Bound by Deception

28.2 She's Not What She Seems

"Oh, shut it. Vita, make him be quiet," Rita snapped. Vita obeyed her sister's command, releasing Eloise's hair and marching over to Bhuv. She drew her knife, positioning it at his chest.

"Bhuv!" Tamasa burst out. Rita slapped her.

"Silence!" She shrieked, and that's when Aria lost whatever bit of patience she had left. She didn't care if she exposed herself. She had to protect her family against her old allies - against the woman she thought she could trust.

Swiftly, her revolver came flying out from under her damp dress. The trigger snapped and a bullet shot out, pummeling into Rita's shoulder. The novice assassin howled in agony, collapsing to the ground whilst holding her arm.

"Idiot," Aria muttered. "You should know better than to only have one weapon with you, Rita, and a knife at that."

"You..." Rita groaned, gritting her teeth and holding her limp arm. "You..." she couldn't speak; the pain strangled her thoughts.

As Aria expected, Vita ran toward her, preparing her knife for the throw. Aria shot another bullet, knocking the knife out of her hands. Startled, Vita stopped, and Aria used her hesitance to shoot her leg and arm. The second girl fell just as her sister rose to her feet, gripping her broken arm and fuming like a bull seeing red.

Rita charged, and Aria, despite the weakness in her knees, skillfully dodged. She jumped to the side and allowed Rita to throw herself into the wall. Dazed, she dropped her knife, and Aria almost shot her in the head. She had the bullet prepared and everything, but she hesitated. She hesitated and it scared her because as a seasoned assassin, she had never hesitated. She saw, morphing in with Rita's figure, the beaten body of her mother, pleading with her captor for mercy. Hesitation was an assassin's weakness; it's what led to one's downfall, Madame had often told her, but Aria was done listening to Madame. No doubt she had sent the twins to kill her family - a warning if she ever spoke up - and it caused Aria's blood to boil. Nobody threatened her family.

Aria strode over to Rita. She tossed the gun and lifted the girl up by her shirt, savoring the fear that watered in her eyes.

"Get out," she hissed, pressing her knuckles into Rita's neck. The girl whimpered, choking. "Get out and never come back, do you understand?"

"Mmph." Rita nodded, trembling.

"Good." Aria released her, watching her body fall into a broken pile on the ground. "Come back again and I'll kill you, both of you."

She took a threatening step, and Rita scrambled to her feet, sprinting down and out of the house. Vita hobbled behind her, avoiding Aria's glacial stare, and for a second Aria felt sorry for her. After all, what kind of person would abandon their partner, much less their sister? It was a pity that Vita was stuck with Rita, but Aria could do nothing about it. Not that she wanted to, anyway.

When she heard the door slam, she drifted to her aunt, untying the thick rope and helping Eloise next. Noah and Bhuv were released shortly after, and the five of them stood in the drawing room in tense silence. They were all collecting their breaths and thoughts, thinking about what they could possibly say after an unimaginable event.

Aria decided to speak first.

"I'm an assassin," she confessed, unmoved when her aunt gasped. She didn't look into her eyes. "I've been an assassin for ten years. It's...it's what's kept me sane, you understand? After Mama and Papa died...my hands were itching to do something despicable, and I didn't want to hurt you. Uncle, you said after the church fire I changed. Well, I did, quite literally. I entered a new world...an assassin's world, and I killed for money and control. I don't do it anymore...I...somebody made me realize how selfish I was being..." Aria stared at the ground; at the blood that created a new layer of red on the carpet. She could hear Eloise's sobbing, but nothing else. "I'm sorry, for all the danger that I've put you in."

Nobody said anything, not that she expected a response. There was a gentle thrum in her ears; the palpitations of her accelerating heart. Her palms dripped with sweat and she felt her stomach start to ache. Why isn't anybody talking? Say something, please!

As if her prayers had been answered, Tamasa twitched. She had been staring wordlessly at her niece, unsure, initially, of how to form a proper sentence. Aria's confession had allowed for a tight string to snap in her, and the tension that she had held with her breath released when she raised her hand, allowing her palm to fly and hit Aria's cheek. A slap tore into the silence.

"You ungrateful girl!" Tamasa shrieked. "I've taken care of you; I've clothed you; I've treated you as though you were my own daughter, and this is what I get in return? You've become a sinner?"

"Tamasa," Bhuv tried to placate her.

"Quiet, Bhuv!" Tamasa's eyes were blazing and she shoved her husband's hand away. Her lip trembled and she struggled to focus on the pained expression that glazed over her niece's face. The words that came out of her lips were foreign and not hers, yet they were definitely in her voice. "I don't want to see you right now, you disgraceful girl! You've tarnished the Kumar name and I want nothing to do with you, do you hear, Aria? Get out!"

Aria was getting pretty tired of people telling her to leave. She was riddled with exhaustion and her mind and body were ready to collapse at any instant. However, as irritated as she was at her aunt's scolding, she knew she deserved it. She was in no place to be named the Kumar heir; she lost that title the moment she became an assassin and completed her first assignment. Her aunt was right - she truly was a disgrace, not only to her name but also to her family.

"Tamasa, stop!" Bhuv's commanding voice shook the room. "Aria, don't go anywhere. Look, we can sort this out."

"Sort what out?" Tamasa screeched. "Bhuv, your niece is an assassin. She's killed people, Bhuv. She's-!" she gasped. "Wait, that boy...the ball...you killed a man under my nose?!"

"In all fairness, he was trafficking women and was a traitor," Aria muttered.

"Don't talk back to me!" Tamasa threw her head aside dramatically and thrust her hand toward the door. "Go! Leave me! Leave!"

"Aria, stay!" Bhuv and Noah shouted, both comforting their wives at the same time. Aria paid no heed to their plea. She turned and kicked the gun on the ground like a ball, gripping the hilt. Her heart cracked when she noticed her aunt flinch out of the corner of her eye. They hate you. They're afraid of you. Without another word, she went to the door, opened it, and allowed herself to be soaked again in the cold afternoon showers. 

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Was Tamasa justified in her anger? Why weren't Bhuv and Noah upset? Will they get her back? 

VOTE/COMMENT/ENJOY :D