ZAAR

Chapter 4 | Determination

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Until he found out that I was your brother.

Blood drained from my face as I tried hard to grasp what he had just revealed. Brother?! My brother? Am I hearing things? Or is it just a dream? Why didn't he tell me this before? Was he ashamed of being my brother? Or is he even for real? A thousand questions squirmed around in my head. I tried to push those questions away as I suddenly felt difficulty in breathing, due to my windpipe clogging up.

"what?" I finally choked out, but it came out more of a whisper.

He didn't look surprised. He somehow knew I'll react this way. "I'm sorry El, I couldn't tell you this before. I know you're shocked and angry, but please understand that I held those for your own sake. Trust me, I hated keeping anything from you, but I had no choice." he looked pleading.

But nothing was working right now. Neither his words, nor his pleading eyes. I felt a mixed emotion of anger, sadness and betrayal. All this time, I thought I was all alone in this fight against my enemies, against people who never approve of my good intentions. I have always tried to act brave and strong, even though I was soft and delicate inside. All this time, instead of helping me, he was busy running away from everyone, everything. I thought I was the only offspring of my parents, but I was wrong, terribly wrong. The thoughts of his betrayal brought fresh tears into my eyes. I tried hard to stay strong, but my tears suggested otherwise. I guess I was too busy thinking, cause I forgot to breathe.

"Elena, are you alright?" he scanned my now teary face with concern. Bah! As if everything's fine. I was too stunned to reply. I couldn't frame words. How could he possibly not tell me this before? That he's my freaking brother?!

"Oh God... El please say something. You're freaking me out!" he screamed. "Why didn't you... t-tell me this....before?" I looked him straight in the eyes, fighting back a sob.

He slumped his back and sighed, looking down at the floor. "It's complicated." he said, avoiding eye contact. That stimulated the fire inside me. "What do you exactly mean, complicated?! Do you think I'm a fool? I trusted you as my best friend and now you tell me this? That too, after all these years! Don't I atleast have the right to know? Why are you shutting me out??" I was angry but broke down crying at the end of my outburst, which was mostly the feelings I held bottled up for too long.

He looked equally stunned and pathetic. His green emarald eyes bore into mine as he spoke, "I should have told you this long back, el." I furrowed my brows and looked at him, clearly confused. He continued, "Our grandpa is a monster."

"That's no new information Gray." I was getting impatient. "Now, could you please come back to the point and explain me what the hell took you so long to disclose the truth about our blood relation??" I was half yelling.

"Before I say anything, I want to tell you that you will have to stop yelling and freaking out, cause the next information I'm about to give you is gonna take a million years for you to digest. I know it's a herculean task, but unfortunately time and choice isn't on my side." He was trying to stay calm. His eyes held some sort of feeling I yet can't decipher.

He clenched his jaw and was trying his best to not show how irritated he is, at my sudden outburst. Seriously, what did he expect? Did he really think that I would simply smile and say that it's okay?? How dare he get angry at me for no actual reason??

"What did you expect me to say? That it was okay to hide this from me? To run away from me? Is that what you've wanted? Tell me Gray." I tried hard to steady my voice, but it was cracking at a dangerous rate. He suddenly looked up, straight into my eyes. Those eyes. Those green emerald eyes held a lot of untold emotions. I tried looking away, but he grabbed me gently by my chin and made him look up at him. "I'm sorry angel, I really am." he sighed deeply and looked down. "Sorry for what?" I further enquired.

"For leaving you behind. For not letting you know about my whereabouts. For not giving you the brotherly affection I was supposed to give. For not letting you know that our father is alive. For-

"Wait wait...hold on. What did you just say?" I looked up at him. His eyes went wide for a milli second before he looked away. "I asked you something Gray!" he stood up, went to the balcony and looked at the beautiful view of sun setting ahead. I stood up and and rushed towards his side, tripping myself in the process.

"Did I hear you right? Please say something Gray." I searched his eyes for something, but I found his usual blank face. "Yeah. Our father's alive. And the answer to all your questions is our grandpa. He planned it, 19 years ago, on the day you were born. He used his dirty agents to lock him up somewhere! Just because he was a human! How crazy is that?!! Locked up for damn 19 years!! 19 years of his life which was supposed to be lived happily and normally just like a family!" he clenched his jaw and held the rails of the balcony so hard that his knuckles turned white.

I stood there stunned. It felt as if his words stung me, hard. I felt pain making its way towards my heart.

I still hadn't recovered from the whole thing. I mean, I'm a human being for crying out loud! I can't digest a lot of information that could mess up my system. My life contained some missing pieces. The biggest piece of them all was my father, the person I though left us all when I was just a few weeks old. All I ever wanted was some affection any daughter would want from a father. And now, knowing that he's alive, is more than just a dream come true for me. I then realised that my grandpa isn't just evil, he is a monster.

Tears pooled in my eyes and I held on to Gray for some support. I felt my world spinning and dark spots appeared before my eyes. No sooner had I turned towards the door, than the black spots grew into a large pool, and I felt myself drowning, but a strong pair of hands grabbed me before I could make an impact.

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That's for today... Tell me what you think so far... My exams are finally over and my Christmas holidays are here... Wishing you guys Merry Christmas and a great new year!!! 😘😘😊

Lots of love ~ Zakiya 💖