39

Mature and sensitive content ahead. Reader's discretion is advised.

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Khushi

"You killed Anjali? But how is it possible? You are--"

"Anjana. I am Anjana," she says, and I only stare at her, too stunned to say anything.

"I am Anjali's twin sister, Anjana. We grew up together in an orphanage before Arnav's parents adopted her at ten years of age," she tells me, shocking me again.

"You do not know this because no one speaks about this in Rathore Mansion, as Arnav has forbade them even to think it, let alone say it.

"After all, he does not want the sister he loves so dearly to feel bad hearing anyone talk about her being adopted.

"That fool doesn't even know that his beloved sister died many years back," she says, and my entire body gets lined with goosebumps when she limps closer to me.

"Do you know want to know what I did with her?" She asks, and I slowly nod.

But she doesn't answer me immediately. She looks thoughtful for a few seconds before standing up and going to sit on the chair.

"It won't be fun if I tell you about her end directly. So, I will start from the beginning," she says, and I again nod, hoping Arnav is still outside, listening to this conversation.

"So, yes, Anjali and I were raised at an orphanage. We didn't know who our parents were because the orphanage head told us we had been left outside the orphanage when we were only a few months old.

"Such heartless parents. Why get pregnant and give birth to your children only to abandon them in a few months?" Anjana says, her expression marred with such anger that I gulp despite my mouth being dry.

She stops speaking for a few seconds. May be to calm her anger. Then, starts again.

"Anyway, it was what it was. At least we got into a good orphanage, as everyone there was very caring.

"Everything was going well until Anjali was diagnosed with Polio. She was admitted to a hospital for a few days due to it. The doctors saved her life, but she developed a permanent limp due to the disease.

"That is why, when she returned to the orphanage from the hospital, everyone pampered her. She was treated like a princess there.

"Everyone loved and cared for Princess Anjali," she says, a faraway look on her face mixed with disdain.

"Anjali got everything she asked for--new clothes, toys, books, anything she wanted. But when I would ask them to buy me my favorite cake, they would say their budget was tight, and they couldn't afford it.

"Imagine how I must have felt. Side-lined due to that sister of mine." She angrily grits her teeth and climbs down from the bed.

Then, limping toward the window, she stands in front of it for a while before returning to sit on the bed again.

"My life was passing that way. Anjali getting all the love and attention, and me being ignored by everyone.

"Slowly, envy toward Anjali started growing in my heart. I began wishing she would go away so I could get love from everyone instead of her.

"My wish came true one day when she was adopted by Mr. And Mrs. Mahajan.

"But instead of feeling happy, I only felt anger because she got parents, that too rich parents, and I was stuck in that poor orphanage where they could not afford even a chocolate cake for me," Anjana says, and I frown when she glares at the floor beside the bed.

Before I can ponder on why she did that, she starts speaking.

"After Anjali went away, the life at the orphanage got tolerable. I was still angry that she got a better life than me, but I could not do anything about it. So, I tried to forget about her and live my life.

"And I did. I passed the next eight years somewhat happily in the orphanage.

"On my eighteenth birthday, they organized a small party for me, and I was so happy that day. Not only because it was my birthday, but also because I met a man at that party.

"His name was Manav Adhikari," she tells me.

I frown when I hear the name, feeling like I have heard it somewhere.

"The name sounds familiar to you?" Anjana grins when asking that question.

But her grin turns into anger the very next second.

"Answer my question, Khushi. Don't make me come there," she says.

"Yes. The name sounds familiar. But I can't remember where I heard it," I reply, and she smirks.

"You must have heard it in the news. After all, two men found dead in a forest with their hands and feet cut off and their penis shoved in their mouths was all over the news," she tells me, and a chill runs down my spine when I look at her smile.

"You killed them?" I ask.

"Of course I did. And before I killed them, I cut their cock off and shoved it in their mouths. They loved to have their cock sucked, so I at least gave them that contentment before giving them death," she says. "Manav Adhikari and Mahindra Bhatt deserved every bit of what I did to them after what they did to me."

"As I told you earlier. I met Manav in the orphanage at my eighteenth birthday party. He was so nice to me that day. Complimenting me, seeming taken by me. I loved the attention he showered on me that day.

"After that day, he visited me in the orphanage almost daily. He used to say he came to meet me because he loved spending time with me.

"Two weeks after our meeting, he confessed his love to me. And I said I loved him too. After all, he was the first man who ever showed interest in me and showered me with so many gifts every time he came to meet me.

"A month after that, he proposed to me for marriage, and I said yes.

"Why wouldn't I? He was a good-looking man. And rich too because he used to come in different cars every day, bringing me expensive gifts.

"I said yes because I thought he was my chance to leave the orphanage and live a luxurious life just like Anjali. That's why I married Manav just two months after meeting him.

"You know what he gifted me on our wedding night?" She asks, and I shake my head.

