The Vile.

Chapter : 26

"A meeting that's taking this long? That's something unheard of." She says mostly to herself. "In that case, do you think I can use the kitchen. I can make some dinner." She suggests.

"Hey, that's obviously not necessary Vasudha. We can always order." He responds.

"Actually, I kinda want to eat something simple and homemade. That's only if it's okay. Otherwise you can order. Again, I don't know how Mr.D' might react to it. So it's bett.." Her words get interrupted as Nihal responds.

"He won't. You go and make whatever you want. I'll be happy to eat something other than his usual bullshit." He chuckles.

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"It's 1.30 A.M. What sort of a meeting is this that's taking so long? You sure he's okay?" Vasudha asks Nihal once again.

"Yes, trust me it's totally not new for us. You please eat and have a good sleep. You're already unwell." Nihal answers.

"That's okay, I took some bites while cooking so I'm close to being full." She replies looking at the watch on the wall. Although she doesn't want to but the image of Danuj, fallen face first on the muddy road under heavy rainfall, resurfaces infront of her eyes. The scars on his whole body, the brutal and bleeding stab mark on his lower abdomen and above all his painful cries creep up in the back of her mind. She immediately starts feeling uneasy.

Nihal doesn't fail to notice the sudden change in her personality.

"Waited longer than enough. Come, let's eat." He forcefully tries to change the atmosphere. As he moves towards the dining room she unwillingly follows him, continuously biting on her lower lip.

"Trust me, he is fine. He has Ojas with him. They handle these meetings quite well together." Nihal tries to assure her. She reluctantly nods and takes her seat at the table.

The very moment Nihal places a plate infront of her the calling bell chimes and a frown appears on his face.

"Y-you eat. I'll go check it. Don't worry. Everything will be fine. Stay here, okay." He adds hurriedly.

She tries a lot to keep herself collected but the adrenaline gets the better of her. She nearly runs towards the hall after Nihal. She knows she will not come out, but a small peeping won't do any harm. She only needed to be sure that they returned safely.

The door opens and in comes Ojas, his light blue shirt has some red imprints. His right hand has a deep cut. Vasudha bites on her lower lip again, as worry overwhelms her. Furrowing her eyes she slowly looks at his back at the emerging figure of Danuj and a gasp comes out of her mouth before she slaps her hand over it drawing everyone's attention towards her.

There stands Danuj in his blood stained white shirt. The shirt that is slashed from here and there. These have to be knife strikes, she thinks to herself. Her eyes scrutinize his whole body and stops at his chin. Another severe gash; another scar getting added to the existing ones. She clenches her eyes and when she finally opens them, they meet his.

The grey eyes look back at her light brown ones intently, as if searching for something. For the first time she feels something different looking at them; and it isn't hatred. She almost feels bad for the lifestyle he has chosen for himself. And a simple question arises at the back of her mind: "Why?" As if she asks the same with her eyes.

Without taking his eyes off her Danuj's hoarse voice utters, "Why is she still here Nihal? You were given One. Simple. Responsibility. She should have been asleep by now."

Immediately Vasudha regrets not listening to Nihal. He did ask her many times, she decided to stay back.

"It isn't his fault. I insisted." She says hesitantly, looking at him .

"Well, in that case you shouldn't have. I told you the rules. You tend to break them all the time. From tonight.." His words get paused as she raises her hand indicating him to stop and starts completing the sentence herself.

"I'll follow the rules. At least I'll try to. Do not accuse anyone else. I'll go upstairs right now." She says but his expression remains unreadable.

"You can't. You haven't eaten yet." Nihal responds to which Danuj's head snaps to Nihal. His eyes tell how angry he feels.

"Will you send my food upstairs please. I don't want to make it more complicated." She whispers to Nihal.

"Okay, I'm bringing it to you." Nihal adds.

"Thanks. I think you should clean the cuts, Ojas. They'll get infected." She says, looking mostly at Danuj and then turns upwards. What she fails to notice is the tiny ray of hope in the grey eyes, that are fixed to the ground, that wait for her to react the same way to him but end up losing the ray eventually. Releasing a deep sigh while clenching his jaw, he takes the stairs as well.

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