A/N: Who's getting a double update? Ya'll are! Today's a good day, eh? Happy reading xx
I place my hands on the arms that are constraining my waist. The man didn't need to speak for me to know this isn't Manik. My Devil never holds me with such harshness and neither do these arms spread the warmth I feel when his skin touches mine - the feeling that sets me at ease.
"Leave me," I say through gritted teeth. The ends of my hair are standing up with disgust. The mere thought of a strange man touching me - that too without my permission - sets me on edge.
"Babe, you haven't even given me a chance yet." The voice says, as I dig my nails into his skin without the slightest thought of mercy. At once his grip loosens, allowing me enough time to step away and turn towards him.
A man, who's not much taller than me, is caressing his now wounded arms. His hair is falling in straight strands across his forehead, hooding his eyes partially. This man doesn't give off good vibes at all, especially considering how he tried to touch me without my permission.
"Ouch, that hurt." He comments, dropping his arms to his sides, as he makes eye contact with me. "We're just having some fun." I've heard this voice before and I highly doubt it was in pleasant circumstances. The man takes a menacing step towards me, making me take ten backwards.
"You're making a big mistake," I say. "Leave me alone and go away before you're unable to walk away on your two legs."
"Ooh, I'm scared." The man raises his palms as if to surrender. "A pussy is threatening me. Fucking scary." He continues to lazily head in my direction as if he has all the time in the world. If I try to run out of this alley he'll stop me easily. The only option is to injure him.
"You should be." The second he's in arm's distance I jerk my knee upwards, straight towards his groin. In the nick of time the man's palm blocks my attack, pushing my leg backwards. The unexpected force of the blow causes me to stumble backwards. Unable to gain control of my body I land on the ground.
"Are you really sure about that?" The man asks, checking out his nails. "Because I'm not the one who's on the ground right now." Frowning, I begin to lift myself up with the help of my palms. The man lifts his right leg, bringing his foot down towards my stomach. "I suggest you stay down there." I squeeze my eyes shut, mentally preparing myself for the blow. However, it doesn't come. I open my eyes to find a hand bearing the weight of the man's leg, preventing it from landing on my body. Relief washes over me as my eye catches the glint of a familiar ring. Manik. He shoves the man's leg back, causing the latter's entire body to land on the ground.
"You're done today." Manik growls, his tone sending a shiver down my spine. Before the man can stand up, Manik is already towering over him. The Devil's palm wraps around the man's throat, cutting off his air supply.
"Manik," he gasps, clearly struggling to get oxygen to his lungs. "Stop...fucking...interfering...goddammit." Each word is spaced a few seconds apart, the soles of his shoes rubbing against the ground in a desperate attempt to get away.
"I'd say you save your last few breaths." Manik says, as he turns around to face me, pulling the man by the throat behind him. By now I'm back on my feet, my heart holding not even an ounce of sympathy for the man who manhandled me. Manik brings the man to my feet, letting go of his head roughly. His skill hits the ground with a sickening crack, coughs erupting from his throat.
"Apologize," Manik orders, leaving no space for argument in his tone. Instead of obliging, which would've been the sensible thing to do, the man spits at the spot beside my left shoe. My husband reaches down, taking the man's wrist in his hand. Silently the Devil begins to twist his arm in a highly painful direction. Just seeing the odd angle at which the man's arm is now bent makes me cringe.
A painful scream erupts from him, echoing around the alley. I squeeze my eyes shut, turning my face away.
"Fuck!" He bellows, his voice turning into a hoarse whisper. A crack resounds in my ears, making me aware of the fact that the man's bone has snapped.
"Let him go, Manik." I say, without opening my eyes. "He's suffered enough."
"Angel, you don't know the fucked up things Dhruv has done. He deserves every bit of pain I can provide him with." Manik argues. Dhruv...I've heard the name before. He's the same man who Manik raced with the night of his accident. Gathering up my courage, I open my eyes and step towards my enraged Devil.
"Manik," I take my husband's name, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. "Let the man go." Considering Dhruv and Manik already have bad blood between them I believe Manik's anger isn't just an output of what he did to me tonight, and that's why I feel like my husband will cross all limits if I don't stop him.
"Dhruv!" Sushant's frantic voice enters my ears, my head jerking in the direction of the sound. He, along with a handful of others, is making his way towards us. At once, Manik's left foot props itself onto Dhruv's neck.
