Trigger warning: mention of domestic abuse and assault (sexual), brutality
I stepped inside my office the next day, still thrilled that I have an office of my own but groaned when I looked at the piles of files. Not that I minded it, I was excited to get to work but it was still a tiresome thing. A girl was allowed to be happy about having ajob and yet being ungrateful for having to worl. As I settled down on my comfy chair, I twirled it around, giddy with excitement but stopped for the fear that someone was going to barge in.
I kept my coffee mug on the table and opened the first file which was apparently the first case they'd one and it was dated 5 years back.
There was a small yellow note that read
Hey! I hope you're well settled in and take your time going through these files. When you're done, I'll give you the main case file that I'm currently working on.
Rohan :)
I found myself smiling a little as I peeled the post-it note off the file and placed it somewhere in one of my drawer.
This file I noticed was about a woman who wanted to escape her abusive husband. He'd apparently threatened to murder her children when she demanded a divorce. As I was going through the file, I learnt that the name of the lady was Lilly, and when I looked at the picture which was attached on the file, realisation dawned me. It was the receptionist.
But she looked so young for 2 children, I thought.
I looked through 2 more files before my phone rang.
"Yes?"
"We're planning to keep am engagement ceremony next week is that okay with you?" Dad asked softly.
"Y-yes dad,"
"Why are you hesitating, love? Do you not want to go ahead with this arrangement? Be honest with me,"
"Dad it's not that," I said and that was when I noticed a figure, more precisely Rohan standing outside my office, I gestured him to come in.
"Dad, let's talk when we get home okay?"
"Beta,"
"Dad, my boss is here, bye love you,"
"Fine, bye I love you too," he said before he hung up.
"Yes Ro-sir?" I asked as I stood up.
"You can call me Rohan, it's ok,"
I just nodded my head and stared at him.
"How familiar are you with cases that deal with rape and an extreme level of violence?" He asked me cautiously.
I immediately stiffened at the mention of rape and he noticed it. I always froze when I heard the word and my mind just blanked on most occasions. I knew studying marital law would mean that I would encounter rape cases almost every day and yet somehow, sometimes it just felt like someone was stepping on my heart every time I read a case or saw the victims.
"I read two of the files, so but I don't know,"
"I have to go meet one of the rape victim and she's asking for a female though, my usual one Nisha on a maternity leave so I thought I'd ask you to join me,"
All the colour drained from my face and my palms started sweating. This felt like my worst nightmare, but I still wanted to go. Because somehow I knew that having a female lawyer would help the rape victim massively.
"I'm not pressuring you though," he said, seeming to notice my reaction.
"I'll come with you," I said and he visibly relaxed before he gave me the details and left me alone for the lunch break.
I walked to the cafeteria when I ordered an iced americano and a sandwich.
"Sanjana, hey," a male employee called me.
"Urm... Hey," I said as I took a sip of my americano and walked in his direction.
"Would you like to sit with us? I'm Satish by the way,"
"Hey Satish, today it wouldn't be possible, I have some files to go through, I'll come tomorrow okay?"
"Okay," he grinned as I left the group alone and walked to my office.
°
I sat in Rohan's car and surprisingly I didn't feel suffocated as he sat next to me. But I did stiffen as he locked the doors and drove to the hospital. If he noticed my stiffness he didn't say anything about it but I did notice his jaw clench when he saw me flinch when he locked the doors.
"I'm sorry for dragging you here on your second day only but Nisha wasn't there and the others are not really specialised in marital law so I had to ask you," he said as he glanced in my direction.
"It's okay," I said and fisted my hands as the hospital came in the view.
He parked the car and rushed to my side to open the door for me.
"Y-you didn't need to--"
"It's honestly a habit for me, if my ma was here and I hadn't done this, she would have not given me dinner," he said and I chuckled at that.
We walked together and I shivered as the cool hospital air greeted me and my nose was conquered with the strong disinfectant smell.
"We're here to meet Ms. Rashi, we're from the Aequitas Firm,"
"Room number 301," the receptionist said.
We took the lift and walked towards the ward in silence.
Breath in, breath out. Calm down, no one's going to do anything. I told myself internally.
"Are you okay?" Rohan asked me as he stared at me and tooka step closer to me.
