The Bride they burned

"Some gifts are wrapped in ribbons.

Others come soaked in blood."

---

NYRA — 4:06 A.M.

I couldn't sleep.

Even after the confrontation with Leo. Even after Kai's brief, wordless comfort. Even after Kray's voice still echoed in my mind.

I sat in the corner of my dark bedroom, knees to chest, staring at the envelope on my bed.

It was plain. No return address. No name. Just one word scrawled on the front in a handwriting I knew better than my own:

> "Mother."

My breath caught.

Slowly, I opened it.

Inside was a polaroid.

Aarav.

Not as a baby.

As a boy. Around 11. Wearing a hoodie. Sitting in what looked like a motel room. Tired. Thin. Sketching something.

My heart stopped.

He was drawing me.

> "He remembers me," I whispered, tears building fast.

But then I saw the bottom of the photo—something written in thick red ink.

> "You can have him back… when you remember who you are."

— R

The photo dropped from my hand.

And I screamed.

Not loud. Not wild.

Just—broken.

---

CELESTE — HER BEDROOM, SAME TIME

She woke up at the sound of the scream.

It wasn't loud. But it was enough.

She reached under her pillow, pulled out a knife, then set it down.

Her phone vibrated.

Unknown Number.

> "Photo delivered. She broke."

Celeste stared.

Then replied:

> "Don't touch her again. Or I'll kill you myself."

She was shaking.

From rage? Fear? Jealousy?

Maybe all of it.

She pulled open her drawer and took out a worn bracelet.

Aarav's.

She had kept it from the fire.

The fire everyone thought took Nyra.

> "You were the only one she begged for," Celeste whispered. "Not Kray. Not Leo. Not even God."

She kissed the bracelet.

And made a decision she couldn't undo.

---

KRAY — UNKNOWN LOCATION

He wasn't supposed to feel anything anymore.

Not after the war. Not after Meher. Not after Ravian burned half his soul in the name of loyalty.

But now?

That scream?

He heard it even from the cameras.

And it carved into him.

He lit a cigarette, blew out the match.

> "I should've burned Ravian myself," he muttered.

He didn't sleep.

Instead, he opened a locked cabinet.

Inside?

An old photograph.

Of Nyra holding baby Aarav.

His fingers shook as he ran them over her smile.

> "You were fire," he whispered. "And we buried you in ash."

He pulled out his gun.

> "Time to pay it back."

---

LEO VARMA — NEXT MORNING

The courtroom was packed.

But he wasn't listening.

His mind was elsewhere.

Replay.

Nyra and Kray.

Nyra's expression.

The way her eyes softened when he spoke.

Not Leo.

He wanted to hit something.

Anything.

The judge called his name.

He snapped back.

But his hands?

They were clenched.

He could lie to himself. Pretend he only wanted to protect her.

But truth?

He wanted her to need him the way she once needed no one.

---

NYRA — LATE MORNING

Celeste made coffee.

Strong. Bitter.

She placed the cup in front of me like it was a peace offering.

I didn't look up.

> "He sent me a photo," I said.

> "Of Aarav?"

I nodded.

> "He looked tired. Smaller. He's still sketching."

> "You taught him that."

I smiled, bitterly.

> "Ravian taught him fear."

> "And yet," she said, brushing a hand through my hair, "he still draws you. That means you're still his home."

I broke.

Again.

But this time—Celeste caught me.

Her hand slid down to my wrist.

Tighter than comfort.

But I let her hold on.

---

FLASHBACK — 3 YEARS BEFORE DEATH

MEHER (NYRA THEN)

> "If I die," I whispered to Celeste once, while we hid in the wine cellar, "will you take care of him?"

She didn't blink.

> "No."

> "What?"

> "Because I won't let you die in the first place."

She kissed my knuckles.

> "And if you try, I'll follow you down and drag you back."

---

BACK TO PRESENT

Celeste was still staring.

But now, with something new in her eyes.

> "You remember that?" she asked.

> "Everything," I said.

> "Then don't forgive him. Don't forgive any of them."

> "I wasn't planning to."

---

AARAV — TRAIN STATION, EN ROUTE

The train smelled like dust and sadness.

He sketched her again.

But this time, he added something new.

A scar.

On her back.

He didn't know why.

Just that it felt… real.

A woman across the seat leaned in.

> "She's beautiful. Your girlfriend?"

> "My mom," he said quietly.

She smiled, but her expression froze.

> "Did you say your name was… Aarav?"

He looked up sharply.

> "Do I know you?"

She stood quickly.

> "Wait here."

And walked to the next coach.

He never saw her again.

But he didn't notice the man following him from a few rows behind.

---

RAVIAN — CONTROL ROOM

He watched everything.

The train.

Aarav.

Nyra screaming.

Kray polishing his gun.

Celeste slipping into obsession.

Leo losing control.

> "They all think they're in charge," he whispered.

A woman beside him stood still.

Dressed in white. Covered in scars.

She didn't speak.

Just held a photograph.

Of Nyra.

> "She'll come," Ravian said. "When I bring her something she can't refuse."

> "What?"

Ravian smiled.

> "A funeral."

---

TO BE CONTINUED...