Her Soul

39. shattered

The room quickly got filled by everyone. They all had come from different parts of the house hearing the frame shatter. Kenya gasped looking at the broken frame on Riaan's hands. "Oh my God! Did she break it? Do you know how important that picture was to him?"

Riaan moved to Aviana's side touching her arm softly. "Aviana I said it's okay, come on it's just a frame. Seriously, you are starting to scare me."

Even in her week, feeble form Kenya's voice still stood above others. "He is lying. That was precious_"

"Stop it, Ken." Riaan sent her a silencing glare after which she shut her mouth.

Aviana brought the words out of her mouth with much trouble and stuttering. "That...that man..." She pointed at the picture with her shaky index finger.

As if sensing that something was going to go wrong, Jayden and Dash took a step forward waiting for her next words. She got the broken frame from Riaan, this time he let her have it. Aviana had no suggestion of what this picture was doing in their home. "He is the one."

Riaan looked at her and the picture confused at what she was meaning. All others wore the same expression.
"He is what?" Riaan asked in a serious, intense tone. One part of the broken frame was in his hands, its end sharp.

"He is the one who died that day in the forest."

Riaan dropped his hands off her, his eyes widening. She could feel his muscles tighten, tension crawling into him.

"He is the one, the three figures killed."

None of them spoke for a few seconds, it was pin-drop silence. The night air was blowing in giving a calm effect. Aviana felt like this was the calm before the storm. She could feel the storm standing in the bay, ready to strike and cause havoc.

Riaan gave out a quick bark of laughter, his wet hair falling over his eyes. "That is not possible."

"Who are they? Do you know them?"

Riaan did not answer her, he was shaking his head in total denial. Oh no! Is he related to the man?

Dash opened his mouth to say something but closed it back unable to speak at the moment. Jayden stood rooted to his spot. Kenya was looking at Riaan worriedly with tear bordered eyes. Riaan stumbled before Aviana could catch him, Kenya was by his side supporting him. "That is his father."

Aviana's mouth dropped open as her heart stopped beating. The reality and the truth struck her, shaking everything. So that man was Riaan's father. She could not even begin to wrap her head around this. But Riaan had told his father was exiled, exiled was not a good thing but it was better than dying. Aviana did not know what to do other than stand there and see him break to pieces.

Riaan pushed away Kenya not wanting her support, breathing heavily, and shaking badly. "That is not possible, they were exiled." He moved near her, at an unimaginable speed, swiveling her towards him. "Look at the picture carefully. You are wrong right, you had to be."

"I...could never forget his face."

"No! There is no way." He shoved her away roughly, the frame dropped from her hands. This time it was beyond repair.

Riaan was highly unstable right now, she was scared to go near him but who could blame him? Anyone in his place would react the same. But she could not simply stand there and watch him break, she cared too much for that so she went near him.

He put a hand up to stop her from moving further towards him. "Stop. I spent a year thinking my father cheated on my mum. I...blamed him for everything. I loathed him." She looked at Dash and Jayden expectantly to interfere and talk with Riaan. But they were all swallowed by grief.

"I thought they were exiled!" He screamed in front of her face, the veins poking in his neck. "You knew it the whole time but you never reported the incident." There had not been a day she had not felt guilty for that. But it was beyond her power when her own mother did not believe her. Likewise, it was beyond Riaan's power to control the anger he was feeling towards her. If their positions were to be exchanged she would not even want to see his face right now.

"Is this the woman you saw with his father?" Kenya showed a picture on her phone, Aviana had not got a good look at the women but they looked a little similar.

"I think so." She need not be a genius to guess that the woman was Riaan's mother. They had the same blue eyes.

"No!" Riaan growled in agony and rage, she closed her eyes not wanting to see him like this. When she opened them back she noticed blood dripping from his hands. The broken part of the photo frame was pricing him under his closed fist.

"Riaan! Let it go!" She tried to open his fist but he would not let go. He was not even aware that he had the broken frame in his hand. The blood stained her hands and the floor in red.

Jayden forcefully took it out of his hand, tossing it away. "Kenya get me a piece of cloth." Kenya brought a white strip of cloth and tied it around Riaan's hand to stop the bleeding. The white strip of cloth immediately became red as Riaan's blood spread in it like a blooming flower. Jayden's stare was fixed on Riaan. "Are you mad Riaan?"

"They were my parents!" Riaan punched the wall with an animalistic fury making the other paintings and frames fall down and break to pieces.
Aviana tried to reach him in spite of the tremor that just passed through her.

"Don't. Go away." He even refused to look at her.

Aviana denied moving although she had heard the finality in his voice. She wanted to mend all this but it was beyond that stage. Riaan was broken beyond repair and she was one of the reasons.

"You heard him, go away." Kenya was rubbing circles on his back as his tears fell on her exposed collarbone.
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