"Yeah," I said and started walking towards the room only to halt when I noticed people sitting outside the room. There was about four people, three women and one man.
"Thank you so much for coming Mr. Rohan, I cannot tell you how thankful I am that you came on such a short notice, I will forever be indebted to you," the man said, tears in his eyes as he held Rohan's hand.
I didn't hear what Rohan said because I was busy calming myself. He opened the door to the room and we both walked in.
I took a sharp intake of breath when I stared at the scene in front of me. Rohan gave me a concerned look but I ignored him as I walked towards the lady on the bed, Ms. Rashi. It was as if I was in a trance as I walked towards her.
I could feel the familiar sting of tears but I blinked my eyes furiously. I couldn't afford to cry in front of a victim. I had to be strong. If not for her, for myself, because having a mental breakdown here would only do more damage.
"Hi Rashi," I said softly and she turned to look at me and gave me a soft, barely present smile.
"I am your lawyer, Sanjana and that is my senior Mr. Rohan," I said as I sat next to her. She just blinked her eyes, her battered bluish purple eyes.
"Can she talk?" I asked to a lady sitting next to Rashi, who I assumed was her mother.
"Yes I think so," she said.
On the way Rohan had also briefed me that she was a victim of domestic abuse and two nights ago her husband had almost beat her to death, assaulting her in every way possible.
"Now Rashi do you want to talk about what happened? Are you ready to talk about it?" Rohan asked as he settled next to me. I noticed how he was talking so softly, almost whispering.
She nodded her head as she looked at us.
"Are you sure? You don't need to feel pressurised okay? We can come back another day to meet you and discuss about this, we really just want you to feel comfortable,"
She looked at me before saying, "I'll talk,"
"Okay, so can you tell me about your husband?" I asked and Rohan switched on the recorder.
"My husband's name is Ajay, he...he married me one month ago, it was an arranged marriage... I didn't know he had extreme drinking issues and about his affairs," she said, taking deep breaths to calm down. Her mother already had tears in her eyes as she held Rashi's hand.
"It was so extreme that he would slap me and once he'd even tried to rape me, though it would not really be called a rape since he's married to me," she said and I felt anger bubbling inside me.
"The other night, he came home as usual drunk and he had a friend with him, he was drunk as well," this time she paused and closed her eyes as a lone tear trailed down her eyes. I knew it was difficult for her, talking about it almost felt like reliving through those moments.
"They both forced themselves on me, when I resisted, he started beating me," she let out a sob and I held the other hand of hers, only to find bite marks on them. I felt my stomach churning as I noticed the bite marks. Black dots appeared before my eyes and I took deep breaths in order to calm myself.
"When he slammed my head against the bed, I lost all the fight in me and then the only thing I remember is waking up in the hospital,"
This situation felt familiar. A familiar image played in my head. A young girl, about 17 laid on the bed, she didn't know what had happened. One moment a guy was trying to assault her and the next moment she woke up in the hospital.
I felt bile rise up my throat and I immediately rushed to the washroom, locking it behind me as I puked my guts out. I was crying as I puked my guts out. My head was suddenly aching and I sat on the bathroom floor, not caring if it wasdirty or not, trying to get a hold over myself as I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the wall of the bathroom.
"Sanjana," Rohan called for me as he banged the door.
"Give me a minute," I managed to say as I washed my face and controlled my feelings.
As I evened my breathing, I unlocked the door and walked out.
"Thankfuckinggod," Rohan whispered under his breath. He took a step closer to me but then thought better as he took a step back.
"I'm sorry, it was probably the sandwich I ate for lunch," I said as I walked closer to Rashi.
"Thank you for telling us everything, I'll do everything to bring you justice, we'll definitely get back to you soon, till then I hope you take care of yourself," I said as I smiled.
"You too," Rashi said as she smiled in my direction before we left.
"Stand near the lift, I'll just get the medical report from the doctor," Rohan said as he ran in the opposite direction.
I felt dizzy as I saw his retreating figure. Black dots invaded my vision and I tried to blink them away as I sat down in Asian squat, resting my face against the cold wall and tried to calm myself.
I frantically dialed my emergency contact number which was my dad.
"Sanju,"
"Dad, I'm not--" I fainted before I could even form a proper sentence.
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Another update.
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