Author's pov....

Sriya watched the last of her peers leave, their laughter echoing through the emptying university halls like a cruel mockery.

She was a ghost in this vibrant place, invisible to the privileged students who walked these corridors.

A wave of exhaustion washed over her as she took a seat in the deserted canteen, the polished floors reflecting her tired face. She clutched her worn lunch box, a stark contrast to the designer accessories favored by the campus elite.

Here, she was a stereotype: the poor girl on a scholarship, her quietness mistaken for shame. They didn't know that her silence was a cage built by fear, its lock held by a woman far more dangerous than any campus bully.

Her father was the richest man in Rajasthan, a king in his own right, but she was a princess in chains. Maya, her stepmother, saw that. Maya had woven a web of lies, trapping Sriya in a facade of poverty to keep her docile and dependent. Whenever Sriya dared to voice her needs, Maya would retaliate, her cruelty and a silent promise of worse things to come.

Sriya opened her lunch box, the familiar scent of home-cooked food and bittersweet comfort. As she ate, her mind slipped back in time, back to a memory ..

It's not like I don't want to make friends in my college but the thing is, this college is prestigious and expensive in this city . Here students look down at me thinking that I'm a poor person who is studying here cause of scholarship .

But they don't have any idea that my father is a businessman and the richest person of Rajasthan. I'm studying scholarships cause my stepmom didn't let me ask for money from my father.

Whenever I try, she snatched money from me in my father's absence.

She also threatened me many times to not tell about this to anyone cause of my stepmom I have to hide this from everyone or else she will beat me and lock me into the storeroom.

In cantine

The University announced the date of annual function of this year and told everyone to participate in it . My last exam is the next day . After that , just a week later Annual function wil be held.

They told us to leave as the second last exam finished but i decided to stay till i finished my lunch.

Author's pov

Sriya started to eat her food from her Lunch box . While eating she got lost in her past memories where Maya starved her and her brothers.

Flashback

When Sriya was 9 years old

Sriya was hiding under the table for her dear life while holding his 6 years old brother Arun who is unaware of his surroundings but he knows that if he makes any sound they will get beaten by his stepmom .

Sriya was trembling badly because of the fear of her stepmom. A few minutes ago his younger brother was crying cause he was hungry but Maya denied them to enter the kitchen.

They both are hungry from last night and it's afternoon,due to this they both decided to sneak into the kitchen but got caught by Maya.

They ran from there while holding some food in their hands and hid into one of the rooms in the mansion.

She is finding them in anger . Their elder brother is locked into the store room since last night as he tried to steal food from the kitchen for his siblings.

Suddenly Sriya whispers to Arun.

"Arun,give me food which you stole from there."

Arun gave an Apple, bread and two parathas to his sister from his pocket . She also unfolds her t-shirt from there she gave four parathas,three breads and two bananas from her pants pocket .

She took two parathas and stuffed them into her pocket, three breads into her brothers pocket . One banana into her t-shirt.

She picked up remaining food in which she have three parathas , four bread , Apple and one banana . She picked them up and came out from under the table and hide them behind the book shelf properly, so that no one can spot them their .

Then go back to the place where her brother is hiding and sat beside him. She took some bread from his pocket and told him to eat it hurriedly . Arun did what his sister told him .

Somewhere Sriya has an idea that son they both will get caught and being punished for stealing food from their own house . God knows what will their stepmom will do , maybe she will not give them food for somedays ,maybe some weeks. They don't want to starved,so she and her brother both started to eat food .

Suddenly Arun started to cough cause of eating fast . She panicked seeing his condition she come out from u nder the table and starts to look for water but in this room there is no water, she have to go out for this but she is terrified from going out.

She knows if she got caught she'll get beaten and then locked into the store room.

She looked towards his brother and told

"Arun , whatever happens don't come out from here ok ,if Aayush bhai comes here only then comes out "....

Arun nodded at her words and said, " don't go didi , she will beat you ... He said in a scared tone and started weeping , his tears started to flow.

Shhhh.. Don't cry ,you know Maa doesn't like crying babies... She will not like that ...

She started to console her little brother and wipe his tears. Then she leaves the room to bring water for her brother.

As she stepped out from the room , fearing corrupted her heart, she was walking slowly and cautiously as much as she could.

She saw a jug of water on the dinning table, she made her way towards the dining area but fate wasn't her side .

Her stepmom suddenly came there and held her hand tightly and jerked Sriya's body towards the ground.

" You bitch..how dare you to disobey my words ".......she bend down a little and slapped Sriya very hard that make her lips bleed from the corner.

Maya held Sriya's hair from the backside, her grip was so tight that make little girl cry in pain .

She started to slap Sriya without stopping not showing little mercy on her. Sriya's condition worsened, she collapsed on the ground. Maya kicked her and holding her hand, she dragged her towards the storeroom.

Opening the door , Maya pushed Sriya in the storeroom and locked her there.

Back to present

A lone tear left from Sriya's eye as she remembered her horrible past . After finishing her lunch , she made her way out of the college as she works part-time jobs for money so that she can provide herself with her daily expenses .

