When Karthik came back home, earlier than usual, he didn't expect to see his wife in a distraught condition. He was astonished to find her sobbing, sitting on the floor while Lakshmi was trying to console her.

"What the hell happened to you?" he yelled, looking at her in shock.

He saw pain in Sindhu's eyes that quickly turned to relief seeing him. He bent down to have a proper look at her and was beyond angry seeing her condition. Marks of finger prints were clearly visible on her face; so was the dried blood at the corner of her lips.

"Who did this to you?" he yelled, his eyes narrowed into slits.

Sindhu was surprised to see him very angry. Luckily, this time it was not directed towards her; he looked like he wanted to kill the person who did this.

She wanted to tell him everything that creep did. But, all she managed to utter was "K-Karthik"

He closed his eyes as if sensing her pain; when he opened them a while later, he had a tender look on his face.

As he inched towards her, she threw her arms around him, sobbing hysterically.

He stiffened when she hugged him and it took him a while to wrap his arms around her. When he did, he rubbed her shoulder gently and spoke in a soft voice "You are safe now. I am here"

He didn't know how long they stayed like that but he didn't mind; even if Lakshmi was watching them, a few feet away.

When Sindhu finally removed her hands off him and backed away to the wall, Karthik held her shoulders and spoke in the softest voice she ever heard "Get up. You need to relax for a while"

She nodded, feeling ashamed of sobbing like a little girl in front of him. To top it off, she hugged him too(though she had no idea why); she didn't want him to think of her as a desperate woman.

Karthik helped her getting up and wrapped his arms around her shoulder. He took her to his room and made her sit on his bed.

"Do you want water?" he asked slowly.

She sniffed and shook her head, looking distressed with her teary eyes and swollen face.

When Karthik was about to turn away from the bed, he heard her panicked voice "Please don't leave"

"I am going to bring cotton to clean up your wounds. I will be back in a minute"

When she nodded, he quietly locked the door behind him and found Lakshmi still standing in the living.

"Do you know what happened?" he asked firmly, feeling extremely angry.

She nodded "I have an idea sir"

As Lakshmi explained how she heard yells from the house and how she found the neighbor coming out, Karthik became more furious; if that's even possible.

"Can you stay here for a while?" he asked, trying to keep calm.

"Yes sir"

He picked up the first aid box under the TV cabinet and pulled out cotton. When he didn't find Dettol in it, he went to kitchen for water before going back to his room.

When he entered his room, he saw Sindhu wiping tears off her cheek in hurry, making him understand that she didn't want to cry before him.

He dipped cotton in the water and wiped the corner of her lips making her wince in pain. He then slowly wiped the slap marks off her face, observing her eyes that were looking down.

"Does it sting still?" he asked, making her look at him. When she looked clueless, he pointed towards her cheek and repeated his question.

"A bit" she said slowly.

Seeing his angry look, she added "Please don't do anything"

"What happened exactly?" he asked seriously.

When she saw his determined face, she started "Karthik----" but was cut off by him "I want you to tell me what exactly happened"

"Tell me" he forced again, when she stayed silent.

"I t-thought it was you when-when I h-heard a knock--- " Sindhu continued telling what happened, occasionally pausing to sniffle while Karthik's anger augmented with every word. He got up furiously when he heard her say how she was knocked down by him but Sindhu caught his hand before he could move.

"Please don't go. Don't do anything" she pleaded him with moist eyes.

"You want me to stay calm when he behaved like a monster to you" he said through gritted teeth; trying to keep his anger at bay.

"I am going to call the police" he declared.

"No, please don't"

"Why not?" he retorted.

"Because he has kids"

His eyes softened as she continued "They don't deserve to be punished for no sin of theirs. And her wife; they were married for fifteen years. How would she feel knowing her husband is after other women"

"This is no time to be heroic" he grumbled impatiently.

"I am not trying to be a hero. I am just-- I am trying to be a human"

"He doesn't deserve anything after what he almost did to you" he said, looking outraged.

"But his family doesn't"

"I can't believe you are saying this"

When she stayed silent, he opened the door and called Lakshmi to stay with her.

"Please don't do anything" she requested again.

"You told me not to call the cops; I won't. But he deserves punishment" he said firmly.

"What if he did something to you?" she blurted out, unable to hide her fear.

