SERENDIPITOUS|✓

Chapter 16

Radha was still crying, shaking. Her tear-stained face was flushed and her cheeks were splotched. Her trembling lips and quivering limbs didn't do anything to lessen her pain.

The call was the limit, the limit of her strength, of her patience and her hope. She felt so broken.

Broken from outside, devoid of a smile.

Broken from inside, devoid of a soul.

Heartbroken, too?

Nothing helped.

She wanted nothing but to break off this marriage, this contract, and set herself free but her parents, that call, just reminded her how her life wasn't hers.

How without her parents, she would've died.

How her parents gave her a new life.

Literally and metaphorically.

She remembered them saving her when she needed a saving. But now, they just needed the money and selling their daughter was the only way left with them.

Fair enough.

Radha thought.

But then shook her head, sucking in a shaky breath trying to control the series of sobs and pathetic tears.

Because no.

NO!

This wasn't fair. Her life was theirs but her feelings, what about them?

She still felt them.

and wanted to kill them.

She wanted to vacuum herself, she wanted nothing to be left inside her, she wanted to be free.

She wanted to die.

*

Krishn stood at the front of the house which was now preserving a very precious gem.

He wasn't going to lie.

He had missed her.

With a bag on his shoulder and another in his hand, he stepped into the Rathore mansion just to get distracted by the overburdening crown. 

He looked around for his Uncle and Auntie or Abhi or anyone. No, he hadn't forgotten Radha, he just didn't look for her here, because, in the very small time that he had spent with her, he knew such a crowd wasn't Radha's scene. She liked the silent glimmer of the moonlight, slow dancing of the cool breeze, and hushed giggling of the twinkling stars.

She liked serenity, and serenity liked her.

Not too later Krishn found himself standing in front of his uncle who had his head in his hand in what matched the feeling of distraught. He immediately crouched in front of him and took his hands in his own.

"Uncle?" he quizzed gently and Mr Rathore immediately got out of his pained reverie.

"Krishn, son!" he exclaimed in a relieving manner. Krishn smiled at him trying to assure him of any bad situation.

He didn't miss the extra darkened creases between his brows and the unshed tears in his uncle's eyes.

Something was horribly wrong.

"What happened, uncle? Why are you sitting here alone? Why aren't you with your family?" Krishn asked instantly not waiting for a breath. The smile now disappearing from his face.

"Is aunty ok? Is Abhi ok? It - is, is R-Radha .?" he asked with a scared, frozen breath. Seeing his uncle's face crumpling even more after listening to Radha's name didn't do much to give him his breath back.