• Echoes •

Until Forever • 2

Shivaay's eyes remained blank and on the road. If she wasn't staring, Anika would have missed the ticking of the nerve on his forehead. He swallowed. "I...I don't stay with them anymore. I haven't talked with them for months now."

This time around, Anika yelped. "What? Why?"

He smiled as he looked at her. Then he nonchalantly offered, "Because they don't want anything to do with me. I have been ostracised by the family. That's my punishment I guess for what I did."

Her confusion grew. She scooted closer to him. She didn't mean to but she reached out and held his palm. It was burning. She held on. There wasn't a question of doing anything else when Shivaay looked like he was drowning. 

"What did you do?" Anika's voice came out in a ragged whisper.

His grip on her hand loosened. He tried to pry his hand out. She held on tighter. She insisted. "Tell me. Please." 

Shivaay's head bent and he sank in the seat further. He cast a long look at the taxi driver. Anika understood his predicament. She nodded and moved away. She could wait for a while. But she didn't leave his hand. She just couldn't.  

The taxi stopped in front of a building. It was decent but not even remotely close to Shivaay's standards. He paid the taxi driver and quietly led her to one of the apartments. She didn't question anything he was doing. Once in the house, she looked around. It was a bare-shell one. Barring that one small mattress on the floor, air conditioner and a random wardrobe; there was nothing in the house. Shivaay removed his shoes and sat down on the mattress. Then he wordlessly asked her to join him. She followed. 

"Water?" he questioned.

"No Shivaay..." she shook her head. "Just tell me what did you do? And what is this place?"

Shivaay's eyes danced around. "It's my house. I had bought it as an investment. But I am staying here now."

Her jaw almost dropped. "Why the fuck?" 

Shivaay's gaze fell to the ground once again. Silence ensued. Anika resisted the urge to shake him. 

"I promise you that I won't judge you..." Anika desperately assured him. "Trust me."

Shivaay turned to look at her but abnormally slowly. He assessed her eyes for a long while before speaking. When he spoke, he first choked on the words like they just couldn't take the flight. But when he did manage to pry the words out of his mouth, Anika's world shattered in an instant. Because his had. 

"I r*ped and assaulted Tia."  

Anika looked away. She felt like her mind felt like it was shutting down. Her brow started to sweat. 

He continued. "She has the video evidence and well, medical evidence. I got drunk and went to her place. Lost control."

Anika staggered backwards as her mind swirled. He kept talking. 

"Then the family got to know about it. They all asked me to leave. Tia's family is nice so they aren't pressing charges against me. They are not even going to the media with this. They are content with me staying away and repenting for my sins." 

Then everything fell silent. There wasn't anything to say. Or perhaps, there was. Because Anika clutched her knees hard to stop her hands from shaking. She was burning in rage. Every single word that he had spoken stank with such horseshit that every cell in her body wanted to slap him good. How could anyone be that foolish? How could he, Shivaay Singh Oberoi, the mightiest businessman in the country let people do this to him? 

"You didn't do anything." She whispered. She held his hand again and squeezed it assuringly. "Do you understand? You didn't do a thing." 

He rubbed his face. "I don't know at this point. Maybe I did. Because honestly, why will Tia lie?"