Divit couldn't get his heart rate to steady as he sat down in his seat. He always looked down on those men who were embarrassed to speak with a beautiful woman. Divit considered it unmanly and a stain on one's masculinity. He always thought that any attractive woman was worth nothing but a few moments of carnal pleasure that she could give him. For the first time, tonight, Divit's heart faltered. The internal disturbance was so much that Divit couldn't think about anything else but the girl whom he had seen just now.
When Divit had heard that a bride was selected for his elder brother, he scoffed in his heart at his elder brother's inability to decide his life-partner. Divit would never let anyone dictate with whom he sleeps at night, and he looked down on the institution of marriage itself. Divit saw it as a shackle rather than a meaningful bond. He was a little satisfied that he was going to beat his elder brother in at least one thing.
But after seeing Anupama, the girl who was going to marry his elder brother, Divit's flame of jealousy raged in his heart like never before. This girl was a perfect beauty, in its flowering stage, that he had ever laid his eyes upon till present. She had all the assets that Divit searched in a female, nothing more or less. Given Divit's experience with women from all races, he was sure that Anupama would mature into a goddess-level beauty. The more Divit looked at her, the more he hated that she was not going to be his woman.
Why did his elder brother get the best of everything? The power, influence and even his wife is going to be the best while Divit was forever going to live in his elder brother's shadow, drinking his elder brother's leftover soup. This thought ate Divit's insides like a toxin, but an increasing sense of frustration took over his heart as he couldn't do anything about it.
There was a truth that Divit knew deep in his heart but refused to accept it. It was that he was afraid of his elder brother very much. His elder brother, Ivaan, looked modest and humble on the outside. But as someone who grew up with him, Divit knew that his brother was a manipulative, control freak. Even Divit, who had a chaotic mentality and did things based on his mood, was unknowingly controlled by his brother's wishes.
Sometimes, Divit would even think that the reason that he ended up being this way, was actually the work of his elder brother. It was Ivaan who pampered and spoiled Divit the most. He made sure that Divit was always drowned in sensual pleasures.
Divit's first alcoholic drink or drug substance was a gift from his brother. His first woman was someone whom his brother played with previously. But Divit could be sure that his elder brother intended to harm him as his elder brother never asked him to do any of these things. It was always Divit who asked for these things, and Ivaan simply made it easy for him.
Everyone has a dark part of themselves in their heart which possesses a few dark thoughts. But for various reasons, they do not act on these thoughts. It may be due to social constraints, responsibilities or plain moral restraint. But Ivaan removed these barriers for Divit and facilitated the sheer possibility of acting on these dark thoughts. Ivaan hanged the 'forbidden fruit' in front of him and Divit swallowed it without thinking about the consequences.
Once Divit got the hang of this sadistic, perverted pleasures, it was similar to the taste of blood for him. Even if Divit knew that he was nothing but a bug caught in his elder brother's web, it was too late to change himself. Divit could only continue wallowing in degeneration and ignore the truth.
There was a thing about Ivaan, among others, that made clear for Divit that he could never match his elder brother. It was that Ivaan had the same bad habits as he did. Ivaan also played with women, consumed drugs or alcohol. But his elder brother never let these habits affect his life, in the least. In all his life, Divit had never seen another person who possessed such control over their vices.
Also, Divit knew that Ivaan had changed even more dangerous since he came back from the Organisation's headquarters. He seemed to have developed a lust for seeing human blood and derived enjoyment from killing people.
Even though Divit also killed a few people but it was a feeling born out of compulsion or sheer impulse. But could see the light in Ivaan's eyes as he killed people who refused to bow down to the Raipath family.
As for his elder brother's strength, Divit only knew that Ivaan had been selected to the batch which received the maximum attention of the top brass. He heard that Ivaan went to the Elysium Branch which trains the Organisation's elites. Divit could not even imagine the kind of monsters that the Organisation was breeding there. Even the dog that his brother brought from that place gave Divit chills running through his spine.
DIvit was completely satisfied with his current strength, and even if he wanted to go deeper, his physical constitution has already been checked and deemed 'unsatisfactory'.
So, even if Divit was stunned at the beauty of Anupama or was envious of the fact that Ivaan got this flower, he would not dare to do anything. He could not afford to get on the wrong side of his elder brother.
Divit knew that his elder brother would not think twice before killing him if he crossed his path. Divit knew what kind of person his elder brother was, beneath his skin.
Divit knew that his value paled in comparison to Ivaan's, in the family. Even if his father found out that Divit was killed and it was Ivaan who did it, he would choose to ignore it and go on. Divit enjoyed his life and knew what lines he should not cross. As long as Divit knew his limits, the Raipath family would continue to indulge him.
So, Anupama was a forbidden area for him. It was as simple as that. The control that Ivaan had on Divit's mind could be imagined. Except for feeling frustrated, there was nothing that Divit would do.