His face instantly softened "I won't let him do anything to me or to you; I promise"

When she slowly nodded, he paced out of the room and made his way to their neighbor.

When Shyamala opened the door, Karthik walked furiously into their house as if he owned the place.

"Where's your husband?" he snapped, looking around.

She blanched "What did he do?"

Karthik didn't miss the panic in her voice; it was almost like she was used to hearing people complain about him. Only this time, he is going to get punishment for what he did.

"Do you really want to know what he tried with my wife when she was alone" he questioned, his eyes burning with fire.

"Oh no"

"Where is he?"

"He isn't home yet" she said, looking scared about what he might say.

"If you are trying to save him from me--------"

Exactly the same moment, they heard someone walk into the house.

"Who are---" Srinivas started, but quickly understand who the stranger is, seeing his face expression.

He made a quick attempt to run away but Karthik reacted almost the same instant and pushed him into the house, successfully locking the door.

"You think you can escape after what you did" he snarled, fisting his hand hard at his face.

Shyamala gave a cry of shock seeing her husband fall down to the floor but it didn't stop him.

"How dare you raise your hand at my wife" he yelled, kicking him in the ribs.

He heard a pain of cry from Srinivas but continued hitting him with all his force.

"Please don't do anything to him. Please." Shyamala cried beside him, trying to pull him back; away from her husband.

Srinivas groaned in pain as blood sputtered out of his mouth. Karthik steadied himself on his stomach and slapped his cheeks before holding his throat tightly "How dare you touch her with your filthy hands, you bastard"

Shyamala feared that her husband would die if Karthik held his throat for another minute. She quickly fell on his knees and begged "Please leave him. Please. I promise he won't try anything again. We have two kids, please show mercy"

Karthik got up and snapped at her in a disbelief tone "You are still trying to protect him after what he did?"

"Please.. He is the father of my kids" she requested him as tears spilled out of her eyes.

"That's the only reason I didn't call the police; my wife didn't want your kids to be fatherless. But, how would I know he won't try it again?" he lashed out at her.

"We will leave this place. You won't see us ever again" she croaked out.

"You better do that soon. I will kill him with my bare hands if I saw him again" Having said that, he left their house making his way back to his.

"What did you do?" Sindhu asked, looking at him in fear.

His face softened "Just a few kicks"

"You kicked him?" she asked, looking at him in wonder.

He nodded "Why are you surprised?"

"Because he is very strong" she said softly, her eyes dropping down to her lap.

"I am stronger than him"

"You aren't injured, are you?" she asked, looking at him in worry.

"Of course not. I didn't even give him a chance to beat me back" he said lazily.

"Oh.. Then, it's my mistake I couldn't fight him back" she said slowly as tears formed in her eyes. She always thought she was a strong woman but when a situation came, she didn't even have the strength to fight back.

"Sindhu... You are not strong enough to fight a man"

She glared at him "Do you mean to say women are not physically strong like men?"

He gulped loudly, looking at her in fear which made her almost laugh inwardly.

"Um, yeah. But it's ok.. We are not mentally strong like women" he said softly, trying to ease her mood.

She crossed her arms over her chest and gave a small smile "So, you mean we are equal?"

He chuckled "Yeah, of course"

Karthik felt relieved to see a smile on her face but he knew she was still scared.

"You okay?" he asked, looking at her in concern.

She averted her eyes to his "I am fine"

"You don't look fine to me" he pointed out.

"I am still in shock and a bit scared" she said sheepishly.

"That's normal after what you faced"

Both of them sat opposite each other in silence, lost in their thoughts. He wanted to tell her to sleep in his room but he was worried how she might react. He was not used to talking to her this way, casually.

Sindhu cleared her throat snapping him out of his thoughts.

"I-I need a favor" she said slowly, looking at him as if she's scared of his reaction.

"What?"

" I don't want to be alone. C-Can I s-sleep here for t-today?" she questioned, looking at him in hope. "I won't be a problem to you, I promise" she added.

"Hmm fine.. I was---- wondering the same thing"

She smiled gratefully "Thanks"

---

Thank you so much guys for reading..

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What do you think of Karthik now? Do you think he did the right thing by sorting it out personally or do you think he should have called the cops?

- JANAKI S