As the blood welled up into his throat and filled up his mouth, he slowly looked up at the girl he had loved so much for so long. Even before his expression changed from shock to pain he could see the hatred in her eyes. The same black of her eyes that had attracted him to her, the same black of her eyes that gave him so much comfort were full of malice and hatred.
The first time he saw her was when she joined his theatre club. Rohan came to Mumbai to study acting, his one and true passion. Naina waltzed into the auditorium, with a smile on her face that made the well lit theatre sparkle with delight, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw her eyes. So clear and black, and so full of life that he felt they were the source of all his oxygen. Those were the eyes that were going to keep him alive.
The pain seared in his stomach and the blood spilled out of his mouth, his knees seemed to buckle, he staggered forward and she backed away, not touching him. His vision blurred when he saw the ring on her finger, he looked up at her mouth curled with melancholy and his mind went back to that night.
Naina helped him grow into a confident, self assured and brilliant actor. She was there with him when he got offered his first movie role. She held and squeezed his hand when he signed on the dotted line. The opening night of his movie had been the happiest. After the premiere, when they were alone, he went down on one knee and asked her to be his wife. As he placed the ring on her shaking finger, her eyes were full of tears, and the joy in them warmed his heart. He knew this was the start of his life when she whispered in his ears, “You’re mine, Forever.”
Rohan was jolted back to reality as his knees gave way and he sunk to the ground, reaching out to her, helplessly, hoping that she would extend her hand and hold him one last time. He supported himself on the kitchen counter as one hand went to the wound. The blood had started to flow freely and he knew the cut was deep enough. The knife she was holding dangled in front of his face and he saw the red drip from the silver of the blade. He knew that he was going to die.
The fame and money kept him busy. The offers flew in and he became busier than he could imagine. He got to see lesser of her than he liked. They both hated it, she more than him. As the paparazzi grew more adamant and the scandals grew more wild, she seemed to lose faith in him. When they were apart, he felt they were drifting away and when they were together, he no longer felt the same assurance in her touch, did not see the same love in her eyes. They were always questioning, doubting, never understanding, and he hated it.
Her insecurity reached the tipping point when she started drinking and one night threatened a co-actor of his. She broke a bottle and waved it around madly, calling her names and threatening her to stay away from her fiancé. Embarrassed, he apologized and carried her home. He left her at her house and resolved to talk to her the next day when she would be back to her senses. He knew he had to convince her that she was the only one for him.
The following morning, he messaged her to come over to his place for dinner. He knew he would win her back. He let her in and walked over to the refrigerator to get her a drink, when he suddenly sensed her behind him. He knew something was amiss when he turned and glanced over at the door. She had bolted it. He looked at her questioningly but immediately knew she was not in her senses. Her eyes were the darkest black he had ever seen them. And she had a cold sense of purpose in them. She was right in front of him and before he had time to react, she had withdrawn the dagger and sunk it into his abdomen.
He fell and as the darkness grew in front of his eyes, he looked at her one last time and saw the eyes he had loved so much, they were alight with pleasure, and when she spoke her voice broke his heart before it stopped beating. “If you’re not mine, you’re no one else’s either”. He descended into the darkness he knew was final.
