The House of Hollow Smiles
Golden sunlight spilled into the grand dining room, touching the edges of fine china and crystal glasses. The long table stretched wide, filled with laughter and small talk. Each seat was occupied by people too polished to notice what was missing.
Celene Arora(ruhan mother)
(sipping her imported white tea) Did you see the Arora engagement? That lehenga was to die for. Classic work.
karan(elder brother 1)
(smirking) But the groom looked like a scarecrow dressed in Versace.
ishita(elder sister)
(picking at her fruit bowl) Money can’t buy good genes. Or taste, apparently. Thank God our family still has standards.
Ravina
(entering, perfectly composed) Sorry for the delay. I got caught up checking something upstairs.
She took her seat beside Reyan, who leaned in with a private smile.
reyan
He giving you trouble again?
Ravina
(sweetly) He’s quiet now. Just needed reminding who he belongs to.
Celene Arora(ruhan mother)
You’re too patient with him. Honestly, I don’t know why we ever kept him around. Useless.
devansh Arora(elder brother 2)
(calmly) At least he hasn’t embarrassed the family in public lately.
Rajvir Arora(ruhan father)
(reading his tablet) Make sure the Singapore contract is re-evaluated. No delays. I don’t care what excuse they give.
Not one of them asked about Ruhan.
To them, he was just a ghost in his own home. A faint presence. A mistake they'd chosen to forget.
Only James, the loyal butler standing at the far end of the room, noticed the silence. He didn’t eat. He didn’t speak. But he watched the stairs.
Inside the master bedroom, Ruhan lay curled around Liora, unconscious. His blood had stained the sheets and his skin was a canvas of pain—deep lashes, swollen bruises, and dried crimson.
Yet his arm remained around his daughter. A barrier. A shield.
Ravina entered, hair tied into a loose bun, lipstick untouched. She walked over to the bed, her eyes narrowing at the sight of them.
Ravina
(quietly) Still holding her? How pathetic.
Ruhan stirred slightly. His lips moved.
Ruhan Arora
(barely audible) You’re safe, Liora… Papa’s here…
Ravina
(ripping the blanket off) I said GET UP!
She yanked his hair, forcing his head up. A weak cry escaped his throat as his eyes fluttered open.
Ruhan Arora
(gasping) Liora… is she alright…?
Ravina
She’s alive, thanks to me tolerating your little puppet show.
Ruhan Arora
She’s just a baby…
Ravina
(hissing) You’ll never be anything. Not a husband. Not a man. You’d be nothing without me. You think working some office job makes you important? You’re a ghost, Ruhan. A weak, whimpering ghost I keep around like a pet.
Ruhan didn’t answer. He simply looked at his daughter, his body trembling with the effort to stay upright.
Ravina
(growling) I own you. Your breath, your body, your smile. And if you ever smile at her again like you did this morning—
She gestured at the crib.
Ravina
(growling) —I’ll make sure she forgets what love even feels like.
Ruhan Arora
(weak, yet defiant) Don’t touch her…
She stormed off, locking the door behind her, leaving behind a man who couldn’t scream even if he wanted to.
Anne stood outside the kitchen with a tray in hand, glancing nervously up the staircase.
amne(maid)
(to James) Sir didn’t come down again… and I didn’t hear the baby either.
James set down his silver tea service and quietly walked toward the stairs.
Then—softly—Liora’s muffled whimper.
James opened the door slowly.
The sight stopped his breath.
Ruhan lay half-hanging from the bed, unconscious, blood seeping into the mattress. His body was twisted unnaturally, and Liora sat silent in the crib, clutching a pillow with tear-stained cheeks.
james(butler)
(hoarse) Master Ruhan…
He rushed forward and checked his pulse. Weak. Barely there.
james(butler)
(yelling to Anne) Get the car ready—now!
Lifting Ruhan carefully into his arms, James looked into the man’s face—bruised, broken, and yet… peaceful.
Ruhan Arora
(bare whisper) Don’t… let her… touch Liora…
james(butler)
(voice tight) I won’t. I swear it.
Inside the emergency ward, machines blinked rhythmically. The scent of antiseptic filled the air.
James sat stiffly on a bench, gripping the armrest. The door opened and the doctor stepped out, removing his gloves.
doctor
Are you his emergency contact?
james(butler)
Yes. What’s his condition?
The doctor looked weary, but his voice was sharp.
doctor
He has a dislocated shoulder, a cracked rib, multiple internal bruises, and extensive lacerations. Several are infected. He’s severely anemic from chronic malnutrition and blood loss.
doctor
But that’s not all. He has a congenital heart defect—undiagnosed and untreated. His left ventricular wall is thinning, meaning stress or trauma could lead to cardiac failure. He’s been living on borrowed time.
james(butler)
(whispering) He… never told anyone…
doctor
Someone should have noticed. Someone should have protected him.
james(butler)
(quiet fury) They never saw him at all.
In a house filled with polished silver and painted smiles, no one heard the heartbeat quietly dying behind closed doors.
But now… he has nothing left to lose.
And nothing is more dangerous than a man who survives in silence.
They thought he was nothing…
But what happens when nothing becomes everything?
continue reading to find it
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