Bonds of Trust

A fragile heart

Veera had always been a lonely soul, not by choice though. She had parents, rich parents, who were only invested in what the society had to speak of them and not what would make their family happy. Though educated, they preferred being orthodox and conservative to being progressive in thoughts and actions. And, this reflected in their upbringing. Little Veera grew up feeling extremely neglected and unwanted, just because her parents wanted a boy child, an heir for carrying ahead their legacy.

She had been forced to mold into a perfect example of an obedient little girl. When Veera had been young, she very vehemently followed all of their commands and orders hoping for an ounce of love to be spared for her. But to no avail. Shalini and Ashish Bhatia were as uncaring and devoid of emotions as they come. Staunchly sticking to gender roles, Veera was being shaped into becoming a perfect housewife since her childhood. Yes, she was provided education but only for the sake of not keeping her illiterate since that would be a trouble for her marriage.

But Veera loved to study. It gave her a sense of freedom when she would conquer those books and score in her exams. Her parents were least bothered with her accolades, they only intended for her scoring the basic passing marks. Her mother had once taunted, "What's the use of topping your classes when all you would be doing is making the dishes and washing them? Had it been a boy instead of you, we would have been elated, but thanks to birthing you, I cannot give your father a heir with all of those complications." That was the first time Veera's heart truly broke. She knew her parents lacked in affection, but she had never imagined such an amount of bitterness within their mind. Since that day, she decided to give up on them.

Growing up, Veera understood one thing - if she needs freedom from these shackles, she needs to study and escape. And so she did. Whatever time Veera would get in between her mom's 'lessons' of shaping her as she wished, Veera would study, she would read endlessly, whichever books she got her hands on. Her parents never knew this nor were they interested as long as Veera completed her daily allotted chores.

One day, when she was in twelfth grade, they had a seminar in college about the upcoming trends in the IT sector. It was then that Veera was introduced to the large world of programming, coding, IoT, ethical hacking and much more, but it was ethical hacking that stuck with her. She had found her goal, she wished to be the best ethical hacker they would ever know. When Veera spoke about this with her parents, all she received was, "No. You have attained 18 years of age, we will marry you off now."

Veera screamed and protested but was silenced with a burning slap and words full of venom. She knew she could not fight her parents. After her twelfth grade results were declared, Veera, was gifted a laptop for being the topper. She was extremely happy, for she had now found a way out. Online studies. Where on one hand, her parents rigorously searched for a groom for her, Veera had immersed herself in the world of ethical hacking.

Within 6 months, her parents had fixed her marriage and she knew what she had to do. Her plan worked, but that was at the cost of her freedom. The wedding did not proceed just how Veera knew it would, but since that day, it was as though her parents tied her up in iron fetters. Confined to the loneliness of her home, the only solace she had was her ethical hacking jobs. No one knew her identity, but the work she delivered was flawless.

Her parents still relentlessly tried searching for potential alliances, only to end up finding none thanks to the stunt Veera had pulled. Their cold and distant behaviour towards Veera had now become outright abusive, emotionally and physically. The only relief in her life was that they had spared her laptop. That's all what mattered, as long as she had her sense of independence through that small device.

It had been more than five years to that incident and Veera's parents were yet to find a groom for her. It seems, the society believed in rumours and gossips much more than facts, but it had all turned out to be in Veera's favour albeit the abuse she went through. She was petrified with the idea of marriage. What if the person turned out to be worse than her parents? What if she ended up with an even abusive monster? Veera could not help but just wish for at least a miracle in her life, but for now, she was content, or at least that's what she convinced herself to be.

"Come down, you brainless girl." - her dad shouted from the living room.

'Brainless! Does daddy dearest of mine even know who's one of the leading ethical hackers in the country?' - Veera thought with a bitter sarcasm.

She came down and stared at him in the eye. Her left cheek stung with pain.

'Oh, hence the daily ritual of Mr. and Mrs. Bhatia is completed.' - she thought bitterly, bearing that slap.

"Eyes down when you are here, in front of us. We do not like to see your unworthy face. Ahh yes, now we would not. Your marriage has been fixed. You are getting married within 2 days. And this time, if you dare to even think of pulling a stunt like the last time, you would see that precious laptop of yours burned to ashes. I do not know what you do with it, but it seems to be your only favourite possession. Well, you would not even be able to do anything, Starting now, your mom would be by your side, each moment till you get married. Do not even attempt to spoil this for us.", he spat, venom lacing his voice.

Veera was scared now. She felt as though someone has pushed her into the darker depths of her already dark life. She knew her dad's threats were not empty and could not see her only happiness, her laptop destroyed. She had no choice. For the first time, Veera felt totally hopeless. That night, sleeping for the first time besides her mother, Veera let out silent tears of agony, and pure heartbreak. Wishing her mother could at least for once feel her pain.

She seriously wished for an out. That night, she dreamt of a happy family, where her parents loved her and all was fine. She now only wished for a miracle, one she did not even know, was about to brighten her life.

Hey guys,

Here was our first chapter. Did you enjoy it?

Do let me know.

Poor Veera, ah yes, but isn't she a fighter?

And, which stunt did she pull? Stay tuned, it will be revealed at the right time.

The storyline might seem fast-paced here. But that's the requirement of this part.

See you in the next chapter!!

Meanwhile, keep commenting, voting and sharing :)