"Don't come any closer." My husband warns, as his enemy's palms wrap themselves around his ankle. As expected, however, they do absolutely nothing to remove Manik's foot. "Or else your friend won't live to see a new dawn." I wrap my hands around Manik's arm, vainly trying to tug him away from Dhruv. I can judge by the looks on the gathered people's faces that they're all Team Dhruv.
"Manik, let's go," I urge, persistently trying to get my husband to budge.
"Manik!" Cabir yells, shoving his way past the crowd. Relief washes over me as he runs towards us, his eyes hastily taking in the scene. A few seconds later, Eva and Aahan emerge from the crowd as well.
"Manik, release him." Cabir orders, placing his hand on his friend's other shoulder. "You don't want to become a murderer."
"You don't know what he was doing to Angel. If I hadn't come he'd do the same thing he did with Rebecca." Manik says, the toe of his other shoe harshly kicking against Dhruv's side. The man curls into a fetal position, clutching at the wounded spot.
"But he didn't," Cabir says, his eyes scanning my body. "Right?" He asks unsurely, looking at me for an answer. I nod my head.
"I'm fine," I reply hastily. Quite frankly I'll say anything to calm Manik down and prevent him from doing something he'll regret when he sees through the red cloud of anger that's hovering over his head right now.
"Manik, she's alright. Let's go from here," Cabir urges. "As it is we're outnumbered." Manik's chest heaves up and down with anger, as he continues to glare at Dhruv. Manik's left arm shoots out towards his face so fast I would've missed it had I blinked, making direct contact with his nose. Another cracking sound fills the air around us, making me wince once more. He lifts his foot off of Dhruv's throat, and steps away from the severely wounded man.
Manik turns around, his arm wrapping itself around my waist protectively. Sushant's eyes are flitting from us to Dhruv, as if he's in disbelief as to what just took place. Cabir keeps his hand on Manik's shoulder, unsure as to whether his friend will turn back and lay a few more punches to Dhruv's ugly face. Aahan and Eva join us at my side, the latter's arm looping through mine.
As we near the mouth of the alley, Sushant breaks out of his stupor and rushes to his friend's side. I watch over my shoulder as he supports Dhruv's back with his body, bringing him to a sitting position. How can a man like Sushant be friends with filth like Dhruv?
"So I'm wrong?" Dhruv's voice echoes around the alley. Manik's body stiffens at my side at once, his grip tightening around my waist even further. "How fucking hypocritical!" Why is Dhruv still talking? Is he as brainless as my cousin, not knowing when to shut up and retreat?
"I just gave you a taste of your own medicine!" He continues. Is Dhruv asking for death? "Isn't this the exact same thing you did to Rebecca? Sure you used me for it, but the end result was the same, eh?" Manik pivots, lunging towards Dhruv. Aahan and Cabir wind their arms through his underarms, holding him in place.
"That was all you!" Manik yells, shoving a threatening index finger in the direction of Dhruv. "You know it as well as I do." Dhruv lets out a cold bark of laughter - a sound that sends a chill running down my spine.
"Yeah right, Manik. Till when are you going to fool yourself and the others around you by saying that? We both know that you were the brilliant mastermind behind it all." Why is Dhruv's mouth still at work? For God's sake, even an army would have retreated by now at the sight of the raging Devil.
"Stop lying!" The Devil roars, making me jump. It's a miracle Dhruv hasn't wet his pants by now. Aahan and Cabir are putting in every last sliver of their strength to keep Manik in their hold.
"How well do you really know him, hottie?" Dhruv asks, his eyes on me now. "What I mean to say is, how much can you trust Manik? I'd say don't even give him a drop of your faith."
"He owns it all," I reply with confidence. Dhruv continues to watch me, a sick smile plastered across his face.
"Prove it," he says after a few seconds.
"I don't need to. You're no one to determine what Manik and I share." Through the corner of my eye I can see Cabir and Aahan still struggling to keep their friend in check. Aiyappa, please make us leave from here soon.
"Aw, do you see this Manik? Even this hottie doesn't trust you," Dhruv says, irking my husband even further. "How fucking sad." My blood boils at the sound of his teasing tone.
"What proof do you want?" I find myself asking, steadily staring into Dhruv's eyes.
"Nandini, no," Cabir says. "Don't let him draw you in."
"Since we're all about cars here," Dhruv says. "Let's do a little experiment with a car." His eyes hold a challenge for me. I may be walking right into a trap, but allowing this man to belittle my husband and ridicule our relationship is simply out of the question.
"Let's," I agree.