In her work place

Sriya works in a restaurant as a cashier and sometimes she also works as a waitress in this restaurant.

The manager of this restaurant is an old person who is kind and humble cause Sriya didn't face many problems in her work.

It's 5 pm in the evening , after finishing her Last order. Sriya left for her house. She took an auto suddenly her phone ring it aunt devaki call. She picked up and got to know that her father wants to talk to her in the evening so she should be at home .

If he didn't find her at home , Maya will create problems for her by her sugar coated lies. Sriya cuts the call as she knows there is no escape from her stepmom. Maya will do anything to hurt Sriya.

So she requested the auto driver to drive fast. After 20 minutes she reaches her house, she pays and walks towards her mension while her heart thumps loudly in her chest cause she knows whatever she says her father won't believe any single word from her .

But he believes Maya's lies that hurt her .

Her own father doesn't believe his children but believes his second wife' lies.

She enters the house where she meets devaki.

Devaki - " thank god beta,... tum sahab ke aane se pehle aa gyi .. jakar fresh ho jao .. maya madam bhi aa chuki hai isse pehle vo koi drma kre jao apne kamre mai jaldi ". She said in one breath while panicking a little.

Sriya nodded and left for her room and freshened up before his father's come cause in his eyes Sriya is a spoiled girl and if she looks tired that means she came home after partying with her friends which is a big lie fed by Maya to Rajiv.

As she came out of her room after changing her dress she met with one of the maids who came here to call her for dinner.

Sriya-"Ppp..Priyaa..Kya..pa..pppa..papa..aa gye ?..sha spoke in a feared tone while shuttering.

The maid nodded in denial and told her that it'll take time. He'll come until 6'o clock . Sriya checked time on her watch only to realise her father will be anytime soon .

She got terrified as she knows that , if her father wants to talk with her that means her stepmom fed some lies to her father and in this she has no escape, cause it's been years since her father believes any words from her .

He's not gonna believe Sriya even if she tries to explain herself mostly she got scolded by her father and her bank cards got blocked thinking that she got spoiled because she h is a daughter of a rich man but

What a cruel joke his father doesn't have any idea that her daughter never used his money , he thinks that he provides her money that why she is spoiled , the money she have in her bank card is came from her part-time jobs , by doing assesment of her classmates , making potrait of people who give her online orders.

She became a reserved and timid type of person, she started to believe that no one will love , not a single person trust her , she do everything Maya told her to do cause she always threaten her by her brothers life.

That's how her life is from a very first day when her stepmom maya enters in their lifes .

While thinking this , she reached at dinning table where Maya and Rajiv was sitting and eating their dinner. Sriya quietly sat down on her seat and starts to have lunch, she was eating very fast as her father's plate is about to empty indicating that his dinner is about to finish and she knows very well that after lecture from her father , Maya won't let her eat her dinner.

Soon his father finished his food and looks towards Sriya. He cleared his throat and speak in little angry tone - " Where were you last night ? "

Hearing this Sriya's heartbeat got faster , her body froze, her mouth is filled with food so she quickly gulped down the food .

And reply in very slowly while her nervousness making her shutter more than usually , " i..iii..wa...was..aa..a.at ...ho...hom..me..me..home..da.d..." she somehow replied her father but as always her father shouted at her which made her flinched her badly and said

" when will you stop lying Sriya ?.. can't you just tell the truth that yesternight you were in the club partying with your so cold friends...Maya told me everything..this is what you have learnt... lying, doing late night party and behaving like a brat with my money...."

He doesn't have any idea how her daughter living her life in this hell and his words hurting his own daughter.

Sriya try to spoke something in her defence but Maya interrupt her before she can speak something, showing fake concern

Please..Rajiv don't scold her like that

She is still a child...her voice was loathed with fake love towards Sriya .

" Child..she is 24 years old , so stopped defending her maya , if didn't change her behaviour, it will take me too much time to arrange her marriage."

Hearing this Sriya's eyes widened she looks towards her father . Tears gathered in her eyes she again try to say something but Maya noticed that and again interrupted her in middle and said

" Rajiv you go and take rest in your room , I'll talk to her and don't say such harsh thing to your own daughter ".

Rajiv's expression changes and he said you are spoiled her too much , make her understand that these things are not good for her life or else I'll get her married soon , saying this he left to his room and Maya smirked towards Sriya.

And mocked her" tch..tch ..tch..what a father who doesn't even believe in her daughter.

said, her smirk hidden from her husband.

Rajiv's anger softened, replaced by a weary disapproval. "You're spoiling her too much, Maya. If she doesn't change her behavior, it will take me too much time to arrange her marriage," he said, before leaving the room.

Maya's smirk widened, and her true cruelty emerged. "What a father who doesn't even believe his own daughter," she mocked. "Soon you will be out of this house, and I'll make sure your future husband will also torture you and make your life hell…".

As Maya left, Sriya's sobs, broken and raw, filled the empty room. Devaki, her kind old aunt, rushed to her, wrapping her in a comforting embrace. Sriya clung to her, the weight of her suffering finally breaking her.

Bye guys ☺️ 👋🏻

Your lovely author 😊 💓