never be on my side but my family will always be, no matter the ups and downs. They showed it to me as we spent time my last week here at home together before I left for Pune.

It has been a whirlwind, to say the least. It flew by in the blink of an eye. Mostly because I wasn’t stalked by a dark cloud hanging over my head, casting a permanent shadow over any kind of semblance of peace I could steal.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still there. But the opaque blackness has now settled into shades of gray. Tamer for now but still deadly as ever.

For now, I’m ignoring it like a pro.

My mother and I are closer than ever after our talk the other day. It was quite therapeutic, healing me emotionally. Her past made me see her in a whole new light and as tragic as it was, it also gifted me with hope. She was blindsided and betrayed by someone she was supposed to trust just like I am.

But unlike her, I know exactly who the monster is and it will end up being his weakness. His downfall.

“Did you get all your bags, Nyra?” asks my dad once we stand outside Pune Airport.

Did I mention the best part about last week? It was the brightest and the biggest smile on my dad’s face as soon as he saw my mom and I together, holding hands.

I swear he had tears brimming in his eyes and so much satisfaction. I knew he could no longer see the shadows in our eyes or the weight drowning us. I didn’t absorb until that moment just how much the fight between Mom and I was hurting him.

“Yeah, Dad,” I reply again, even though he’s asked me twice already. I suspect he’s looking for any reason to stay longer with me.

“What about you, honey? Priyanka?” he then asks my mom and sister, who are standing beside me.

Surprise! My mom and my sister both came to drop me off, and turned it into a farewell. They said they regretted not doing it last time while Pri only came to get a tour around my campus, especially that freaking library she’s obsessed with. Little does she know, it might not be possible as we only have until evening.

“Honey, stop. Nothing is missing.” She rolls her eyes at him and then points behind him. “Now, go get us a cab so we can help Nyra settle into her new apartment.”

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