I have heard of not judging a book by its cover, but as a doctor, I was forced to judge my patients as I approached them. It made me a judgmental person, but at least I never had the chance to be surprised.
I don't like surprises, but what I'm witnessing makes me quite startled. I could tell Aarav was surprised as well, seeing that his jaw is moping the floor in shock.
Aarav inches closer to me, whether it was for my protection or because of his fear, I will never know.
The ceiling of the building was as high as the sky, giving it a touch of extravagance. The walls were decorated with golden wallpaper, not a hint of imperfection to be spotted. The floor was made of dark blue marble, and my surprised reflection stared back at me with wide eyes and messy hair.
There's stairs leading up to the second floor, where a balcony is situated in the middle. The enormous room was oddly empty with multiple doors on the other side. I suddenly realized that there was a bright chandelier hanging from the middle of the ceiling, exactly proportionate with the room. It couldn't even classify as a room. It would be more of a ceremony hall.
There's people here, since no fool would leave a building without turning off the lights. The building didn't look as abandoned as it seemed from the outside. It's furnishing are taken care, by the looks of it. Not a single speck of dust dared to fall on the lavish furnishings below the chandelier.
It all looks expensive and I have no clue how a man who just spent half his life in jail could have acquired this much money to create such lavishness for himself.
Maybe Aniket's biological father inherited the money? Or killed a rich person?
The second option seems more likely, but I stop on my thoughts when I hear the faint noise of a engine dying.
"Someone's here. Hide!" I whisper to Aarav. He takes my crutches in one hand, and picks me up, throwing me over his shoulder. He runs across the room to the door, and opens a random door. It's locked, so he tries another.
I'm taken aback when the door opens, and Aarav doesn't waste time sliding through. The room is filled with tranquil silence, except for sharp gasps and a couple of shrieks.
Aarav traces his hands on the wall, trying to look for a light switch, while simultaneously trying to readjust me on his shoulder. He gives out a gasp as he flicks the light on, and suddenly places me on the ground, albeit, unexpectedly gentle.
"Who are you?!"
There are at least twelve girls in here, crouching on two small beds lining the walls. They all wore excessive makeup, with little clothes on their bodies. They are all what some would call beautiful, but some (who lived under a rock for two centuries and never knew about feminism), would call them sleazy.
Aarav's eyes go wide at the sight of all women, but I stare back at them as they try to examine me. Some of the women who had the most revealing outfits I've ever seen, looked at Aarav. No, they looked at him as if they've never seen a man before.
"Better question. Who are you people?" I ask, pointing at them all.
The tall girl, who asked me the question, snorts, turning her head in disgust. "You're here for whatever we're here for, by the looks of it." She says, looking at my tattered red dress, fixed with clear tape.
"And what is that?" I ask, folding my arms over my chest and raising my chin confidently. Were they also here after firing a police officer, scheduling a rendezvous with the city commissioner, receiving a love confession, and breaking and entering into a building in the middle of nowhere?
The girl frowns, then snickers at my question. I'm guessing she's the bully in this place.
Every place has one. It only matters how we react. And whatever she says, I am not going to react.
"Like you don't know. You're here to please them."
Please who? God? The international companies who make a profit off you? Family? Friends? Societal standards?
"Them?" I ask, raising a eyebrow. The woman opens her mouth but shuts it. I see the other woman covering in fear, as they examined Aarav.
Why are they afraid of him?
A cruel smile conquers her thin face and she sits on the bed, crossing her legs. "Oh child, you have much to learn. How can you be so innocent? Anyways, tell us how you managed to get kidnapped."
It's Aarav's then to react. "Kidnapped?" He asks, with the weirdest confused expression I've ever seen. His bony features does not make it attractive.
God, what does Alisha even see in this guy?
"Yeah, you're the one who kidnapped her. Right?" The girl looks doubtful of herself, her confidence fading away as Aarav becomes more confused.
"I didn't—
Suddenly, it made sense. These girls were kidnapped, and the revealing outfits they wore and the warning the woman made— that I have to learn more about this place.
I was standing in a brothel house.
Can my day get any weirder than this?
"Seriously? Okay." I am here to get Aniket. I cannot manage to rescue these people with a lovesick puppy as my sidekick, and two disarming bullet wounds for superpowers. "Has anyone seen my husband?" Great, Krithi, as if they would know your husband. "He's tall, dark, handsome, chocolate brown eyes, his name is—
"Y-you mean the guy Jasmine has been trying to seduce?" One girl in the corner stutters.
She was frail, but beautiful in her own way. She had big brown eyes, and her protective stance said everything I needed to know. She was afraid.
"Jasmine?" I am guessing it's the bully. She was glaring at the frail girl murderously as she asked her question.
"His name is Aniket! And he's going to get me out of here, just watch. Besides, his father owns this place. And once he makes me his queen, I will free all those who are loyal to me." She promises, pointing to her underdogs.
"Excuse me?! He already has a queen, lady. And that's me. If you need some prince to rescue you, search for someone who isn't taken." I state, as calmly as possible. I was fuming like a volcano inside. "Now, since you know my husband so well, where is he?" I interrogate.
The girl frowns, sliding her tongue over her lips mockingly and making a popping sound by smacking her lips together.
"I don't know." She says, staring at me challengingly.
The frail girl speaks up again, drawing unwanted attention. "He's upstairs. First room on the right of the stairs."
I look at her for a moment. Why was she helping me?
Well, now that she helped, I have to repay the debt. I have to help her.
"I'm going to need a favor." I say, looking at the scared girl in front on me. Barely a women, and she has been kidnapped, tortured, made a witness of horrible activities, and catapulted into prostitution. A female should never be afraid to liberate herself, and this young girl was broken. Her eyes tell me tales she hasn't uttered.
She needs to be freed. And she needs to take revenge.
"We can't help you. I've already said too much." The girl says, lowering her head in guilt.
"Look, I have a plan. A loose plan that I made ten seconds ago, but a plan, nonetheless. We're getting out of here. The police are on their way, and you'll be rescued. I promise. But I'm going to need some support. Won't you help a injured pregnant lady who just wants her husband back?" I ask, giving them all my adorable pleading look.
My father could never refuse me with this look on face, and I have absolutely mastered this— if my stone of a mother has even melted for it once or twice. Okay, maybe just once. But that was enough confirmation that I had great persuasion skills.
"Don't you want to be freed?"
************************************************
They were great allies. They tell about all the guard situated around the building— luckily we had missed them since they had gone out to get food. They will be back after eating in about an hour, and until then two guards will be monitoring the place outside. There are no guards inside, but three housekeepers.
One of them is in sick leave, and the two others are usually holed up in the bedrooms, cleaning. We have to be quiet, for the time being. Until the police arrive.
It almost makes saving Aniket easy.
I should have known that nothing is handed to you in a silver platter. I made Aarav guard the door while I went into Aniket's room.
It was unlocked, thankfully. I slipped in to see him face first, screaming into a pillow. He hasn't seen me.
I observe him for a moment. From the back, he looks exactly the same. His recently cut hair, hasn't grown back. His lean frame is exactly the same. After all, it's only been four days.
And yet he's had multiple girls try to seduce him.
What the hell did I have to do to secure this guy to me?
He's shivering. It wasn't that cold in the room, and he had nothing to be afraid of.
Is he crying?
"Aniket?" I ask, running to him, and sitting beside him. He sits up, as if I'm a threat.
"What are you doing here?!" He screams with wide eyes.
Wow, that was not how I imagined our reunion.