"He gifted me a house. Well, this house, to be precise. This moon house is my gift from my late husband," she tells me, smiling as she looks around.

"Do you know why I call it a moon house?" She looks on her side at the window when she says that.

"Because Manav used to bring me here on weekends and force me to entertain him and his clients.

"On this same bed, they used to fuck me raw. I have taken up to three men together on this same bed.

"When they used me, I used to look out the window and see the moon. The stillness of the moon used to give me the strength to endure it while they devoured every bit of me.

"I thought I would be his wife after marrying Manav, but he made me his personal whore. A girl to quench his clients' thirst so he could bag many deals from them. And I was the perfect girl for it. He chose me because I was an orphan, and he knew no one would come to check on me.

"Manav and his business partner Mahindra used to live in the same house, and they enslaved me there. Stripped naked, used, and abused every day for the five months after the marriage," Anjana takes a shaky breath, and I would have felt bad for her if I didn't know about her imprisoning and killing many innocent girls.

"During that time, the only good thing that happened to me was I met Ridvansh. He was Manav's neighbor. And he used to come to meet me when he knew no one was home. He used to comfort me after seeing the numerous wounds on my body. He used to tell me he would help me escape my hell soon.

"And Ridvansh's resolve to help me strengthened when one day, Mahindra beat my leg to the extent that he broke it. Even then, he made me tolerate the pain that whole night before taking me to the hospital.

"It was in that hospital that I saw her. Princess Anjali, who came there with her parents to inaugurate a new department in the hospital that was opened with the help of her parents' donation.

"I looked at her flawless face, obviously shining with happiness. And my face was fully covered by the shawl that Manav gave me, ordering me not to show my bruised face to anyone in the hospital.

"She was wearing a pretty dress which I knew was expensive just by looking at it. Her skin, smooth and flawless, made even more beautiful encased in that dress. And there I was--in a cheap cotton dress that scratched my skin--unable to think of even one patch in my body that was not covered with bites and bruises.

"Seeing her radiant face, hearing her laughter, something snapped within me. It was as if all my repressed anger, jealousy, sadness, everything freed and consumed me.

"So, when I met Ridvansh after returning from the hospital, I told him to find out about Anjali and abduct her.

"And he did it. After a month of planning and stalking Anjali, he finally kidnapped her and brought her to his house.

"Per our plan, he made her tell him everything about her and recorded everything. And with that recording, I learned everything about her, including how she talked and behaved.

"You see, after seeing Anjali in the hospital, I realized I not only wanted my freedom, I wanted her rich life, her family, her everything. I wanted to be her," she says, the deranged madness again marring her face.

The way she eyed the floor beside the bed with nothing but that crazy expression on her face made me think.

Why does she-

Before I can complete that thought, Anjana starts speaking again.

"As much as things were going our way, we were getting tensed too because police were looking for her. After all, she was a Rathore princess--oh, sorry--she was a Mahajan then.

"Arnav and I changed our last name after I killed his parents. So, I guess Anjali never got to be a Rathore. She was Anjali Mahajan when she died.

"Anyway, where was I?" She pauses for a second. "Oh, yes! Finally, after two months of kidnapping her, Ridvansh and I got our chance.

"Manav and Mahindra had to urgently go to another city for two days because of some trouble in one of their shipments, and they left me tied to the bed in Manav's room.

"But Ridvansh came there as soon as they left, and I told him to bring Anjali to me.

"That's how I came face to face with my twin sister after being almost nine years apart from her.

"But when I looked at her, I saw she was still whole, not broken like me. And I wanted to break her before killing her.

"So, with Ridvansh's help, I brought her here to this moon house. She kept begging me to let her go, which only increased my fun. Princess Anjali's pleading voice and her cries sounded sweet in my ears," she smiles at the memory while I feel disgusted by it.

"Once we arrived here, I told Ridvansh to take her to this bed," Anjana says, pointing to the bed she is sitting on. "Then, have his way with her."

"You have no idea how content I felt when I heard her screams and cries when Ridvansh forced himself on her. Again and again, until she submitted to anything he did with her.

"That was the most satisfying moment of my life. So much so that in my excitement, I jumped on the bed and had awesome sex with Ridvansh while keeping Anjali tied just beside us," Anjana stops speaking and closes her eyes as if reliving that moment.

I feel sickened seeing a look of ecstasy on her face.

How could she, being a woman, feel satisfied seeing another woman being forced? Just how?

I feel nausea rise within me, but I gulp it in, waiting for Anjana to speak again.

She opens her eyes after a couple of minutes, and climbing down from the bed, she limps toward me.

She crouches at my level on the floor when she is near me and caresses my cheek gently before roughly grabbing my jaw.

"I can't wait for Ridvansh to return so we can do it again. We are going to have so much fun with you, Khushi," she says, clutching my jaw harder, making my eyes water due to pain.