Zakham

8

Namrata's POV

I picked up Charlie from the pet-care not bothering to respond to any of the questions the infuriating man sitting in the passenger seat of my car was asking.

He fought me tooth and nail before relenting to take my car as under no circumstances I was letting anyone else drive it. I didn't want him anywhere near me during the drive but before I could protest he had firmly planted himself in the car.

I was driving as slow as humanly possible to delay the inevitable but soon the ride came to an end as I parked in front of the massive palace. In the daylight, it looked even more intimidating.

Taking in a deep breath I unbuckled the seatbelt and took Charlie out of his carrier before following the giant to the main entrance.

My steps faltered on seeing his whole family standing at the doorway with huge smiles on their faces and his mother held an aarti ki thali in her hand.

"Aao beta hum kab se aap dono ki raah dekh rahe hain." She exclaimed with a huge smile on her face. The rest of the family looked equally ecstatic.

So the whole family was involved in the ploy. Who was I even kidding? Of course they would be involved-after all the Rathore family loved when people danced to their tunes.

She made us stand at the entrance together while she performed her rituals. I barely stopped myself from cringing at the pathetic display of love and concern when I very well knew how cruel this family could actually be.

"Ye lo-vaise to bahu laal jode main ghar ke andar pravesh karti hai lekin yahaan to ulti Ganga beh rahi hai: jeans main grah parivesh ho raha hai voh bhi ek kaali billi ke sath. Aur to aur ek mahina apne pati se alag rehne ke baad." A lady well in her fifties sneered at me.

I cocked my head to one side as I looked at her not breaking the eye contact. Her dislike for me was evident-I could see it in her eyes and for that I respected her. At least she was clear with her approach-I hated people who were double faced much like the rest of this family.

"Bua sa....." the man standing next to me growled before I interrupted him and flashed 'Bua sa' a sweet mocking smile "Aap cahein to hum abhi isi waqt vapis jaa sakte hain."

The angry man next to me turned and glared at me but I didn't bother looking at him so he harshly grabbed me by the elbow and dragged me inside. He didn't once stop at the protests from the rest of his family and dragged me to the room where I woke up a month ago.

"Vo neeche kya kaha aapne?" He snapped as he let go of me and I stumbled a bit.

I scoffed at him "Dikhte aap khasa samajhdaar hain humein, nahi jaante ki vo kya tha?" I matched his tone.

I knew it was dangerous playing with fire because in between us he was the one with all the power. He knew my soft spot and wouldn't hesitate to exploit it but there was something in me that didn't wanted to back down.

After everything he and his family put me through, I would die before giving in.

Charlie sensing the hostile environment snuggled closer to me and Vikramaditya's eyes snapped to him. I couldn't decipher the emotions in his eyes before he turned around and left the room, locking the door from outside. I just couldn't understand the man.

"Well, I think this is it Charlie." I tell him as I finally heave a sigh of relief on being left alone and started inspecting the room for anything nefarious. I wouldn't put it past him to actually do that.

Satisfied with my snooping, I settled on the plush carpet next to the bed with Charlie in my lap. My hand on his fur soon helped him relax and he dozed off but I just couldn't get my mind to switch off.